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The Turkish İş Bank Chess Leauge took place in Izmit, from June 23 to July 3. The venue was the Kartepe Green Park Resort Hotel, a famous hotel on Kartepe, a mountain very close to Izmit (the eastern neighbour city of Istanbul) and it means “Snow Mountain” literally, which explains the reason the venue also being a famous skiing center. The mountain’s altitude is 1750 m.
The League was won by the Truva Chess Club from Adana, which has a combination of Azerbaijani grandmasters and a Georgian youngster, Nana Dzagnidze, with Turkish heavyweights. The club won all their matches, fifteen out of fifteen. There was a close race for second spot between Turkish Airlines and Manisa Doruk College. The former won and caught up, but Manisa team had the better board points, and they were the ones to take the second spot.
| # | Team | + |
= |
– |
MP |
Pts |
| 1 |
Truva Satranç Spor Kulübü |
15 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
108 |
| 2 |
Doruk Koleji |
13 |
0 |
2 |
26 |
101½ |
| 3 |
Türk Hava Yollari |
13 |
0 |
2 |
26 |
98½ |
| 4 |
Servergazi Belediye |
10 |
0 |
5 |
20 |
90 |
| 5 |
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü |
10 |
0 |
5 |
20 |
89 |
| 6 |
İsek Aquamatch |
8 |
2 |
5 |
18 |
84½ |
| 7 |
Tarsus Zeka Satranç |
8 |
1 |
6 |
17 |
81½ |
| 8 |
Er-Bakir Spor Kültür |
7 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
76 |
| 9 |
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi |
7 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
71 |
| 10 |
Bursa Tophane Meslek Lisesi |
6 |
0 |
9 |
12 |
67½ |
| 11 |
Antalya Çallispor |
5 |
1 |
9 |
11 |
62 |
| 12 |
Pamukkale Üniversitesi |
4 |
2 |
9 |
10 |
62 |
| 13 |
Mersin Ezgi |
3 |
1 |
11 |
7 |
58 |
| 14 |
Antalya Deniz Gençlik |
2 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
53½ |
| 15 |
Ted Ankara Kolejliler |
2 |
2 |
11 |
6 |
54½ |
| 16 |
Selçuk Üniversitesi |
0 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
42½ |
A view of Izmit, the administrative center of Kocali province (Nicomedia is
the ancient Greek name), a city in the most industrialized region of Turkey.
The population of the city center is close to 250,000, and the total population
is close to 580,000.
Adana Truva won all of 15 of their matches, including the ones
against their major opponents Turkish Airlines and Manisa Doruk College –
which might explain why they can’t hide their smiling faces during the
game.
Serbian GM Dragan Solak, 2630, scored 7 out of 11, with a 2574
performance. He is married to a former Turkish national player Yildiz Çavusoglu,
who is also playing in the league.
GM Farid Abbasov and FM Yakup Bayram playing
Tarsus Zeka Chess Club
A late evening post-mortem of the game between GM Rauf Mamedov
(Manisa Doruk College) and IM Umut Atakisi (Besiktas). IM Atakisi
is a three-time Turkish Champion, the manager of Besiktas JK. FM Selim
Çitak, who is kibizing, is a strong poker player but also a
solid first board.
Burak Firat, another youngster from Izmir, aged 15, member
of the U16 team which took Silver in the 2007 U18 European Team Championship
in Subotica. Burak is rated 2189, and also took part in the Turkish Championship
2008.
Truva’s Azeri GM Eltaj Safarli, the winner of Essent
Open 2007, rated 2524. He scored 10 out of 14, performed below his rating at
2474, but still was the striker of the team.
Another familiar friend, Özgür Solakoglu, manager
of the national team and board member of the TCF, but this time playing in the
league for Ted Ankara Kolejliler. Note the cartoon on his t-shirt reflecting
his view on marriage.
One of the most solid Turkish players, IM Baris Esen, from
Adana Truva, rated 2451, the captain of the team. He scored 12 out of 14 and
his performance was 2445.
Georgian GM Konstanine Shanava, playing for Antalya Çallispor
Melisa Birgelir playing for Besiktas
Vahap Sanal, aged nine, a talented kid from Izmir, playing
for Manisa Doruk College. Vahap narrowly missed winning the World Under 8 Championship,
but later won a bronze medal in the World Schools Chess Championship Under 9
category last October in Batumi. Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and
the powerhouse of youth chess in the country.
Batuhan Dastan, 9, playing for Bursa Tophane
IM Nana Dzagnidze, playing for the leaders Adana Truva, rated
2443, scored 12.0/14. If you consider that there are many players rated over
2400 on the women’s boards, the result is simply impressive.
IM Nino Khurtsidze, 2413, playing for Denizli Erbakir, scored
10 out of 14
Burçe Serra Koçkan, a Turkish girl who is studying
medicine in Odessa, Ukraine. What a coincidence that she is the teammate (in
the Pamukkale University team) and roommate of one of your reporters, Anastasiya
Karlovich.
"We are the champions" – the Truva Chess Club posing a family
picture with their first championship trophy
A tour around the hall with the trophy by the victorious Truva players IM Haznedaroglu
and Yilmaz
Turkish Airlines squad lifting the trophy, with Melia Salome and Mariya Muzychuk
The team posing together
The Manisa Doruk College team posing together in the closing ceremony
All of the members of the first three clubs posing a family picture together
with TCF president Ali Nihat Yazici
Even though they lost their title the Black Eages (nickname for Besiktas) are
still in high spirits
