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On October 28th in Moscow the awarding ceremony for the finalists of the Russian Superfinals was held in the Botvinnik Central house together with the opening of the exhibition devoted to the 10th anniversary of Renault in Russia. Both champions Alexander Riazantsev and Alexandra Kosteniuk received the keys from Renault Kaptur cars, offered by the strategic partner of RCF, Renault Russia company. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Arkady Dvorkovich, President of Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, FIDE President, and Jean-Maurice Ripert, Ambassador of France to Russia.
The closing ceremony of the Russian championship Superfinals.
The closing ceremony featured speeches from RCF Deputy Executive Director Alexander Tkachiev, Novosibisk Mayor Anatoly Lokot, Chief of Physical Culture and Sports Department of Novosibirsk Region Sergey Akhapov, member of RCF Board of Trustees, President of RATM Holding Eduard Taran, and Deputy General Director of Timchenko Foundation Igor Bardachev.
Maxim Ivakhin, Chief Arbiter of the tournament, announced the results of the competition. Igor Bardachev, Alexander Tkachiev, and Eduard Taran handled the award ceremony.
Alexander Riazantsev thanked his family and friends for their support, thanked the organizers and partners for excellently organized tournament, and wished Novosibirsk and the region to organize more major competitions.
Dmitry Novikov, head of BestBrilliants company, presented the champions golden chess pieces with diamonds. The PWC company assigned the best game prizes to Alexander Riazantsev and Daria Charochkina. Grandmaster Anatoly Vaisser awarded Grigoriy Oparin with the special prize for the best game in Mikhail Mukhin's style, provided by relatives of the international master.
On October 28, both champions will receive the keys from Renault Kaptur cars, offered by the strategic partner of RCF, Renault Russia company. The ceremony will take place in Moscow on Gogolevsky blvd, 14.
RCF President congratulated the winners of the Russian Superfinal, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Alexander Riazantsev.
Dear Alexandra!
My congratulations on your another brilliant sporting achievement. During the tournament distance you never gave a handle to doubt your success, and won the gold medal with a game to spare. I am happy that the Russian women's team has such a great leader!
The coaches of our team, Sergey Rublevsky, Evgeny Najer, and Alexander Riazantsev, are justifiably proud of this success as well, as they selflessly help our women during important events. In Novosibirsk, Alexander Riazantsev proved that he is not only a wonderful trainer, but also an very strong player. He surpassed the cream of Russian chess and took clear first place.
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Dear Alexander!
I congratulate you on this excellent victory! I wish the 2016 Russian Champions good health, well-being, and new sporting and creative achievements!
I would also like to express my gratitude to all organizers of the Superfinal for excellent organization of the main tournament of Russian chess calendar. The event in Novosibirsk completely matched the highest standards of Chess in Museums program, carried out by Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko since 2012. We are grateful to RATM Holding, Renault Russia, and our other partners for sponsoring the event. Special thanks to the leadership of Novosibirsk Region and personally to Governor Vladimir Gorodetsky and Mayor of Novosibirsk Anatoly Lokot.
Andrey Filatov
RCF President
Alexander Riazantsev Becomes Russian Champion. Alexandra Kosteniuk won the women's championship.
The concluding round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 27 in Novosibirsk. No tie-breaks were required to determine champions in both men's and women's championships.
 Alexander Riazantsev played Black against Dmitry Jakovenko and scored a spectacular victory to become a champion of Russia for the first time in his career. The game started with a slow variation of the Caro-Kann Defense, but the kings castled on opposite wings suggested fireworks in the future. Riazantsev neutralized the opponent's queenside initiative first, and as the time control approached, started his own offensive on the kingside. All Black's pieces aimed at the white king, creating dangerous threats. Jakovenko miplayed one move before the time control, and his position immediately became hopeless. He resigned on the move 41.
The new champion went undefeated with three wins, collecting 7 points out of 11.
 Alexander Grischuk defeated Dmitry Kokarev, who went for the Najdorf Variation, which after a while started to resemble the Dragon Sicilian. White castled queenside and started a standard kingside attack. Black developed his play on the queenside. Kokarev carried out a canonical exchange sacrifice on c3, however, his next move was a grave error, and soon Black resigned due to inevitable heavy material losses.
Evgeny Tomashevsky defeated Dmitry Bocharov, who made several time pressure mistakes in a complicated and unbalanced position, in which he had a queen against two rooks. In the end Black managed to create lethal threats to the enemy king.
Grischuk and Tomashevsky both scored 6.5 points. Grischuk's tie-break score was higher, so he was awarded second place. Tomashevsky took the bronze.
Grigoriy Oparin defeated Vladimir Fedoseev: White carried out a mass attack on the black king and won confidently, delivering a number of spectacular blows during the concluding stage.
Vitiugov-Svidler and Goganov-Inarkiev were drawn.
Final standings:
Riazantsev – 7
Grischuk – 6.5
Tomashevsky – 6.5
Svidler, Fedoseev – 6
Oparin, Vitiugov, Jakovenko, Goganov – 5.5
Inarkiev – 5
Kokarev – 4.5
Bocharov – 2.5
In the women's tournament Alexandra Kosteniuk ended the tournament she had already won with a hard-fought draw against Daria Charochkina and finished with 8.5 out of 11 – a point and a half ahead of the runner-up.
Natalia Pogonina defended a difficult position against Olga Girya and finished on second place with 7 points.
Evgenija Ovod outplayed Anastasia Bodnaruk. Ovod played the Trompovsky as White and quickly created a sharp and unbalanced position. On the move 13 Black opened up the center, but this decision proved unsuccessful, as it allowed White to develop a strong attack. With several precise moves Ovod won two pawns and got an overwhelming position. Black was unable to survive. Despite this loss, Bodnaruk finished third with 6.5 points.
Valentina Gunina completed her anti-draw task by beating Ekaterina Ubiennykh in the final round. Alina Kashlinskaya scored her first victory in Novosibirsk, winning against Alisa Galliamova.
Alexandra Goryachkina and Daria Pustovoitova made a draw, having played almost to bare kings.
Final standings:
Kosteniuk – 8.5
Pogonina – 7
Bodnaruk – 6.5
Girya, Gunina, Charochkina, Pustovoitova – 6
Ovod – 5.5
Galliamova – 4
Kashlinskaya – 3.5
Ubiennykh – 2
Alexandra Kosteniuk Wins Russian Women's Championship.
Vladimir Fedoseev caught up with Alexander Riazantsev in the men's event.
The 10th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 26 in Novosibirsk.
The key game of the men's round, Riazantsev-Grischuk, ended in a draw by move repetition in an equal rook and opposite-colored bishops ending.
Vladimir Fedoseev scored a spectacular win over Dmitry Bocharov. The grandmaster from St. Petersburg outplayed the opponent in the Caro-Kann Defense, won a pawn and created the passed a-pawn. Bocharov, being in serious time trouble, created a counterplay on the kingside and sacrificed an exchange, but Fedoseev calmly parried all direct threats and prevailed. This victory allowed Fedoseev to catch up with Riazantsev on first place.
Fedoseev: “Somehow I only win against the Caro-Kann at this tournament, so I was quite happy to see 1...с6. I spent almost all the rest day studying this opening, and I also had a dream that if somebody else plays this opening against me, I will win the game.”
Peter Svidler, playing White against Grigoriy Oparin, opted for a risky pawn sacrifice, obtaining some queenside pressure in return. Black rushed to trade his passive knight, which got stuck on b8, and missed a nice tactical blow, which ruined his pawn structure in the center. This gave White sufficient play to maintain equality. In the end the 7-time Russian champion gave up a queen for a rook, and forced a draw by perpetual.
