Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Our journey to Magdeburg began with a surprise: During the six-hour train journey from Freiburg to Magdeburg, we had to make several very tight connections, which I thought would be impossible based on my recent experiences with Deutsche Bahn. But in fact all the changes worked and we arrived in Magdeburg on time - it must have been because it was Friday the 13th!
Saturday morning at 9.30 we started with the first of three double rounds. The formula to play 7 rounds in 4 days has proved its worth in many tournaments. Many players like the fact that they don't have to take long holidays and can still play a complete tournament over a long weekend. At the Magdeburg Open, the 220 places in the A and B tournaments were fully booked long before the tournament started. The tournament was held at the Hegel Gymnasium, which had enough room for the number of participants.
The experienced organising team did an excellent job. It is usually the small details that create a good tournament atmosphere: Friendly and often humorous opening speeches, wooden pieces and name badges on all the boards, and good catering in the foyer. There were also awards for the most loyal tournament participants and various rating prizes in both groups, so even the lesser known players had a chance to win something.
The majority of participants were from the local area, but some players travelled from abroad. The tournament favourite was the only grandmaster, Oleg Korneev, who plays for Spain, but is also a frequent guest in German tournaments. The experienced player offered two draws, which were accepted, but won the rest of his games and the tournament.
Several Magdeburg players were able to play at the top: FMs Daniel Malek and Johannes Paul and, surprisingly, the still untitled teenager Benjamin Wagner, who got off to a dream start with 4/4.
In round 6 three players from Magdeburg were at the top boards. Board 1: Malek – Korneev, Board 2: Paul - Wagner
There were many children and juniors at the start. There was even a separate analysis room for the young talents from Saxony-Anhalt, where they could analyse the games with WGM Tatjana Melamed and GM Roman Slobodjan. Incidentally, Magdeburg can boast a record in the promotion of children and juniors: the "Magdeburger Schachzwerge", a children's and youth club, actually has more than 700 members! This large number is due to the fact that the Schachzwerge's coaches, two of whom are full-time, visit primary schools and nurseries to teach chess to the very young.
Starting young - here with the support of a dinosaur.
The youth prize in the A-Open was won by 13-year-old Ukrainian Nikita Nechitaylo, who lives in Germany.
Prize-giving in the A-Open: Tournament director Jens Windelband, IM Martin Brüdigam (4.), FM Johannes Paul (5.), FM Daniel Malek (2.), GM Oleg Korneev (1.), IM Ferenc Langheinrich (3.), Main Arbiter Roland Katz
Prize-giving B-Open: Jens Windelband, Thorsten Kindermann (4.), Friedrich Lautenschläger (2.-3.), David Graf (1.), Marten Lischka (2.-3.), Lara Hafermann (5.), Roland Katz
The website, which is packed with statistics, refers to the two tournaments as the Ottonen and Editha groups, after Otto the Great and his wife Editha. Magdeburg is also known as "Otto City": Otto the Great made the city important in the 10th century, and Otto von Guericke, a famous 17th century scientist, was also from Magdeburg.
| Title | Rating | Club | Federation | TPR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korneev,Oleg | GM | 2491 | TSV Schönaich | ESP | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | 2441 | |
| 2 | Malek,Daniel | FM | 2304 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5.5 | 2367 | |
| 3 | Langheinrich,Ferenc | IM | 2365 | SV Empor Erfurt | GER | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5.5 | 2349 | |
| 4 | Brüdigam,Martin | IM | 2361 | SK König Tegel 1949 e.V. | GER | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5.5 | 2343 | |
| 5 | Paul,Johannes | FM | 2331 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 2329 | |
| 6 | Bargsten,Justus | CM | 2226 | Post SV Uelzen | GER | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2273 | |
| 7 | Matthes,Aaron | CM | 2204 | SC Kreuzberg e.V. | GER | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5.0 | 2273 | |
| 8 | Nechitaylo,Nikita | 2155 | Schach-Drachen Isernhagen | UKR | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2257 | ||
| 9 | Wagner,Benjamin | 2189 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2251 | ||
| 10 | Tiarks,Jann-Christian | CM | 2215 | Potsdamer SV Mitte e.V. | GER | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5.0 | 2250 | |
| 11 | Szajbely,Zsigmond | FM | 2247 | SV Empor Berlin e.V. | HUN | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2194 | |
| 12 | Hansch,Stephan | CM | 2152 | Stendaler Schachklub | GER | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2158 | |
| 13 | Gröbel,Aaron | 2086 | Schachfreunde Hettstedt | GER | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5.0 | 2156 | ||
| 14 | Schiffner,Kevin | 2049 | GW Dahlenwarsleben | GER | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5.0 | 2152 | ||
| 15 | Enekwizu,Divine | 2084 | SV Rochade Magdeburg 96 | GER | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5.0 | 2104 | ||
| 16 | Nemitz,Alfred | 2300 | USV Potsdam e.V., Abt. Schach | GER | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5.0 | 2075 | ||
| 17 | Skembris,Simon Max | 1981 | SK Freiburg-Zähringen 1887 e.V. | GER | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4.5 | 2143 | ||
| 18 | Rohde,Niclas | 2035 | 1. Schachclub Anhalt | GER | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.5 | 2129 | ||
| 19 | Helmsdorf,Marius | 2015 | ESV Gera | GER | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 2060 | ||
| 20 | Görgens,Michael | 2062 | Union 1861 Schönebeck | GER | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.5 | 2031 | ||
| 21 | Herter,Arne | 2039 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 2021 | ||
| 22 | Udelnov,Valentin | 2054 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 1962 | ||
| 23 | Lippert,Daniel | 2081 | SG Aufbau Elbe Magdeburg | GER | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 1921 | ||
| 24 | Dannhauer,Frank | 1988 | SV Einheit Halberstadt | GER | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.5 | 1893 | ||
| 25 | Weil,Volker | 2003 | SC Steinbach | GER | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4.0 | 2010 |
102 players
For me, this was the first (and certainly not the last) visit to Magdeburg - I was surprised how beautiful and green the city is in many places, especially around the cathedral and along the Elbe.
In the background the medieval cathedral, in the foreground a piece of the Berlin Wall as a reminder of other times.
Architecture does not have to be grey and monotonous: The "Green Citadel", the last work of the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Herderstrasse, an avenue with many listed buildings, was our daily route to and from the playing hall.
