The temporary logo of TCEC is actually a puzzle, scroll down for more information

About TCEC Season 10 – record breaking

The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC) Season 10 is the annual premier championship for chess software. It is a competition between 24 engines with ELO 3000+ and is divided into two stages and a Superfinal.

TCEC Season 10 is a record breaking event in several aspects:

ELO average record: The participants have the highest average ELO of any season so far. What’s more, the engines have provided custom versions for the event, adding a few extra ELO points to their total playing strength. See the list of participants further down in this article

44 core server: TCEC Season 10 will be played on a 44 cores server Xeon 2699 v4. This is a huge upgrade regarding previous seasons where a 16 cores or 20 cores machines were used and has become possible thanks to the support of the devoted audience of TCEC. While it will be challenging for some engines to utilize all cores, we will certainly see new levels of chess from the top participants, which is one of the main goals of TCEC. More about server specifications here

Special selection of openings: TCEC will have the finest selection of openings, guaranteeing combative chess and also eliminating the one more white game advantage in single round robins. The amazing openings are the work of the finest experts in the field – Nelson Hernandez and Jeroen Noomen. You can see Nelson Hernandez explaining the huge work behind the scenes in the video here

Join us for what projects to be the most exciting season of TCEC ever. Games start rolling at 14:00 CEST on Saturday and will be live on the official website. It is the same page that everyone loves from previous season, containing an inside look in the “brain of the engines” (depth, principal variation, speed, evaluation, tablebases use), complete statistics and standings, chat with the engine authors and computer chess experts, and much more.

Season 10 official website with live games

TCEC Season 10 participants

Andscacs
Arasan
Bobcat
Booot
Chiron
Fire
Fizbo
Fruit
Gaviota
Ginkgo
Gull
Hakkapeliitta
Hannibal
Houdini
Jonny
Komodo
Laser
Nemorino
Nirvana
Rybka
Stockfish
Texel
Vajolet2
Wasp

Stage structure

TCEC Season 10 will consist of a preliminary stage, a qualifiers stage, and a Superfinal. Each will have different time controls and structure

Stage 1: this is the preliminary stage, involving 24 engines, playing a single round robin (276 games). The time control of the games will be 60 mins + 10 sec/move. The top 8 engines qualify for the next stage

Stage 2: the second stage will be qualifier of 8 engines with 2x double round robin (112 games) with a slightly longer time control 90 min + 10 sec/move

Superfinal: two engines will participate in the Superfinal, playing a total of 100 games for the title of Grand Champion of TCEC

The season 10 puzzle

As tradition goes, Martin Thoresen has posted an interesting puzzle on the live page of TCEC. It is to celebrate Season 10 and the figures are distributed in a special way to form the number 10 on the board. The task for those of you who love puzzles, find a mate in exactly 10 moves!

This prestigious event is reaching its 52nd edition in 2017, being skipped only in 1966 on the occasion of the World Chess Olympiad in Cuba, in 1970, and in 1978 when Cuba hosted the World Festival of Youth and Students.

The winner of the first tournament in 1962 was Miguel Najdorf. The record with most tournament wins is held by Vassily Ivanchuk with 6 titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012). Among Cubans, Leinier Dominguez has won three editions (2004, 2008 and 2009).

The main Elite Group is traditionally six-players double round robin. The average elo is 2656. See the full participants list here

Games start May 27th at 21:00 CET. You can follow Capablanca Chess 2017 live at Chessdom or on your mobile via the Chess Arena phone application.

The 11-round Swiss event with 102 participants was played with the rapid time control 15’+5”.

Five Grandmasters shared the first place with 8,5 points each: Igor Kovalenko, Alexei Shirov (Latvia), Daniel Fridman (Germany), Vladimir Potkin (Russia) and Aloyzas Kveinys (Lithuania). Igor Kovalenko was declared winner on best tie-break.

Official website

Final standings:

1. GM Kovalenko Igor LAT 2701 – 8.5
2. GM Fridman Daniel GER 2644 – 8.5
3. GM Potkin Vladimir RUS 2625 – 8.5
4. GM Shirov Alexei LAT 2727 – 8.5
5. GM Kveinys Aloyzas LTU 2489 – 8.5
6. GM Maiorov Nikita BLR 2521 – 8
7. GM Alekseev Evgeny RUS 2643 – 7.5
8. WGM Rogule Laura LAT 2333 – 7.5
9. IM Berzinsh Roland LAT 2389 – 7.5
10. Tokranovs Dmitrijs LAT 2243 – 7.5
11. IM Sveshnikov Vladimir LAT 2429 – 7.5
12. IM Smirnov Artem RUS 2360 – 7.5
13. GM Ehlvest Jaan USA 2603 – 7.5
14. Chukavin Kirill EST 2182 – 7
15. GM Neiksans Arturs LAT 2638 – 7
16. Kukk Sander EST 2341 – 7
17. Vorobjov Pavel EST 2267 – 7
18. GM Sveshnikov Evgeny RUS 2468 – 7
19. Garanin Aleksei EST 1868 – 7
20. GM Shvyrjov Igor EST 2246 – 7
21. WIM Narva Mai EST 2137 – 7
22. FM Vovk Ilja EST 2285 – 7
23. FM Lavendelis Egons LAT 2302 – 6.5
24. Petrov Dmitri EST 2226 – 6.5
25. FM Shishkov Andrei EST 2320 – 6.5
26. Koop Vyacheslav EST 2110 – 6.5
27. Lumiste Rene EST 2038 – 6.5
28. FM Peleshev Leonid EST 2160 – 6.5
29. Timoshin Andrei EST 1916 – 6.5
30. WFM Olde Margareth EST 1967 – 6.5
31. Mierins Eriks LAT 2113 – 6
32. Haavamae Henrik EST 2063 – 6
33. Dubrovin Robert EST 2321 – 6
34. Pedoson Georg Aleksander EST 1944 – 6
35. Gabovits Ilia EST 2019 – 6
36. Korchagin Oleg EST 2067 – 6
37. Medar Marti EST 2034 – 6
38. Tominga Eke EST 2075 – 6
39. WFM Narva Regina EST 2004 – 6
40. FM Ozolins Aris LAT 2036 – 6
41. Ilves Juri EST 2002 – 6
42. Jarvet Juri EST 1941 – 6
43. Petrov Aleksandr EST 1903 – 6
44. Jakimenko Aleksandr EST 1897 – 6
45. Isakovs Janis LAT 1891 – 6
46. Ruus Rein EST 1802 – 6
47. Neff Sergei EST 2104 – 5.5
48. Kuusik Juri EST 1933 – 5.5
49. Muutnik Valdo EST 2054 – 5.5
50. Melderis Uldis LAT 2037 – 5.5
51. Rauk Tonu EST 2001 – 5.5
52. Skladtshikov Andrei EST 1851 – 5.5
53. Nikitin Pjotr EST 1889 – 5.5
54. Olde Grete EST 1809 – 5.5
55. Laigna Marko EST 1900 – 5.5
56. Nero Georg EST 1986 – 5.5
57. Rytova Merike EST 1717 – 5.5
58. Garber Vjatseslav EST 2157 – 5.5
59. Giambrone Salvatore ITA 1770 – 5.5
60. Kruusiauk Kaupo USA 1949 – 5.5
61. Viikmaa Karmen EST 1838 – 5
62. Uurits Karel EST 1684 – 5
63. Sepandi Jaak EST 1654 – 5
64. Saraikin Sergey EST 1808 – 5
65. Haabu Aare EST 1735 – 5
66. Verhni Vladimir EST 1803 – 5
67. Teemae Leo EST 1832 – 5
68. Kosohh Kirill EST 1566 – 5
69. Jakobson Silver EST 1988 – 5
70. Ioganson Oleg EST 1558 – 5
71. Vernuks Vjaceslavs LAT 1690 – 5
72. Saar Ivari EST 0 – 5
73. Aga Rihard EST 1678 – 4.5
74. Kruusiauk Heda EST 1758 – 4.5
75. Burkevica Ilze LAT 1652 – 4.5
76. Liiv Kristiina EST 1376 – 4.5
77. Rosenvald Helmut EST 1718 – 4.5
78. Denikin Boriss EST 1591 – 4.5
79. Schmidt Mait EST 1498 – 4.5
80. Kobin Ain EST 0 – 4.5
81. Poom Mati EST 1708 – 4
82. Aro Andres EST 1437 – 4
83. Snitsarenko Igor EST 1337 – 4
84. Luik Ott Robert EST 1377 – 4
85. Aleksejev Artjom EST 1174 – 4
86. Domoskanov Ivan EST 1463 – 4
87. Kull Tormi EST 1362 – 4
88. Ennok Heigo EST 1454 – 4
89. Staub Madis EST 1657 – 3.5
90. Ivanova Lidia EST 1583 – 3.5
91. Gaav Arnold EST 0 – 3.5
92. Dudakov Andrei EST 0 – 3.5
93. Padari Tuudur Jakob EST 1282 – 3
94. Panfilov Sergei EST 1543 – 3
95. Luts Jakob EST 1194 – 3
96. Tsurakov Sergei EST 1157 – 3
97. Lainevool Mirko EST 1271 – 2
98. Roots Lem-Leonhard EST 0 – 2
99. Rozenblit David EST 1769 – 1
100. Igasta Magnus EST 0 – 1
101. Krivonogov Kristo EST 0 – 1
102. Liiv Karoliina EST 1249 – 0

The soft-spoken Ukrainian defeated country-mate GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy in a winner takes all game as the first and the third board games ended in draws. Tukhaev finished clear first by scoring 7.5/9. He took home Rs. 3 lakhs for winning the tournament.

Adam Tukhaev

Seven players tied for first place by scoring 7.0/9. On the top table, 18-year-old Indian hope GM Diptayan Ghosh settled for a relatively quick draw with the white pieces against IM Rahul Sangma.

The third table game between Ukrainian GM Valeriy Neverov and Belgian GM Vadim Malakhatko ended in a hard-fought draw. Neverov had a poor position but he cleverly traded into a rook ending where he held the draw without sweating too much. While GM Neverov finished second on the tie break with six other players, Ghosh was third.

The biggest surprise of the tournament was untitled Sidhant Mohapatra of Odisha. Sidhant, rated only 2267, scored his second International Master norm and defeated GM Andrei Deviatkin in the final game after the latter blundered an exchange. Besides his norm, Sidhant also finished fifth in the tournament.

WFM Srija Seshadri of Delhi scored an International Master norm by defeating IM Nisha Mohota in the final round. Srija was the most successful female player in the tournament. Debarshi Mukherjee of West Bengal scored an International Norm as well. Vantika Agarwal, a talented Delhi girl, scored a Women’s International Master norm.

In the Juniors section, Pranav V. of Tamil Nadu was leading going into the final round but at the sole second place was the National Under-11 champion Manish Anto Cristiano, also of Tamil Nadu. In the top table encounter between these two talents, Manish had a clearly better position with the white pieces but he blundered allowing Pranav to find a saving combination and draw the game. Had Manish won, he would have become the champion outright. But this draw meant that Pranav V. was the clear winner with 8.0/9, winning the first prize of Rs. 1 lakh 50 thousand while Manish tied with four others at 7.5/9.

Pranav V

When the tiebreaks were resolved, Sankarsha Shelke of Maharashtra, who had been leading for the most part of the tournament earlier was second while Tamil Nadu’s Gukesh D. was third. Bangladeshi super talent Mohd. Fahad Rahman was fourth and Manish had to settle for the fifth place.

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the patron of the IIFL Wealth Mumbai International tournaments, was the chief guest in the closing function of the tournament. Anand talked about various issues related to chess and sports in India in his conversation with the press. He provided tips to the junior players who thronged to get a glimpse of the chess maestro. He also played a simultaneous exhibition of 21 boards with the young talents.