Tomashevsky-Jakovenko, Inarkiev-Vitiugov, and Kokarev-Goganov were also drawn.
In the women's championship, Alexandra Kosteniuk earned a victory in a very hard-fought game against Evgenija Ovod. In a slow position with kings located on opposite wings, which arose from the Winawer French, Ovod, playing Black, managed to develop a dangerous initiative on the queenside that resulted in her winning a pawn. White had to defend with the only moves just to stay in the game. However, being under heavy time pressure, Ovod made several mistakes, allowing her opponent first to regain material, and then to win a piece.
By winning today, Alexandra Kosteniuk secured the championship with a round to go. Our congratulations!
Kosteniuk: “Previously I only won one Russian championship, in 2005. For some reason I was strongly motivated by the special prize, the Renault car, while the same could not be said about the money. When I found out that the champions will receive this car, I recalled that I don't have the Russian driver's license. Hopefully after this tournament I will fix the formalities, otherwise my husband will have to drive me around.”
Natalija Pogonina defeated Alina Kashlinskaya, who got carried away by the kingside attack, and gave up the open b-file to White. Kashlinskaya made a risky piece sacrifice, but was unable to get to the enemy king. Pogonina defended calmly and utilized her material advantage.
Aleksandra Goryachkina went for the Alekhine's Defense against Anastasia Bodnaruk. White did not get any opening advantage, and the players began to repeat moves. The position repeated three times, but neither side called for a draw. Goryachkina decided to continue the struggle, deviating first, and a sharp middlegame arose. White's kingside attack developed faster, and soon Bodnaruk forced trading the queens and won a pawn. Goryachkina defended tenaciously, but the effort was in vain.
Alisa Galliamova, playing the uncompromising Valentina Gunina, got a promising position in the Petrosian Queen's Indian, but fell for a wrong middlegame plan, weakening her king along the way. Gunina sacrificed a pawn, and when the white king lost its best defender, the light-squared bishops, rearranged her forces to create a winning attack. Galliamova was unable to parry the threats and resigned on the 34th move.
Ekaterina Ubiennykh, playing White against Daria Charochkina, sacrificed an exchange for the attack, but the opponent defended. On the 39th move Black made a mistake, allowing a draw by perpetual, but the lengthy tournament surely took its toll, as Ubiennykh did not find the escape route. In the subsequent game Charochkina confidently proved rook's superiority over a knight.
Pustovoitova-Girya ended in a draw.
Men's championship, standings after 10 rounds:
Fedoseev, Riazantsev – 6
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Tomashevsky – 5.5
Goganov, Vitiugov – 5
Oparin, Kokarev, Inarkiev – 4.5
Bocharov – 2.5
Round 11 pairings:
Goganov-Inarkiev, Grischuk-Kokarev, Jakovenko-Riazantsev, Bocharov-Tomashevsky, Oparin-Fedoseev, Vitiugov-Svidler
Women's championship, standings after 10 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 8
Pogonina, Bodnaruk – 6.5
Girya, Charochkina, Pustovoitova – 5.5
Gunina – 5
Goryachkina, Ovod – 4.5
Galliamova – 4
Kashlinskaya – 2.5
Ubiennykh – 2
Round 11 pairings:
Charochkina-Kosteniuk, Gunina-Ubiennykh, Kashlinskaya-Galliamova, Girya-Pogonina, Goryachkina-Pustovoitova, Ovod-Bodnaruk
The last round starts at 13:00 local time. In case of a tie for the championship, a rapid tie-break is arranged.
Riazantsev And Kosteniuk Are Sole Leaders of Superfinal. Two rounds are left to play in Novosibirsk.
The 9th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 25 in Novosibirsk.
Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister of Russian Federation, and Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Chairman of Russian State Duma, visited the 9th round of the Russian Superfinal. They came to Novosibirsk to participate in a meeting on economics of the region. Sergey Menyailo, Representative of Russian President in Northern Federal District, and Vladimir Gorodetsky, Governor of Novosibirsk Region, also visited the tournament.
The VIP guests followed games of the round for a while and discussed them with grandmaster Pavel Maletin, President of Novosibirsk Region's chess federation, and Alexander Tkachiev, Deputy Executive Director of RCF.
All games of the men's championship ended in draws, despite dramatic events in some of them.
Aleksey Goganov, playing White against Alexander Riazantsev, got a worse game in the opening, but defended an inferior position successfully.
Alexander Grischuk outplayed Evgeny Tomashevsky in the middlegame and had good winning chances in a complicated ending. Prior to the control the defendind champion sacrificed two pawns in order to connect his rooks on the 2nd rank. Grischuk was under the time pressure and did not find the strongest reply. The game ended in a draw by repetition.
The encounter between Dmitry Bocharov and Peter Svidler was the most dramatic of the day. After a complicated middlegame, an ending with an extra pawn to White arose. The position looked totally winning for the player from Novosibirsk, until he blundered in the time trouble, allowing Black to escape. However, Svidler also missed the best reply, and White returned to the winning course... only to commit another blunder in a few moves, which allowed Svidler to escape. The game ended in a draw on the move 75.
Kokarev-Inarkiev, Jakovenko-Fedoseev, and Oparin-Vitiugov were less dramatic and all ended peacefully.
In the wildest game of the round in the women's Superfinal, Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Ekaterina Ubiennykh. In the middlegame White missed a tactical idea of the opponent and had to give up some material – a queen and pawn for a rook and minor piece. However, Kosteniuk's further play was sub-optimal, and Ubiennykh gradually created dangerous threats. Prior to the control she even had a very beautiful win, but missed the key move, gave up an exchange and suffered another defeat.
Alisa Galliamova, playing Black, defeated Daria Charochkina. In a complicated position, Charochkina, being under serious time pressure, blundered badly and resigned on the 39th move.
Daria Pustovoitova opted for the Nimzo-Indian Defense against Alina Kashlinskaya. In the 4.Qc2 variation Black started to advance her kingside pawns early, and got a good game. Kashlinskaya ended up in a difficult position and sacrificed a pawn in the middlegame, but got nothing in return. Shortly before the time control, Pustovoitova sacrificed an exchange. In the resulting complicated endgame her pieces were coordinated splendidly. Already being in a very tough situation, White abandoned her king, and Black delivered a mating attack.
Natalija Pogonina played Black against Valentina Gunina. Black's queenside initiative proved more important than White's kingside play. Pogonina opened the a-file, traded the queens, and won the a2-pawn. In a rook and bishop ending Black converted her advantage. Gunina is yet to make a draw in Novosibirsk.
Goryachkina-Ovod and Girya-Bodnaruk ended in draws.
Men's championship, standings after 9 rounds:
Riazantsev – 5.5
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Fedoseev, Tomashevsky – 5
Goganov, Vitiugov – 4.5
Oparin, Kokarev, Inarkiev – 4
Bocharov – 2.5
Round 10 pairings:
Inarkiev-Vitiugov, Svidler-Oparin, Fedoseev-Bocharov, Tomashevsky-Jakovenko, Riazantsev-Grischuk, Kokarev-Goganov
Women's championship, standings after 9 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 7
Pogonina, Bodnaruk – 5.5
Girya, Pustovoitova – 5
Ovod, Goryachkina, Charochkina – 4.5
Gunina, Galliamova – 4
Kashlinskaya – 2.5
Ubiennykh – 2
Round 10 pairings:
Kostesniuk-Ovod, Bodnaruk-Goryachkina, Pustovoitova-Girya, Pogonina-Kashlinskaya, Galliamova-Gunina, Ubiennykh-Charochkina
Riazantsev Leads the Field in Novosibirsk. Alexandra Kosteniuk increases her gap in the women's event.
