ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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2014 European Club CupThis mega swiss tournament brings together the top teams from the top leagues in Europe to compete for the European Club Champion title. Most teams have reinforcementes specifically for this event, while others send their local players that have served them throughout the seasons. Many 2700+ players are participating in the event. The tournament is a seven round swiss system that coincides with the Bilbao Grand Slam Finals, for which we will have separate reports. Tha matches in the Open section will be six-on-six, while on the Women's section will be four-on-four. |
Harikrishna is one of the strongest third boards of the event
The European Club Cup has started and the line-ups are as usually tremendously impressive. Here are the top 10 teams in the Open Section:
N | Team | Fed | Rtg | Captain | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SOCAR Azerbaijan | AZE | 2750 | Yevgeniya Javadova | |
2 | Obiettivo Risarcimento | ITA | 2736 | Gaetano Quaranta | |
3 | Malakhite | RUS | 2731 | Borid Frakin | |
4 | SPB | RUS | 2705 | Vladimir Bykov | |
5 | G-Team Novy Bor | CZE | 2696 | Petr Boleslav | |
6 | SHSM | RUS | 2675 | Alexander Zlochevskii | |
7 | Odlar Yourdu | AZE | 2612 | Yevgeniya Javadova | |
8 | Beer Sheva | ISR | 2586 | Alon Greenfeld | |
9 | SG Solingen | GER | 2562 | Markus Schaefer | |
10 | Sestao Naturgas Energia | ESP | 2560 | Sergio Trigo | |
11 | Ladya | RUS | 2539 | Ildar Ibramigov |
Last year's somewhat surprising winner, G-Team Novy Bor, returns with a strong line-up, but they will have an even tougher time. SOCAR comes reinforced with Topalov on board two, coming from an impressive Olympiad and a very good result in the Sinquefield Cup. Wang Hao has not had a good month of chess, but if he plays well it is a good chance for SOCAR to regain the title.
1 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | AZE | 2756 | |
2 | Topalov, Veselin | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | BUL | 2784 | |
3 | Adams, Michael | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | ENG | 2752 | |
4 | Giri, Anish | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | NED | 2758 | |
5 | Radjabov, Teimour | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | AZE | 2717 | |
6 | Wang, Hao | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | CHN | 2730 | |
7 | Korobov, Anton | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | UKR | 2673 | |
8 | Safarli, Eltaj | SOCAR Azerbaijan | GM | AZE | 2655 |
Thew new tough team is from Italy, Obiettivo Risarcimento comes with a young and powerful team:
1 | Caruana, Fabiano | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | ITA | 2801 | |
2 | Nakamura, Hikaru | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | USA | 2782 | |
3 | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | FRA | 2768 | |
4 | Bacrot, Etienne | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | FRA | 2729 | |
5 | Fressinet, Laurent | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | FRA | 2712 | |
6 | Georgiev, Kiril | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | BUL | 2626 | |
7 | Vocaturo, Daniele | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | ITA | 2585 | |
8 | Dvirnyy, Danyyil | Obiettivo Risarcimento | GM | ITA | 2522 |
The Italian team suffers in the last boards, and they will be relying on their top three heavy hitters to take most of the points. However since the matches are six on six, the fact that they have two 2500s on the squad might not matter in the matches against the other top teams.
1 | Karjakin, Sergey | Malakhite | GM | RUS | 2777 | |
2 | Grischuk, Alexander | Malakhite | GM | RUS | 2789 | |
3 | Leko, Peter | Malakhite | GM | HUN | 2734 | |
4 | Shirov, Alexei | Malakhite | GM | LAT | 2701 | |
5 | Malakhov, Vladimir | Malakhite | GM | RUS | 2696 | |
6 | Motylev, Alexander | Malakhite | GM | RUS | 2686 | |
7 | Lysyj, Igor | Malakhite | GM | RUS | 2684 | |
8 | Bologan, Viktor | Malakhite | GM | MDA | 2648 |
Malakhite is a consistent top-team in this event. The Russian team fields a strong team that is reinforced by Leko on board three and Shirov on board four. Bologan and Lysyj make for very, very solid alternates.
