On the road with a Grandmaster
Sergey Fedorchuk won the 28th Sevres Open, which was held recently in Sevres, just outside Paris. More than one hundred players including four GMs and five IMs participated in the single-day, nine-round rapid tournament. The Ukrainian grandmaster, rated 2668 in the rapid format, steamrolled through the tournament as he scored eight points. He said sticking to principled lines and a good night's sleep on the eve of the tournament have been the ingredients of his rapid tournament successes for some time now.
"To play in rapid tournaments, one must be well rested and have a lot of energy. Since there are nine games in one day, one has to remain concentrated all the time. It's not like in the classical format where it’s one game per day and even during that game it's possible to rest for five minutes," he said.

Fedorchuk with Pascal Champagne, president of the Sevres club le petit roque | Photo: Dhananjay Khadilkar
On the eve of a rapid tournament, Fedorchuk tries to distract himself from chess. "I try to forget about the next day's tournament and focus on something else... play another game or watch a movie. I try not to stress in advance before the start of the tournament and not think about it."
About his rapid play approach, Fedorchuk said he sticks to the main lines.
"In rapid games, I mostly play principal lines that I know well. I know the ideas behind these lines. On the other hand, in classical chess, I try to play new variations because in the longer format my opponent is prepared for me."
According to him, another important factor is to stay alert to the tournament situation and adjust the playing style.
"As a professional, my priority is to try and finish in prize-winning places. The problem is that there aren't too many good prizes in rapid and classic tournaments. Modern chess has more sporting than creative components. Therefore, for me the result is more important. To achieve the result I take risks in the games, or in order to maintain it, I play without risk. This is what probably most of professionals players do."
Anatole Vlachos, whose rapid rating is 2203, sprung a surprise by finishing second while GM Andrei Shchekachev finished third.
Vlachos, the 17-year old FIDE master from Greece, who scored 7½ points, said he was confident of doing well in the tournament. “I play quite well in rapid. I was expecting to be among the top five finishers. Of course, finishing second was quite pleasing.”

FM Anatole Vlachos
Vlachos’ strategy in rapid play is based on making quick moves. “I play the openings I feel comfortable with. After that I try to put time pressure on my opponents by playing fast and making practical moves.”
He said that one should not get fazed while facing a Grandmaster or an International Master. “You should stick to your regular openings and play normally. For example, against Shchekachev, I liked my variation. He was a little bit better. So my only hope was to put time pressure on him. I played very fast and it worked,” he said on his seventh round win.
1.e4 | 1,184,215 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
1.d4 | 958,932 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 286,327 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 184,722 | 56% | 2443 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,884 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,598 | 54% | 2428 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,953 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,906 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,790 | 48% | 2378 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,250 | 54% | 2406 | --- |
1.e3 | 1,081 | 49% | 2409 | --- |
1.d3 | 969 | 50% | 2378 | --- |
1.g4 | 670 | 46% | 2361 | --- |
1.h4 | 466 | 54% | 2382 | --- |
1.c3 | 439 | 51% | 2425 | --- |
1.h3 | 289 | 56% | 2420 | --- |
1.a4 | 118 | 60% | 2461 | --- |
1.f3 | 100 | 47% | 2427 | --- |
1.Nh3 | 92 | 67% | 2511 | --- |
1.Na3 | 47 | 62% | 2476 | --- |
Please, wait...
1.Nf3 f5 2.d3 Nf6 3.e4 d6 4.exf5 Bxf5 5.d4 g6 6.Bd3 Qd7 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Re1 0-0 9.c3 Nc6!? 10.Qb3+ Kh8 11.Bxf5 gxf5 12.Qxb7 e5 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Be3? Rab8 15.Qa6 Rxb2 16.Nbd2 e4 17.Nc4 Rc2 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Ng4 20.Rad1 Bxd4 21.Rxd4 Qg7 22.Qe6 Rxf2 23.Rd7 23.a3 Rxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Ne3+ 25.Kf2 Qg2+ 26.Kxe3 f4# 23...Qxc3 24.Red1 Rxg2+ 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Shchekachev,A | 2539 | Vlachos,A | 2203 | 0–1 | 2019 | A04 | Sèvres Rapid | 7.2 |
Please, wait...
Final standings (top 10
Pl |
|
Nom |
Rapide |
Cat. |
Fede |
Ligue |
Club |
Pts |
Tr. |
Perf |
1 |
g |
Fedorchuk Sergey A. |
2668 F |
SenM |
 |
EST |
Club d'Echecs Metz Fischer |
8 |
47 |
2713 |
2 |
f |
Vlachos Anatole |
2203 F |
CadM |
 |
IDF |
Tremblay en France |
7½ |
46½ |
2457 |
3 |
g |
Shchekachev Andrei |
2539 F |
SenM |
 |
IDF |
Tremblay en France |
7 |
45½ |
2494 |
4 |
g |
Guliyev Namig |
2643 F |
SenM |
 |
CVL |
C'Chartres Echecs |
7 |
44½ |
2526 |
5 |
m |
Bergez Luc |
2386 F |
SenM |
 |
IDF |
J.E.E.N. |
7 |
43 |
2365 |
6 |
|
Karagyozian Edgar |
2206 F |
SenM |
 |
EST |
Reims Echec et Mat |
7 |
37 |
2313 |
7 |
|
Dumas Charles |
2085 F |
SenM |
 |
IDF |
Cavalier de la Tourelle Saint-Mande |
6½ |
44½ |
2266 |
8 |
m |
Vareille Francois |
2410 N |
SepM |
 |
IDF |
Le Petit-Roque de Sèvres-Ville d'Avray |
6½ |
43 |
2294 |
9 |
f |
Sohier Julien |
2163 F |
SenM |
 |
IDF |
Club 608 d'Echecs Paris |
6½ |
41 |
2184 |
10 |
|
Degardin Sylvain |
2251 F |
SenM |
 |
IDF |
Club d'Echecs de Saint-Maur |
6½ |
40 |
2112 |
Links