Official Site

Manis Anto Cristiano

The event was organized by the Club Ajedrez Lorca and completed over 9 rounds of Swiss system.

163 players from 22 federations participated, including 15 Grandmasters and 15 International Masters.

In a fiercely contested tournament Spanish Grandmaster Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez took a clear first place with impressive 8/9 points, half a point ahead of the top seed GM Julio Granda Zuniga.

Official website

Final standings:

1. GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel ESP 2552 – 8
2. GM Granda Zuniga Julio E PER 2646 – 7.5
3. IM Krysa Leandro ARG 2491 – 7
4. IM Gascon Del Nogal Jose Rafael VEN 2446 – 7
5. GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2573 – 6.5
6. Iniyan P IND 2363 – 6.5
7. GM Popovic Dusan SRB 2532 – 6.5
8. GM Ibarra Jerez Jose Carlos ESP 2573 – 6.5
9. GM Sedlak Nikola SRB 2540 – 6.5
10. WIM Pratyusha Bodda IND 2247 – 6.5
11. GM Peralta Fernando ARG 2574 – 6
12. GM Narciso Dublan Marc ESP 2508 – 6
13. Harsha Bharathakoti IND 2332 – 6
14. GM Sundararajan Kidambi IND 2420 – 6
15. FM Morozov Nichita MDA 2406 – 6
16. GM Harutjunyan Gevorg ARM 2437 – 6
17. FM Bjerre Jonas DEN 2361 – 6
18. GM Plaskett H James ENG 2464 – 6
19. GM Grigoryan Karen H. ARM 2571 – 6
20. FM Sousa Andre Ventura POR 2399 – 6
21. FM Perez Garcia Alejandro ESP 2412 – 6
22. IM Satyapragyan Swayangsu IND 2462 – 6
23. GM Lemos Damian ARG 2516 – 6
24. WIM Monnisha G K IND 2140 – 6
25. Pradeep Kumar R A IND 2330 – 6
26. FM Ladron De Guevara Pinto Paolo ESP 2375 – 6
27. FM Bressac Stephane FRA 2377 – 6
28. FM Quintin Navarro Alberto ESP 2367 – 6
29. Merario Alarcon Andres ESP 2258 – 6
30. FM Guerra Rivera Salvador ESP 2393 – 6
31. IM Konguvel Ponnuswamy IND 2417 – 6
32. IM Rahal Michael A ESP 2332 – 6
33. IM Holm Kristian Stuvik NOR 2412 – 6
34. WFM Hapala Elisabeth AUT 2059 – 6
35. IM Ramiro Ovejero Juan Luis ESP 2386 – 5.5
36. IM Espinoza Palomino Willyam PER 2416 – 5.5
37. GM Giaccio Alfredo ARG 2452 – 5.5
38. IM Camarena Gimenez Rufino ESP 2400 – 5.5
39. Serarols Mabras Bernat ESP 2243 – 5.5
40. Bernabeu Lopez Carlos Javier ESP 2314 – 5.5
41. Castellanos Gomez Alejandro ESP 2206 – 5.5
42. Ramaraju N IND 2124 – 5.5
43. IM Krishna Teja N IND 2253 – 5.5
44. Fernandez Alvarez Luis ESP 2030 – 5.5
45. Podvin Francois-Xavier FRA 2148 – 5
46. FM Sanchez Botella Luis Javier ESP 2254 – 5
47. FM Martin Duque Jesus ESP 2295 – 5
48. Ashwath R. IND 2227 – 5
49. Baquedano Coarasa Pablo ESP 1998 – 5
50. Donado-Mazarron Gomez Miguel ESP 2117 – 5
51. Fernandez Lledo Javier ESP 2242 – 5
52. Perez Garcia Roberto ESP 2198 – 5
53. FM Arias Igual Alejandro ESP 2301 – 5
54. Guerrero Mendez Jesus ESP 1921 – 5
55. WIM Mahalakshmi M IND 2225 – 5
56. FM Villegas Pierre MNC 2374 – 5
57. Mitra Roman C ENG 2083 – 5
58. Manu David Suthandram R IND 1915 – 5
59. Raghav Srivathsav V IND 1993 – 5
60. WFM Redondo Benavente Ana ESP 2015 – 5
61. Sanchez Barbado Carlos ESP 2215 – 5
62. FM Santos Ruiz Miguel ESP 2484 – 5
63. Llamas Guevara Francisco Jose ESP 1883 – 5
64. Callejas Rojas Francisco Migu ESP 2029 – 5
65. FM Sanchez Jerez Emilio Miguel ESP 2295 – 5
66. Sama Salinas Alejandro ESP 1850 – 5
67. Soto Martin Pablo ESP 2088 – 5
68. GM Forcen Esteban Daniel ESP 2541 – 4.5
69. FM Napoli Nicolo ITA 2273 – 4.5
70. Sama Salinas Hector ESP 2073 – 4.5
71. IM Aloma Vidal Robert AND 2490 – 4.5
72. FM Alshameary Puente Ismael ESP 2325 – 4.5
73. WFM Roque Sola Gisela MEX 2061 – 4.5
74. Beltra Garcia Ruben ESP 2142 – 4.5
75. Divya Lakshmi R IND 1918 – 4.5
