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Despite the absence of the five players that took bronze at the Olympiad, the line-up of the Russian Rapid Championship included five players with a 2700+ (rapid) rating: Vladislav Artemiev — the top seed — Sanan Sjugirov, Evgeny Tomashevsky, Pavel Ponkratov and Maksim Chigaev. A total of over a hundred titleholders joined the event.
No less than seven players finished on 8½/11 points. Artemiev and Tomashevsky were the only ones that managed to reach the end undefeated, while Daniil Dubov, Anton Demchenko and Ivan Bocharov took a more all-or-nothing approach and signed one draw each in the long Swiss tournament. Andrey Esipenko and Dmitry Bocharov completed the leading pack.
Just like in the Olympiad, the tiebreak scores decided the final standings. In fact, Artemiev and Bocharov tied on the first criterion and only the second one gave Vladislav first place (by a mere half point!) Since he arrived as the first seed and finished undefeated, it is only natural that he faced the toughest opposition throughout the eleven rounds. In their direct encounter from round ten, Artemiev and Bocharov signed a 50-move draw, in which none of them really got an edge.
16-year-old Andrey Esipenko | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
The usual move order is 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nf3 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e5!? 5 Nb5 d5 6 cxd5 Bc5 bringing us to a very sharp position. Andrew MArtin shows this variation from black's point of view.
Daniil Dubov (right) finished fifth on tiebreaks; Boris Grachev (middle) finished twentieth | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
The Russian Women's Rapid Championship was bloodier than the main tournament. Both Polina Shuvalova and Dinara Dordzhieva finished on 9/11 and did not sign a single draw. Dordzhieva's five wins in a row in the final hurdle were not enough to deprive Shuvalova from taking first place on tiebreaks. Karina Ambartsumova was clear third as the only player to finish on 8½/11.
Polina Shuvalova was in a fighting mood | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
The Austrian Attack against the Pirc Defence
Try the Austrian Attack! It is a solid but dangerous weapon and guarantees White an effective attack from the very start! Learn the key tricks of this deadly line and crush the Pirc with ease!
The national blitz tournament took place on Sunday, October 7th. Artemiev's good form continued, as he won his first nine games and only conceded a whole point in round thirteen. At the end of the day, his closing wins over Alexander Morozevich allowed him to finish ahead of Sanan Sjugirov on 16/20 — Sjugirov ended the tournament half a point behind, after losing only once in twenty rounds. Third place went to Daniil Dubov.
We do not see Alexander Morozevich often in official tournaments nowadays | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
| Rank | Name | Points | Elo |
| 1 | Artemiev, Vladislav | 16 | 2849 |
| 2 | Sjugirov, Sanan | 15½ | 2711 |
| 3 | Dubov, Daniil | 15 | 2706 |
| 4 | Bocharov, Ivan | 15 | 2667 |
| 5 | Oparin, Grigoriy | 14½ | 2550 |
| 6 | Ponkratov, Pavel | 14½ | 2647 |
| 7 | Savchenko, Boris | 14½ | 2657 |
| 8 | Alekseenko, Kirill | 14 | 2613 |
| 9 | Chigaev, Maksim | 14 | 2616 |
| 10 | Alekseev, Evgeny | 14 | 2629 |
| 11 | Morozevich, Alexander | 14 | 2677 |
| 12 | Riazantsev, Alexander | 14 | 2633 |
| 13 | Esipenko, Andrey | 13½ | 2634 |
| 14 | Antipov, Mikhail Al. | 13½ | 2491 |
| 15 | Rozum, Ivan | 13½ | 2595 |
| 16 | Sarana, Alexey | 13½ | 2532 |
| 17 | Paravyan, David | 13½ | 2634 |
| 18 | Timofeev, Artyom | 13½ | 2610 |
| 19 | Yuffa, Daniil | 13½ | 2470 |
| 20 | Gabrielian, Artur | 13 | 2507 |
A score of 15/20 was enough for Alina Bivol to finish ahead of the field in the Women's Blitz Championship. She did not have a great start but lost her last game in round ten — she went undefeated afterwards. Anastasia Bodnaruk — who was the favourite by rating in the rapid and ended only fifteenth — managed to arrive second, half a point behind. Dinara Dordzhieva closed a great week by finishing sole third place on 14/20.
A week of tension and time scrambles | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
Trompowsky for the attacking player
Tap into your creative mind and start the game on a fresh note. The Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) is an opening outside of conventional wisdom. Create challenges and make your opponent solve problems early on.
| Rank | Name | Points | Elo |
| 1 | Bivol, Alina | 15 | 2217 |
| 2 | Bodnaruk, Anastasia | 14½ | 2358 |
| 3 | Dordzhieva, Dinara | 14 | 2225 |
| 4 | Charochkina, Daria | 13½ | 2267 |
| 5 | Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra | 13½ | 2269 |
| 6 | Lysenko, Margarita | 13½ | 2122 |
| 7 | Voit, Daria | 13 | 2415 |
| 8 | Ambartsumova, Karina | 13 | 2319 |
| 9 | Vasilevich, Tatjana | 13 | 2238 |
| 10 | Kashlinskaya, Alina | 13 | 2369 |
| 11 | Solozhenkina, Elizaveta | 13 | 2134 |
| 12 | Kovanova, Baira | 12½ | 2205 |
| 13 | Vasilevich, Irina | 12½ | 2160 |
| 14 | Gritsayeva, Oksana | 12½ | 2083 |
| 15 | Nechaeva, Marina | 12 | 2292 |
Right after getting a silver medal on the second board for Russia in Batumi, Ian Nepomniachtchi arrived in Sochi to represent Molodezhka at the Russian Rapid Team Championship (according to Google Maps, a six-and-a-half hour drive will get you from one place to the other). Nepo finished on 6½/9 and, just like in the Olympiad, his team got third place.
Unsurprisingly, Artemiev's team Ladya achieved first place. Vladislav closed his great rapid performance in Sochi with another undefeated streak. Gata Kamsky played second board and finished with an undefeated 7½/9 score. Legacy Square Capital, led by Vladimir Malakhov, ended up in second place.
Nepomniachtchi arrived in Sochi right after the Olympiad | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
In the women's team tournament, Ugra obtained an impressive 17/18 to get clear first place, while Legacy Square Capital finished second. The winning team included Olga Girya and Natalija Pogonina in their line-up, who also arrived from Batumi.
Ugra had Pogonina and Girya on the first boards | Photo: Russian Chess Federation
Translation from German and additional reporting by Antonio Pereira
