Yuliya Shvayger and Alon Greenfeld - Israeli champions Print
Tuesday, 25 December 2018 09:21

Yuliya Shvayger and Alon Greenfeld - Israeli champions!

The 32nd edition of the biennial Israel championship for men and women was held on 12-20 December in hotel Hacienda Forest View in Maalot Tarshiha, a Jewish-Arab city in the upper Galilee, close to the Lebanese border.

Maalot - Yuliya Shvaiger 1st title
Yuliya Shvayger (photo credit Dr. Mark Livshitz)

10 grandmasters and 5 International masters were among the 30 players in the open section including five former champions: GMs Yehuda Gruenfeld (1982, 1990); Alon Greenfeld (1984); Gad Rechlis (1988); Ilia Smirin (1992, 2002) and Victor Mikhalevsky (2014). The final standings saw a tie between GMs Alon Greenfeld and Evgeny Postny, both members of the top Beer Sheba club on 6.5 points each with the title awarded to Greenfeld on tie break. Third was GM Ilia Smirin on 6. Six players shared the fourth place: GMs V. Mikhalevsky, S. Dvoirys, G. Rechlis & Y.Gruenfeld and IMs E. Zanan & J. Bakalchuk 5.5 each etc. Tournament arbiter was FA Yaron Linik.

Maalot- A. Greenfeld  chairman Moshe Slav Livshitz
Alon Greenfeld & chairman Moshe Slav (photo credit Dr. Mark Livshitz)

For Alon Greenfeld (54) it was his second national title 34 years after winning it for the first time.

Maalot - The podium medals men women
Podium medalists
(photo credit Dr. Mark Livshitz)

15 participants took part in the women championship including past champions Shlomit Vardi (1986) and Michal Lahav (2016). Here too there was a tie at the top. The tournament victory was shared by top seeded IMs Yuliya Shvayger and WGM Marsel Efroimski on 7 points with Yuliya (24) undefeated winning her first national title on tiebreak. The bronze medal went to IM Masha Klinova 6.5 ahead of the outgoing champion WFM Michal Lahav 6. The youngest participant ever Noga Orian (11) scored 4 points. Tournament arbiter was WIM (and IA) Ilana David Glaz, herself Israel’s former ladies champion (in 1980).

Championships director was IA Alon Cohen.

The full results and standings may be seen here.


By Yochanan Afek

 
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