76. Jimenez Ramallo Francisco J ESP 2001 – 4.5
77. Galiano Martinez Antonio ESP 1933 – 4.5
78. Porlan Minarro Antonio ESP 1992 – 4.5
79. Amoros Moran Jose Joaquin ESP 1884 – 4.5
80. Munoz Garcia Jesus ESP 1942 – 4.5
81. WFM Cholleti Sahajasri IND 1987 – 4.5
82. WCM Sapale Saloni IND 2141 – 4.5
83. Arroyo Rodriguez Jesus ESP 2113 – 4.5
84. Soto Martin Miguel ESP 1811 – 4.5
85. Diaz Rodriguez Jose Antonio ESP 1993 – 4.5
86. Munoz Galdos Carlos ESP 1828 – 4.5
87. Gines Abad Pedro ESP 1978 – 4.5
88. Carbonell Sancho Marc ESP 1972 – 4.5
89. Almeida Sanchez Ciriaco ESP 1922 – 4.5
90. Estefano Rilova Fernando ESP 1861 – 4.5
91. Bjerre Tavs DEN 2080 – 4.5
92. Mayank Pal IND 1919 – 4.5
93. AIM Siddhanth Lohia IND 1638 – 4.5
94. Moya Albaladejo Jose Antonio ESP 1854 – 4.5
95. Pein Jonathan ENG 1971 – 4
96. Blesa Fernandez Francisco ESP 2006 – 4
97. CM Fernandez De Bobadilla Gabrie ESP 2241 – 4
98. Alonso Garcia Aaron ESP 2090 – 4
99. Motos Abellan Daniel ESP 2024 – 4
100. Rodriguez Izquierdo Luis ESP 1999 – 4
101. Guerra Arrocha Daniel ESP 1959 – 4
102. Gauche Eduardo BRA 1910 – 4
103. Revaliente Montoya Ciro ESP 1819 – 4
104. Guerrero Mendez Luis ESP 1993 – 4
105. Vanduyfhuys Daria BEL 1866 – 4
106. Sousa Nuno Ventura POR 1744 – 4
107. CM Low Kevin CAN 1730 – 4
108. Prieto Velasco Rafael ESP 1777 – 4
109. Romero Garcia Jose Luis ESP 1770 – 4
110. WCM Modi Sonia RSA 1555 – 4
111. Arjona Casado Abel ESP 1912 – 4
112. Nyland Thomas NOR 2107 – 4
113. Sai Agni Jeevitesh J IND 2115 – 3.5
114. Gines Esteo Pedro Antonio ESP 2202 – 3.5
115. Sharath E. IND 1705 – 3.5
116. Mari Copa Adria ESP 2083 – 3.5
117. Alarcon Olmos Daniel ESP 2067 – 3.5
118. Suriol Peinado Alberto ESP 1777 – 3.5
119. Sanleon Pravisano Nieves ESP 1741 – 3.5
120. Sidali Elias Hulleberg NOR 1615 – 3.5
121. Blesa Fernandez Ignacio ESP 1766 – 3.5
122. Fernandez Calzada Juan A. ESP 1797 – 3.5
123. Montes Valera Manuel ESP 1674 – 3.5
124. Duarte Garcia Pilar ESP 1799 – 3.5
125. Duller Llopis Jouke ESP 1653 – 3.5
126. Perez Epinin Gines ESP 1519 – 3.5
127. Molina Molina Carlos Javier ESP 1649 – 3.5
128. Mila Hernandez Lorena ESP 1491 – 3.5
129. Losilla Marin Antonio ESP 1614 – 3.5
130. Alvarez Sanchez Julian ESP 1485 – 3.5
131. Martinez Garcia Antonio ESP 1686 – 3.5
132. Cubas Cabrera Angel Luis ESP 1976 – 3
133. FM Sanchez Gonzalez Sergio ESP 2281 – 3
134. Jimenez Fernandez Rebeca ESP 1641 – 3
135. Vanduyfhuys Igor BEL 1619 – 3
136. FM Modi Yashil RSA 1670 – 3
137. Caballero Frutos Jose Alfredo ESP 1674 – 3
138. Low Ethan CAN 1537 – 3
139. Jimenez Zapata Nuria ESP 1484 – 3
140. Martinez Carvajal Juan Fco. ESP 1599 – 3
141. Noguerol Martinez Ricardo ESP 1226 – 3
142. Moreno Bello Miguel ESP 1588 – 3
143. Zambudio Marin Pedro Jose ESP 1478 – 3
144. Ferrete Rueda Juan Carlos ESP 1704 – 3
145. Donado-Mazarron Romero Javier ESP 1437 – 3
146. Parra Sanchez Celia ESP 1201 – 3
147. Trujillo Morales Sofia ESP 1120 – 3
148. Perez Epinina Olga ESP 1075 – 3
149. Torroglosa Minarro Juan Jose ESP 1913 – 2.5
150. Garcia Gimenez Santiago ESP 2068 – 2.5
151. Guardia Suarez Hector ESP 1361 – 2.5
152. Cortez Yaguana Bryan Marcelo ESP 1466 – 2.5
153. Martinez Ruiz Jose ESP 1320 – 2.5
154. Martinez Molina Julian ESP 1301 – 2.5
155. WCM Suhaani Lohia IND 1098 – 2.5
156. Alberola Reig Francisco ESP 1365 – 2
157. Lopez Soler Jose ESP 1099 – 2
158. Vanduyfhuys Ilja BEL 1174 – 2
159. Greco Joseph ENG 0 – 2
160. Pastor Jorda Nerea ESP 1047 – 1.5
161. Martin Alba Fernando ESP 0 – 1.5
162. Rosero Pilozo Josie Esteban ESP 1184 – 1
163. Garcia Lopez Alejandro Jose ESP 0 – 1