The 8th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 24, and a sole leader has finally emerged in the men's tournament as well.
Alexander Riazantsev played White against Dmitry Kokarev. Black was defending a relatively rare branch of the Gruenfeld. Both players followed their preparation for a long time. Despite trading the queens, the resulting position remained very sharp. White had a strong initiative for the sacrificed pawn. Objectively Black could have defended, but he needed to find several only moves. After Kokarev's fatal mistake on the 27th move White created decisive mating threats to the enemy king, which resulted in winning a piece and a game. Thanks to this victory, Riazantsev moved to undisputed first place.
Nikita Vitiugov and Dmitry Bocharov discussed the Nimzo-Indian with 4.Nf3. Soon White obtained the bishop pair. Black opened the center, but it only played into White's hands: his bishops started to work full strength, while Black's pawns in the center became vulnerable. In the subsequent complicated game White won a knight thanks to various pins and tactical ideas, and Bocharov had to acknowledge defeat.
Ernesto Inarkiev outplayed Girgoriy Oparin in the double-edged Najdorf Sicilian, with both players castling to opposite flanks. Inarkiev demonstrated a new and very interesting idea – his pawn advanced to c6, and his knight established in the heart of Black's camp on b7. Using these group as a cover, White grabbed two black pawns on the queenside, neutralized Black's counterplay and converted into a nice victory.
Inarkiev: “I would like to note that this was my third game with Grigoriy, and all three times we played the Najdorf; this is a matter of principle. We played the first 15 moves very quickly, which suggests that we both had prepared it at home.”
Svidler-Jakovenko, Fedoseev-Grischuk, and Tomashevsky-Goganov ended in draws.
In the women's tournament, Alexandra Kosteniuk extended her lead, beating the defending champion Aleksandra Goryachkina in a highly principled encounter. Facing the Sicilian, Kosteniuk opted for a seemingly harmless but rather poisonous variation, which recently started to gain popularity. White's kingside attack developed faster than Black's counterplay. The former World Champion skilfully increased pressure, forced the opponent to bring both rooks into defense, and prior to the control swiftly shifted the focus on the queenside. Goryachkina's reaction was not ideal, and Kosteniuk opened a file and invaded the Black's camp with major pieces. Goryachkina resigned in a hopeless position.
Kosteniuk: “I got a good position after the opening and thought I had a big advantage when I started my attack. It is possible that I missed a concrete win at some point. Nevertheless, Black's position remained unpleasant, because both rooks had to cover the h-file. During the time trouble and perhaps with some help from the opponent I managed to open up the queenside and secure a win.”
Daria Charochkina outplayed Natalija Pogonina. After the opening, Black seized the initiative and started to advance on the queenside. In order to loosed the grip, White gave up a pawn, but it didn't help – black pieces approached the white king, and Pogonina resigned in view of large material losses.
Valentina Gunina, playing Black against Daria Pustovoitova, continued her streak of decisive games. Gunina sacrificed a piece for the attack quite early, but did not find the best continuation, allowing the opponent to parry the threats. White forced an exchange of queens and kept an extra piece. It looked like her victory was only a matter of time, but being under heavy time pressure, Pustovoitova committed a fatal mistake and lost.
Evgenija Ovod outplayed Olga Girya. Ovod, playing White, skilfully utilized Black's pawn weaknesses, winning a pawn, and then proved bishop's superiority over a knight in an open position. After White won another pawn, the rest was a matter of technique. Girya resigned on the 49th move.
Alisa Galliamova broke resistance of Ekaterina Ubiennykh in a lengthy rook ending with an extra pawn. Bodnaruk-Kashlinskaya ended in a draw.
Men's championship, standings after 8 rounds:
Riazantsev – 5
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Fedoseev, Tomashevsky – 4.5
Goganov, Vitiugov – 4
Oparin, Kokarev, Inarkiev – 3.5
Bocharov – 2
Round 9 pairings:
Kokarev-Inarkiev, Goganov-Riazantsev, Grischuk-Tomashevsky, Jakovenko-Fedoseev, Bocharov-Svidler, Oparin-Vitiugov
Women's championship, standings after 8 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 6.5
Bodnaruk – 5
Girya, Charochkina, Pogonina – 4.5
Gunina, Goryachkina, Ovod, Pustovoitova – 4
Galliamova – 3
Kashlinskaya – 2.5
Ubiennykh – 2
Round 9 pairings:
Ubiennykh-Kosteniuk, Charochkina-Galliamova, Gunina-Pogonina, Kashlinskaya-Pustovoitova, Girya-Bodnaruk, Goryachkina-Ovod
All Men Draw Again in Novosibirsk. Alexandra Kosteniuk remains on top alone in the women's championship.
The 7th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 23 in Novosibirsk.
The most interesting game of the men's championship was played between the rating favorites, Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svidler. The players went for the Marshall Attack, discussing a fashionable line, in which White enjoys the bishop pair. Black needed to play precisely in order to hold the balance. At the critical moment Svidler carried out a positional exchange sacrifice, and a thrilling game under mutual time pressure ensued. All in all, the balance of the game has never been shaken, and the players agreed to a draw soon upon passing the time control.
Peter Svidler: “White played a novelty – 15. Na3. Curiously, I intended to play it myself as White in one of the earlier games. I guess this novelty is well known to all players who study the Marshall. It looks like the game was quite even throughout, but we both liked our side more. This was an interesting game, which ended like the majority of other games in this tournament.”
Nikita Vitiugov was close to a victory against Dmitry Jakovenko. It seemed Black's passed pawns were about to decide the fate of the game in favor of the St. Petersburger. However, Jakovenko defended stubbornly and utilized the first misplay of his opponents to survive with a sequence of the only moves.
Relatively quiet draws occurred in Riazantsev-Inarkiev, Kokarev-Tomashevsky, and Goganov-Fedoseev. Grigoriy Oparin was under strong pressure but survived against Dmitry Bocharov.
In the women's tournament, Natalija Pogonina suffered a quick loss, playing Black against Ekaterina Ubiennykh. On the move 18, Pogonina blundered a piece and soon resigned.
Alexandra Kosteniuk drew with Alisa Galliamova. They played an interesting game in the Queen's Indian Defense. Kosteniuk, playing Black, abstained from castling and advanced her queenside pawns, but got under an unpleasant pin. Galliamova sacrificed two pawns for the initiative, but a couple of moves before the control preferred to force a draw by perpetual.
Valentina Gunina, playing White against Anastasia Bodnaruk, started the game in a reckless style, advancing her h-pawn to the 6th rank. Black replied with a central break and skilfully utilized weaknesses in White's position. Bodnaruk played very strong chess, and soon White started to suffer casualties. Gunina resigned after 37 moves.
Daria Pustovoitova proved strength of the bishop pair in an endgame with Daia Charochkina. This is a third victory in a row for Pustovoitova.
Kashlinskaya-Ovod and Girya-Goryachkina made draws.
