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Zdenko Kozul Wins Mediterranean 2017 Open |
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 18:38 |
 The 3rd "Mediterranean 2017" open chess tournament was held from 28th November to 5th December 2009 in Rijeka, Croatia, under management by the local Chess Club "Rijeka". The president of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesić, was the patron of this chess manifestation, while the City of Rijeka, Primorsko-goranska county and Tourist association of the City of Rijeka as co-sponsors have provided 16.000 EUR in prizes.
Rijeka is located on the North-west of the Croatian coast of the Adriatic sea. The manifestation is organised for the occasion of candidacy of the city of Rijeka for organisation of the Mediterranean games in 2017, under the motto "Chess with the scent of the sea". The main goal was to promote companionship and cooperation of chess players and chess federations of the Mediterranean countries. The tournament venue was the space of Chess club "Rijeka", Blaža Polića 2/2, which surface of 650 sqm serves exclusively for chess playing.
The chess organizers from Rijeka are very active, having already hosted the Mediterranean Flowers women tournament and the 7th Mediterranean Men and Women Chess Championships in 2009, and preparing one of the ECU main events, the 11th European Individual Men and Women's Chess Championship, for March 2010.
The tournament gathered 136 participants from many countries. A group of 11 Norwegian juniors, led by their coach GM Simen Agdestein, also played in Rijeka. GM Zdenko Kozul took an early lead and finished the race with 7 points from 9 rounds, same as GM Grzegorz Gajewski from Poland. Kozul had a better tiebreak score and was declared the winner. More information on the official website.
 GM Zdenko Kozul and tournament director Srdjan Zelenika
 Grzegorz Gajewski
 The Norwegian team
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