|
French Women's Rapid Chess Championship |
 |
|
Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:02 |
The French Women's Rapid Chess Championship took place on 21-22nd May in Châlons en Champagne. The city is the capital of the Marne department in north-eastern France. The Champagne vineyards producing the world-famous sparkling wine are located within Marne. The tournament was a 9 rounds swiss-system and the time control was 15 min KO, with a 5 seconds increment.
544 players played the regional tournaments, and 50 qualified for the final. Benoist Apparu, housing Secretary of State played the 1st move on the first board to start the tournament.
Anda Safranska (2 times champion), Mathilde Congiu, Pauline Guichard and Maria Leconte were amongst the favorites. After four rounds, Silvia Collas and Pauline Guichard led the tournament with 4 points. In the fifth round, the game between them ended with a quick draw. At the end of the first day, they were both leading the tournament, ahead of six players.
Sunday, the 6th round started early, and Pauline Guichard blundered in her game against Maria Leconte, the latter sharing the 1st place with Silvia Collas who drew against Nino Maisuradze. In the penultimate round, Maria Leconte lost to Nino Maisuradze.
In the last round, Silvia Collas won her game, which earned her the title, as Nino Maisuradze lost on time to Pauline Guichard, who took the 2nd place just ahead of Maria Leconte.
More information on the official website
|