Men's championship, standings after 7 rounds:
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Tomashevsky – 4
Oparin, Goganov, Kokarev – 3.5
Vitiugov – 3
Inarkiev – 2.5
Boachrov – 2
Round 8 pairings:
Inarkiev-Oparin, Vitiugov-Bocharov, Svidler-Jakovenko, Fedoseev-Grischuk, Tomashevsky-Goganov, Riazantsev-Kokarev
Women's championship, standings after 7 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 5
Girya, Pogonina, Bodnaruk – 4.5
Goryachkina, Pustovoitova – 4
Charochkina – 3.5
Gunina, Ovod – 3
Kashlinskaya, Galliamova, Ubiennykh – 2
Round 8 pairings:
Kosteniuk-Goryachkina, Ovod-Girya, Bodnaruk-Kashlinskaya, Pustovoitova-Gunina, Pogonina-Charochkina, Galliamova-Ubiennykh
A Social Day at Russian Chess Championships Superfinal
The Russian Chess Championships Superfinal, which is underway in Novosibirsk, had a day off on October 22. All chess events running under Chess in Museums project, carried out by RCF and Timchenko Charitable Foundation, feature a special program for a rest day, which primarily aims at children. Master-classes and simultaneous displays give chess fans a chance to meet their heroes in person, test their own chess ability, and sometimes even defeat a renowned grandmaster.
The simuls ran in four different places: chess department of Junior School for Technical, Extreme, and Mind Sports (Novosibirsk), Biotechnopark (Koltsovo), Maestro Junior Chess Center (Berdsk), and Center for Junior Development and Creative Works (Toguchin). The young players met grandmasters Sergey Rublevsky (gave a simul in Novosibirsk), Evgeny Najer (went to Koltsovo), Pavel Tregubov (visited Berdsk), and Evgeny Miroshnichenko (played in Toguchin).
Pavel Maletin, grandmaster and president of Novosibirsk Region's chess federation, told us that he participated in similar simuls a few times and considers them very helpful. “In 1995 there was a strong tournament with grandmasters Rublevsky, Svidler, and Khalifman participating. I played in an alternative simul given by Svidler and Khalifman and was deeply impressed – I still remember it all very vividly. Children who participate in such simuls, often stay in chess for a long time”, said Mr Maletin. “Children are usually stewing in their own juice, so to speak – they play in junior tournaments almost exclusively. On one hand, this is good because it gives practice, on the other hand, they don't get experience from playing against really strong players. Taking part in simuls against grandmasters of such level can definitely bring new knowledge and experience. Post mortem analysis together with a coach will often have a positive impact on their opening knowledge and will sometimes lead to a complete change of one's opening repertoire. This is something that happened to me as well.”
60 players came to Biotechnopark in Koltsovo to play with Evgeny Najer, that's why the former European champion received assistance from Yury Markov and IM Vassily Malyshev. Najer won 23 games and made two draws, with the 11-year-old Liza Tumashevich and senior player Viktor Podzhunas.
Nikolay Krasilnikov, mayor of the scientific city, also took part in the simul, and presented the grandmaster his book of poetry and songs with a poetic inscription.
Sergey Rublevsky played against 20 players of varying age. The grandmaster scored 18.5 points, losing to Egor Gubsky and drawing with Vladimir Antonenko.
Evgeny Miroshnichenko gave a simul on 26 boards and won all games. Mr Miroshnichenko noted four players – Oleg Pochivalov (who received a special Cup for the best game), Yury Orlov (87 years old), Nikolay Dyunin, and the young Ilya Sashirin, who only learned chess a year ago.
One should note that in the morning of October 22, a combined team and individual championship of the Toguchin District took place. Six teams participated, each one having four players of different ages, ranging from 1929 to 2008. The team of Toguchin Center for Junior Development and Creative Works took first place, but all participants received memorable medals and diplomas.
The simul by Pavel Tregubov gathered more than 20 chess enthusiasts from Berdsk and Akademgorodok. The final score – 21-0 in favor of the grandmaster.
Mikhail Tischenko, the principal of Maestro Junior Chess Center: “Our center invests a lot of effort into chess promotion. Each weekend we organize five or six tournaments; right now there are two tournaments underway in the second hall. However, the event we are doing today is unique – meeting a famous grandmaster gives our sportsmen an incentive to improve. This is a real fest for all chess enthusiasts.”
After the simuls, all participants received memorable gifts and certificates from the organizes, and took a collective photo with the grandmasters followed by an autograph session.
The organizers of the Superfinal are Russian Chess Federation, Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, government of Novosibirsk Region, and Novosibirsk mayor's office. General partner of the event – RATM Holding. This year the winners of men's and women's tournament will also receive a special prize – Renault Kaptur car. On May 31, Renault Russia company signed a partnership deal with RCF, and Renault Kaptur became an official car of the Russian Chess Federation. The tournament is a part of the Chess in Museums program, carried out by RCF together with Timchanko Foundation since 2012. During this period, a number of high-level chess competitions were organized in museums: World Chess Championship 2012 took place in the Tretyakov Gallery, Alekhine Memorial – in Louvre (Paris) and Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), Russian Superfinals – in Rukavishnikov Estate (Nizhny Novrogod) and State Art Museum of Tatarstan (Kazan), all-Russian Higher League competition – in Fort #5 (Kaliningrad), and the 10th Tal Memorial – in the Museum of Russian Impressionism.
Pogonina Catches Up With Kosteniuk. Six players remain on top in the men's Superfinal.
The 6th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 21 in Novosibirsk.
Ernesto Inarkiev celebrated his first victory, beating Dmitry Bocharov. Black failed to solve opening problems; the European champion outplayed his opponent on the queenside and won a pawn. In the subsequent game White was up to the technical task and converted the extra material into a victory.
The St. Petersburg derby Svidler-Goganov ended in a draw. Vitiugov-Grischuk was also drawn after a lively battle with neither king having time to castle.
Fedoseev-Kokarev ended peacefully in an endgame with opposite-colored bishops and an extra pawn to White.
Dmitry Jakovenko had a winning position as Black against Grigoriy Oparin, however this game also ended in a draw after Jakovenko misplayed on the control move. Thus Dmitry missed a very real chance to become a sole leader coming into a rest day.
Evgeny Tomashevsky had White against Alexander Riazantsev and did not manage to break Black's defense. The game was drawn on the move 44.
The women's championship was much more entertaining for spectators. The game between Evgenija Ovod and Valentina Gunina developed originally from the very beginning, with both sides happily heading into wild complications on the kingside. White went all out, but her threats very not strong enough: Gunina calmly collected two sacrificed pawns and then won a piece. Her execution of the technical stage was far from flawless (Gunina admitted it more resembled a circus), but in the end Black prevailed.
Natalija Pogonina outplayed Alisa Galliamova, and with this victory caught up with Alexandra Kosteniuk on top of the leaderboard. In a rook and knight ending Black sacrificed an exchange for a pawn, and her drawing chances look very realistic. However, Pogonina was adamant, and in a lengthy maneuvering game acquired enough pluses to earn a victory.
Alexandra Kosteniuk, playing White against Olga Girya, was close to another win, however, shortly before the time control, in a position with two rooks and a knight for a queen, Kosteniuk made an inaccurate move, and Girya found the way to make a draw.
Daria Pustovoitova got an opening advantage against Ekaterina Ubiennykh. Desperate for complications, Black sacrificed a rook, and it nearly worked, but after mutual errors in the time trouble White ended up a piece up, and converted this advantage in the endgame. “I made a mistake at some point, and during the time trouble just tried to avoid blunders. Black might have had a draw, but she missed it, and I suddenly found the winning resource”, said Pustovoitova.
