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French Championship
The highlight of the chess year in France are the championships, a big event that attracts hundreds of players of all levels. It is rare that a federation manages to attract such a large variety of players for a various tournaments that take place parallel to the round-robins in which the strongest male and female players from France play for the title of National Champion.
No less than 889 players came to the city of Agen to take part in the 91st French Championships. What follows is a brief overview of the tournaments and activities of this chess festival.
National
The best French players establish the national champion in a round-robin tournament. Due to the absence of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (who played in the Sinquefield Cup) and Etienne Bacrot (who prepared the national team of Azerbaidjan for the Olympiad) suddenly a lot of players had more or less realistic hopes to become French Champion 2016. Obvious favorites were the six players who started with an Elo-rating of more than 2600 but they all failed to find their stride. In the end it was Matthieu Cornette who won the Championship with 6.0/9. But the biggest surprise of the tournament was perhaps the third place of Jean-Francois Jolly, who started with an Elo of 2361 as the lowest rated player in the field. In 2015 Jolly came second in the Accession Tournament and qualified for this year's National, in which he till the very end had chances to win the title.
To play in the National one has to finish among the first six of the National in the year before or finish first or second in the Accession Tournament of the year before or do have an Elo-average (in at least three rated tournaments) that is better than the Elo-average of other players who are not yet qualified.
Yannick Gozzoli (2nd), Matthieu Cornette (1st), Jean-Francois Jolly (3rd)
| Name | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | |
| 1 | g Matthieu CORNETTE | 2581 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6 | 24¼ | |
| 2 | g Yannick GOZZOLI | 2573 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5½ | 23¾ | |
| 3 | m Jean-Francois JOLLY | 2361 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5½ | 23¼ | |
| 4 | g Laurent FRESSINET | 2677 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5 | 22¾ | |
| 5 | g Romain EDOUARD | 2647 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 4½ | 20¼ | |
| 6 | g Christian BAUER | 2620 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4½ | 17½ | |
| 7 | g Tigran GHARAMIAN | 2637 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4 | 17¾ | |
| 8 | g Sebastien MAZE | 2627 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4 | 16¾ | |
| 9 | g Adrien DEMUTH | 2545 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 3½ | 15 | |
| 10 | g Sebastien FELLER | 2602 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 2½ | 11¼ |
National (Women)
The result of the French Women's Championship was no surpirise as two of the highest rated players made it to the podium. Sophie Milliet (four times French champion) and Almira Skripchenko (six times French Champion) were joined by Natacha Benmesbah. They all finished with 6.5/9. After an intense blitz-playoff (3min+2s) Sophie Milliet won ahead of Almira Skripchenko and Natacha Benmesbah.
Natasha Benmesbah (2nd), Sophie Milliet (1st), Almira Skripchenko (3rd)
| Name | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | |
| 1 | m Sophie MILLIET | 2354 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6½ | 27½ | |
| 2 | mf Natacha BENMESBAH | 2244 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6½ | 27¼ | |
| 3 | m Almira SKRIPCHENKO | 2452 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6½ | 24¼ | |
| 4 | m Silvia COLLAS | 2296 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5½ | 22½ | |
| 5 | gf Nino MAISURADZE | 2297 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4½ | 16 | |
| 6 | mf Andreea BOLLENGIER | 2233 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4 | 14¼ | |
| 7 | gf Anda SAFRANSKA | 2226 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 3½ | 12¾ | |
| 8 | mf Andreea-Cristiana NAVROTESCU | 2297 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3½ | 12¼ | |
| 9 | ff Cyrielle MONPEURT | 2136 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 2½ | 8½ | |
| 10 | ff Julie FISCHER | 2071 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11¾ |
Accession
The players who finish first and second in the Accession tournament (open for players with an Elo of at least 2200 or for players who win their league) qualify for the National. After nine rounds GM Jean-Luc Chabanon, 8.0/9, and Maxime Lagarde, 7.0/9 were the first two who qualified for the National 2017. GM Jean-Marc Degraeve took third place and narrowly missed the qualification.