1 | Svidler, Peter | SPB | GM | RUS | 2732 | |
2 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | SPB | GM | CUB | 2755 | |
3 | Vitiugov, Nikita | SPB | GM | RUS | 2742 | |
4 | Movsesian, Sergei | SPB | GM | ARM | 2663 | |
5 | Matlakov, Maxim | SPB | GM | RUS | 2694 | |
6 | Efimenko, Zahar | SPB | GM | UKR | 2641 | |
7 | Khairullin, Ildar | SPB | GM | RUS | 2638 |
SPB fields their strongest player, Dominguez, on board two. They are certainly hoping that Svidler will hold his own on board one while Dominguez and Vitiugov collect points on two and three. Movsesian comes from a shaky Olympiad, but if he can pull himself together SPB is a real danger.
1 | Wojtaszek, Radoslaw | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | POL | 2736 | |
2 | Navara, David | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | CZE | 2722 | |
3 | Harikrishna, P. | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | IND | 2725 | |
4 | Laznicka, Viktor | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | CZE | 2675 | |
5 | Sasikiran, Krishnan | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | IND | 2680 | |
6 | Bartel, Mateusz | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | POL | 2636 | |
7 | Hracek, Zbynek | G-Team Novy Bor | GM | CZE | 2638 |
The defending champions have three solid 2700s on board 1-3, while the drop-off on four and five is not significant. Sasikirian on board five is an incredible asset while Bartel and Hracek can surprise on board six at any point.
1 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2710 | |
2 | Morozevich, Alexander | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2731 | |
3 | Dreev, Aleksey | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2662 | |
4 | Grachev, Boris | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2673 | |
5 | Najer, Evgeniy | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2646 | |
6 | Dubov, Daniil | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2614 | |
7 | Popov, Ivan | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2627 | |
8 | Potkin, Vladimir | SHSM | GM | RUS | 2610 |
SHSM as an entirely Russian team, and a strong one at that. Much will depend on how well they do on boards five and six, how well Morozevich decides to play this tournament and if Nepomniachtchi can hold his own on board one. Rating-wise it seems as if this is the last team that has strong winning chances, as the drop-off after SHSM is over 60 average rating points.
The ECC under way
The first round went without any major incidents. Almost all the top teams won, as expected in a Swiss system, although not all of them did it without dropping some board points. Only the Italian team managed to score a perfect 6-0 from the top 10 teams, while Socar dropped half a point. Manuel Bosboom took a full point from Peter Leko, but the rest of his team got crushed in the match Malkhite vs. En Passant:
The biggest upset of the day was probably by Peter Wells from England, who at 2455 was certainly an underdog against Arakadij Naidtisch, but the English player took it and overcame the 250+ point rating difference. White Rose, however, convincingly fell to Gros Xake Taldea 4.5-1.5.
Rk | Team | Fed | Games |
+
|
=
|
-
|
Pts
|
GamPnt
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Obiettivo Risarcimento | ITA | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6
|
|
2 | Minsk | BLR | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6
|
|
3 | Schachgesellschaft Zurich | SUI | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6
|
|
4 | Cercle d'Echecs de Bois Colombes | FRA | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6
|
|
5 | SOCAR Azerbaijan | AZE | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
|
6 | G-Team Novy Bor | CZE | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
|
7 | Odlar Yourdu | AZE | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
|
8 | Beer Sheva | ISR | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
|
9 | Ladya | RUS | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
|
10 | SK Rockaden | SWE | 1 |
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5.5
|
Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games
The Women's section is considerably smaller. With only eight teams the tournament is a round robin.