Anastasia Bodnaruk had an advantage against Daria Charochkina, but failed to covert it, allowing Black an incredible drawing finale with a desperado rook.
Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alina Kashlinskaya also made a draw.
Saturday, October 22, is a rest day.
Men's championship, standings after 6 rounds:
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Tomashevsky – 3.5
Oparin, Goganov, Kokarev – 3
Vitiugov – 2.5
Inarkiev – 2
Bocharov – 1.5
Round 7 pairings:
Riazantsev-Inarkiev, Kokarev-Tomashevsky, Goganov-Fedoseev, Grischuk-Svidler, Jakovenko-Vitiugov, Bocharov-Oparin
Women's championship, standings after 6 rounds:
Pogonina, Kosteniuk – 4.5
Girya – 4
Goryachkina, Charochkina, Bodnaruk – 3.5
Gunina, Pustovoitova – 3
Ovod – 2.5
Kashlinskaya, Galliamova – 1.5
Ubiennykh – 1
Round 7 pairings:
Galliamova-Kosteniuk, Ubiennykh-Pogonina, Charochkina-Pustovoitova, Gunina-Bodnaruk, Kashlinskaya-Ovod, Girya-Goryachkina
Six Men On Top in Novosibirsk. Kosteniuk leads the women's Superfinal despite losing today.
The 5th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 20 in Novosibirsk.
In the men's champpionship, Dmitry Jakovenko defeated Dmitry Bocharov. The grandmaster from Novosibirsk employed the Pirc Defense and launched a pawn offensive on the kingside, while White was attacking on the queenside. At some point Black played too risky, and White broke through in the center, seized the initiative and won a pawn. Bocharov resigned in a loss rook and bishop endgame.
Jakovenko: “I suspect Dima just forgot my defensive idea associated with hxg3. He probably expected me to play with the knight to f1, and continued preparing his attack. After the move I played Black was in trouble.”
Evgeny Tomashevsky and Ernesto Inarkiev disputed in the Ragozin Defense. The queens were traded relatively early, and White obtained a certain advantage due to Black's pawn weaknesses. With accurate play, the defending Russian champion increased his advantage, won a pawn and flawlessly converted it in a rook ending. Black resigned on the move 58.
Grigoriy Oparin selected the Najdorf against Alexander Grischuk and defended a difficult position for the entire game. He did well for a while, but when it started to look as if the worst was over, Black committed a fatal mistake and lost. With this victory, Grischuk replaced Oparin in a tie for first place.
Grischuk: “This game was far from brilliant. I got an advantage after the opening, but Black's position was quite solid despite its disadvantages. It is possible he could survive in the end, but a single mistake decided the game.”
Peter Svidler, playing Black against Dmitry Kokarev, obtained an advantage in the second half of the game, but was unable to turn it into something more significant, and Kokarev held a draw.
A quick draw occurred in the game between two leaders, Alexander Riazantsev and Vladimir Fedoseev. Goganov-Vitiugov also ended in a draw.
In the women's championship, Aleksandra Goryachkina celebrated a quick victory over Valentina Gunina. In an isolani position Gunina blundered badly, missing Black's powerful reply. With energetic moves Goryachkina won a piece, and Gunina resigned on the 25th move.
Goryachkina: “During the game I thought I stand worse – I just don't like having an isolani. 18.Na5? is a decisive mistake, but this move was played rather quickly.”
Natalija Pogonina played White against the leader, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and outplayed her in the middlegame, transposing into an ending with an extra pawn. The technical stage required a lot of accuracy, but in the end White prevailed, winning on the 80th move.
Daria Charochkina was a nice attacking game as White against Evgenija Ovod. In the Dutch Defense, White castled long and then carried out a swift kingside attack, sacrificing two pieces on the way to irresistible mating threats.
Anastasia Bodnaruk played Black against Ekaterina Ubiennykh and was forced to defend a worse position in the Najdorf Sicilian. During the attack White sacrificed an exchange and later could force a draw by perpetual, but decided to continue playing for a win, which eventually backfired. Bodnaruk simplified the game, and her extra material told in the end.
Alisa Galliamova suffered a very unfortunate loss against Daria Pustovoitova, committing an inexplicable blunder in a technically winning endgame position.
Alina Kashlinskaya drew with Olga Girya.
Men's championship, standings after 5 rounds:
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Tomashevsky – 3
Oparin, Goganov, Kokarev – 2.5
Vitiugov – 2
Bocharov – 1.5
Inarkiev – 1
Round 6 pairings:
Inarkiev-Bocharov, Oparin-Jakovenko, Vitiugov-Grischuk, Svidler-Goganov, Fedoseev-Kokarev, Tomashevsky-Riazantsev
Women's championship, standings after 5 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 4
Girya, Pogonina – 3.5
Goryachkina, Charochkina, Bodnaruk – 3
Ovod – 2.5
Gunina, Pustovoitova – 2
Galliamova – 1.5
Ubiennykh, Kashlinskaya – 1
Round 6 pairings:
Kosteniuk-Girya, Goryachkina-Kashlinskaya, Ovod-Gunina, Bodnaruk-Charochkina, Pustovoitova-Ubiennykh, Pogonina-Galliamova
Grigoriy Oparin Joins Leaders in the Superfinal. Alexandra Kosteniuk wins a fourth game in a row.
The 4th round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 19 in Novosibirsk.
Dmitry Jakovenko celebrated his first victory, winning as Black against Ernesto Inarkiev. In a rook ending White employed a wrong strategic plan, allowing Black to activate his king with a more pleasant game. A couple of moves before the control Inarkiev committed another mistake, not bringing his king to the center. Black utilized the opportunity to push his passed d-pawn forward. In order to prevent it from queening, White had to give up a rook with a hopeless position. After the players passed the control move, Inarkiev resigned.
Grigoriy Oparin won as White against Aleksey Goganov and joined other three leaders with the +1. In a sharp middlegame position White lost a pawn, but got some compensation in return. Oparin handled the consequent game very resourcefully and developed a dangerous initiative. On the 39th move Goganov blundered and resigned in three more moves. Oparin was very harsh on himself at the press-conference, stating that his play during the first half of the game was “totally disgusting”.
The events in Bocharov-Grischuk escalated very quickly – neither side even managed to castle. In the middlegame White sacrificed a bishop on e6 and forced a draw by perpetual.
Alexander Riazantsev demostrated a good preparation against Peter Svidler in the Caro-Kann. Black solved opening problems, and a threefold repetition occurred on the 25th move.
Nikita Vitiugov, playing White against Dmitry Kokarev, developed strong pressure in the middlegame, but his opponent parried all threats with an accurate defense and held the balance.
Vladimir Fedoseev also got an opening advantage as White against Evgeny Tomashevsky, but the defending champion held his own, and the game was eventually drawn.
In the women's championship, Alexandra Kosteniuk scored her fourth victory in a row, beating Alina Kashlinskaya. Black took too many liberties in the middlegame and missed a strong counter-blow of the opponent. Kosteniuk won a piece and skilfully converted her advantage. Kosteniuk acknowledged that the position demanded a lot of calculation, and handling it as Black was tricker than as White.
Valentina Gunina won her second consecutive game, stopping Olga Girya's winning streak altogether. In the middlegame Girya sacrificed a pawn, but did not obtain sufficient compensation. Soon Black returned the material, but activated all her pieces, creating dangerous threats. At the critical moment of the game White gave up two minor pieces for a rook, but Gunina's bishop pair proved superior to Girya's rook in the endgame.
