It is understandably hard to know where to look with so much fantastic chess going on. First there is the Gibraltar Open, which brings Top Ten players such as Topalov and Nakamura, then there is the Grenke Classic that just started with a star-studded field, and that alone would already have chess fans twisting their heads left and right to follow the action, but the Moscow Open should and must absolutely be added to this list.

A few years ago, it was timed quite unfortunately literally right before the other great Muscovite event, the Aeroflot Open, and unless a player was willing to undergo this Ultra-Marathon in chess, most found themselves having to choose between one or the other. Quang Liem Le made his great breakthrough by not only doing precisely that, but winning both one after the other, but for the most part, they cannibalized each other's lineups. The Aeroflot Open even threatened to disappear, but with its rise from the ashes and better planned dates, locals and visitors can add them both to their schedules if they wish.

The children's competition brought a record (for the event) 715 children from all over Russia...

...and beyond.

Now in its eleventh edition year, the Moscow Open AKA the International RSSU Chess Cup is held at the Russian State Social University in Moscow and consists of no fewer than eight tournaments with a combined prize fund of around 4,000,000 rubles. Unfortunately, just six months ago that would have meant some US$120 thousand, but with the collapse of the Russian currency that now equates to $58,500.

The highest profile event is the Open A, reserved only for men, with 246 players of whom 159 are titled, coming from 25 countries. At the top of the list are Ian Nepomniachtchi (2714), Francisco Vallejo Pons (2706), and reigning Russian champion Igor Lysyj (2700). Of note are also young guns such as Vladimir Fedoseev, who just won the Dvorkovich Memorial, and Vladislav Artemiev.

Reigning Russian champion Igor Lysyj is one of the highlights

Vladimir Fedoseev just came off a win at the Dvorkovich Memorial and is in good spirits

Ukrainian Anton Korobov is another heavy hitter

Players from as far away as Brazil, such as GM Alexander Fier, have come to join the action

Open B is reserved exclusively to female players, and here too no fewer than 136 players came, with Aleksandra Goryachkina (2451) as the top seed. Open C is reserved for players rated under 2300, and Open D is a Seniors only event, unisex, topped by Evgeny Sveshnikov (2514) or 81-year-old GM Evgeni Vasiukov (2426). Finally there are the youth events and the student events.

Aleksandra Goryachkina is the top seed and one of the players with a perfect 3.0/3 start

Lei Tingjie leads the pack with 3.0/3 via tiebreak

The hall where Open B is taking place

The Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony started with presentations and then the ballet

Demonstrating their grace and form

In counterpoint was a group of very jovial drummers with neon drums and more. See the video below.

Among the more official opening formalities Valentina Gunina had the honor of crossing swords
with former world champion Anatoly Karpov

Video with highlights of the opening ceremony with ballet, blinking neon drums, and more

Photos by Monica Dubinkayte, Denis Obukhov, Galina Popova, Eteri Kublashvili

Standings of Open A after three rounds

Click for complete standings

Standings of Open B after three rounds

Click for complete standings

Links Official tournament site All Open A games in PGN All Open B 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.