Report from Kemer by Fatma Ozturk and Anastasiya Karlovich

The World Amateur Chess Championship 2011 took place in Kemer, Turkey, from 1st to 10th October 2011, with 67 players from 16 countries (Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, France, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Russia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey and the United States) participating in the event. The players in this tournament could not have a FIDE title or a published FIDE Rating above 2000 for at least two years before to the start of the event. The tournament was a nine-round Swiss and the time control 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

14-year-old Sumiya Bilguun from Mongolia won the championship with 7.5/9 points

Sumiya was followed by three players from Turkey, Colombia and Brazil. Here are the final standings:

• Full final standings of all 67 players

One of the major attractions of Kemer is its natural beauty: sea, mountains and pine forests combine in harmony. The shore from Beldibi to Tekirova consists of unspoilt beaches in bays of various sizes, mostly stony rather than sand. With easy transportation, good communication and other municipal services Kemer has a large proportion of the hotel bed capacity of the Antalya region, and is a comfortable and peaceful holiday coast with an internationally accepted reputation, attracting large numbers of visitors from countries such as Germany, The Netherlands and in recent years predominantly families from Russia. Many of the visitors come as part of low-cost all-inclusive package deals, but tourism is still the mainstay of the local economy. There are so many visitors that most shops in Kemer are set up to sell things like leather jackets to overseas visitors and trade in the Euro as well as the Turkish lira.

The town of Kemer is vibrant with clubs, bars and restaurants, blue flag beaches and a 320 capacity yacht marina. Popular coastal villages include Beldibi, Kiris, Çayova, Aslanbucak, Kuzdere, Beycik, Çamyuva, Göynük, and Çirali. Annual events in the area include art exhibitions in Phaselis, boat races, WRC (World Rally Championship), Turkey Offshore Championship, Turkey Motocross Championship, Phaselis Art Festival, and Kemer Carnival. International pop stars and Djs, such as Tarkan and DJ Tiesto, give summer concerts on this coast.

A view of the central square of Kemer

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk monument in the center of town

A view of the biggest mosque in Kemer with beautiful sunset

The Limra Hotel hosted the World Amateur Chess Championship as well as many
other Turkish and international events

Beach volley is one of the enjoyable activities near the sea…

...as well as table tennis, which is the preferred game of young Turkish players

The playing hall of the World Amateur Championship

A handshake bridges continents and genders...

... and ages and size (Emrah Sitki Saglam and Eren Cenker Tan in round one)

The twelve-year-old Indian player Akshat Chandra was leading witn 5.0/6, when he suddenly lost two games in the sixth and seventh rounds. His father told us that their family moved from the USA back to India three years ago and his son started to play chess at the age of nine. From January 2010 to September 2011 he increased his Elo from 1538 to 1958 – more then 400 points!

Turkish player Timur Özdemir finished in second place

Russian player Oleg Barantsev finished with 5.5/9 points

In an interview Oleg told us that he was born in St. Petersburg, started to play chess at the age of six and comes from the same generation with Svidler, Emelin, Lugovoi with whom he played in the same tournaments. Historical circumstances and the appearance of New Russia switched his attention to different things and he stopped playing chess. One year ago during the honeymoon he went to Aruba and overplayed the National Team of Aruba. This victory inspired him to participate in the World Amateur. Full interview here.

Another participant, American player Jim Mundy, switched his jobs and decided to become a coach. Chess is his passion and it was enough reason to leave his previous job of a studio electrician. He has worked as a trainer for 15 years and studies chess everyday. He also has a coach – Colombian IM Carlos Perdomo – and Rybka. Read more here.

Virkud Apurva and her mother chat with Jim Mundy before the start of the round

The Colombian delegation

Denizcan Temizkan from Turkey, European Champion Under Eight in 2008, Silver
medallist in the World School Chess Championship Under nine in 2009

Turkish player Mustafa Alpago Gulsoy, rated 1588

Turgut Can Kutlu is happy that he reached his board at the very last minute. There is a "zero tolerance" rule in place which require chess players to be seated at their boards when the games are scheduled to start.

There is always a friendly atmosphere in the hall before the rounds

Mehmet Haci Ulusal gets a relaxing massage from Turgut Kutlu before a tough game

...as does Mrs. Kuzenkova who is waiting for her husband Alexander Kuzenkov

Your reporters Fatma Ozturk and Anastasiya Karlovich in Kemer

All pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich

Links Official tournament site All games in zipped PGN You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.

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