The event had 7 sections: Open, Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500, Under 1300 and Under 1100. The total prize fund was 15,000 USD.

The Open section was a 6-round Swiss with 60 participants. FMs Levy Rozman and FM David Brodsky shared the first place with 5/6 points to claim 1100 USD each.

Open section final standings:

1-2. FM Levy Rozman 2450 NY and FM David Brodsky 2431 NY – 5,0
3-6. GM Alexander Stripunsky 2633 NJ, GM Sergey Kudrin 2583 CT, IM Joerg Wegerle 2526 and IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy 2489 NY – 4,5
7-15. GM Alexander Fishbein 2557 NJ, IM John M Burke 2487 NJ, IM Jay Richard Bonin 2402 NY, Brandon Jacobson 2371 NJ, Richard Shtivelband 2242 NY, Ernest Colding 2212 NY, Cesar Apalla 2200 NY, FM Robert Sulman 2200 NY and Daniel Yedidia 2142 NJ – 4,0 etc

The two players finished on 16,5/21 points each. Just like in the World Rapid Championship Carlsen lost the trophy on additional criteria.

Carlsen entered the final round half a point ahead of the rival, but he couldn’t achieve more than a draw against Peter Leko, while Karjakin defetaed Baadur Jobava.

The extent of their domination in the event is shown by the fact that the nearest followers, Daniil Dubov, Hikaru Nakamura and Alexander Grischuk (World Blitz Champion in 2015), were full two points behind. Dubov claimed the bronze medal on tiebreak.

Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk is leaving Doha with two gold medals in the bag.

After winning the FIDE World Rapid Championship two days ago, Anna Muzychuk retained the World Blitz title that she had won two years ago in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Despite the slow start with three draws and a loss to Lagno, the strong finish of five consecutive wins helped Anna Muzychuk to take a clear first place with 13/17 points.

On the shared second place with 12,5 points each are Russian speed-chess specialists Valentina Gunina and Kateryna Lagno. Gunina earned the silver medal on better tie-break and Lagno took the bronze.

The 2016 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships were held in Doha, Qatar, from 26-30th December.

Double gold for Ukraine in FIDE World Rapid Championship

Vassily Ivanchuk and Anna Muzychuk from Ukraine have won the gold medals after three days of play at the FIDE World Rapid Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Ivanhuk was tournament leader after the second day but today he was shaken by a loss to Nepomniachtchi and two draws. Vasya, however, won the last two rounds to conclude the event with 11/15 points and claim the trophy on best additional criteria – average rating of the opponents.

After taking a short break from chess to try himself in different mind sport, Ivanchuk made a brilliant return with great results in the European Club Cup and here in Doha.

In a dramatic finish where five players entered the last round with 10 points each, the two speed-play champions from Berlin 2015 – Alexander Grischuk (blitz) and Magnus Carlsen (rapid) also emerged with 11 points. Grischuk earned the silver medal, while Carlsen took the bronze.

Ian Nepomniachtchi was leading after the 13th round but two consecutive losses in the end took him away from the podium.

Anna Muzychuk dominated in the Women’s Championship having secured the title with one round to spare, finally completing the event with 9,5/12 points.

A full point behind the winner is Alexandra Kosteniuk (silver), while Nana Dzagnidze took the bronze medal with 8 points.

by Goran Urosevic, photos by Anastasya Karlovich

Along with the Open, the IIFL Wealth Mumbai Junior International Chess Tournament—world’s richest junior tournament with the prize fund of Rs. 8 lakhs—will be held for juniors aged below 13.

Mount Litera School International at BKC, Bandra, will play host to over 350 of the sharpest minds from 17 countries, including 15 grandmasters and 11 international masters.

GM Sandipan Chanda

The event is open to players from all age-groups. Be it a seven-year-old kid or a teenager or a septuagenarian, all the players will be competing under the same roof, battling it out in their quest to glory.

In a sport like chess, which is getting increasingly younger, the junior tournament, being played separately from the Open, provides an ideal platform for the kids to showcase their talent.

An added emphasis in this nine-round competition is on the traditional time control, which means a game can sometimes last as long as six hours, or even more in exceptional cases. Indeed, a complete test of skill, stamina, and concentration! Chess has arrived in Mumbai as a sport.

Juniors: Top seed Gukesh D. of Andhra Pradesh (Elo: 2236)

On the final day of the event, the IIFL Wealth Mumbai Chess Patron, former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, will be flying down to Mumbai to grace the closing ceremony of this world-class tournament.

Participants (Open):