Evgenija Ovod defeated Ekaterina Ubiennykh. In a complicated middlegame the black king somehow decided to come out to the center, and was punished accordingly. Ovod created a cage for the enemy king, and Ubiennykh was forced to part with a piece, which cost her the game.
Anastasia Bodnaruk outplayed Alisa Galliamova in a lengthy game. The player from St. Petersburg won a pawn and put a lot of effort into converting this minimal advantage, although Black's drawing chances looked very good at some point. Yet, being under the time pressure, Galliamova miscalculated and lost.
Pustovoitova-Pogonina and Goryachkina-Charochkina ended in draws. The latter game lasted for 102 moves!
Men's championship, standings after 4 rounds:
Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Oparin – 2.5
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Goganov, Tomashevsky, Kokarev – 2
Vitiugov, Bocharov – 1.5
Inarkiev – 1
Round 5 pairings:
Tomashevsky-Inarkiev, Riazantsev-Fedoseev, Kokarev-Svidler, Goganov-Vitiugov, Grischuk-Oparin, Jakovenko-Bocharov
Women's championship, standings after 4 rounds:
Kosteniuk – 4
Girya – 3
Pogonina, Ovod – 2.5
Gunina, Charochkina, Goryachkina, Bodnaruk – 2
Galliamova – 1.5
Ubiennykh, Pustovoitova – 1
Kashlinskaya – 0.5
Round 5 pairings:
Pogonina-Kosteniuk, Gallimova-Pustovoitova, Ubiennykh-Bodnaruk, Charochkina-Ovod, Gunina-Goryachkina, Kashlinskaya-Girya
Kosteniuk And Girya Leading In Novosibirsk. Svidler, Riazantsev, Fedoseev, and Goganov are on top in the men's championship.
The 3rd round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 18 in Novosibirsk.
All games of the men's championship ended in draws.
A relatively quiet game was played between Alexander Riazantsev and Nikita Vitiugov. They went for the Sicilian Defense, which after mass exchanges transposed to a queen and bishop ending. The game ended peacefully by perpetual.
Evgeny Tomashevsky and Peter Svidler played a similarly quiet positional game. They started to repeat moves in an endgame with opposite-colored bishops.
Kokarev-Oparin was more exciting. The grandmaster from Penza, playing White, outplayed his younger opponent, but then refused to take the queen, which would lead to a position with a non-standard material balance and good winning chances for White. Soon the game simplified, and a threefold repetition occurred on the move 33.
Alexander Grischuk and Dmitry Bocharov experienced certain problems against Dmitry Jakovenko and Aleksey Goganov respectively, but in both cases managed to parry the threats and reach equality.
Vladimir Fedoseev tried squeezing something out of a slightly better ending against Ernesto Inarkiev for quite a while, but did not succeed. A draw was agreed on the 57th move.
The leaders of the women's championship are increasing their gap. Both Alexandra Kosteniuk and Olga Girya won their third consecutive games. Kosteniuk played against Pustovoitova today. “I sacrificed a pawn, which probably was unnecessary, but nevertheless got enough compensation”, said Kosteniuk. “I could not see how my opponent could make progress. And then Daria blundered...”
Olga Girya, playing Black, faced Daria Charochkina. Girya successfully solved opening problems and got a promising position in the middlegame. After a single careless move White got herself under a pin and suffered significant material losses shortly after. In a hopeless position, being down a piece, Charochkina acknowledged her defeat.
Girya: “I think Dasha misplayed in the opening, and when we reached a relatively sharp position, her knight on d6 was always threatened because of a pin. I think I calculated everything correctly when decided to give up a pawn on the queenside in order to win this knight.”
The defending champion Aleksandra Goryachkina won her first game in Novosibirsk, and the victory was fast and furious. Her opponent, Ekaterina Ubiennykh, blundered badly on the 15th move. Goryachkina won a piece and also got a winning attack. White resigned on the 24th move.
After two starting losses, Valentina Gunina also scored her first win in Novosibirsk, beating Alina Kashlinskaya in the Catalan Opening. White got a better position after the opening and transposed to a favorable rook ending, then won a pawn and converted it, showing good technique.
“The opening was my preparation, so I will say no more. Most importantly, I was able to recall everything at the board”, said Gunina after the game.
Natalija Pogonina defeated Anastasia Bodnaruk. At the press-conference Pogonina said that she aimed for a quiet game, and this strategy gave her a lasting advantage. White cleverly utilized strategic advantages of her position and slowly but surely outplayed the opponent.
Alisa Galliamova and Evgenija Ovod made a draw.
Men's championship, standings after 3 rounds:
Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Goganov – 2
Grischuk, Oparin, Tomashevsky, Kokarev – 1.5
Jakovnko, Inarkiev, Vitiugov, Bocharov – 1
Round 4 pairings:
Inarkiev-Jakovenko, Bocharov-Grischuk, Oparin-Goganov, Vitiugov-Kokarev, Svidler-Riazantsev, Fedoseev-Tomashevsky
Women's championship, standings after 3 rounds:
Kosteniuk, Girya – 3
Pogonina – 2
Goryachkina, Ovod, Galliamova, Charochkina – 1.5
Gunina, Bodnaruk, Ubiennykh – 1
Pustovoitova, Kashlinskaya – 0.5
Round 4 pairings:
Kosteniuk-Kashlinskaya, Girya-Gunina, Goryachkina-Charochkina, Ovod-Ubiennykh, Bodnaruk-Galliamova, Pustovoitova-Pogonina
Kosteniuk, Girya Win Their Second Games in Novosibirsk
Aleksey Goganov joins the leaders in the men's championship
The 2nd round of the Russian Superfinal was played on October 17 in Novosibirsk.
Dmitry Jakovenko suffered a disappointing loss in the men's championship. Having White against Aleksey Goganov, he obtained a significant advantage out of the opening and developed it methodically. However, prior to the first control Jakovenko missed the strongest continuation, wrongly offering to trade a couple of rooks, which made position more balanced. On the move 58 Jakovenko committed a suicidal blunder, missing a tactical blow, and had to resign in a couple of moves.
The match between two leaders, Peter Svidler and Vladimir Fedoseev, ended in a draw. The players from St. Petersburg went for a rare variation of the Queen's Gambit. Black equalized quickly, and following major simplifications the game ended in a draw by move repetition.
Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeny Tomashevsky also ended their game peacefully. Both showed good knowledge of lengthy book lines in the Queen's Indian Defense. The game followed a quiet course and logically ended in a draw.
An interesting struggle in the French Defense ensued in the game between Grigory Oparin and Alexander Riazantsev. As usual in the Winawer Variation, White attacked in the center and on the kingside, while Black castled queenside and defended stubbornly and resoursefully. In the end Alexander managed to reach a dynamic equality, and the players went for a draw by repetition two moves before the control.
Ernesto Inarkiev and Alexander Grischuk went for a symmetrical English with quick exchange of central pawns. The evaluation remained approximately even throughout the game, and in a rook ending the players agreed to a draw.
Dmitry Bocharov and Dmitry Kokarev both played very creatively. Each player could obtain a significant advantage at different points of the game, but both missed their chances, and a draw was agreed in a pawn ending: Black has an extra pawn, but there was no chance to break through White's blockade.
In the women's championship, the key game of the day was Kosteniuk-Gunina. The highest rated players of the tournament went for the Caro-Kann Defense and castled to the opposite flanks. White's pieces were placed more harmoniously, and after Gunina questionably grabbed a poisoned pawn on b2, Kosteniuk developed a strong initiative. In an attempt to reclaim it, Black sacrificed an exchange, but made a bad blunder almost immediately and lost a rook. On the move 29 Gunina resigned; this is her second loss in a row.
