2014 Euro-Ch Rd10: Motylev and the teen wonders

The championship is an eleven-round Swiss system in accordance with the ECU Tournament Rules and FIDE Laws of Chess. and is held in Yerevan, Armenia from March 2 (day of arrival) until March 15 (day of departure) 2014. The tournament is held at the Elite Plaza Business Centre.  The rate of play is 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.

The tournament does not allow players to draw before the 40th move, and the controversial zero-tolerance rule will be in effect. In case of pre-arranged results the Chief Arbiter can decide that the result of the respective game is 0 - 0. If a prize-winner is absent during the closing ceremony, then the money prize will be reduced by 20%.

The total prizefund is 160 thousand Euros, with 20 thousand for first place, 16 thousand for second, down to 1000 for 25th place. There are also prizes for the best overperformer, meaning the player who performs highest over his rating.

The European Individual Championship 2014 is a qualification event for the next World Cup. According to FIDE regulations and the decision of the ECU Board, 23 players will qualify.

Round nine

The team that has kept the event running smoothly

The European Championship is now closing in on the finish line, and round nine saw a the leader finally draw a game, and allow Turkey’s Dragan Solak and Israeli Ilia Smirin within half a point distance, and once again, the fight for the top spot is open. However the biggest news of the round came from much lower boards.

Turkish GM Dragan Solak (right) has been one of the surprises of the tournament
with a 2786 performance

Ivan Saric (2661)

After the ninth round, two players had performed exceptionally for their ages, though from opposite sides of the spectrum. 13-year-old FM Maritrosyan (2234 FIDE), who had entered the spotlight as one of the top overperformers relative to his rating, finally clinched a GM norm in the ninths round , having faced six grandmasters and defeating two of them. A fantastic result for the Armenian prodigy. On the other end was another grandmaster norm, by IM Alexandre Qashashvili (2378 FIDE). What sticks out is the fact he is 39.

Georgian IM Alexandre Qashashvili shows it is never too late to shine. Here
he defeated his much higher-rated opponent in roud nine, his third win over
a grandmaster in the tournament.

There is nothing wrong with this, however a player has usually stabilized by then (he was 2379 in 2000 for example), and is unlikely to be producing results quite as exceptionally beyond his standard by then. Nevertheless, he played seven grandmasters and defeated no fewer than three of them. Whether or not he will complete the hat-trick necessary to become a full GM over time is unclear, but whatever the future holds, he will emerge from the tournament with his highest rating ever. Kudos.

GM Elina Danielian is looking great, and deserves our deepest congratulations

Round ten

In round ten, any doubts as to whether the title could be wrested from Alexander Motylev were put to rest as he defeated his would-be challenger Ilia Smirin, taking his score to a magnificent 8.5/10, a score that has often been enough to win the championship outright after eleven rounds. With a full point lead once again, the gold seems securely his. He does face top Czech player David Navara in the final round, but even if he loses (knock on wood), it seems unlikely he would be denied.

What can one say about Motylev that has not been said over and over? Wow.

Of significant note are the teenagers in the tournament, and two occupy the top spots, including 19-year-old Vladimir Fedoseev, who leads the pack with 7.5/10, after he overcame Vladimir Akopian in a fascinating struggle.

19-year-old Fedoseev has had a fantastic tournament

19-year-old Spanish GM David Anton Guijarro has also been one of the revelations

Spaniard David Anton Guijarro, also 19, overcame his loss to Smirin in the round before by beating top-seed Etienne Bacrot (2739) who has also struggled with his form. Sadly, he is no longer in contention even for one of the qualifying spots in the World Cup, however French fans need not despair as Laurent Fressinet has excellent chances after moving to 7.0/10 with a win over GM Jon Hammer.

GM Fressinet seems likely to represent France in the forthcoming World Cup

Photos by Arman Karakhanyan

Standings after ten rounds

Click for complete 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.