1 GM Sandipan Chanda IND 2593
2 GM David Alberto ITA 2574
3 GM Ghosh Diptayan IND 2570
4 GM Bernadskiy Vitaliy UKR 2540
5 GM Sivuk Vitaly UKR 2540
6 GM Movsziszian Karen ARM 2523
7 GM Tukhaev Adam UKR 2516
8 GM Malakhatko Vadim BEL 2507
9 GM Horvath Adam HUN 2501
10 GM Czebe Attila HUN 2500
11 GM Deviatkin Andrei RUS 2499
12 IM Narayanan Srinath IND 2490
13 GM Stopa Jacek POL 2479
14 GM Neverov Valeriy UKR 2478
15 IM Shyaamnikhil P IND 2451
16 Gusain Himal IND 2448
17 IM Saptarshi Roy IND 2418
18 IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh IND 2412
19 GM Hesham Abdelrahman EGY 2408
20 IM Akash G IND 2395
21 IM Ravi Teja S. IND 2384
22 Gaikwad Siddhant IND 2374
23 IM Das Sayantan IND 2371
24 FM Thakur Akash IND 2369
25 Nouri Hamed PHI 2363
26 Srijit Paul IND 2354
27 GM Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi IND 2351
28 IM Rajesh V A V IND 2351
29 Ojas Kulkarni IND 2351
30 Raja Harshit IND 2340
31 WGM Toma Katarzyna POL 2322
32 IM Kathmale Sameer IND 2313
33 CM Erigaisi Arjun IND 2309
34 IM Sangma Rahul IND 2306
35 FM Rajdeep Sarkar IND 2298
36 IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh.R IND 2297
37 IM Praveen Kumar C IND 2293
38 Saravana Krishnan P. IND 2293
39 WIM Styazhkina Anna RUS 2289
40 Sammed Jaykumar Shete IND 2282
41 WGM Kulkarni Bhakti IND 2281
42 FM Alfred Nathan S W ENG 2275
43 WIM Kurbonboeva Sarvinoz UZB 2274
44 Arjun Kalyan IND 2269
45 Kulkarni Vinayak IND 2268
46 Sidhant Mohapatra IND 2267
47 IM Mohota Nisha IND 2260
48 Harikrishnan.A.Ra IND 2259
49 FM Srinath Rao S.V. IND 2250
50 Prajesh R IND 2242
51 CM Gukesh D IND 2236
52 IM Deshmukh Anup IND 2234
53 IM Chakravarthi Reddy M IND 2230
54 Akash Pc Iyer IND 2225
55 WIM Parnali S Dharia IND 2219
56 Mithil Ajgaonkar IND 2216
57 Snehal Bhosale IND 2214
58 FM Mohammad Fahad Rahman BAN 2213
59 Jayakumaar S IND 2211
60 Patil Pratik IND 2208
61 Likhit Chilukuri IND 2206
62 Debarshi Mukherjee IND 2194
63 Senthil Maran K IND 2193
64 Prasannaa.S IND 2191
65 WFM Nasybullina Alfia RUS 2190
66 AGM Nishant Malhotra IND 2186
67 Jaiswal Puneet IND 2183
68 CM Aronyak Ghosh IND 2180
69 Wagh Suyog IND 2177
70 Gandhi Anish IND 2167
71 Thanki Hemal Karsanji IND 2167
72 Sahil Tickoo IND 2165
73 WIM Baymuratova Sevara UZB 2158
74 Navalgund Niranjan IND 2153
75 Kumar Gaurav IND 2150
76 Tiwari Arjun IND 2146
77 Manush Shah IND 2145
78 CM Nikhil Magizhnan IND 2142
79 Surendran N IND 2141
80 Bhambure Shantanu IND 2135
81 Bharambe Bhavik C IND 2123
82 Dahale Atul IND 2122
83 Bartakke Amardeep S. IND 2104
84 WIM Thipsay Bagyashree Sathe IND 2098
85 CM Ng Jen Sheng MAS 2094
86 Badrinath S. IND 2093
87 Raahul V S IND 2089
88 WFM Srija Seshadri IND 2087
89 AGM Vardan Nagpal IND 2079
90 Saurabh Anand IND 2072
91 CM Aditya Mittal IND 2068
92 Dushyant Sharma IND 2066
93 Pruthu Deshpande IND 2063
94 WIM Gokhale Anupama IND 2061
95 WFM Salonika Saina IND 2059
96 WFM Tarini Goyal IND 2059
97 Vantika Agrawal IND 2059
98 Pranav V IND 2040
99 CM Bharath Subramaniyam H IND 2023
100 Kranti Kumar P. IND 2018
101 Audi Ameya IND 2013
102 Soham Datar IND 2005
103 CM Raja Rithvik R IND 1999
104 WFM Patil Mitali Madhukar IND 1996
105 AGM Sa Kannan IND 1983
106 Jayaram R. IND 1982
107 Malla Nooka Raju IND 1980
108 Priyanka K IND 1980
109 Sreeshwan Maralakshikari IND 1968
110 Panesar Vedant IND 1966
111 Nasir Ali Syed IND 1964
112 Balasubramaniam H IND 1963
113 Jishitha D IND 1955
114 Priyanka Nutakki IND 1949
115 Upadhyay R IND 1949
116 Shetye Siddhali IND 1946
117 Tarun V Kanth IND 1943
118 Mehta Naitik R IND 1928
119 WCM Mrudul Dehankar IND 1923
120 Mota Pankit IND 1921
121 WFM Divya Deshmukh IND 1920
122 Dixit Nikhil IND 1919
123 Sanjeet Manohar IND 1914
124 AGM Krishnater Kushager IND 1913
125 WIM February Jesse Nikki RSA 1904
126 CM Karthik Kumar Pradeep IND 1899
127 Nair Sanjeev IND 1899
128 IM Wazeer Ahmad Khan IND 1897
129 Doshi Moksh Amitbhai IND 1897
130 Shah Rishab IND 1888
131 CM Shahil Dey IND 1886
132 WFM Lakshmi C IND 1875
133 AGM Mani Bharathy IND 1875
134 Harshavardhan G B IND 1870
135 Shah Vishwa IND 1867
136 Vigneshwaran S IND 1867
137 Jeet Jain IND 1866
138 Sradhanjali Jena IND 1864
139 Soham Das IND 1858
140 WIM Laubscher Anzel RSA 1857
141 Pankaj Sindhu IND 1848
142 Yash Dhoke IND 1830
143 Potluri Saye Srreezza IND 1825
144 Iasman Inna FRA 1819
145 Toshali V IND 1819
146 Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi IND 1818
147 Sarvesh Kumar A IND 1817
148 Shourya Jain IND 1791
149 Rohith Krishna S IND 1790
150 Dheekshith Kumar R IND 1784
151 CM Mullick Raahil IND 1781
152 CM Dev Shah IND 1778
153 Benjamin Varghees Issac IND 1776
154 Adarsh Tripathi IND 1771
155 Makhija Aashna IND 1771
156 Saksham Rautela IND 1768
157 Eesha Ajay Sarda IND 1765
158 Meenal Gupta IND 1755
159 Amit Soman IND 1754
160 Mahitosh Dey IND 1750
161 Manish Anto Cristiano F IND 1750
162 Polakhare Aryan IND 1749
163 WCM Fisher Michelle M RSA 1711
164 Jayachandra Srinivas Vellanki IND 1699
165 Borate Suraj IND 1689
166 Abhinessh S IND 1679
167 Kulkarni Saurabh P IND 1676
168 Joglekar Abhijit IND 1675
169 Ananya Rishi Gupta IND 1655
170 Krithigga K IND 1652
171 Aryan B Joshi IND 1646
172 Dhannawat Chakshu IND 1626
173 Kadam Nikhil IND 1617
174 Kanishk S K IND 1602
175 CM Prraneeth Vuppala IND 1592
176 Manthan Kashyap Datta IND 1592
177 Jaisingh Anugraha IND 1580
178 Majumder Shrayan IND 1578
179 Ghelani Dhairya IND 1565
180 AIM Devanshi Rathi IND 1527
181 Nerlikar Shailesh IND 1520
182 Savitha Shri B IND 1512
183 Bhat Sanjay IND 1511
184 Rohnit G Amin IND 1510
185 Shintre Neel IND 1510
186 Thomre Abhishek IND 1499
187 Shetty Abhinav Harish IND 1497
188 Devnani Kush IND 1486
189 Amol Sakpal IND 1453
190 Tarunika P IND 1422
191 Soni Deepak R IND 1419
192 Shah Yesha IND 1402
193 Aryaman Bhatia IND 1388
194 Pinto Reagan IND 1384
195 Vincent Alaina IND 1380
196 Gupta Niti IND 1379
197 Aagam Aditya E IND 1360
198 AFM Bhavik Ahuja IND 1344
199 Mahek J Hinhoriya IND 1342
200 Abhinav Dubey IND 1335
201 Bhanushali Dr. Mehul IND 1325
202 AFM Krishna Prabhakar IND 1310
203 Avathanshu Bhat IND 1300
204 Doshi Deep IND 1254
205 Krishnan Ritvik IND 1254
206 Bhushita Ahuja IND 1233
207 Bang Atharva IND 1220
208 Singha Swati IND 1210
209 Stavan Jain IND 1204
210 Naik Uday IND 1160
211 Sadbhav Rautela IND 1100
212 Savarkar Narendra IND 1096
213 Samya Rishi Gupta IND 1025
214 Shah Ahana Anup IND 0

