Hastings Chess Congress ends in seven-way tie

The Hastings Chess Congress was held from December 28th, 2013, to January 5th, 2014, and marked the 89th edition of the venerable tournament. It is true the great chess tradition is but a shadow of what it once was, but fortunes rise and fall, and do rise again, and while many great events have fallen victim to the vicissitudes of fortune, the resilient Hastings has held fast, offering players the opportunity to inscribe their name on the same rosters as Capablanca, Botvinnik, and endless others.

The competition has long been a proving ground for young British talent

The competition received players from Russia, China, all the way to South Africa and New Zealand for nine rounds of chess action to end the old year and start the new one in the midst of their shared passion. The games were played at 40 moves in 100 minutes, followed by 20 moves in 50 minutes, followed by all the moves in 15 minutes, with the addition of 30 seconds for each move from the start.

Many of the games were broadcast live, and spectators or players could watch
the action on screens placed throughout

Sadly, none of the players was able to truly shine much brighter than the others, and the last round ended with seven players tied for a modest 6.5/9, with all splitting prize money equally. According to the tiebreak system used, top-seed Mikheil Mchedlishvili, rated 2649, from Georgia came in first, followed by German Igor Khenkin in second, and Chinese GM Ma Qun in third.

Ma Qun (left) from China was third on tiebreak, and drew in the last round with
Mikheil Mchedlishvili (right) who came first

GM Igor Khenkin came in second, while his opponent FM Jovica Radovanovic
won the prize of the best non-GM/IM

In the second round, 14-year-old Ravi Haria beat IM Justin Sarkar in spectacular fashion after the latter erred.

Young Ravi Haria

Pictures by Lara Barnes

Final standings

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.