German League central weekend

Round 11

This weekend, a highlight of the German league season is in store from March 1st to the 3rd, the central round of the SBL (open) and FBL (women) takes place in Berlin. There are key matchups in the open division that will largely determine the the championship and the battle to avoid relegation, while in the women's league the winning team will be decided. You will find all information about this superlative event below the live games.

Video highlights

Impressions and interviews | Grenke Chess YouTube channel

Live games

Open and women's sections are combined by team pairings. Players receive 100 minutes for 40 moves + 50 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Agreed draws are not permitted before move 20.

To help ensure fair play, the games are transmitted online with a 15-minute delay.

OSG Baden-Baden 4:4 SC Viernheim

SF Deizisau 3½:4½ SV Hockenheim

SV Mülheim Nord 2½:5½ Hamburger SK

SV Werder Bremen 5:3 SG Turm Kiel

SG Solingen 4½:3½ SV Hofheim

SF Berlin 3½:4½ BCA Augsburg

USV TU Dresden 5:3 MSA Zugzwang München

SBL Results & Pairings, Rounds 9-11

Round 9 — Friday, March 1, 16:00 CET (13:00 UTC, 10:00 AM EST)

Round 10 — Saturday March 2, 13:00 CET (12 Noon UTC, 7:00 AM EST)

Round 11 — Sunday, March 3, 10:00 CET (9:00 UTC, 4:00 AM EST)

A Preview

Rounds nine to eleven are played on three consecutive days in Berlin. Of greatest sporting interest are the matches of the travel partners Baden-Baden / Deizisau and Hockenheim / Viernheim which could result in a preliminary decision for the German League championship. The duels between the travel partners take place on Friday before the highlight of the weekend — the fight between Hockenheim and Baden-Baden — on Saturday. That match promises to be the highest-class encounter in the history of the chess Bundesliga.

Baden-Baden have brought in their big guns with Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave, Anand and Aronian all in the line-up. The team had not competed in the current season with the first four players of the squad, but team boss Sven Noppes previewed that Caruana would definitely be there.

Erwin l'Ami, Levon Aronian, Viswanathan Anand

Hockenheim has flown in US Champion Sam Shankland. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov will defend the top board for Viernheim.

We were anticipating an appearance from Wei Yi. The Chinese grandmaster finished 5th in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow but is absent from the Hockenheim line-up in round nine.

Wei Yi

In the fight for the championship SG Solingen are also still in the running.

In the fight against relegation half the league is still involved. Some head-to-head duels between relegation candidates will clarify the situation. At the bottom of the table, MSA Zugzwang Munich, will take on BCA Augsburg and the Schachfreunde Berlin. The host Berlin team are actually too strong to be in serious danger, but so far Berlin has only four match points in the standings. Kiel meets Mülheim and Hofheim battles Dusseldorf.

Women's Division

The "Frauen Bundesliga" will determine its champions in Berlin. After eight of a total of eleven rounds, the team SC Bad Königshofen is one point ahead at the top and has a chance win the championship for the second time (the first being the 2013/14 season). The remaining matches clearly favour the team from the small village in Lower Franconia because they "just" have to beat Lehrte, Hofheim, and Rotation Pankow, three teams from the lower part of the table. The top match of the two Bundesliga winners of the previous two years, Baden-Baden and Schwäbisch Hall, will probably decide who will become Vice Champion this year though the Hamburger SK also still has chances in this race for silver.

FBL pairings — Rounds 9-11

Round 9 — Friday, March 1, 16:00 CET (13:00 UTC, 10:00 AM EST)

SK Schwäbisch Hall - SF Deizisau
Hamburger SK - TuRa Harksheide
Rodewischer Schachmiezen - FC Bayern München
Karlsruher SF - OSG Baden-Baden
SV Hofheim - SC Bad Königshofen
Rotation Pankow - SK Lehrte

Round 10 — Saturday March 2, 13:00 CET (12 Noon UTC, 7:00 AM EST)

OSG Baden-Baden - SF Deizisau
Hamburger SK - Rodewischer Schachmiezen
TuRa Harksheide - FC Bayern München
SC Bad Königshofen - SK Lehrte
Karlsruher SF - SK Schwäbisch Hall
SV Hofheim - Rotation Pankow

Round 11 — Sunday, March 3, 10:00 CET (9:00 UTC, 4:00 AM EST)

SF Deizisau - Karlsruher SF
SK Schwäbisch Hall - OSG Baden-Baden
Rodewischer Schachmiezen - TuRa Harksheide
FC Bayern München - Hamburger SK
SK Lehrte - SV Hofheim
Rotation Pankow - SC Bad Königshofen

Links

• All stories on the German League 2018/19 season
• Official site