The event is organized by the Club Ajedrez Lorca and will be completed over 9 rounds of Swiss system.

174 players from 22 federations are signed to participate, including 15 Grandmasters and 15 International Masters.

Official website

Participants:

1. GM Granda Zuniga Julio E PER 2646
2. GM Peralta Fernando ARG 2574
3. GM Ibarra Jerez Jose Carlos ESP 2573
4. GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2573
5. GM Grigoryan Karen H. ARM 2571
6. IM Santos Latasa Jaime ESP 2566
7. GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel ESP 2552
8. GM Forcen Esteban Daniel ESP 2541
9. GM Sedlak Nikola SRB 2540
10. GM Popovic Dusan SRB 2532
11. GM Lemos Damian ARG 2516
12. GM Narciso Dublan Marc ESP 2508
13. IM Krysa Leandro ARG 2491
14. IM Aloma Vidal Robert AND 2490
15. FM Santos Ruiz Miguel ESP 2484
16. GM Plaskett H James ENG 2464
17. IM Satyapragyan Swayangsu IND 2462
18. GM Giaccio Alfredo ARG 2452
19. IM Gascon Del Nogal Jose Rafael VEN 2446
20. GM Harutjunyan Gevorg ARM 2437
21. GM Sundararajan Kidambi IND 2420
22. IM Konguvel Ponnuswamy IND 2417
23. IM Espinoza Palomino Willyam PER 2416
24. IM Holm Kristian Stuvik NOR 2412
25. FM Morozov Nichita MDA 2406
26. IM Camarena Gimenez Rufino ESP 2400
27. FM Sousa Andre Ventura POR 2399
28. FM Guerra Rivera Salvador ESP 2393
29. IM Ramiro Ovejero Juan Luis ESP 2386
30. FM Bressac Stephane FRA 2377
31. FM Ladron De Guevara Pinto Paolo ESP 2375
32. FM Villegas Pierre MNC 2374
33. FM Quintin Navarro Alberto ESP 2367
34. Iniyan P IND 2363
35. FM Bjerre Jonas DEN 2361
36. IM Rahal Michael A ESP 2332
37. Harsha Bharathakoti IND 2332
38. Pradeep Kumar R A IND 2330
39. FM Alshameary Puente Ismael ESP 2325
40. Bernabeu Lopez Carlos Javier ESP 2314
41. FM Arias Igual Alejandro ESP 2301
42. FM Martin Duque Jesus ESP 2295
43. FM Sanchez Jerez Emilio Miguel ESP 2295
44. FM Sanchez Gonzalez Sergio ESP 2281
45. FM Napoli Nicolo ITA 2273
46. Merario Alarcon Andres ESP 2258
47. FM Sanchez Botella Luis Javier ESP 2254
48. IM Krishna Teja N IND 2253
49. WIM Pratyusha Bodda IND 2247
50. Serarols Mabras Bernat ESP 2243
51. Fernandez Lledo Javier ESP 2242
52. CM Fernandez De Bobadilla Gabrie ESP 2241
53. Ashwath R. IND 2227
54. WIM Mahalakshmi M IND 2225
55. FM Nieves Cabanes Jose Manuel ESP 2220
56. Sanchez Barbado Carlos ESP 2215
57. Castellanos Gomez Alejandro ESP 2206
58. Gines Esteo Pedro Antonio ESP 2202
59. Perez Garcia Roberto ESP 2198
60. Yohan J. IND 2164
61. Nicolas Zapata Javier ESP 2161
62. Podvin Francois-Xavier FRA 2148
63. Beltra Garcia Ruben ESP 2142
64. WCM Sapale Saloni IND 2141
65. WIM Monnisha G K IND 2140
66. Ramaraju N IND 2124
67. Donado-Mazarron Gomez Miguel ESP 2117
68. Sai Agni Jeevitesh J IND 2115
69. Arroyo Rodriguez Jesus ESP 2113
70. Nyland Thomas NOR 2107
71. Alonso Garcia Aaron ESP 2090
72. Morrell Gord CAN 2089
73. Soto Martin Pablo ESP 2088
74. Mari Copa Adria ESP 2083
75. Mitra Roman C ENG 2083
76. Alvarez Morales Miguel ESP 2081
77. Bjerre Tavs DEN 2080
78. Sama Salinas Hector ESP 2073
79. Garcia Gimenez Santiago ESP 2068
80. Alarcon Olmos Daniel ESP 2067
81. WFM Roque Sola Gisela MEX 2061
82. WFM Hapala Elisabeth AUT 2059
83. Gomez Sanjuan Hector Fernando ESP 2036
84. Callejas Rojas Francisco Migu ESP 2029
85. Motos Abellan Daniel ESP 2024
86. Blesa Fernandez Francisco ESP 2006
87. Jimenez Ramallo Francisco J ESP 2001
88. Rodriguez Izquierdo Luis ESP 1999
89. Diaz Rodriguez Jose Antonio ESP 1993
90. Guerrero Mendez Luis ESP 1993
91. Raghav Srivathsav V IND 1993
92. Porlan Minarro Antonio ESP 1992
93. WFM Cholleti Sahajasri IND 1987
94. Gines Abad Pedro ESP 1978
95. Cubas Cabrera Angel Luis ESP 1976
96. Carbonell Sancho Marc ESP 1972
