The Russian Team Championships are taking place in the Dagomys, Sochi, from May 1st to 12th, 2007. The men are playing in two league sections, and to make things interesting they call the first the "Premier division" and the second league the "First League". Both divisions are very strong, with players like Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Gelfand, Grischuk, Radjabov, Karjakin, Rublevsky and others participating. Ten are over 2700 on the rating scale. Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi are also playing.
The rate of play is 100 minutes / 40 moves, 50 min/20 moves and 10 min for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move. The teams have six players, and team points are counted. The champion will be decided in a match between the winners of each section. There are 14 women's teams in two groups. Here, too, the top finishers will play in a final for the medals.
If you can read Russian you will find a full list of all teams and players can be found on the strictly monolingua official web site.
Sochi is located very close to the Russian border with Georgia. It is famous for its spectacular scenery, with the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains overlooking the gentle shores of the Black Sea. The resort has a temperate climate and boasts many sanatoria and mineral baths. Greater Sochi is The city is 147 km in length, making it the second longest city in the world. The population is just over 300,000, with millions of guests pouring in every summer. Dagomys is a small town situated near the town Sochi, Russia, known for its resorts, vacation spots and tea.
Our photo reporter in Sochi is GM Sergey Tiviakov, who is also participating in the event. He has sent us a first lot of pictures exclusively from the women's section, for which we thank him. Before you draw any conclusions from this, however, we need to remind you that the men's section began a day later. We are sure that, in the fullness of time, Sergey will also send us pictures of male players.
All the participants are staying in the "Dagomys" Hotel & Tourist complex (picture above). Built in 1977 it is a very popular tourist destination, but also a place for congresses and meetings. Even the CIS (Commonwealth of the Independent States) Summit was held in our hotel in 2001. Unfortunately for us the weather is not so good, cold with a strong sea wind.
The view from my hotel room
The Dagomys village settlement
The hotel beach elevator, which gives guests easy access to...
... Dagomys beach
The playing area in 1950s look (note also the dress code of Russian trainers
on the left)
IM Evgenija Ovod, RUS, 2384 vs WGM Bathuyag Mongontuul, MGL, 2388
WGM Zhao Xue, CHN, 2467, IM Elisabeth Pähtz, GER, 2438
WGM Anna Muzychuk, SLO, 2474
WGM Ekaterina Korbut, RUS, 2429
WIM Anna Burtasova, RUS, 2314
IM Irina Turova, RUS, 2386
WGM Tatiana Shadrina, RUS, 2378
IM Kateryna Lahno, UKR, 2468
WGM Maria Kursova, RUS, 2324
GM Alisa Galliamova, RUS, 2477
GM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, RUS, 2432
GM Svetlana Matveeva, RUS, 2406
IM Inna Gaponenko, UKR, 2451
Liza Soloviova, UKR, 2096
WIM Vera Nebolsina, RUS, 2297
WGM Julia Kochetkova, RUS, 2320