Anastasia Bodnaruk utilized White's opening advantage against Daria Pustovoitova, the newcomer of the Superfinal. In the middlegame, White successfully rearranged her pieces, encircling and winning the e5-pawn. The e-file became open, and soon Black found herself under a powerful attack. With a help of a pin, White won a rook and the game.
Alisa Galliamova had Black against the defending champion Aleksandra Goryachkina and won a nice game. In the Reti Opening, Black moved her forced on the kingside and created a strong attack. White was forced to give up a pawn for unclear compensation, but it did not stop Black's activity. Soon Goryachkina had to abandon an exchange and then resigned in view of the coming mate in one.
Olga Girya scored her second victory in a row, beating Ekaterina Ubiennykh. Ubiennykh played the King's Indian as Black, sacrificed a pawn for the initiative, but the compensation proved insufficient. With accurate play, Girya parried all threats, and then slowly converted the advantage despite missing a couple of earlier wins.
The game between Evgenija Ovod and Natalija Pogonina ended in a draw. White's small opening advantage was not enough to give her any serious winning chances, and the game eventually proceeded to a drawn bishop ending.
Alina Kashlinskaya had good winning chances against Daria Charochkina, but did not find the winning maneuver at the critical moment, and Black immediately simplified the game, transposing to a queen and bishop ending, in which White was forced to defend. A draw was agreed on the 60th move.
Men's championship, standings after round 2
Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev, Goganov – 1.5
Grischuk, Oparin, Tomashevsky, Kokarev – 1
Jakovenko, Inarkiev, Vitiugov, Bocharov – 0.5
Round 3 pairings:
Fedoseev-Inarkiev, Tomashevsky-Svidler, Riazantsev-Vitiugov, Kokarev-Oparin, Goganov-Bocharov, Grischuk-Jakovenko
Women's championship, standings after round 2
Kosteniuk, Girya – 2
Charochkina – 1.5
Ubiennykh, Ovod, Pogonina, Galliamova, Bodnaruk – 1
Pustovoitova, Kashlinskaya, Goryachkina – 0.5
Gunina – 0
Round 3 pairings:
Pustovoitova-Kosteniuk, Pogonina-Bodnaruk, Galliamova-Ovod, Ubiennykh-Goryachkina, Charochkina-Girya, Gunina-Kashlinskaya
Superfinal: Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev Win in the Round 1
A couple of upsets occurred in the women's championship
The first round of the Russian Superfinals was played on October 16 in Novosibirsk.
Sergey Akhapov, Head of the Physical Culture and Sports Department of Novosibirsk Region, Honored master of sports in underwater swimming, made a honorary first move in Svidler-Inarkiev. The 7-time Russian champion, playing White, scored a victory in a nice attacking style. In the anti-Berlin system of the Ruy Lopez, Svidler developed a powerful attack, and carried out the winning break following his opponent's mistake on the 18th move. Despite nominal material equality – White had a queen and pawn for Black's two rooks, White's position was overwhelming due to poor position of Black's king, and Svidler's technique did not let him down.
Alexander Riazantsev, playing White, outplayed the local grandmaster Dmitry Bocharov. In the Nimzo-Indian Defense, Black failed to equalize, and White developed a crushing kingside attack, while the black queen was hopelessly stuck on the opposite side of the board. Soon White won a pawn with a nice combination, also keeping his attack rolling, and Black resigned in a few moves.
The battle between two players from St. Petersburg, Vladimir Fedoseev and Nikita Vitiugov, lasted for 83 moves. White got an advantage after the opening, but the position remained closed, and it was unclear whether Fedoseev can break through. However, Vladimir managed to shake Black's fortress during the maneuvering stage, and then grabbed a key pawn, after which Vitiugov's position fell apart.
The defending Russian champion Evgeny Tomashevsky faced Grigory Oparin, the winner of the Higher League. Black successfully solved opening problems, and the game proceeded to a dull and equal endgame. A draw by move repetition occurred on the 28th move. Kokarev-Jakovenko followed a similarly quiet course in the Berlin Variation, and the result was the same.
Alexander Grischuk, playing Black against Aleksey Goganov, went for the Dutch Defense and outplayed his opponent, obtaining a very promising position on the kingside. However, White defended well, while Black was clearly inaccurate somewhere, letting his advantage to slip away. Seeing that the game does not develop to his favor, Grischuk went for mass exchanges, securing a draw.
The women's championship brought a couple of upsets. First of all, Daria Charochkina defeated the multiple-time champion Valentina Gunina. In the sharp line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense, Gunina sacrificed two pieces for a rook and pawn, but failed to get any initiative. White got a totally dominating position, and Gunina resigned on the move 33.
Another underdog victory took place in Ubiennykh-Kashlinskaya. In the Nimzo-Indian Defense, the higher rated Kashlinskaya blundered a pawn, and the strongest player of Siberia confidently converted her material advantage.
Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Anastasia Bodnaruk. Playing Black, the former World Champion successfully solved opening problems and seized the initiative. In the middlegame Black delivered a nice blow and won a pawn. Anastasia defended tenaciously, but eventually succumbed to pressure by committing a final blunder.
Olga Girya, playing Black, outplayed the experienced Alisa Galliamova, skilfully utilizing White's risky pawn advances on the kingside in the Slav Defense. White was forced to part with a pawn, not getting any compensation for that, and in a nervous time-trouble finale Olga finally managed to convert her winning advantage.
The game between Natalija Pogonina and Aleksandra Goryachkina followed a positional course, which is typical for the Catalan Opening, and logically ended in a draw.
Daria Pustovoitova and Evgenija Ovod played for 110 moves. White had good winning chances in the middlegame, but missed the decisive continuation, after which the game proceeded to a complicated endgame with unbalanced material, which Ovod managed to defend successfully.
Men's championship
Standings after round 1
Svidler, Fedoseev, Riazantsev – 1
Grischuk, Jakovenko, Oparin, Tomashevsky, Kokarevm Goganov – 0.5
Inarkiev, Vitiugov, Bocharov – 0
Round 2 pairings:
Inarkiev-Grischuk, Jakovenko-Goganov, Bocharov-Kokarev, Oparin-Riazantsev, Vitiugov-Tomashevsky, Svidler-Fedoseev.
Women's championship
Standings after round 1
Kosteniuk, Gorya, Charochkina, Ubiennykh – 1
Goryachkina, Ovod, Pogonina, Pustovoitova – 0.5
Gunina, Kashlinskaya, Bodnaruk, Galliamova – 0
Round 2 pairings:
Kosteniuk-Gunina, Kashlinskaya-Charochkina, Girya-Ubiennykh, Goryachkina-Galliamova, Ovod-Pogonina, Bodnaruk-Pustovoitova
Pictures by E. Kublashvili
Official website of the Russian Chess Federation - http://ruchess.ru/
16 October 2016
Russian Superfinals Open in Novosibirsk
The opening ceremony of the Russian Superfinals took place on October 15 in Novosibirsk. The organizers of the event are Russian Chess Federation, Chess Federation of Novosibirsk Region, Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, government of Novosibirsk Region, and office of mayor of Novosibirsk. RATM Holding is a general partner of the Superfinal.