97. Pein Jonathan ENG 1971
98. Guerra Arrocha Daniel ESP 1959
99. Munoz Garcia Jesus ESP 1942
100. Galiano Martinez Antonio ESP 1933
101. Almeida Sanchez Ciriaco ESP 1922
102. Guerrero Mendez Jesus ESP 1921
103. Mayank Pal IND 1919
104. Divya Lakshmi R IND 1918
105. Manu David Suthandram R IND 1915
106. Torroglosa Minarro Juan Jose ESP 1913
107. Arjona Casado Abel ESP 1912
108. Gauche Eduardo BRA 1910
109. Amoros Moran Jose Joaquin ESP 1884
110. Llamas Guevara Francisco Jose ESP 1883
111. Vanduyfhuys Daria BEL 1866
112. Estefano Rilova Fernando ESP 1861
113. Burgos Olmos Mario ESP 1860
114. Moya Albaladejo Jose Antonio ESP 1854
115. Sama Salinas Alejandro ESP 1850
116. Campos Busquiel Alejandro ESP 1841
117. Palazon Garcia Andres ESP 1840
118. Munoz Galdos Carlos ESP 1828
119. Revaliente Montoya Ciro ESP 1819
120. Soto Martin Miguel ESP 1811
121. Duarte Garcia Pilar ESP 1799
122. Fernandez Calzada Juan A. ESP 1797
123. Prieto Velasco Rafael ESP 1777
124. Suriol Peinado Alberto ESP 1777
125. Romero Garcia Jose Luis ESP 1770
126. Blesa Fernandez Ignacio ESP 1766
127. Sousa Nuno Ventura POR 1744
128. Sanleon Pravisano Nieves ESP 1741
129. CM Low Kevin CAN 1730
130. Sharath E. IND 1705
131. Ferrete Rueda Juan Carlos ESP 1704
132. Martinez Garcia Antonio ESP 1686
133. Caballero Frutos Jose Alfredo ESP 1674
134. Montes Valera Manuel ESP 1674
135. FM Modi Yashil RSA 1670
136. Duller Llopis Jouke ESP 1653
137. Jimenez Fernandez Rebeca ESP 1641
138. AIM Siddhanth Lohia IND 1638
139. Vanduyfhuys Igor BEL 1619
140. Sidali Elias Hulleberg NOR 1615
141. Martinez Carvajal Juan Fco. ESP 1599
142. Moreno Bello Miguel ESP 1588
143. WCM Modi Sonia RSA 1555
144. Low Ethan CAN 1537
145. Durga Nagesh Wr Guttula IND 1525
146. Perez Epinin Gines ESP 1519
147. Mila Hernandez Lorena ESP 1491
148. Alvarez Sanchez Julian ESP 1485
149. Jimenez Zapata Nuria ESP 1484
150. Zambudio Marin Pedro Jose ESP 1478
151. Cortez Yaguana Bryan Marcelo ESP 1466
152. Donado-Mazarron Romero Javier ESP 1437
153. Garijo Perez Hugo ESP 1382
154. Alberola Reig Francisco ESP 1365
155. Guardia Suarez Hector ESP 1361
156. Gough Theo ENG 1331
157. Martinez Ruiz Jose ESP 1320
158. Martinez Molina Julian ESP 1301
159. Noguerol Martinez Ricardo ESP 1226
160. Dev Nehal Shah IND 1203
161. Parra Sanchez Celia ESP 1201
162. Rosero Pilozo Josie Esteban ESP 1184
163. Trujillo Morales Sofia ESP 1120
164. Lopez Soler Jose ESP 1099
165. WCM Suhaani Lohia IND 1098
166. Perez Epinina Olga ESP 1075
167. Pastor Jorda Nerea ESP 1047
168. Garcia Lopez Alejandro Jose ESP 0
169. Greco Joseph ENG 0
170. Martin Alba Fernando ESP 0
171. FM Perez Garcia Alejandro ESP 2412
172. WFM Redondo Benavente Ana ESP 2015
173. Baquedano Coarasa Pablo ESP 1998
174. Fernandez Alvarez Luis ESP 2030

The event has 7 sections: Open, Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500, Under 1300 and Under 1100. All sections have either a 3-day schedule (December 27-29) or 2-day schedule (December 28-29) to participate in.

The tournament format is 6-round Swiss, with time control 40/110, SD/30, d10.

Last year Grandmaster Robert Hess took the trophy.

The event has a $15,000 prize fund unconditionally guaranteed.

Open Section: $1300-700-400-200, clear or tiebreak win $100 bonus, top Under 2300 or unrated $600-300.
Under 2100 Section: $1000-500-300-200.
Under 1900 Section: $1000-500-300-200.
Under 1700 Section: $900-500-300-200.
Under 1500 Section: $800-400-250-150.
Under 1300 Section: $800-400-250-150.
Under 1100 Section: $500-300-200-100, plaques to first 3, top Under 900, Under 700, Under 500, Unrated.
Unrated may not win over $100 in U1100, $200 in U1300, $300 U1500, $400 U1700, or $500 U1900.