EURO 2007: Pictures, games, impressions from Dresden

by ChessBase
4/5/2007 – The first two rounds of the 8th Individual European Chess Championships brought a few upsets and some technical glitches – not surprising when you are trying to handle over 600 participants. We bring you results and as many games as have become available. Together with a impressions of Dresden, the venue and the tournament itself in a big pictorial report.

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Eighth European Chess Championship in Dresden

The 8th Individual European Chess Championships (EURO 2007) is taking place from April 2nd to 16th, 2007 in Dresden, Germany in the International Congress Center. The event is an 11 round Swiss, with time controls set at 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. EURO 2007 is one of the largest events at this level ever staged. There are over 600 participants from 43 European federations, with the biggest contingent coming naturally from the German Chess Federation (DSB, almost 150 participants), followed by Russia with 90.

The results of the first two rounds are available on the EURO 2007 home page, where live coverage is also provided (sporadically during the first rounds). We have put together a table of the leaders after two rounds, without any guarantee of accuracy or completness. Also a zipped PGN file with all the games that have become available so far (as collected by the indefatigable Mark Crowther of TWIC).

1

Jakovenko,D

2691

b1

w1

2.0/2

2

Volokitin,And

2645

w1

b1

2.0/2

3

Avrukh,B

2644

b1

w1

2.0/2

4

Movsesian,S

2637

w1

b1

2.0/2

5

Volkov,Sergey

2636

b1

w1

2.0/2

6

Moiseenko,A1

2627

w1

b1

2.0/2

7

Khalifman,A

2619

b1

w1

2.0/2

8

Khenkin,I

2611

w1

b1

2.0/2

9

Nisipeanu,LD

2689

w1

1.5/2

10

Van Wely,L

2683

w1

1.5/2

11

Eljanov,P

2675

b1

1.5/2

12

Tiviakov,S

2667

b1

1.5/2

13

Malakhov,V

2663

b1

1.5/2

14

Timofeev,Arty

2663

w1

1.5/2

15

Bologan,V

2658

w1

1.5/2

16

Nielsen,PH

2651

w1

1.5/2

17

Areshchenko,A

2644

w1

1.5/2

18

Cheparinov,I

2640

b1

1.5/2

19

Najer,E

2605

w1

1.5/2

Selection of games in zipped PGN


Round one impressions

The round was characterised by a number of upsets, like Germany's top GM Arkadij Naiditsch losing to IM Urban Klaudiusz, GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili to IM Szabo Krisztian, GM Georgiev Kiril to IM Frank Holzke. In the women's section local star Elisabeth Pähtz, who is a full IM and has a world junior title to her credit, lost to WGM Ana Srebrnic, who is more than 200 points below her on the Elo scale. Here are some pictorial impressions of the round.


Our hotel in Dresden – not in mint condition, but acceptable for chess players


Just kidding – this is where we and many of the players stayed, three blocks of the Ibis Hotel, five minutes from the Central Station and 20 minutes brisk walk from the venue. The first picture show you reconstruction work in Dresden, where ugly monolithic buildings from the Communist days are being torn down and replaced by tasteful modern facilities.


Chess posters all over the city, like here on the way to the venue


The Altmarkt, with the Kreutzkirche. The stroll from the Ibis Hotel to the
playing venue turns out to be a beautiful historical excursion.


The Hofkirche, a last big Roman baroque church to be built in Europe.


The famous Semper Opera, built in 1978, a stone's throw away from the venue


An incredibly intelligent, polite and friendly pedestrian in Dresden's old city


A man-powered form of transport with a microscopic carbon footprint


The new Congress Hall, where the 2008 Olympiad will also be held


The entrance to the Eighth European Championship, EURO 2007


The playing hall, with the Elbe River flowing by outside the Congress Center


One of the hot favourites in this event: Dmitrij Jakovenko with a 2-0 start


Another grandmaster to watch: former FIDE world champion Alexander Khalifman


Romanian GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, who won the European Chamionship in 2005


Sneaking a peek – 17-year-old Ukrainian star Sergey Karjakin


Suffered a shock loss in round one: Georgian GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili


A nother shock: Germany's IM Elisabeth Pähtz (right) is losing against WGM Ana Srebrnic


Lithuanian IM Viktorija Cmilyte, at 2480 is one of the favourites in the women's section


Another girl to watch: Slovenian WGM Anna Muzychuk, 17, rated 2474


Photographer's favourite WIM Anna Sharevich of Belarus


Dutch Peng Zhaoquin, rated 2439, has a full ("male") grandmaster title


Ukrainian IM Kateryna Lahno, 2467, seventeen years old and a potential winner


Elena Winkelman, 16-year-old German talent from Dresden


WIM Iosefina Paulet of Romania, 17 years old


IM Jovanka Houska of England, currently rated 2404

Pictures and report by Frederic Friedel

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