Maxime Lagarde (2nd), Jean-Luc Chabanon (1st), Jean-Marc Degraeve (3rd)
| Pl | Name | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | g | CHABANON Jean-Luc | 2458 | 8 | 41½ | 2747 |
| 2 | g | LAGARDE Maxime | 2572 | 7 | 43 | 2625 |
| 3 | g | DEGRAEVE Jean-Marc | 2586 | 6½ | 43 | 2564 |
| 4 | f | DUBOUE Peio | 2397 | 6½ | 40 | 2534 |
| 5 | m | LOISEAU Quentin | 2434 | 6 | 39 | 2478 |
| 6 | m | COLLAS Didier | 2388 | 6 | 37½ | 2442 |
| 7 | f | ROULER Charly | 2333 | 6 | 37 | 2480 |
| 8 | m | HOUSIEAUX David | 2431 | 6 | 34½ | 2405 |
| 9 | f | PHILIPPE Guillaume | 2335 | 5½ | 39 | 2379 |
| 10 | g | LE ROUX Jean-Pierre | 2564 | 5½ | 38½ | 2417 |
| 11 | f | FAVAREL Antoine | 2376 | 5½ | 38½ | 2400 |
| 12 | f | VEYS Vincent | 2352 | 5½ | 38 | 2404 |
| 13 | m | VELTEN Paul | 2485 | 5½ | 37½ | 2404 |
| 14 | m | COTONNEC Melkior | 2295 | 5½ | 35½ | 2404 |
| 15 | MULLER Anthony | 2241 | 5½ | 35½ | 2357 | |
| 16 | f | VALUET Bertrand | 2274 | 5½ | 35 | 2376 |
| 17 | f | DESLANDES Pascal | 2302 | 5½ | 34 | 2402 |
| 18 | SAMOUN Florent | 2242 | 5½ | 31 | 2361 |
... 63 players. For complete standings click here
Véterans
The veteran tournament attracted 84 players who are 60 or older. Amateurs and strong players like Nicolas Giffard fought for the crown. In the end Jean-Pierre Boudre won (8.0/9), Nicolas Giffard finished on 2nd place (7.0/9) and Roland Weill finished 3rd (7.0/9). The crucial moment came in round five when Boudre won against Giffard. This game won the brilliancy prize of the round.
Nicolas Giffard (2nd), Jean-Pierre Boudre (1st), Roland Weill (3rd)
| Pl | Nom | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | m | BOUDRE Jean-Pierre | 2276 | 8 | 42½ | 2414 |
| 2 | m | GIFFARD Nicolas | 2310 | 7 | 45 | 2275 |
| 3 | f | WEILL Roland | 2139 | 7 | 45 | 2209 |
| 4 | RICTER Jean-Paul | 2092 | 7 | 40 | 2149 | |
| 5 | f | GOLDENBERG Richard | 2228 | 6½ | 44 | 2168 |
| 6 | PASCOT Jean | 1822 | 6½ | 39½ | 2096 | |
| 7 | DARRIGUES Alain | 1838 | 6½ | 35½ | 1962 | |
| 8 | f | LETZELTER Jean-Claude | 2098 | 6 | 46 | 2145 |
| 9 | FABER Michel | 2077 | 6 | 44 | 2027 | |
| 10 | ANDRIEU Philippe | 1848 | 6 | 41 | 2015 | |
| 11 | BRONGERS Henk | 2059 | 6 | 39½ | 2035 | |
| 12 | DECROIX Paloan | 1983 | 6 | 39½ | 2005 | |
| 13 | BIAUX Alain | 1921 | 6 | 38½ | 1925 | |
| 14 | FERRIGNO Jean-Pierre | 1960 | 6 | 36 | 1827 | |
| 15 | PEYRIN Jean | 1786 | 6 | 35½ | 1966 |
... 84 players. For the complete standings click here
Open A-D
There were four other tournaments, divided by rating.
OPEN A : For players with an Elo-rating between 1950 and 2200
The winner was Arnaud HELSTROFFER (Elo 2064) who scored 7.5/9
| Pl | Name | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | HELSTROFFER Arnaud | 2064 | 7½ | 43½ | 2368 | |
| 2 | BLUM Nicolas | 2184 | 7½ | 43½ | 2349 | |
| 3 | VIEL Simon | 1992 | 7 | 44 | 2325 | |
| 4 | BANDET Raphael | 2152 | 7 | 43 | 2308 | |
| 5 | DE LUSSAC Rainier | 2099 | 6½ | 45½ | 2276 | |
| 6 | MALASSAGNE Raphael | 2129 | 6½ | 45 | 2240 | |
| 7 | FERYN Benjamin | 2091 | 6½ | 40½ | 2236 | |
| 8 | ROSELLE Tristan | 2096 | 6½ | 39½ | 2238 | |
| 9 | VEDOVOTTO Nicolas | 2091 | 6½ | 38 | 2247 |
... 121 players: For the complete standings click here
Open B : For players with an Elo-rating between 1750 and 2000
The winner was Simeon Pottier (Elo 1916) who scored 7.5/9
| Pl | Name | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | POTTIER Simeon | 1916 | 7½ | 43 | 2161 | |
| 2 | CHAPON Jean-Alexis | 1940 | 7½ | 41½ | 2158 | |
| 3 | VIERS Matthieu | 1915 | 7½ | 37½ | 2152 | |
| 4 | ABDELMOUMEN Oussama | 1852 | 7 | 41 | 2116 | |
| 5 | AUBERT Laurane | 1945 | 7 | 37½ | 2102 | |
| 6 | BASSINI Emile | 1841 | 7 | 36 | 2120 | |
