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Round 9
The European Team Chess Championship 2015 is over and we have a new champion in both sections: Russia! Many congratulations to what is probably the greatest chess nation of all time on this historical double title! Coincidentally, the last time a country managed to win gold in both sections in the ETCC, was back in 2007 and it was none other than...Russia!
In the open section, Russia concluded their tournament with a last round 2-2 draw against Hungary, which secured the title for the Russians, as they could not be caught by any other team any longer. On board 2, France beat the Netherlands by the narrowest of margins, thanks to a win by Tkachiev over Tiviakov. On board 3, Armenia put an end to Georgia’s excellent run as they beat their neighbours 3-1, with victories by Aronian and Movsesian. That meant that three teams were now in the running for the silver and bronze medals with 13 points: France, Armenia and Hungary. In the end, the tiebreak favoured Armenia and Hungary, as they took second and third place respectively. Many congratulations to Russia, Armenia and Hungary!
In the women’s section, Russia didn’t leave the hint of a chance to their German opponents, as they cruised to a 3-1 victory, with wins by Goryachkina and Bodnaruk. On board 2, 19th seed Austria created the final upset of the tournament as they held top seed Georgia to a 2-2 draw. While Javakishvili opened the score for Georgia, the board 1 and 3 encounters Khotenashvili-Theissl Pokorna and Batsiashvili-Exler ended in draws, but on the bottom board Austria’s Kopinits managed to overcome Arabidze. Ukraine meanwhile dispatched the Netherlands with a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory, with only Anne Haast salvaging a draw for the Dutch team. This meant that in the end Russia took gold with a near-perfect 17 points, followed by Ukraine on 15 and Georgia on 14 points. Many congratulations to Russia, Ukraine and Georgia!
The closing ceremony, which was held at Reykjavik’s magnificent concert hall Harpa, was hailed by many as the best they had ever attended. The prizes were distributed by Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, the President of the City Council, Soley Tomasdottir, and the President of the ECU, Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Tournament Director and President of the Icelandic Chess Federation, Gunnar Bjornsson, thanked all the partners who made this special event possible: the ECU, the Icelandic Government, Reykjavik City and the City Council.
After speeches by the present dignitaries, the individual board prizes were distributed (the details of which you will find under this report). Besides their medals, each winner of an individual prize also received an invitation to next year’s Reykjavik Open. The three medal winners of both sections then received their trophies, before the closing ceremony was concluded with a fantastic musical performance by one of Iceland’s most famous bands- Hjaltalin (whose keyboard player happens to be the son of GM Johann Hjartarson, a member of the Iceland Legends at the ETCC).
To conclude this report, I would like to personally thank everyone who made this extraordinary event possible and I hope that many more great tournaments will be held in Iceland - the land of chess - in the future!
Individual Board prizes
Round 8
With one round to go, both Russian teams are still in the lead, but none of them have won the title with a round to spare, which is good for the tournament’s suspense!
In the open section, Russia was held to another draw, this time by the Armenians. Nepomniachtchi opened the score for the Russians by beating Movsesian, but Sargissian levelled the match by overcoming Grischuk. On board 2, Georgia (who started this tournament as the 17th seed!) scored another big upset as they drew against 4th seed France. Here it was Levan Pantsulaia (who so far is the top performer of the tournament, with a rating performance of 2868) who opened the score for Georgia by beating Edouard, but Bacrot levelled the score against Gagunshavili in one of the longest games of the day. On board 3, Hungary created what is probably the surprise of the day, as they shocked defending champions Azerbaijan with a resounding 3.5-0.5 victory! Leko drew Mamedyarov on the top board, but Rapport, Almasi and Berkes all won for Hungary. This means that before the 9th and final round, Russia is still in the sole lead with 14 points, but Hungary is following them on 12 points and these two teams will be facing each other tomorrow. Five teams have 11 points and they will all be fighting for the medals: France, Armenia, Netherlands, Germany and Georgia. Netherlands will play France on board 2, while Georgia take on Armenia and Germany face Azerbaijan.
In the women’s section, Russia scored yet another 2.5-1.5 victory, this time against Poland. While Gunina lost to Szczepkowska-Horowska on board 3, both Kosteniuk and Goryachkina won for Russia. On board 2, Georgia also won by the smallest of margins against Hungary. Here it was Georgia’s top two players, Dzagnidze and Khotenashvili, who decided the match in their favour. On board 3, Ukraine stunned France with an incredible 4-0 victory! So with one round to go, the Russian ladies are still in the lead with 15 points, 2 points ahead of both Georgia and Ukraine. Germany have 11 points and they will challenge Russia on the top board tomorrow, while Georgia face Austria and Netherlands take on Ukraine.
