A year of chess awaits the German Champion

In an interview with the German Chess Federation, Leonardo Costa revealed that he was planning a year of chess. Starting by winning the German Championship seems like a good start to such a chess year.

Before the final round, Leonardo Costa was still level on points with Luis Engel, with both half a point ahead of Bennet Hagner in third place. Luis Engel lost with white against Alexander Donchenko, while Bennet Hagner drew with black against Tobias Kügel. Thus, Costa's draw against Dmitrij Kollars was enough for him to win the tournament. His win with black the previous day against Bennet Hagner was important for Leonardo Costa, as it meant that a draw on the final day was sufficient.

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Leonardo Costa v. Dmitrij Kollars | Photo: Finn Engesser

Leonardo Costa ½-½ Dmitrij Kollars

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Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King's Indian Setup

Luis Engel said that he was nearing the end of his chess year. He has now crowned it with third place. The Hamburg grandmaster lost only two games, one against Leonardo Costa (round two) and one against Alexander Donchenko (final round). With 5½ points from 9 games, he can be proud of his result.

One player whose performance was particularly surprising during the tournament was Bennet Hagner, who also finished with 5½ points. Thanks to his better tiebreak score, he took second place and thus became runner-up at the first attempt. Bennet Hagner had qualified for this year's main event through his placing in last year's German Candidates Tournament. Matthias Bluebaum said during the livestream, in conversation with commentator Katharina Reinecke, that he was not surprised by the results of Leonardo Costa and Luis Engel, but that nobody could have expected Bennet Hagner's performance. Before the final round, he still needed half a point for a GM norm. He obtained it in his game against Tobias Kügel in round nine. The International Master did not quite become German Champion this year, but the future will still open many doors for him.

After his bitter defeat the previous day against Georg Braun, Alexander Donchenko finished the tournament with a win against Luis Engel. Alexander Donchenko was also the only player to cost Leonardo Costa a full point.

Rasmus Svane surprised in the final round with a Sicilian. The fight for his only win in this tournament was in the air. In the game against Georg Braun in round 9, that is exactly what happened. After eight draws, Rasmus Svane finally won a game.

Georg Braun 0 - 1 Rasmus Svane

While Jana Schneider finished first in the women's tournament unbeaten (with 7/9), Rasmus Svane finished sixth unbeaten (with 5/9). Apart from Svane and Schneider, every other player in the open and women's categories suffered at least one defeat.

Final standings

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Free sample video: Introduction

Free sample video: Quiet Moves

The three players with an Elo rating above 2600 (Donchenko, Kollars, Svane) each scored 5 points and thus secured places 4^th to 6^th. The three younger players, born after 2000, overtook them and finished on the top three places. The remaining players lined up behind Donchenko, Kollars and Svane. Niclas Huschenbeth (7^th place) and Dennis Wagner (8^th place) each scored 4 points.

During the tournament, Tobias Kügel showed that he too should not be underestimated. He scored six draws and lost only three games. He held eventual champion Leonardo Costa to a draw, while Rasmus Svane and Niclas Huschenbeth also found him a tough nut to crack.

Georg Braun can be especially proud of his win against Alexander Donchenko in round eight. He also drew against Dmitrij Kollars and Tobias Kügel.

All games - Open championship

Jana Schneider triumphs with undefeated run

Jana Schneider was the only player in the women's championship not to lose a game. Against this background, it is clear why she won the event. Five wins, four draws: in total, she scored 7 points from 9 games. That was half a point more than Leonardo Costa, the winner of the open category. But she too had the competition close behind her. Lara Schulze is crowned runner-up with 6½/9. Third place went to Sarah Papp with 6 points. She and rating favourite Dinara Wagner finished level on points, but Sarah Papp had the better tiebreak score.

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The Neo-London System offers many new, creative possibilities to present your opponents with serious problems in the early stages of the game.

A curiosity of the final round: in all five games of the women's tournament, the players with the white pieces won. Before the final round, Jana Schneider and Dinara Wagner were sharing the lead. Their direct pursuers were Lara Schulze and Kateryna Dolzhykova. In the final round, the championship was then decided among these four players. Lara Schulze defeated Dinara Wagner, thus opening the possibility for Jana Schneider to become sole leader by beating Kateryna Dolzhykova. The duel between these two players lasted the longest; by then, the games in the open event had already been decided. In the end, Jana Schneider managed to win the game.

Jana Schneider facing Kateryna Dolzhykova | Photo: Finn Engesser

Jana Schneider 1 - 0 Kateryna Dolzhykova

Final standings

Fritz 21

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The final-round defeat against Lara Schulze and the tiebreak score meant that Dinara Wagner narrowly missed out on the top three.

TB1: Direct encounter

Only in the case of Lisa Sickmann and Charis Peglau did the direct encounter become relevant. In all other cases of players finishing level on points in the open and in the women's categories, the Sonneborn-Berger score decided the placing, as the direct encounters in these cases ended in draws.

All games - Women's championship

Links

• Official tournament website
• Chess-Results: Open | Women's