French Chess Champions 2012 Title Jointly to Vachier-Lagrave, Bauer, Bacrot, Edouard

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Christian Bauer, Etienne Bacrot, and Romain Edouard have been declared the joint winners of the French National Chess Championship 2012.

Vachier-Lagrave, Bacrot, and Edouard, as a mark of respect and show of humane spirit, decided to not play the tiebreak, but share the French national chess title with the fourth joint leader, Christian Bauer. GM Bauer tragically lost his four-month-old son and abandoned the tournament before the last round. The last round was cancelled and the three remaining joint leaders were to play the tiebreak. However, they all agreed to share the title in a show of humane spirit and sportsmanship.

The French Chess Federation had earlier announced the tiebreak for Saturday, but cancelled it after the players' statements. 

Also read: Almira Skripchenko is French National Chess Champion for the Fifth Time!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Prayers for GM Christian Bauer's Family for Sad Loss of their Four-Month-Old Son

We reach out to GM Christian Bauer and his wife Nathalie on the very sad loss of their four-month-old son Louis. We pray for the family and wish them courage in this time of tragedy. The last round of the French National Chess Championship 2012 has been cancelled. GM Bauer was to play the last round in joint lead with Etienne Bacrot, Romain Edouard, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. May God give them the strength to face this tragedy. Our heartfelt condolences.

French Chess Championships Begin; Fressinet, Skripchenko Top Seeds in Open and Women's Sections

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The Men in Black & White

The latest chess news from France is that the national chess championships 2012 have begun. The 87th French Chess Championships are taking place from August 13-25 at the Palais Beaumont in Pau, near the Pyrenees National Park. The Championships consist of eight sections: National Tournament, National Women’s Tournament, Accession tournament, Veterans tournament, Open A tournament, Open B tournament, Open C tournament and Open D tournament.

Nearly 800 players from all regions are taking part in the Championships. The main event is the National Tournament, an 11-rounds all-play-all competition featuring the strongest players of France (average elo 2617). Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is the defending champion.

National Men's Section
1. Laurent Fressinet 2714
2. Etienne Bacrot 2713
3. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2686
4. Christian Bauer 2682
5. Romain Edouard 2652
6. Andrei Istratescu 2647
7. Vladislav Tkachiev 2644
8. Hicham Hamdouchi 2627
9. Sébastien Maze 2573
10. Anatoly Vaisser 2556
11. Maxime Lagarde 2505
12. Jean-Baptiste Mullon 2404

National Women’s Tournament is a six-player double round robin. The average elo of the participants is 2324. Almira Skripchenko 2442, Sophie Milliet 2411, Anda Safranska 2298, Nino Maisuradze 2284, Silvia Collas 2261 and Andreea Bollengier 2253 compete.

Access the official website (French Chess Federation) for more details.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com