Bischwiller claim hat-trick of French club championship titles

The toughest and most satisfying victory

Bischwiller claimed their third consecutive — and fourth overall — French club championship title by winning the 2021 edition of ‘Top 12’ in Chalons en Champagne. Led by French Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot, the club scored an impressive 10 wins and a draw in the 11-round event to claim 32 points, three ahead of the runners-up Asnieres – Le Grand Echiquier.

The defending champions had stamped their authority early by winning the first seven rounds of the tournament which is an annual affair featuring France’s twelve best clubs.  After being held to a draw in round eight by Clichy Echecs 92, which finished third in the final standings, Bischwiller resumed their winning string right until the end of the tournament. Grandmasters Markus Ragger (8½ points in 11 rounds), Arkadij Naiditsch (8 points in 10 rounds) and Bilel Bellahcene (7 points in 8 rounds) were their top performers.

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Loek Van Wely and Eloi Relange of Clichy Echecs 92, which finished third in this year's Top 12

Unarguably, the critical win for Bischwiller was in round five, where they defeated the other title favourites Asnieres 3-1. Interestingly, this was one of the only two rounds in the tournament that Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, representing Asnieres, played. Against Bischwiller, MVL defeated Laurent Fressinet while drawing against Nils Grandelius of Chalons en Champagne.

Going into the final round, Bischwiller had already built an unassailable lead. However,  the runners-up spot was still up for grabs as Clichy trailed Asnieres by just one point. However, with all the eight games in their match ending in draws, Asnieres held on to second place by a one-point margin. Chalons en Champagne and C’Chartres Echecs completed the top five finishes.

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Bischwiller president Roland Reeb termed this year’s win as the toughest and therefore the most satisfying of the four titles. “This year the top teams were much stronger. Moreover, it wasn’t easy to win against some of the teams, like Grasse Echecs, that weren’t at the top,” he said. According to Reeb, the win against Asnieres was the most important, as “going by the average Elo ratings, Asnieres was the best team.”

Reeb said that thorough preparation, high level of professionalism and good team spirit contributed to the team’s success. “It has been the same team for the past three years,” he added.

The winning squad (click to enlarge)

Final standings

The scoring system used at the Top 12 Championship grants 3 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 1 point for a loss.

All available games

Links

• Official site
• Pairings and results
• MVL: I aim to get back into the top 10 very soon