The Rilton Cup is Sweden's biggest and most famous international chess tournament.
It was originally initiated by a donation from a doctor, Tore Rilton, and since
1985 the tournament is financially secure. A special challenge prize, donated
by SEB Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, is the Rilton-medal in genuine gold. The
tournament has over the years been very helpful for talented Swedish juniors.
This year the Rilton tournament is part of the 100th
anniversary celebrations of the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympics. Every Rilton
participant will receive a copy of the medal that the Olympic medal winners
received in 1912.
The 42nd Rilton Cup (XLII according to our calculations is Latin for 42) is
being held as a a nine-round FIDE Swiss from December 27, 2012 to January 5,
2013, at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm, Ringvägen 98, Stockholm. The event
was open for players with a FIDE or national rating of at least 2200, with exemptions
granted to players who applied before November 15th, and priority given to juniors.
Time controls were 40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes for the rest
of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move one. Prizes
ranged from 20,000 SEK for first to 3,000 SEK for tenth (one SEK is 12 Euro
cents, or 15 US cents). There were also prizes of 1,000-3,000 SEK for the different
rating groups.
Final standings (after nine rounds)
...or as the Swedes so nicely put it: "Slutställning efter 9 ronder"
The winner of the event was Polish GM Michal Krasenkow (above), rated 2628,
who scored 7.5/9 points and had a performance rating of 2769. The success was
achieved by winning all of his first four games, as
previously reported, then drawing three (against Shimanov, Smirin and Socko),
and then winning the last two games, against Volodin with white and Rombaldoni
with black.
Michal Krasenkow vs Ilya Smirin in round six: draw in 27 moves
The critical final round in which Krasenkow defeated Italian IM Axel Rombaldoni
(left)
Two rounds before the end Krasenkow was trailing Aleksandr Shimanov by half
a point, and after the penultimate round he was tied for first with Ilya Smirin.
But the Israeli GM lost to Erwin L'Ami in the final round and ended in place
four.
Pictorial impressions from Stockholm by Alina L'Ami
Sunset in Stockholm – at 2 p.m. in the afternoon!
The Nobel Museum, which provides information on the the life of the founder
of the
Prize, Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) and on the Nobel Laureates from 1901 to the
present.
The Bistro Nobel in the Nobel Museum, in which, believe it or not...
... the chairs are signed by Nobel Laureates
Every Laureate who visits the Nobel Museum is asked to sign the underside of
the wooden chairs used at the Bistro Nobel. So, while you’re sitting back
and enjoying your delicious beverages, you never know what great chemist, physicist,
peacemaker, or literary genius may have sat in the very same seat! I was literally
turning over every empty chair I could find, in search of Mario Vargas Llosa's
autograph. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2010. Without any luck though...
Like anyone else, on New Year's Eve I intended to have some alcohol in my glass,
keeping the traditions alive. So, in my naivety, I thought I could just grab
something in the supermarket. Once there, I actually realized I will never find
anything stronger than 3%. I even found some 'wine' with 2%, which clearly convinced
me I should try my luck somewhere else. No sooner said and done, I searched
a bit, asked, did my homework and voila: soon I was in a queue, waiting for
my turn! But the shop was so inrcedibly crowded that I even stopped wondering
if the line is all the way till Norway or not. I am sure it was.
A round under way in the Rilton Cup
Critical game in round seven: Bartosz Socko vs Michal Krasenkow, draw in 52
moves
Commentary was provided by the legendary Ulf Andersson (who is avery nice person)
The revelation of this year's Rilton Cup: IM Vilka Sipilä from Finland,
who had six
wins and a performance of 2679. Naturally he earned a GM norm.
Second place for the Russian GM Aleksandr Shimanov, here playing Pia Cramling
Dutch GM Erwin l'Ami (who happens to be my husband) staged a beautiful finish,
with 4.5 points out of five games in the second half of the tournament
The winner: Polish GM Michal Krasenkow with his prizes
Next-gen players: the daughters of Monika Socko and Pia Cramling (middle)
Monika Socko with her lovely daughters
All pictures by Alina L'Ami
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