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Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, registered as the top board for Asnieres, recently defeated Magnus Carlsen in the sixth event of the Champions Chess Tour. Both MVL and Carlsen are in Durrës, but did not play in the first round — much like their elite colleagues Vishy Anand, Richard Rapport and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Their absence did not prevent their teams from grabbing clear wins over lower-rated opposition on opening day, though.
The clear favourites by rating in Albania are Superchess. Besides Anand and Rapport, the Romanians have two more 2700+ rated players in Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Jordan van Foreest. In round 2, they will face Rokaden, an all-Swedish squad with Erik Blomqvist on the top board. Will the 2-time Swedish champion get to face Anand on Monday?
Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
In second place rating-wise are Novy Bor, the defending champions. Vincent Keymer, Nils Grandelius (who did not play in the first round) and David Navara are their top representatives. On Monday, they will face Werder Bremen, which fields 4 out of 6 players from Germany and has Dutch GM Roeland Pruijssers on the top board.
Standing third in the teams’ starting rank are Asnieres, with MVL, Haik Martirosyan and Grigoriy Oparin as their highest-rated representatives. The French team has a small rating advantage over Offerspill, whose average is heavily skewed by their 2839-rated leader.
Alexei Shirov and Christian Bauer (Schachgesellschaft Zurich) | Photo: Sandra Schmidt
| No. | Team | Team | Res. | : | Res. |
| 1 | SK Rockaden | Superchess | : | ||
| 2 | Offerspill Sjakklubb *) | Wood Green | : | ||
| 3 | Novy Bor | SV Werder Bremen | : | ||
| 4 | Silla Chess Club | Asnieres - Le Grand Echiquier | : | ||
| 5 | KSK Rochade | Schachclub Viernheim 1934 e.V. | : | ||
| 6 | Turkish Airlines Sports Club | Paul Keres 1 | : | ||
| 7 | MRU - ROSK Consulting | TAJFUN SK Ljubljana | : | ||
| 8 | CE Le Cavalier Differdange *) | Partizani | : | ||
| 9 | Sentimento Ajka BSK | SK Dunajska Streda | : | ||
| 10 | CE Gambit Bonnevoie | C' Chartres Echecs | : |
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Once again, Monte Carlo are the clear rating favourites in the women’s cup, as they count with the only two 2500+ rated players in the field on their roster: Mariya and Anna Muzychuk. Having the highest rating average is no guarantee for victory, though, as the Monégasque team failed to win last year’s edition despite presenting a similarly strong lineup.
Attacking with the Jobava London System
The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.
Superchess from Romania stand in second place, with four 2400+ rated players, while Garuda Ajka from Hungary are the third-seeded team, with a heavy hitter on the top board — Bella Khotenashvili — and three 2400+ rated players.
Monicka Socko and Antoaneta Stefanova playing for Teuta | Photo: Sandra Schmidt
| No. | Team | Team | Res. | : | Res. |
| 1 | Teuta *) | Offerspill Chess Club | : | ||
| 2 | Monte Carlo | MSK Centar Asseco See | : | ||
| 3 | Wood Green | Superchess | : | ||
| 4 | Garuda Ajka BSK | Asnieres - Le Grand Echiquier | : | ||
| 5 | Gokturk Chess Sport Club | SP Gaz Ukraine | : | ||
| 6 | TAJFUN SK Ljubljana | Panevezys | : | ||
| 7 | Schachgesellschaft Solingen | SK Crvena zvezda Data Driven Lab | : | ||
| 8 | ASD Pedone Isolano | She plays to win | : | ||
| 9 | UCD | Rishon Lezion | : | ||
| 10 | GSK Kumanovo | Tirana | : |
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