4th Anatoly Karpov Trophy starts

by Albert Silver
10/26/2015 – The 4th Anatoly Karpov, started in Cap d'Agde, France, and promises a week and more of top-notch rapid game action for the fans. The preliminary is a double round robin between eight guests, four men, including Karpov himself, four ladies, of whom Mariya Muzychuk, the reigning World Woman Champion. The competition can be followed live on Playchess, and has daily videos.

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Watch Cap d'Agde live on Playchess!

Although the event has always been graced with female players, this year there was a firm commitment to balance the field with four male players, and four female. This is not to suggest it is a Men vs Women event, as it is still very much every man (or woman) for himself. The eight players this year are:

  • Anatoly KARPOV (Russia) GM. (2628).
  • Marie SEBAG (France) GM. (2496).
  • Laurent FRESSINET (France) GM. (2702).
  • Marya MUZYCHUCK (Ukraine) GM. (2528).
  • Tigran GHARAMIAN (France) GM. (2654).
  • Anna MUZYCHUCK (Ukraine) GM. (2549).
  • Romain EDOUARD (France) GM. (2636).
  • Zhansaya ABDUMALIK (Kazakhstan) WGM. (2390).

Playing at a time control of 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment, the eight players will meet each other twice, for a total of 14 rounds. Each day two round are played, and at the end of the seven days, the top four players will qualify for the semi-finals, and then the final.

Drawing of lots

The drawing of lots determined the pairings. Presented by Philippe Lazarre and GM Bachar Kouatly, they
also asked the players to share some impressions. (Video by Europe Echecs)

The seven guest participants aside from Karpov, who is not in the picture

Rounds one and two

In the first round, a few surprises already took place, notably 15-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik defeated
higher rated Anna Muzychuk, while Marie Sebag took down Tigran Gharamian. (Video by Europe Echecs)

Round three

In the third round, the Muzychuk sisters showed they were there to compete, and Mariya beat Anna

Round five

In the fifth round only Tigran Gharamian was able to score a full point, defeating Anna Muzychuk

Round seven and the Open

Images from the last round of the first half, as well as scenes from the many opens. All in all, 873 players
have come to enjoy the chess activities in Cap d'Agde.

All videos are by Europe Echecs

Standings after eight rounds

Links

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.
Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

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