| 7 | DEGRAEVE Remy | 1858 | 6½ | 45 | 2069 | |
| 8 | PARTINICO Jeremy | 1945 | 6½ | 40½ | 2042 | |
| 9 | LERICHE Ines | 1895 | 6½ | 38½ | 2027 | |
| 10 | JACQUOT Adrien | 1929 | 6½ | 37½ | 2036 | |
| 11 | MAZAURIC Julien | 1797 | 6½ | 36½ | 2058 | |
| 12 | ROLLOT Florence | 1807 | 6½ | 36 | 2068 | |
| 13 | GOULESQUE Camille | 1889 | 6½ | 36 | 2019 | |
| 14 | VERWEE Johann | 1834 | 6½ | 35½ | 2052 |
... 141 players. For the complete standings click here
Open C : For players with an Elo-rating between 1500 and 1800
The winner was Kevin Lebon (Elo 1792) who scored 7.5/9
| Pl | Nom | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | LEBON Kevin | 1792 | 7½ | 46 | 1970 | |
| 2 | KANTZER Romain | 1702 | 7½ | 44 | 1935 | |
| 3 | GAUTIER Nathan | 1725 | 7½ | 41½ | 1963 | |
| 4 | RANC Florian | 1699 | 7 | 44 | 1865 | |
| 5 | DENIS Vincent | 1634 | 7 | 43 | 1941 | |
| 6 | GUAZZELLI Jean-Baptiste | 1730 | 7 | 42½ | 1898 | |
| 7 | BOYER Mahel | 1706 | 7 | 42 | 1848 | |
| 8 | BOULADE Olivier | 1748 | 7 | 41 | 1887 | |
| 9 | LAMBERT Thierry | 1735 | 7 | 40 | 1871 | |
| 10 | FRETEL Liza | 1741 | 7 | 37½ | 1854 | |
| 11 | GROSSMANN Brunelle | 1749 | 7 | 36½ | 1886 |
... 209 players. For the complete standings click here
Open D :For players with an Elo-rating below 1500 and for unrated players
The winner was Antonin Bobard (Elo 1415) who scored 8.5/9
| Pl | Name | Elo | Pts | Tr. | Perf | |
| 1 | BOBARD Antonin | 1415 | 8½ | 44½ | 1833 | |
| 2 | NEZOSI Christophe | 1405 | 8 | 41½ | 1673 | |
| 3 | PENLOUP-LEBOULANGER Marvin | 1399 | 7½ | 44½ | 1607 | |
| 4 | DEVAUX Juliette | 1430 | 7½ | 42 | 1659 | |
| 5 | MASALLES Coralie | 1472 | 7 | 45½ | 1600 | |
| 6 | BAHEU Manon | 1314 | 7 | 44 | 1649 | |
| 7 | DUBOIS Axel | 1323 | 7 | 43½ | 1565 | |
| 8 | UDINO Aubin | 1334 | 7 | 43 | 1611 | |
| 9 | SCHWINDLING Marie | 1475 | 7 | 42½ | 1586 | |
| 10 | LAPEYRE Maeva | 1417 | 7 | 42 | 1562 | |
| 11 | AUROUX William | 1441 | 7 | 41½ | 1556 | |
| 12 | TOURNEUR Cloe | 1490 | 7 | 41 | 1537 | |
| 13 | ALCINDOR Samuel | 1245 | 7 | 39½ | 1607 | |
| 14 | MERLET Francois | 1491 | 7 | 39 | 1590 | |
| 15 | FORNES Marie | 1437 | 7 | 37½ | 1575 |
... 246 players. For the complete standings click here
Commentary
Every round was commentated live on Youtube by GM Manuel Apicella and Stéphane Laborde. Stéphane Laborde also invited the players after the game to record an analysis of their game. Here's the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblBYAG9k8WF-ME-R_l6P1O5d-W9ucQRz
Christian Bauer and Sebastien Mazé shared a game with analyses (in French):
Simultaneous exhibitions and the Night of Chess
The French Championships would not be complete with the Night of Chess, a regular feature of the Championships. This year four players gratefully accepted the invitation and each of them played 24 games in the afternoon. Sophie Milliet, Tigran Gharamian, Laurent Fressinet and Adrien Demuth made amateur dreams come true. The atmosphere was great, the players signed autographs and posed for selfies.
Sophie Milliet, French women's champion 2016, playing a simultan in the center of Agen
Blitz
Every evening the chess club of Agen organised a blitz tournament after the round that attracted a lot of players. Here are some impressions:
Thibault Fantinel (right), 2429 ELO, was one of the many strong players who played in the blitz tournament.
Seminars
In the mornings a variety of seminars were offered. One of them was the "!ChessBase seminar" which attracted over 50 people. Pascal Simon gave an insight into the world of ChessBase and explained how to use the program to prepare for an opponent and how to use the ChessBase tools to analyse your games.
