2nd Chess Festival in Erbil, Iraq from Dec 12-19

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The Kurdistan Chess Federation, Khanzad Chess Club and Capablanka Chess Institute are organizing the 2nd International Chess Festival in Erbil, Kurdistan region, Iraq.

The 9-round Swiss open is taking place from 12th to 19th December at the Saad's Palace for Conferences & Meetings in Erbil.

Tournament director is Dlzar Hamasalih Qadir and Chief arbiter is Ashod Vardapetyan.

Already 71 players from 19 countries are registered to take part in the tournament. Among them are 11 Grandmasters.

Top rated players are: GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2658, GM Tarlev Konstantin UKR 2562, GM Malakhatko Vadim BEL 2542, GM Sulskis Sarunas LTU 2529, GM Jakubiec Artur POL 2513, GM Kasparov Sergey BLR 2487, GM Starostits Ilmars LTU 2458 and IM Sammalvuo Tapani FIN 2453.

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GM Abhijeet Gupta wins Commonwealth Chess Championship 2013

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

Indian Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta won the Commonwealth Chess Championship after scoring 9,0/11 points and edging Sergey Fedorchuk (Ukraine) and Sergei Tiviakov(Netherlands) on tie-breaks to take the first place in the tournament that also incorporated South African Open Chess Championship.

Fedorchuk and Tiviakov took the second and third place in the Open Section, respectively.

Indian Grandmasters rounded up the medal count as Dibyendu Barua (8,5 points, 4th place) got the Commonwealth silver medal and last-year champion M.R. Lalith Babu (8,5 points, 5th place) won the bronze.

IM Jovanka Houska from England (8,5 points) won the gold medal among women, while Soumya Swaminathan (India; 8,5 points) settled for silver and Mary Ann Gomes (India; 7,5 points) won the bronze.
The Indians also dominated the junior section with G. Akash winning the gold, Sahaj Grover getting the silver and Rakesh Kulkarni securing the bronze medal. Kulkarni also won the South African open blitz championship held during the course of the championship.

South African President Jacob Zuma attended the closing ceremony and emphasized the importance of chess education in his speech.

The Commonwealth and South African Open Chess Championships 2013, the Nelson Mandela Bay Open Chess Championship and the South African Open Blitz chess Championship were held at The Boardwalk Hotel, Convention Centre and Spa in the city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa from 5th July 2013 to 14th July 2013. (www.chessdom.com)

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Sergei Tiviakov Wins DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters Chess

12th Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Latest Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone,

Sergei Tiviakov became the first champion to ever repeat with his second successive victory at the DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters.

After a slow start with a draw in the first round against Malaysia No. 1 Mas Hafizulhelmi, the determined Netherlands resident played himself into form and with less mistakes than his opponents even improved on his rating with a 9/10 score.

 

Sergei Tiviakov receiving the prize

Thomas Luther who is also on his second visit was happy to finish a clear second with the help of some resourceful play to win and hold difficult positions in the latter part of the tournament.

Rolando Nolte enjoyed an early break but then simply could not convert several winning positions and so once against missed out on getting the GM title but could draw some consolation from third place ahead of the more fancied Niaz Murshed who seemed to have lost his ambition mid way through the event.

 

Thomas Luther (top) and Rolando Nolte

Of the others, Ramnath Bhuvanesh was always up and down while Goh Wei Ming never really recovered from his loss to Nolte from a winning position. Mas Hafizulhelmi performed credibly, even picking up 5-6 rating points.

Young Padmini played at a high level and consistently throughout but was very unlucky not being able to convert on occasion against her vastly more experienced opponents, while for Dimakiling and Wohl, it was a mix of very good play and some horrible blunders.

It was indeed a grand closing ceremony at the Palace of the Golden Horses with staff and students from the Asian Metropolitan University putting on a great performance and wonderfully organising the closing ceremony.

DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters was organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation and KLCA on 13-22nd June at the Swiss Inn & Palace of the Golden Horses. (Report by Peter Long)

Final standings:
1 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2644 – 9
2 GM Luther Thomas GER 2552 – 7.5
3 IM Nolte Rolando PHI 2440 – 7
4 GM Murshed Niaz BAN 2479 – 5.5
5 IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh.R IND 2352 – 5
6 IM Goh Wei Ming Kevin SIN 2441 – 5
7 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi MAS 2347 – 4.5
8 WGM Padmini Rout IND 2347 – 4
9 IM Dimakiling Oliver PHI 2372 – 4
10 IM Wohl Aleksandar H. AUS 2369 – 3.5
11 GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2301 – 0

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World Cities Chess Sheikh Zayed Cup: Congratulations to Hoogeveen Team for Title

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

Hi everyone,

The City of Hoogeveen, Netherlands became World Cities Chess Champion after beating Baku, Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5 in the finals of the knockout tournament 21-28 December 2012 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen again proved the hero for the Dutch team as he squeezed out a victory in an opposite coloured Bishop endgame in a marathon 89 moves.

The match was difficult from the start as Anish Giri, playing white on top board for Hoogeveen, and Eltaj Safarli had a complicated duel. Giri essayed the English Opening as white and accepted the early exchange of Queens on the 14th move. Both sides penetrated with their Rooks on the opponent's second rank. Safarli was first to unleash an attack. Giri was poised to counter with three pieces weaving threatening nets on the Black King when Safarli decided to repeat position and force a draw on the 31st move. 

 

The Hoogeveen team, kneeling from left, GMs Ivan Sokolov, Anish Giri, Sergey Tiviakov and Jan Smeets. Standing are, from left, Abu Dhabi Sports Council representative Salah Al Marzougi, FIDE Vice President Mohammed Kambouzia of Iran, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan, UAE Chess Federaiton Vice President Abdulaziz Al Khouri, FIDE Vice President Nizar El Haj and Organizing Committee Managing Director Hisham Al Taher

The Ruy Lopez game between Rauf Mamedov of Baku with white and Ivan Sokolov of Hoogeveen on board two was next to draw. After an exchange of Queens on the 19th move, Mamedov won a pawn. Sokolov controlled the open file with his Rook and forced perpetual check to draw in 35 moves.

The lower boards were left. Vasif Durarbayli had white for Baku on board 4 against Jan Smeets who used the Petroff Defense. Smeets was a pawn up in their Rook and Pawn endgame. Both sides had a passed pawn in a clearly drawn position when they agreed to halve the point in 57 moves.

It looked as if the game on board three between Sergei Tiviakov of Hoogeveen and Nidjat Mamedov of Baku would also end in a draw. Tiviakov used the Alapin variation of the Sicilian defense and exchanged Queens on the 25th move. This led to an endgame with Rook and Bishops of opposite colors.

Tiviakov said, "After the opening I was sure that it is going to be a long game. We had this position with opposite colored bishops. Moreover I had one pawn up and gained an advantage in the endgame. My position gave me a chance to make about 100 moves. That's what I planned to do and generally what I did. Moreover my opponent was in time trouble. You can imagine: being in a time trouble, one pawn down, we can only think how to defend. My opponent was losing a lot of energy for that. The conditions of play were not equal by all means. As a consequence my opponent made a blunder and lost."

The Hoogeveen team won $21,000 out of the $150,000 prize fund. "We purposely had only four players to have fewer people to share the prize," Hoogeveen captain Ivan Sokolov said. Read more at the Fide website.

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Sergei Tiviakov wins Panama Chess Open 2011

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,

The National Chess Federation Panama organised the 1st Panama Chess Open from 3rd to 7th November at the Salon Portobello, Centro de Convenciones Atlapa in Panama City. This event fills a gap in international tournaments in the Republic of Panama since the decade of 70′s, and the hosts are determined to establish it as a fixed annual tournament.


A totoal of 132 participants from 13 countries competed in the 9-round Swiss Open. 16 Grandmasters and 22 International Masters attended the event.


Former European champion Sergei Tiviakov defeated GM Alejandro Ramirez in the final round to take a clear first place with 7.5 points. Tiviakov takes home $2000. You can check the Official website and www.chessdom.com for more details. Here are the final top standings:


1 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2650 – 7.5
2 GM Arencibia Rodriguez Walter CUB 2511 – 7
3 GM Alvarez Pedraza Aramis CUB 2565 – 7
4 GM Perez Rodriguez Luis Manuel CUB 2475 – 7
5 IM Shoker Samy EGY 2512 – 7
6 GM Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo CUB 2553 – 6.5
7 GM Abreu Delgado Aryam CUB 2481 – 6.5
8 IM Gomez Garrido Camilo CUB 2537 – 6.5
9 GM Corrales Jimenez Fidel CUB 2578 – 6.5
10 WGM Linares Napoles Oleiny CUB 2335 – 6.5

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