The MetLife Warsaw Najdorf Chess Festival (10. to 18. July) is the biggest tournament in Poland. It is organised by the Kazimierz Sosnkowski Foundation and the Polish Chess Federation and offers a total prizefund of 30.000 Euros. Players start in four rating groups. this year 450 players participated.
Warsaw by night
by Tomasz Mincewicz
Igor Kovalenko turned this tournament into a one-man show. He completely dominated his rivals and with seven wins and two draws he sailed to a smooth 8.0/9 victory. This led to a 2902 Elo-Performance and a win of 20 Elo-points. On the virtual Elo-list he now has a rating of 2702.
Tournament winner Igor Kovalenko
Place two went to top seed Ivan Cheparinov from Bulgaria. He played good chess (apart from round 1) and finished with 7.0/9.
GM Ivan Cheparinov
The best Polish player, Michal Krasenkow, lost against a lower-rated player in round 3 but ended the tournament on a good note. After a crucial win against Andrey Zhigalko in round 8 he drew in the last against Kovalenko and finished third.
GM Michał Krasenkow
The playing hall
Igor Kovalenko (right, with White) and Michal Olszewski at the beginning of round 3
GM Andrey Zhigalko finished with 6.0/9
With 6.0/9 IM Nikita Meskov made a GM norm
Polish fans were certainly disappointed with the result of Polish GM Dariusz Świercz:
he scored 5.5/9 and finished 22nd.
Chess veteran GM Oleg Romanishin watching the games.
Tournament director Maria Macieja gives an interview to a local TV station.
Closing ceremony of group D
A table at the tournament displayed Najdorf's most famous game
| Place | Title | Name | Fed. | FIDE | Total | MBch. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Kovalenko, Igor | LAT | 2682 | 8.0 | 40.50 |
| 2 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | BUL | 2683 | 7.0 | 37.50 |
| 3 | GM | Krasenkow, Michal | POL | 2610 | 6.5 | 40.00 |
| 4 | IM | Kanarek, Marcel | POL | 2508 | 6.5 | 36.00 |
| 5 | GM | Tomczak, Jacek | POL | 2579 | 6.5 | 35.00 |
| 6 | GM | Zhigalko, Andrey | BLR | 2574 | 6.0 | 40.50 |
| 7 | IM | Meskovs, Nikita | LAT | 2457 | 6.0 | 39.00 |
| 8 | GM | Safarli, Eltaj | AZE | 2649 | 6.0 | 39.00 |
| 9 | GM | Piorun, Kacper | POL | 2591 | 6.0 | 37.50 |
| 10 | GM | Markowski, Tomasz | POL | 2566 | 6.0 | 37.50 |
| 11 | GM | Efimenko, Zahar | UKR | 2652 | 6.0 | 35.50 |
| 12 | IM | Klekowski, Maciej | POL | 2475 | 6.0 | 35.00 |
| 13 | GM | Bajarani, Ulvi | AZE | 2515 | 6.0 | 33.50 |
| 14 | GM | Rozentalis, Eduardas | LTU | 2530 | 6.0 | 32.00 |
| 15 | GM | Miśta, Aleksander | POL | 2585 | 5.5 | 41.00 |
| 16 | IM | Warakomski, Tomasz | POL | 2449 | 5.5 | 37.50 |
| 17 | IM | Drozdowski, Kacper | POL | 2468 | 5.5 | 36.00 |
| 18 | GM | Neiksans, Arturs | LAT | 2597 | 5.5 | 35.50 |
| 19 | IM | Sunilduth Lyna, Narayanan | IND | 2475 | 5.5 | 34.50 |
| 20 | IM | Sadzikowski, Daniel | POL | 2477 | 5.5 | 34.50 |
| 21 | GM | Macieja, Bartłomiej | POL | 2586 | 5.5 | 33.00 |
| 22 | GM | Dragun, Kamil | POL | 2586 | 5.5 | 33.00 |
| 23 | GM | Świercz, Dariusz | POL | 2634 | 5.5 | 32.00 |
| 24 | GM | Durarbayli, Vasif | AZE | 2630 | 5.0 | 41.00 |
| 25 | GM | Volokitin, Andrei | UKR | 2654 | 5.0 | 38.00 |
...83 participants
The winners: (from left to right) Ivan Cheparinov, Igor Kovalenko, Michal Krasenkow
Photos are from Tomasz Mincewicz and the official tournament site
LinksThe games will be 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. |
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