The Women's World Champion Hou Yifan is playing for Monte Carlo,
but they didn't start with the right foot this event
N | Team | Fed | Rtg | Captain | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ugra | RUS | 2429 | Lobach Pavel | |
2 | Ladya | RUS | 2441 | Lilia Timurova | |
3 | Rishon Letzion | ISR | 1806 | Shlomit Vardi | |
4 | Batumi Chess Club "Nona" | GEO | 2491 | Marika Japaridze | |
5 | Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo | MNC | 2568 | ||
6 | SC Bad Konigshofen | GER | 2388 | Rene Gabel | |
7 | Herzliya Chess Club | ISR | 1986 | Shlomo Kandelshine | |
8 | SHSM | RUS | 2498 | Alexandr Zlochevskii |
The favorites are the defending champions, Cercle d'Echecs de Monte Carlo. Despite that, the competition is quite stiff and both SHSM and Nona have very real chances to win. Ugra and Ladya cannot be underestimated either, although it is hard to see SC Bad Konigshofen or either of the israeli teams being a serious threat.
Surprises started as early as round one as Monte Carlo fell to Nona.
1 | Ugra (1) | 1.5 | 2.5 | SHSM (8) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.1 | 2481 | Ushenina, Anna | 0 | 1 | Gunina, Valentina | 2540 |
1.2 | 2482 | Pogonina, Natalija | 0 | 1 | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2543 |
1.3 | 2399 | Kovanova, Baira | ½ | ½ | Girya, Olga | 2476 |
1.4 | 2352 | Guseva, Marina | 1 | 0 | Kashlinskaya, Alina | 2433 |
2 | Ladya (2) | 4 | 0 | Herzliya Chess Club (7) | ||
2.1 | 2472 | Galliamova, Alisa | 1 | 0 | Len, Irina | 2133 |
2.2 | 2469 | Zatonskih, Anna | 1 | 0 | Yakovleva, Tatiana | 2047 |
2.3 | 2421 | Atalik, Ekaterina | 1 | 0 | Lian, Marina | 1871 |
2.4 | 2401 | Zaiatz, Elena | 1 | 0 | Haitovich, Avital | 1891 |
3 | Rishon Letzion (3) | 0.5 | 3.5 | SC Bad Konigshofen (6) | ||
3.1 | 2331 | Efroimski, Marsel | ½ | ½ | Paehtz, Elisabeth | 2467 |
3.2 | 0 | Madivani, Maka | 0 | 1 | Mkrtchian, Lilit | 2457 |
3.3 | 1957 | Vardi, Shlomit | 0 | 1 | Savina, Anastasia | 2373 |
3.4 | 1937 | Federovski, Adi | 0 | 1 | Schoene, Maria | 2261 |
4 | Batumi CC "Nona" (4) | 2.5 | 1.5 | Cercle Monte-Carlo (5) | ||
4.1 | 2566 | Dzagnidze, Nana | ½ | ½ | Hou, Yifan | 2663 |
4.2 | 2507 | Khotenashvili, Bela | ½ | ½ | Muzychuk, Anna | 2551 |
4.3 | 2464 | Melia, Salome | 1 | 0 | Lagno, Kateryna | 2540 |
4.4 | 2426 | Batsiashvili, Nino | ½ | ½ | Cramling, Pia | 2516 |
The duel of russian powerhouses between Ugra and SHSM favored the higher rated team as both Gunina and Kosteniuk, who come from Gold medalling at the Olympiad, took their two games at the top boards and despite Guseva's efforts of beating Kashlinskaya, Girya (who was also part of the winning Russian team) sealed the deal with a draw.
Ladya annihilated Herzliya while SC Bad Konigshofen did the same to Rishon Letzion. The true surprise was that Nona dispatched Monte Carlo. The games are not available at this time and will be uploaded as soon as possible.
Rk | ID | Team | Fed |
Games
|
+
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=
|
-
|
Pts
|
GamPnt
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Ladya | RUS |
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
|
2 | 6 | SC Bad Konigshofen | GER |
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
3.5
|
|
3 | 4 | Batumi Chess Club "Nona" | GEO |
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2.5
|
|
4 | 8 | SHSM | RUS |
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2.5
|
|
5 | 1 | Ugra | RUS |
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1.5
|
|
6 | 5 | Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo | MNC |
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1.5
|
|
7 | 3 | Rishon Letzion | ISR |
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0.5
|
|
8 | 7 | Herzliya Chess Club | ISR |
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
Photos by Manu de Alba from Bilbao's Facebook site
Links
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