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It has been a massive amount of top-notch international rapid chess and blitz with the London Chess Classic, the Beijing Mind Games, and not to be outdone: the European Bitz and Rapid championships. What the European lacked in top-ten players, they made up for in sheer numbers with no fewer than 437 players in the blitz championship and 747 players in the rapid. An ever popular event, it was held once more in Warsaw, Poland, and the main sponsor was MetLife Amplico.
The blitz tournament was won by Ukrainian GM Anton Korobov, who demolished the field with 18.5/22, confirming his favoritism as he was also the top seed with the highest FIDE Blitz rating of 2753. In second was French GM Vladislav Tkachiev, and third was local Bartosz Socko, both with 17.0/22.
The opening ceremony with the sponsors and organizers
The top tables awaiting the green light
Anton Korobov had a scintillating event, winning the blitz and fifth in the rapid
Top Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (left)
The playing hall holding the 437 players
The top tables attracted a number of spectators, though they were protected by barriers
| Rk | Tit | Name | Nat | Bl Rtg | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Korobov, Anton | UKR | B 2753 | 18,5 |
| 2 | GM | Tkachiev, Vladislav | FRA | B 2688 | 17,0 |
| 3 | GM | Socko, Bartosz | POL | B 2618 | 17,0 |
| 4 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | B 2598 | 16,5 |
| 5 | GM | Dubov, Daniil | RUS | B 2683 | 16,5 |
| 6 | GM | Sargissian, Gabriel | ARM | B 2702 | 16,5 |
| 7 | GM | Andriasian, Zaven | ARM | B 2679 | 16,5 |
| 8 | GM | Wojtaszek, Radosław | POL | 2711 | 16,0 |
| 9 | GM | Petrosian, Tigran L. | ARM | B 2613 | 16,0 |
| 10 | GM | Grigoryan, Karen H. | ARM | B 2543 | 16,0 |
| 11 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | BUL | B 2668 | 16,0 |
| 12 | GM | Kulaots, Kaido | EST | B 2564 | 16,0 |
| 13 | GM | Mitoń, Kamil | POL | B 2578 | 15,5 |
| 14 | GM | Antipov, Mikhail Al. | RUS | B 2517 | 15,5 |
| 15 | GM | Azarov, Sergei | BLR | B 2614 | 15,5 |
| 16 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | UKR | B 2642 | 15,5 |
| 17 | GM | Olszewski, Michał | POL | B 2531 | 15,5 |
| 18 | GM | Jussupow, Artur | GER | B 2505 | 15,5 |
| 19 | GM | Ragger, Markus | AUT | B 2635 | 15,5 |
| 20 | IM | Kuźmicz, Krystian | POL | B 2494 | 15,5 |
Note: the ratings are the FIDE Blitz ratings
The European Rapid championship was played over the course of eleven rounds and was won by Hungarian GM Richard Rapport on tiebreak with 9.5/11, ahead of Vladimir Malakhov, second, and Tigran Petrosian, who came in third. It is worth noting that Rapport had an amazing start with 8.5/9 and drew his last two games.
It was a huge event with over 700 players. The playing hall was beautiful.
The top eight boards could be viewed online
How could ChessBase not be a partner to such an event?
GM Richard Rapport had a fantastic start with 8.5/9
It wasn't all grandmasters and 2700 ratings
Wait, who is that in the back with the red jacket? Is it....?
Yes! His opponent is wondering whether winning might jinx her wish list
Ha! Little does he realize this is still Kramnik-Aronian from Zurich 2011
| Rk | Tit | Name | Nat | Bl Rtg | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | R 2661 | 9,5 |
| 2 | GM | Malakhov, Vladimir | RUS | R 2756 | 9,5 |
| 3 | GM | Petrosian, Tigran L. | ARM | R 2637 | 9,5 |
| 4 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | UKR | R 2678 | 9,0 |
| 5 | GM | Korobov, Anton | UKR | R 2752 | 9,0 |
| 6 | GM | Jobava, Baadur | GEO | R 2678 | 9,0 |
| 7 | GM | Socko, Bartosz | POL | R 2661 | 9,0 |
| 8 | GM | Salgado Lopez, Ivan | ESP | R 2620 | 9,0 |
| 9 | GM | Lysyj, Igor | RUS | R 2640 | 9,0 |
| 10 | GM | Krasenkow, Michal | POL | R 2609 | 9,0 |
| 11 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | BUL | R 2710 | 8,5 |
| 12 | GM | Sargissian, Gabriel | ARM | R 2647 | 8,5 |
| 13 | GM | Ragger, Markus | AUT | R 2689 | 8,5 |
| 14 | GM | Dubov, Daniil | RUS | R 2602 | 8,5 |
| 15 | GM | Wojtaszek, Radoslaw | POL | R 2713 | 8,5 |
| 16 | GM | Tkachiev, Vladislav | FRA | R 2675 | 8,5 |
| 17 | IM | Pakleza, Zbigniew | POL | R 2471 | 8,5 |
| 18 | GM | Ivanisevic, Ivan | SRB | R 2638 | 8,5 |
| 19 | GM | Tregubov, Pavel V. | RUS | R 2570 | 8,5 |
| 20 | GM | Bryzgalin, Kirill | RUS | R 2584 | 8,5 |
Note: the ratings are the FIDE Rapid ratings
LinksThe 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. |
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