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The Chartres Chess Club hosted the French team championship "Top 16" for the third time in a row. As the name suggests, 16 teams play in the championship, and these 16 teams are first divided into two groups (A and B) of eight teams. In each group the eight teams play a round-robin against each other, after which the first four teams advance to the upper group, the "Poule Haute", where they fight for the title, while the four last teams of each group fight against relegation in the "Poule Basse". In both "poules" the teams start with the points they have gained in the preliminary round-robin.
Matches are played on eight boards and one of the boards must be occupied by a woman. The scoring system is also slightly different: A match-win is worth three points, a draw is worth two points and a loss is worth one point.
This year's championship was particularly exciting, as no fewer than five of the eight teams that made it to the Poule Haute had 18 team points after the preliminary round. Two teams started the championship group with 17 points.
Both groups, the "poule haute" and the "poule basse", consist of eight teams, but only four games are played, namely against the teams from the other preliminary group. The four teams from group A play against the four teams from group B.
This year, the team from Chartres won all four of their matches and in the "poule haute" and thus became French Team Championship 2024.
Vasyl Ivanchuk played a major role in this success. The 55-year-old senior and former world-class grandmaster scored six points from nine games on the new champion's top board.
Vasyl Ivanchuk
Christian Bauer was also among the top performers.
Christian Bauer, on the right, with White
Bischwiler, who also won the first three rounds, were the hosts' closest rivals, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Asnieres in the eleventh and final round, finishing second by one point.
Bischwiler during the "Apres-Match"
Third place went to defending champions Asnieres.
Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier
Final standings Poule Haute
| Pl. | Equipe | Pts | j. | d. | p. | c. |
| 1 | C'Chartres Echecs | 30 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 7 |
| 2 | Bischwiller | 29 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| 3 | Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier | 27 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| 4 | Cannes Echecs | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| 5 | Lyon Olympique Echecs | 24 | 11 | -2 | 12 | 14 |
| 6 | Grasse Echecs | 24 | 11 | -7 | 10 | 17 |
| 7 | Clichy Echecs 92 | 22 | 11 | -11 | 9 | 20 |
| 8 | Tremblay-En-France | 20 | 11 | -10 | 12 | 22 |
The Chartres Chess Club plays a similar role in France to the St. Louis Chess Club in the USA and has become a kind of centre for top French chess. The driving force behind this development is the club's president, François Gilles, who is supported in his efforts by the city's mayor, Jean-Pierre Gorges. The club has helped Alireza Firouzja to find a new home in France and is also responsible for the rise of the great French talent Marc'Andria Maurizzi. Chartres has hosted the Top 16 four times since 2017 and the French Individual Championship in 2019.
Game - Poule Haute
Results (only wins are counted)
| Ronde 8 | ||||
| Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier | 0 | - | 2 | C'Chartres Echecs |
| Lyon Olympique Echecs | 4 | - | 2 | Tremblay-En-France |
| Clichy Echecs 92 | 1 | - | 2 | Bischwiller |
| Grasse Echecs | 2 | - | 2 | Cannes |
| Ronde 9 | ||||
| Tremblay-En-France | 1 | - | 4 | Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier |
| C'Chartres Echecs | 2 | - | 1 | Lyon Olympique Echecs |
| Cannes | 5 | - | 1 | Clichy Echecs 92 |
| Bischwiller | 3 | - | 1 | Grasse Echecs |
| Ronde 10 | ||||
| Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier | 5 | - | 0 | Cannes |
| Lyon Olympique Echecs | 0 | - | 3 | Bischwiller |
| Clichy Echecs 92 | 2 | - | 2 | Tremblay-En-France |
| Grasse Echecs | 0 | - | 5 | C'Chartres Echecs |
| Ronde 11 | ||||
| Bischwiller | 1 | - | 1 | Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier |
| Cannes Echecs | 3 | - | 2 | Lyon Olympique Echecs |
| C'Chartres Echecs | 4 | - | 1 | Clichy Echecs 92 |
| Tremblay-En-France | 3 | - | 4 | Grasse Echecs |
In the relegation group, the teams from Saint-Quentin, Cergy-Pontoise, Lesparre-Médoc and Club 608 (Paris) took the last four places and will be relegated to the ‘Nationale I’ league.
Final standings Poule Basse
| Pl. | Equipe | Pts | j. | d. | p. | c. |
| 1 | Mulhouse Philidor | 26 | 11 | 21 | 27 | 6 |
| 2 | Marseille Echecs | 22 | 11 | 15 | 23 | 8 |
| 3 | Chalons-En-Champagne | 22 | 11 | 19 | 23 | 4 |
| 4 | Metz Fischer | 21 | 11 | 11 | 25 | 14 |
| 5 | T H F - Saint Quentin | 18 | 11 | -3 | 14 | 17 |
| 6 | Cergy-Pontoise Echecs | 14 | 11 | -15 | 10 | 25 |
| 7 | Lesparre-Medoc | 14 | 11 | -18 | 10 | 28 |
| 8 | Club 608 - Paris | 12 | 11 | -30 | 6 | 36 |
Game - Poule Basse
The best player of the tournament was Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who played a decisive role in ensuring that his club Metz Fischer remained in the top 16 as fourth in the relegation group. With 7.5/9 and an Elo performance of 2862, Erigaisi has gained 10 Elo points and is currently number four in live rankings.
Arjun Erigaisi
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Second best player was Nihal Sarin (Mulhouse) with a performance of 2792 and 7.0/9.
