Chess Classic Mainz – counting the days

Press release

Counting down the days to the tenth edition The tenth edition of the Chess Classic Mainz is just days away. From 6th - 8th August 2010 Mainz will be the centre of the rapid chess world. As we announced earlier, the organizing Chess Tigers had to cut down the event to three days, but the Chess Classic is still the main rapid chess event in the world, with many top grandmasters in the entry list. The winner of the Open Grenke Rapid World Championship will not only be amply rewarded with € 6000 prize money, but will also receive the prestigious title “Rapid Chess World Champion”.

The main sponsor of the event is Wolfgang Grenke, chairman of the GRENKELEASING AG. He started sponsoring the Chess Classic in 2005 and has increased his involvement every year. On 13 June, Grenke was honored with the European Culture Initiative Award for his abundant merits for cultural projects in Baden-Baden and his dedication to promote and support chess in Germany. Together with the many paying participants, he is responsible for the fact that the showpiece of the Chess Classic, the gigantic Open, will be played again and is upgraded to a world championship.

Wolfgang Grenke and World Champion Viswanathan Anand

However, we should not forget to mention the other sponsors and partners of the Chess Classic Mainz. Without FiNet AG, Stadtwerke Mainz AG, Livingston, Hilton Mainz, the Congress Center Mainz and our prime partner ChessBase and Schach Niggemann, organizing such an event would be impossible. The city of Mainz and its Lord Mayor Jens Beutel is proud to host the Chess Classic for the tenth year in a row. Beutel is an excellent chess player and this year he is not only the patron of the event, he is eager to play the open rapid world championship as well.

Jens Beutel versus top GM Vugar Gashimov, organiser Hans-Walter Schmitt watching

The format of the open tournament will not be changed. Eleven hard-fought rounds will be played and the tempo will be 20 minutes + 5 seconds per move. The tournament will take place in the fully air-conditioned Rheingoldhalle of the Congress Center Mainz. During the world championship the very popular “Kids Club” will be opened again during the tournament. Chess loving parents can fully concentrate on their games, knowing that their kids are in good hands.

Massive Rapid Chess Open in the Rheingoldhalle

Levon Aronian, who won the title in a match against Anand last year, will try to defend his title in Mainz. This task will not be easy, since the Armenian star will face strong opposition this year. Top 2700+ players like Alexei Shirov, Alexander Grischuk, Sergei Movsesian, Gata Kamsky and Vugar Gashimov have already confirmed their participation! We are also happy to welcome some of the best female chess players in the world to Mainz, like Alexandra Kosteniuk, Inna Gaponenko, Almira Skripchenko and Natalia Zhukova to name just a few.

The Chess Classic will be opened on Friday 6th August with the traditional opening press conference with three world champions: Viswanathan Anand, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Levon Aronian. At 16.00h, Anand will start his simul on 40 boards and Kosteniuk will play a Chess960 simul on 20 boards. Due to very high demand, there are no seats available anymore for the simuls, but you are kindly invited to visit the event on Friday.

More information about the Chess Classic Mainz 2010 can be found on our website (see below). It is still possible to register online for the Open Grenke Rapid World Championship. You can save € 5, if you register before 31.07.2010! Note: GM, IM, WGM and WIM are free!

Top participants (GMs and WGMs) so far:

Mike Rosa/Eric van Reem

Event overview

This year the Chess Classic Mainz will be staged from Friday, 6th of August to Sunday 8th of August, 2010. The Chess Classic features excellent viewer oriented and media friendly entertainment: huge screens and TV sets transmit the event into every corner of the Rheingoldhalle, several grandmasters provide live comments of the games. Everyone can play in the opens and watch the the grandmasters. All tournaments are broadcast live on the Internet.

Besides traditional chess, there is also a Chess960 simul. All tournaments are played at rapid chess time controls: 20 minutes for the game plus 5 seconds increment per move. The Open participants are simultaneously playing in the world championship!

Chess Classic Mainz 2010 consists of the following events:

• Grenke Rapid World Championship Open
  World's biggest and highest ranked rapid chess Open in traditional chess an also world championship in rapid chess. Elo average of top 10: 2737. Combined price fonds 30,000 EUR. More info...

• Simul on 40 boards
  World Champion Viswanathan Anand plays a simul in traditional chess. Details...

• Chess960 simul at 20 boards
  Chess960 world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk stands a Chess960 simul. Details...

• Children's Club
  Children will be taken care of by competent personnel. They can play, do handicrafts, paint, together with other children. Alternatively, they play a round of "Fritz und Fertig".

• Course of events
  The tournament plan 1 (.pdf) shows the main events in a graphical overview.

• Accomodation
  Different accomodations are available from Jugendherberge to player's hotel Hilton Mainz, located directly at river Rhine. Accomodation offers...

• Contact
  If you have questions, please contact Hans-Walter Schmitt as your personal assistant, phone +49 (6196) 22926.