The last round starts at 11am local time, so 4 hours earlier than usual. Make sure you don’t miss the final action, where all the medal places will be decided!
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Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 7
The main news of today’s 7th round is that in both sections the Russian teams not only managed to maintain their lead, they even further increased the gap to their closest pursuers!
In the open section, Russia managed to beat France by the narrowest of margins after a nice victory by Grischuk against Fressinet. Bacrot was pushing against Tomashevsky and Jakovenko against Tkachiev, but both games eventually ended in draws, as did Vachier Lagrave-Svidler on the top board. In today’s boards 2 and 3 matches we were treated to huge upsets, as Latvia held Azerbaijan to a draw and Georgia even beat Ukraine! In the 2-2 draw between Latvia and Azerbaijan, Kovalenko was the hero for the underdogs Latvia, as he defeated Radjabov with the black pieces. When boards 3 and 4 were drawn, it was all down to Mamedyarov to beat Shirov to equalise the match, and he managed to do so after 5 and half hours of play (in the second last game of the day to finish). Georgia’s defeat of Ukraine was even more shocking, as with a score of 1.5-1.5 and only one game still in progress, Ukraine’s Areshchenko actually lost on time against Gagunashvili, after having missed a few winning chances earlier in the game. This means that Russia now leads the field with a full 3-point(!) lead over five other teams: Azerbaijan, France, Armenia, Hungary and Georgia, the big surprise of the tournament. Tomorrow Russia faces Armenia and in case of a victory, they will be crowned with one round to go! On board 2, France will play Georgia, while on board 3 Hungary will take on Azerbaijan.
In the women’s section, Russia also managed to increase their lead, as they won yet another match (this time against Hungary) while their closest pursuers, Georgia, were held to a draw by Serbia. Russia convincingly beat Hungary 3-1, with Gunina and Goryachkina scoring wins on the two bottom boards. On board 2, Serbia surprisingly held Georgia to a 2-2 draw, with Vojinovic making this upset possible by beating Dzagnidze on the top board. While Batsiashvili won for Georgia, both the encounters Chelushkina-Khotenashvili and Zarkovic-Arabidze ended in draws. On board 3, title defenders Ukraine continued their comeback with a perfect 4-0 victory against Austria. So the Russian ladies also lead with 13 points, but their closest pursuers, Ukraine and Georgia, trail them by ‘only’ two points. Poland meanwhile are in sole 4th place with 10 points. Tomorrow Russia will have another testing match as they face 4th seed Poland, while Hungary takes on Georgia and France plays against Ukraine.
Official website
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Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 6
We witnessed yet another day of high-quality, exciting chess at the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavik today and both Russian teams were able to maintain their lead.
In the open section, all the top boards were very close affairs, as can be told by the fact that the 6(!) first matches all ended in a 2.5-1.5 score. In the top clash of the day, Russia edged out Georgia, as Nepomniachtchi’s first loss (against Pantsulaia) was compensated by victories from Tomashevsky and Jakovenko. On board 2, France created the upset of the day as they overcame second seed Ukraine, with Fressinet deciding the match in their favour by beating Eljanov. On board 3, title defenders Azerbaijan beat the Netherlands, thanks to a victory by Naiditsch against Ivan Sokolov. While on board 4 Armenia overcame Germany, board 5 saw a victory by Hungary against Norway, but World Champion Magnus Carlsen won his first game of the tournament against Peter Leko. So after 6 rounds, Russia is still in the sole lead with 11 points, but they are closely followed by France on 10 points and by Azerbaijan on 10 points. Tomorrow France will challenge Russia on the top board, while Latvia takes on Azerbaijan.
In the women’s section, the top board clash between leaders Russia and title defenders Ukraine kept all its promises, as despite ending in a 2-2 draw, the match featured four decisive results! Indeed, all players with the white pieces managed to win their games: Mariya Muzychuk and Zhukova for Ukraine and Lagno and Goryachkina for Russia. On board 2, Georgia overcame France by the smallest of margins, while the board 3 match between Romania and Serbia was another 2-2 draw with only decisive games. This means the standing is now very similar to the open section, as the Russian ladies lead with 11 points, and are followed by Georgia on 10 points and Ukraine as well as Hungary on 9 points. In the 7th round, Hungary will take on Russia, while Serbia faces Georgia and Ukraine plays Austria.
Official website
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Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 5
As the tournament crosses the halfway mark here in Reykjavik, the Russian men maintain their lead, while the ladies even further increase theirs!
While the top board clash between Russia and Azerbaijan in the open section ended 2-2 (with all four boards being drawn), the board 2 to 5 matches all ended in decisive results. On board 2, Ukraine beat Hungary 2.5-1.5 and it was once again Pavel Eljanov who decided the match, as he overcame Richard Rapport. The next two matches both ended 3-1, in favour of France against Spain and in favour of Georgia (who are having a great tournament so far!) against Serbia. On board 5, Germany created the upset of the day by overcoming England, with Fridman beating an off-form McShane. So Russia is still in the sole lead with 9 points, but France, Ukraine and Georgia are now just 1 point behind them. In the 6th round, Georgia will challenge Russia on the top board while Ukraine and France face off on board 2.
As mentioned above, the Russian ladies further increased their lead as they beat France 3-1, while their pursuers Romania lost to Ukraine with the same score. Interestingly, in both matches the Russian and Ukrainian players with the black pieces drew their games, while those with the white pieces won theirs: Kosteniuk and Gunina for Russia, Anna Muzychuk and Ushenina for Ukraine. Georgia decided the big board 3 encounter against Poland in their favour, by the narrowest of margins. While Dzagnidze and Javaishvili won for Georgia on the first two boards, Rajilich won for Poland and the last board game between Majdan-Gajewska and Arabidze was a draw. So Russia now leads with a perfect 10 points, while their closest rivals are already 2 points behind. Ukraine and Georgia both have 8 points, while five teams follow on 7 points: France, Germany, Romania, Hungary and Serbia. In round 6, Russia will face title defenders Ukraine in a big top board clash, while France takes on Georgia, Serbia plays against Romania and Hungary against Germany.
Tomorrow is a rest day here in Iceland and the organisers have put together a great selection of activities for the participants. The players should then be back on the board fully rested on Thursday and the last 4 rounds of the tournament promise to be extremely exciting!
Official website
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Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 4
What a day for the Russian teams in Reykjavik! In both sections we had the clash between the top two seeds in the tournament today and the matches didn’t disappoint. In the open section the Russians cruised to a 3-1 victory against Ukraine, while in the women’s section they beat Georgia with a merciless 3.5-0.5 score.
In the Ukraine-Russia encounter, it was Peter Svidler who drew first blood as he punished a dubious move choice by Vassily Ivanchuk. He was soon followed by Nepomniachtchi, who after being the match winner yesterday continues his good run here in Reykjavik. Grischuk finally made his debut and drew his game against Eljanov, as did Tomashevsky against Kryvoruchko. Seeing as the board 2 match between France and Serbia ended in a 2-2 draw, Russia already has a 2-point lead after 4 rounds. Elsewhere in the tournament Azerbaijan convincingly beat Turkey 3.5-0.5 (Naiditsch’s victory is well-worth replaying!), Spain overcame Switzerland with a 3-1 score and England drew Armenia 2-2, with all four boards ending in decisive results. So after 4 rounds, Russia is the sole leader on 8 points, and they are followed by as many as 7 teams on 6 points. Tomorrow we can look forward to another big clash as the Russians face title defenders Azerbaijan!
As already mentioned, the Russian ladies created the surprise of the day, as they scored a fantastic 3.5-0.5 victory against top seed Georgia! Only Nana Dzagnizdze could draw her game against Alexandra Kosteniuk on the first board, while Lagno, Gunina and Goryachkina all cruised to victory. On board 2, France scored an important 3-1 victory against Romania, while on board 3 Romania beat Germany with the narrowest margin. So just like their male colleagues, the Russian ladies are the sole leaders with 8 points, but France and Romania are hot on their heels with 7 points. And three of the strongest teams of this competition follow them on 6 points: Georgia, Ukraine and Poland. Tomorrow Russia will face France on the top board, while Romania takes on Ukraine and Poland is paired against Ukraine.
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Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 3
The main news of the day was of course the clash between the two highest rated players of the tournament, World Champion Magnus Carlsen (who made his tournament debut after resting during the first two rounds) and Levon Aronian. Linares 2009 was the last time Aronian beat Carlsen in a classical game, but Levon chose his moment perfectly, as today’s victory helped his team Armenia to a narrow 2.5-1.5 victory over Norway. The top two encounters ended with the same score, with Ukraine beating Azerbaijan (thanks to a win by Eljanov against Mamedyarov) and Russia beating Spain (with Nepomniachtchi overcoming Salgado Lopez). The board 3 match between France and Hungary was a 2-2 draw. Rapport opened the Hungarian team’s account with a beautiful win against Fressinet, but Bacrot levelled the score as he outplayed Almasi in a Berlin endgame. So after 3 rounds, the only two teams left with a perfect score are Russia and Ukraine and they will face each other on the top board tomorrow. There are also only two teams on 5 points, France and Serbia, and they will also meet in the 4th round. These four countries are followed by a big pack of 10 teams on 4 points.
In the women’s section we had our first big clash today, as defending champions Ukraine faced the top seed Georgia. While World Champion Mariya Muzychuk defeated Nana Dzagnidze, the highest rated player of the tournament, Javakishvili and Batsiashvili won on the two bottom boards for Georgia and thus secured a 2.5-1.5 victory for their team. In the top board encounter between Russia and Italy, the only surprise was Marina Brunello beating Valentina Gunina, but the Russian ladies still proceeded to a 3-1 victory. While Hungary overcame Serbia 2.5-1.5 and Germany beat Spain 3-1, France shocked the Netherlands with a perfect 4-0 victory. Just like in the open section, there only two teams left with a perfect score, and those are the top two seeds, Georgia and Russia, who will face off on the top board tomorrow. Behind them are four teams on 5 points: France, Germany, Romania and Hungary. France is paired against Hungary, while Germany will take on Romania.
Tomorrow is only round 4, but already we can look forward to what might very well be some decisive clashes! As usual, the games will start at 15:00 local time.
Official website
Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 2
The two top pairings of the open section today kept all their promises. The encounter between France and Armenia was particularly exciting and only concluded at 8.30 in the evening, with the first board clash between Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave being the last to finish and deciding the outcome. After the match had first looked promising for the Armenian team, it was finally France who came out on top after a last-minute blunder by Aronian. This must have somewhat lifted the spirits of the French team after the terrible events in Paris last night. The board 2 and 3 matches between England in Georgia as well as between Netherlands and Croatia both ended in hard-fought 2-2 draws. The top 3 seed of the tournament, Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, all won today. Spain scored a small upset as they overcame Germany 2.5-1.5. This means that after 2 rounds, there are only 5 teams left on 2/2: Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France and Spain. Tomorrow the 2nd and 3rd seeds face off on the top board, as defending champions Azerbaijan take on Ukraine. On board 2 Russia play against Spain, while France are paired against Hungary.
In the women’s section we had two draws amongst the early leaders, on top board between Spain and Serbia and on board 6 between France and Romania. On board 2, Italy somewhat surprisingly beat Azerbaijan, while on board 3 Turkey put up stiff resistance against top seed Georgia, but eventually lost 1.5-2.5. Ukraine however didn’t give any chances to their Polish opponents as they cruised to a 3.5-0.5 victory. Russia scored a similarly high victory as they beat Armenia 3-1. So after 2 rounds, the four leaders are the top 3 seed Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, as well as Italy. Tomorrow Russia face Italy and Ukraine takes on Georgia.
Official website
Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
Round 1
The European Team Chess Championship kicked off in Reykjavik today. Playing venue for this extraordinary event - which is being held in Iceland for the first time - is Laugardalshöll, where in 1972 the Match of the Century took place between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.
There are a total of 36 teams in the open section and 30 in the women’s section. In the open section, out of 178 players, 176 are titled and 133 grandmasters! The top 3 seed in the open section are Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, while in the women section Georgia are top seed, followed by Russia and Ukraine. The defending champions are Azerbaijan in the open section and Ukraine in the women section.
Today’s first round proved what a tough competition the ETCC is, as we witnessed the first upsets already. In the open section, the 7th seed Hungary (who are captained by a certain Judit Polgar) were held to a draw by Moldova and 8th seed Poland were held to a draw by Austria. On boards 11-13, we had three even bigger surprises, as Montenegro beat Norway, Denmark beat the Czech Republic and Finland beat Latvia. On board 15, Lithuania held Serbia to a draw, while it is also worth noting that the lowest seeded team, Kosovo (who only recently became a member of the ECU), only lost to Greece by the smallest margin.
In the women’s section, the biggest shock was Anna Muzychuk defaulting her game against Jovanka Houska, as she missed her connecting flight in Frankfurt. Her team Ukraine still managed to overcome their opponents, as did most of the favourites. There were only three small upsets in the women’s section: Montenegro held 7th seed Germany to a draw, as did Switzerland against 9th seed Hungary and Lithuania against 10th seed Netherlands.
Tomorrow’s 2nd round already sees the first big clashes, as in the open section Armenia face France on the top board, while on board 2 England are paired against Georgia and on board 3 Netherlands play against Croatia. In the women’s section the top 3 pairings are Spain-Serbia, Italy-Azerbaijan and Georgia-Turkey.
Official website
Report by Fiona Steil-Antoni
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