A press-conference that took place at the Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History preceded the opening ceremony. It was attended by Deputy Governor of Novosibirsk Region Yury Petukhov, Chairman of the Department of Culture, Sport, and Youth Policies of Novosibirsk Anna Tereshkova, General Director of the Timchenko Foundation Maria Morozova, RCF Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky, President of RATM Holding and member of RCF Board of Trustees Eduard Taran, Russian defending champion Evgeny Tomashevsky and multiple-time national champion Valentina Gunina.
The opening ceremony was carried out in the State Concert Hall named after A. Kats. The official part included speeches of Representative of Russian President in Siberian Federal District Sergey Menyailo, Novosibirsk Region Governor Vladimir Gorodetsky, Mayor of Novosibirsk Anatoly Lokot’, General Director of the Timchenko Foundation Maria Morozova, RCF Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky, and President of RATM Holding and member of RCF Board of Trustees Eduard Taran. The latter read out the greeting letter from Dmitry Peskov, Chairman of RCF Board of Trustees and Press-Secretary of Vladimir Putin. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov also sent players and organizers of the championship his greeting address.
 
During the theatrical part of the ceremony, a short performances based on Lewis Carroll’s books about Alisa There were showed, featuring Anna Ardova and other actors of Chamber Theater and other theaters of Novosibirsk. The vocal band Voices of Markelov and soloists of Novosibirsk State Opera and Ballet Theater Karen Movsesian and Daria Shuvalova performed pieces of classical music. The magician Ilya Rogulin’s s show was of some interest, too. The performance part was concluded with a demonstration of a film on chess in Novosibirsk Region.
The drawing of lots was carried out with a help from a robot: Chief Arbiter Maxim Ivakhin read out loud last names of the participants, and the robot, utilizing its random number generator, assigned them a starting number.
Starting numbers, men:
1. Peter Svidler, 2. Vladimir Fedoseev, 3. Evgeny Tomashevsky, 4. Alexander Riazantsev, 5. Dmitry Kokarev, 6. Alexei Goganov, 7. Alexander Grischuk, 8. Dmitry Jakovenko, 9. Dmitry Bocharov, 10. Grigory Oparin, 11. Nikita Vitiugov, 12. Ernesto Inarkiev.
Round 1 pairings:
Svidler-Inarkiev, Fedoseev-Vitiugov, Tomashevsky-Oparin, Riazantsev-Bocharov, Kokarev-Jakovenko, Goganov-Grischuk.
Starting numbers, women:
1. Anastasia Bodnaruk, 2. Daria Pustovoitova, 3. Natalia Pogonina, 4. Alisa Galliamova, 5. Ekaterina Ubiennykh, 6. Daria Charochkina, 7. Valentina Gunina, 8. Alina Kashlinskaya, 9. Olga Girya, 10. Aleksandra Goryachkina, 11. Evgenija Ovod, 12. Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Round 1 pairings:
Bodnaruk-Kosteniuk, Pustovoitova-Ovod, Pogonina-Goryachkina, Galliamova-Girya, Ubiennykh-Kashlinskaya, Charochkina-Gunina.
Total prize fund of the Superfinal is 9,000,000 RR.
This year the winners of men's and women's tournament will also receive a special prize – Renault Kaptur car.
Besides, the champions will get the present from BestBrilliants Company – the golden chess pieces with diamonds.
Schedule: Playing days – October 16-21 and 23-27, rest day – October 22, closing ceremony – October 27, in 40 minutes after the end of the last game. The games start at 15:00 local time, the last round starts at 13:00 local time.
On a rest day, the players will give simuls to all chess fans in three different venues – chess department of Junior Sports School (Chelyuskintsev, 50), Biotechnopark (Koltsovo, Technopark st. 8), and Junior Chess Center Maestro (Berdsk, Vokzalnaya st. 54). All simuls start at 2 pm.
14 October 2016
Russian Championship Superfinals will be held in Novosibirsk on October 15-27
The Superfinals of 69th Russian men's championship and 66th Russian women's championship will take place on October 15-27 at the Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History. The organizers are Russian Chess Federation, Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, government of Novosibirsk Region, and Novosibirsk mayor's office. General partner of the event – RATM Holding.
The Superfinal is one of the most prestigious competitions not only in Russia, but also in the world. Last year's tournament in Chita produced two new champions: Evgeny Tomashevsky and Aleksandra Goryachkina. The most decorated participant of the coming men's Superfinal is Peter Svidler, the 7-time Russian champion, 5-time Olympiad champion, winner of the World Cup.
This year the winners of men's and women's tournament will also receive a special prize – Renault Kaptur car. On May 31, Renault Russia company signed a partnership deal with RCF, and Renault Kaptur became an official car of the Russian Chess Federation.
The tournament is a part of the Chess in Museums program, carried out by RCF together with Timchanko Foundation since 2012. During this period, a number of high-level chess competitions were organized in museums: World Chess Championship 2012 took place in the Tretyakov Gallery, Alekhine Memorial – in Louvre (Paris) and Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), Russian Superfinals – in Rukavishnikov Estate (Nizhny Novrogod) and State Art Museum of Tatarstan (Kazan), all-Russian Higher League competition – in Fort #5 (Kaliningrad), and the 10th Tal Memorial – in the Museum of Russian Impressionism.
“For the first time the venue of the next Superfinal was determined in an open national contest”, said Maria Morozova, General Director of Timchenko Foundation. “Two out of three bids that made it to the final were submitted from Siberia. In the end we chose the project of Novosibirsk Region Chess Federation and Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History. We hope this tournament will increase popularity of chess in the region and draw more attention to this wonderful museum. We are also happy to see that Novosibirsk Region together with Moscow Region, Republic of Ingushetia, Altai Krai, and Krasnodar Krai has joined our another joint project with RCF, Chess in Schools, which supports chess education at regular schools. Hopefully chess in our region will eventually match in popularity among children biathlon, figure skating, hockey, and skiing.”
Lineup, men:
Evgeny Tomashevsky (Saratov Region), Alexander Grischuk (Moscow), Peter Svidler (St. Petersburg), Nikita Vitiugov (St. Petersburg), Dmitry Jakovenko (Ugra), Ernesto Inarkiev (Moscow), Grigory Oparin (Moscow), Vladimir Fedoseev (St. Petersburg), Dmitry Kokarev (Penza Region), Alexander Riazantsev (Moscow), Alexei Goganov (St. Petersburg), Dmitry Bocharov (Novosibirsk Region).
Lineup, women:
Aleksandra Goryachkina (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Moscow), Natalija Pogonina (Saratov Region), Valentina Gunina (Moscow), Olga Girya (Ugra), Alisa Galliamova (Tatarstan), Anastasia Bodnaruk (St. Petersburg), Evgenija Ovod (Leningrad Region), Daria Pustovoitova (Moscow), Alina Kashlinskaya (Moscow), Ekaterina Ubiennykh (Krasnoyarsk Krai), Daria Charochkina (Moscow).
Total prize fund of the Superfinal is 9,000,000 RR.
The events are 11-round round-robins. Time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 bonus second per each move.
Chief Arbiter – IA Maxim Ivakhin (Novokuznetsk).
Schedule: opening ceremony – October 15, 6:30 pm, playing days – October 16-21 and 23-27, rest day – October 22, closing ceremony – October 27, in 40 minutes after the end of the last game.
On a rest day, the players will give simuls to all chess fans in three different venues – chess department of Junior Sports School (Chelyuskintsev, 50), Biotechnopark (Koltsovo, Technopark st. 8), and Junior Chess Center Maestro (Berdsk, Vokzalnaya st. 54). All simuls start at 2 pm.
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