Turkish League: great games, great organization

Photos from the official site

Ivanchuk (right) did what was expected of him and he scored 7.5/10. Above he beat Boris Savchenko.

The organization was praised by all players. Nana Dzagnidze said she though it was just perfect, while Spanish GM Ivan Salgado Lopez said the same, but explained why: "I think organization is fantastic! It is the best league organization! Here all the teams stay in the same hotel, this is fantastic, because every team has the same conditions. And then the hotel is fantastic. There are many tournaments where there is a very bad hotel, the food is really bad, you can’t sleep because someone is disturbing… This one is simply perfect."

The spacious areas with the buffet and tables to snack and chat were applauded

Players came to the tables to enjoy coffee, snacks, and a pleasant chat

This is not a cute pic of someone's daughter posing at one of the boards, this is a cute pic of a young player.

Ivan Cheparinov scored 5.5/10

Fataliyeva - Kaplan

White has a huge position and it is now time to cash in the chips. White to play and win.

There was live commentary every day this year, with a lively group and regular guests

Mchedlishvili - Topak

So many choices with the exposed king and the passed pawn... White to play and win.

Yaran - Gundogan

Black had hoped to fight a long endgame battle to try and save it, but that just isn't in the cards as he faces an expeditious end. White to play and win.

Aleksandr Rakhmanov outdid his expectations with 8.0/13 and a 2693 performance

Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev was the top performance with 8.0/11 and a 2800 performance

Akdogan - Aydincelebi

Guessing the first move is not hard, but the followup is less obvious. White to play and win.

Colak - Benidze

A very nice finish to an excellent game. Black to play and win.

The top players on board two. In first was Ivan Salgado Lopez with 9.5/13, followed by Baadur Jobava and Luka Paichadze, both from Georgia.

Here is a very attractive game played in round nine deserving a special mention thanks to its spectacular yet surgical finish:

Siar Yaran - Emir Alaettin Efe

The best female board was GM Anna Muzychuk with 10.5/13, followed by IM Marina Nechaeva with 9.0/12, and GM Anna Ushenina with 9.0/13

Ozen - Uraz

White fires shot after shot with great precision. White to play and win.

Shot of winning teams and organizers that made it so special (click for high-res)

The organizers have also been providing extensive live video coverage with hours of commentary, interviews and more. This can all be found at the official site or their YouTube channel.

Above is a sample of the video commentary from round six

Solutions to quizzes

Select games from the list below the board

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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.