World Schools Chess 2015 in Thailand May 6

Hello chess blog friends, the world schools chess championship 2015 is going to take place in Thailand. The ASEAN Chess Academy, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Thailand Chess Association are inviting all federations and eligible players for the World Schools Individual Chess Championships 2015 to be organised in Pattaya, Thailand from 6th May (arrival) to 15th May (departure) 2015.

General Regulations & RulesThe Championships shall be governed by the General Regulations for FIDE Competitions and these Rules.

Participation
There shall be 6 categories; namely Under-07, Under-09 Under-11, Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 with separate events for Open and Girls.

Entitled to participate are players who shall not have reached the age of 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 before 1 January 2015:-

Under-07: Born on or after 1 January 2008;
Under-09: Born on or after 1 January 2006;
Under-11: Born on or after 1 January 2004;
Under-13: Born on or after 1 January 2002;
Under-15: Born on or after 1 January 2000;
Under-17: Born on or after 1 January 1998.

The following have a personal right and are entitled to participate provided they fulfil the condition above:-

- The Champions of the World Schools Championships 2014
- The Continental Schools Champions 2014.2/5
- FIDE member federations & FIDE-endorsed Chess Academies shall have the right to send as many players as they wish.
For more details check the FIDE link.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Thailand Chess: GM Vallejo Pons wins 14th BCC Open 2014, GM Barbosa is second on tiebreak

Hi everyone,

Thailand has annually held the BCC Chess Open regularly. Here is a report by Alexander J. Klemm via the official website.

GM Vallejo Pons wins 14th BCC Open 2014, GM Barbosa is second on tiebreak
The last round of the 14th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2014 saw the much anticipated clashes GM Oliver Barbosa (7) vs. GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (7) on the first board, and GM Jan Gustafsson (6½) vs. GM Bartosz Socko (6½) on the second. Yet, their games were somewhat anticlimactic, as no risks were taken. The players agreed to strategic draws after two hours, assuring them all top rankings and prize money.

The Spanish Grandmaster and tournament number one seed GM Francisco Vallejo Pons wins with 7½ points. Congratulations to ‘Paco’ and many thanks for his return to the BCC Open after his first appearance in 2011. We hope he will come back again next year to defend his title. The runner-up is GM Oliver Barbosa, who also reached an impressive 7½ points. GM Barbosa also won the Blitz tournament for the second year running, against stiff competition. Congratulations to the mighty Filipino for his outstanding performance. GM Jan Gustafsson, IM Qingnan Liu and GM Bartosz Socko all reached a very solid 7 points, putting them in 3rd to 5th place.

Round 9 results at top boards:
GM Oliver Barbosa (7) ½ – ½ GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (7)
GM Jan Gustafsson (6½) ½ – ½ GM Bartosz Socko (6½)
GM Suat Atalik (6) ½ – ½ GM Darwin Laylo (6)
GM John Paul Gomez (6) ½ – ½ GM Marat Dzhumaev (6)
GM M.R. Venkatesh (6) 0 – 1 IM Qingnan Liu (6)

Final ranking of top players after round 9:
1-2 (7½ pts.): GM Francisco Vallejo Pons, GM Oliver Barbosa
3-5 (7 pts.): GM Jan Gustafsson, IM Qingnan Liu, GM Bartosz Socko
6-12 (6½ pts.): GM John Paul Gomez, GM Suat Atalik, GM Marat Dzhumaev, IM Aleksandar Wohl, IM Roy Saptarshi, IM Rolando Nolte, GM Monika Socko

A GM norm was achieved by fourth-placed IM Qingnan Liu from China and a WIM norm by Ying Zhu (5 ½), also from China. Best lady player is Polish GM Monika Socko (6½). Best juniors are the Chinese youngsters Yan Liu (6) and Xiongjian Peng (6), as well as Richi Sardana (5½) from Australia. Congratulations to these players for their well-earned successes.

In the Challenger category, this year’s 14th BCC Open champion is Leonardo Alidani from the Philippines. He scored six points, as did his fellow countryman Marvin Ting, who is second based on tiebreak. Thotsaporn Thanatipanonda (THA), Kumar Samuel (IND) and Trong Binh Phan (VIE) scored 5½ points, which puts them on 3rd to 5th place.

Please visit chess-results.com for complete rankings, results and further details about the tournament.

A very big thank you goes to the 210 players from Asia and around the world for their hard-fought games and the many chess fans who followed the action in the playing hall and live online.

We thank our sponsors Thai Bev, Univentures, PYN Fund Management, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Chess4Thai, and the marvelous playing venue hosted by the Dusit Thani Bangkok Hotel. The tournament could not happen without their wonderful and generous support.

Many thanks also to all the members of the dedicated BCC Open tournament team who kept the tournament running smoothly at all times.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel