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The first World Senior Championship took place in 1991 and the history of the Championship is full of illustrious names. Vassily Smyslov, Mark Taimanov, Viktor Kortschnoj or Efim Geller were all Senior World Champions. And after FIDE turned 50-years old into young seniors, the career peak of some participants is not that long ago. Just imagine how a 50-year old Kortschnoj (born 23. March 1931) would have raged among the young seniors.
This year, top seed and tournament favorite was GM Predrag Nikolic, with an Elo-rating of 2603 currently number two in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Nikolic lived up to his role of tournament favorite and won the title with 9.5/11. Half a point behind followed second seed Eduardas Rozentalis from Lithuania while bronze went to the Slovenian grandmaster Georg Mohr who scored 8.5/11.
The new World Senior Champion Predrag Nikolic (right, with the white pieces)
Eduardas Rozentalis (right, with the white pieces)
While the +50 tournament attracted about a 100 players only 17 participants came to start in the +50 women's tournament. Galina Strutinskaia (Russia) won with 6.0/9 and the better tie-break. Second was Marina Makropoulou from Greece who also had 6.0/9, just as Petra Schulz from Germany, and Helene Mira from Austria.
First place in the +65 Open tournament went to Vladimir Okhotnik from France who after his win in 2011 won the title for a second time. Anatoly Vaisser (France), +65 Senior World Champion 2013 and 2014 finished second, bronze went to Viktor Kupreichik from Belarus.
The women's title went to defending champion Nona Gaprindashvili. The +65 Women's World Championship was played as a round-robin with ten participants.
| Pos | Nr.s. | Nome | FED | Elo | Pts. | Cls1 | Cls2 | Cls3 | Rp | |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Nikolic Predrag | BIH | 2603 | 9,5 | 0,0 | 76,0 | 82,0 | 2706 |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Rozentalis Eduardas | LTU | 2553 | 9,0 | 0,0 | 75,0 | 81,0 | 2651 |
| 3 | 8 | GM | Mohr Georg | SLO | 2443 | 8,5 | 0,0 | 69,5 | 74,5 | 2537 |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Garcia Palermo Carlos | ITA | 2446 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 73,0 | 78,0 | 2508 |
| 5 | 3 | GM | Ivanov Alexander | USA | 2506 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 77,0 | 82,5 | 2533 |
| 6 | 14 | GM | Bagaturov Giorgi | GEO | 2397 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 71,0 | 74,5 | 2488 |
| 7 | 12 | IM | Roselli Mailhe Bernardo | URU | 2409 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 67,5 | 72,5 | 2405 |
| 8 | 9 | IM | Kalegin Evgenij | RUS | 2440 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 67,5 | 72,5 | 2391 |
| 9 | 5 | IM | Wiedenkeller Michael | LUX | 2454 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 64,5 | 70,0 | 2380 |
| 10 | 16 | IM | Soylu Suat | TUR | 2377 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 62,5 | 66,5 | 2306 |
| 11 | 20 | IM | Berend Fred | LUX | 2347 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 60,0 | 64,0 | 2329 |
| 12 | 4 | GM | Arkell Keith C | ENG | 2499 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 68,5 | 73,0 | 2411 |
| 13 | 11 | IM | Bruno Fabio | ITA | 2420 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 67,5 | 71,5 | 2394 |
| 14 | 18 | IM | Julia Ernesto | ARG | 2356 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 65,0 | 70,0 | 2375 |
| 15 | 19 | FM | Sorm Daniel | CZE | 2353 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 65,0 | 69,5 | 2350 |
| 16 | 6 | IM | Bellia Fabrizio | ITA | 2452 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 64,0 | 69,0 | 2337 |
| 17 | 13 | GM | Efimov Igor | MNC | 2408 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 61,0 | 65,5 | 2298 |
| 18 | 28 | Ribbegren Karl Johan | MNC | 2249 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 61,0 | 64,5 | 2163 | |
| 19 | 15 | IM | Llanos Guillermo | ARG | 2388 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 59,0 | 63,0 | 2255 |
| 20 | 10 | GM | Kristiansen Jens | DEN | 2420 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 56,5 | 60,0 | 2214 |
... 97 players
| 1 | 1 | WGM | Strutinskaia Galina | RUS | 2227 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 41,5 | 45,5 | 2243 |
| 2 | 5 | WGM | Makropoulou Marina | GRE | 2155 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 2233 |
| 3 | 10 | WFM | Schulz Petra | GER | 2094 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 38,5 | 40,5 | 2194 |
| 4 | 11 | WIM | Mira Helene | AUT | 2066 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 38,0 | 40,0 | 2147 |
| 5 | 7 | WIM | Melashvili Nino | GEO | 2125 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 42,5 | 46,0 | 2183 |
| 6 | 6 | WFM | Bogumil Tatiana | RUS | 2128 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 42,5 | 43,0 | 2126 |
| 7 | 9 | WIM | Sazonova Elena N. | RUS | 2098 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 38,0 | 40,0 | 2093 |
| 8 | 3 | WGM | Mednikova Svetlana | RUS | 2179 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 31,5 | 32,0 | 2005 |
| 9 | 4 | WIM | Kasoshvili Tsiala | GEO | 2174 | 5,0 | 0,5 | 43,5 | 47,5 | 2186 |
| 10 | 2 | WGM | Ankudinova Yelena | KAZ | 2216 | 5,0 | 0,5 | 42,5 | 43,0 | 2076 |
| 11 | 8 | WFM | Khropova Larisa | RUS | 2117 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 39,5 | 40,0 | 1967 |
| 12 | 13 | Tandashvili Margalita | GEO | 2002 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 38,5 | 39,0 | 1955 | |
| 13 | 12 | WFM | Kierzek Mira | GER | 2043 | 4,0 | 1,0 | 40,5 | 44,0 | 2028 |
| 14 | 15 | Baliuniene Margarita | DEN | 1834 | 4,0 | 1,0 | 36,0 | 36,5 | 1912 | |
| 15 | 14 | Chireykina Natalia | RUS | 1901 | 4,0 | 1,0 | 34,0 | 34,5 | 1859 | |
| 16 | 16 | Sand Rosemarie | GER | 1730 | 2,0 | 0,0 | 36,0 | 36,5 | 1679 | |
| 17 | 17 | Arginbayeva Maryana | KAZ | 1458 | 1,0 | 0,0 | 35,0 | 37,0 | 1213 |
| Pos | Nr.s. | Nome | FED | Elo | Pts. | Cls1 | Cls2 | Cls3 | Rp | |
| 1 | 3 | GM | Okhotnik Vladimir | FRA | 2442 | 9,5 | 0,0 | 74,0 | 80,0 | 2605 |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Vaisser Anatoly | FRA | 2505 | 8,5 | 0,0 | 75,5 | 80,0 | 2512 |
| 3 | 7 | GM | Kupreichik Viktor D | BLR | 2369 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 76,0 | 80,5 | 2479 |
| 4 | 5 | GM | Vasiukov Evgeni | RUS | 2392 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 73,5 | 79,0 | 2460 |
| 5 | 6 | IM | Bogdanov Valentin | UKR | 2374 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 68,0 | 73,5 | 2381 |
| 6 | 9 | GM | Butnorius Algimantas | MNC | 2360 | 8,0 | 0,0 | 65,0 | 70,5 | 2310 |
| 7 | 4 | GM | Balashov Yuri S | RUS | 2418 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 74,5 | 80,0 | 2402 |
| 8 | 16 | GM | Pushkov Nikolai | RUS | 2317 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 73,0 | 78,0 | 2398 |
| 9 | 11 | IM | Karasev Vladimir I | RUS | 2344 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 72,0 | 77,0 | 2390 |
| 10 | 32 | FM | Aparicio Anibal | ARG | 2221 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 71,0 | 76,5 | 2383 |
| 11 | 21 | IM | Leskovar Mario | ARG | 2298 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 70,0 | 75,0 | 2364 |
| 12 | 22 | FM | Boehnisch Manfred | GER | 2291 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 69,0 | 74,5 | 2358 |
| 13 | 2 | IM | Zhelnin Vladimir V | RUS | 2469 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 69,0 | 74,5 | 2360 |
| 14 | 17 | FM | Gutkin Boris | ISR | 2311 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 67,5 | 72,0 | 2331 |
| 15 | 19 | IM | Shvedchikov Anatoli I. | RUS | 2310 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 67,0 | 72,5 | 2343 |
| 16 | 20 | IM | Giffard Nicolas | FRA | 2303 | 7,5 | 0,0 | 64,5 | 68,5 | 2280 |
| 17 | 10 | IM | Birnboim Nathan | ISR | 2360 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 73,0 | 79,0 | 2320 |
| 18 | 24 | IM | Rooze Jan | BEL | 2262 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 72,5 | 77,0 | 2350 |
| 19 | 13 | IM | Pritchett Craig W | SCO | 2334 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 70,0 | 75,0 | 2313 |
| 20 | 14 | FM | Werner Clemens | GER | 2329 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 69,0 | 74,5 | 2299 |
| 21 | 12 | IM | Maryasin Boris | ISR | 2335 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 68,5 | 73,0 | 2296 |
| 22 | 15 | IM | Van Riemsdijk Herman C. | BRA | 2318 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 67,0 | 72,0 | 2292 |
| 23 | 28 | Kierzek Matthias | GER | 2234 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 66,0 | 71,0 | 2263 | |
| 24 | 8 | IM | Harandi Khosro | IRI | 2366 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 66,0 | 70,5 | 2258 |
| 25 | 25 | IM | Lederman Leon | ISR | 2260 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 65,5 | 71,0 | 2276 |
| 26 | 46 | FM | Sorensen Bent | DEN | 2151 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 64,0 | 69,0 | 2189 |
| 27 | 37 | FM | Simon Padros Emilio | ESP | 2188 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 64,0 | 68,5 | 2210 |
| 28 | 18 | FM | Sloth Jorn | DEN | 2311 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 63,5 | 68,5 | 2235 |
| 29 | 84 | Taksrud Vidar | NOR | 2022 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 62,0 | 66,0 | 2186 | |
| 30 | 23 | FM | Micheli Carlo | ITA | 2279 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 61,0 | 65,5 | 2152 |
| 31 | 34 | FM | Harestad Thor Geir | NOR | 2209 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 60,0 | 65,0 | 2145 |
... 150 players
Anatoli Vaisser (right, with the white pieces)
Herman van Riemsdijk from Brazil (left, with the black pieces)
| Pos | Nome | Elo | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts. | Cls1 | Cls2 | Cls3 | |
| 1 | GM | Gaprindashvili Nona | 2299 | GEO | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7,0 | 0,0 | 27,50 | 5,0 |
| 2 | WGM | Khmiadashvili Tamar | 2029 | GEO | 0 | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6,5 | 0,0 | 22,50 | 6,0 |
| 3 | WIM | Tsifanskaya Ludmila A | 2077 | ISR | 0 | 1 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6,0 | 1,0 | 24,25 | 4,0 |
| 4 | WGM | Kozlovskaya Valentina | 2249 | RUS | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6,0 | 0,0 | 21,25 | 4,0 |
| 5 | WGM | Fatalibekova Elena | 2242 | RUS | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5,5 | 0,0 | 18,50 | 4,0 |
| 6 | WIM | Sorokina Tamara | 2116 | RUS | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5,0 | 0,0 | 17,25 | 3,0 |
| 7 | WFM | Kuznetsova Luba | 2014 | RUS | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4,5 | 0,0 | 15,00 | 2,0 |
| 8 | WIM | Lebel-Arias Julia | 1796 | MNC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 3,0 | 0,0 | 6,25 | 2,0 |
| 9 | Abdikasova Panu | 1980 | KAZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 1,0 | 0,0 | 0,50 | 1,0 | |
| 10 | Kabanova Irina | 1954 | RUS | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0,5 | 0,0 | 3,00 | 0,0 |
Host of the tournament was the city of Acqui Terme in Piedmont which is known for its hot springs. According to Wikipedia "the hot sulphur springs have been famous since this was the Roman town of Aquae Statiellae: ... In the Roman period the place was connected by road with Alba Pompeia and Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The local Ligurian tribe of the Statielli had joined the Romans at an early period, but were attacked in 173 BCE and some were transferred to the north of the Po. In the neighbourhood of the town, near the river Bormida, are the remains of the aqueduct which supplied it.
In the 6th century it became part of the Lombard kingdom of northern Italy. Acqui was ruled by its bishop from 978, becoming an independent commune in 1135. In 1278 it was annexed to the Marquisate of Montferrat, to which it belonged until the acquisition by the Duchy of Savoy. It was connected by a railway line to Genoa in 1892."
The remains of the aqueduct
In the centre of the city is...
... is "La Bollente" where the hot springs can be enjoyed.
Photos: Gerhard Bertagnolli (Tournament page)
