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The 2014 Reykjavik Open has come to an exciting close. In past editions some quick draws have made the event less than exciting at the top, but that was certainly not the case this year. The last rounds saw people fighting tooth and nail to remain in the top boards, hoping for a chance at first prize.
No one was safe in this event. After seven rounds of chess it seemed that GM Amin Bassem from Egypt was untouchable, scoring a massive 6.5/7, but three tough losses in a row - against Li Chao, Van Kampen and Panjwani, left him far from the leader table.
Van Kampen (right) beat Amin Bassem in round eight
The winner at the end of the day was second seed Li Chao from China. He started drawin a 2000 rated player from Canada in the first round but he scored four wins after that, drew Kobalia, then won in consecutive games against Rozentalis, Amin Bassem, Rapport and secured his first place with 8.5/10 by drawing Van Kampen in the last round.
Hansen beat Naiditsch in the penultimate round and is now crossing 2600
The top standings were a slight surprise. Van Kampen and Hansen, had amazing tournaments and finished second and third. Also with 8.0/10 was Rozentalis who was always near the top boards. Helgi Olafsson, the legendary chess player, proved that he can still play fighting and good chess, finishing with a solid +9.5 rating.
Despite only starting with 2.5/4 Olafsson fought his way into the 8.0/10 pack
Tatev Abrahamyan is the strongest player in the world with purple hair
| Rk. | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | Rp | K | rtg+/- |
| 1 | Li Chao | CHN | 2700 | 8.5 | 2698 | 10 | 12.6 |
| 2 | Van Kampen Robin | NED | 2603 | 8.0 | 2727 | 10 | 19.3 |
| 3 | Hansen Eric | CAN | 2587 | 8.0 | 2695 | 10 | 16.7 |
| 4 | Rozentalis Eduardas | LTU | 2623 | 8.0 | 2675 | 10 | 9.4 |
| 5 | Olafsson Helgi | ISL | 2546 | 8.0 | 2598 | 10 | 9.5 |
| 6 | L'Ami Erwin | NED | 2646 | 7.5 | 2637 | 10 | 3.5 |
| 7 | Harika Dronavalli | IND | 2487 | 7.5 | 2623 | 10 | 19.9 |
| 8 | Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn | ISL | 2511 | 7.5 | 2588 | 10 | 12.4 |
| 9 | Stefansson Hannes | ISL | 2541 | 7.5 | 2567 | 10 | 4.8 |
| 10 | Panjwani Raja | CAN | 2460 | 7.5 | 2508 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Naiditsch Arkadij | GER | 2706 | 7.0 | 2584 | 10 | -8.5 |
| 12 | Rapport Richard | HUN | 2681 | 7.0 | 2625 | 10 | -1.6 |
| 13 | Ramirez Alejandro | USA | 2599 | 7.0 | 2530 | 10 | -4.1 |
| 14 | Berkes Ferenc | HUN | 2687 | 7.0 | 2554 | 10 | -10.2 |
| 15 | Jones Gawain C B | ENG | 2651 | 7.0 | 2564 | 10 | -5.7 |
| 16 | Browne Walter S. | USA | 2444 | 7.0 | 2480 | 10 | 8.6 |
| 17 | Danielsen Henrik | ISL | 2501 | 7.0 | 2486 | 10 | 0.9 |
| 18 | Gajewski Grzegorz | POL | 2631 | 7.0 | 2465 | 10 | -8.9 |
| 19 | Hamitevici Vladimir | MDA | 2456 | 7.0 | 2456 | 10 | 3.0 |
| 20 | Grandelius Nils | SWE | 2600 | 7.0 | 2499 | 10 | -7.5 |
The closing ceremony was held in Reykjavik City Hall. A nice reception with champagne and appetizers greeted the players.
Reykjavik is full of interesting colors. Harpa, for example, lights up at night!
It's also full of pretty lakes!
Two of the Americans, Ramirez and Abrahamyan, with matching colors. Tatev Abrahamyan scored an IM norm, but it is her fourth and only needs four rating points to become an IM.
Rapport and Vojinovic at the ceremony
Henrik Carlsen, Magnus' father, was the guest of honor at the event.
A traditional musical performance kicked things off
Many norms were earned at the event. Aravindh Chithambaram from India scored an IM and received a kiss in the cheek for his efforts, to which he seemed very confused at how to react!
Best female prizes. GM Harika Dronavalli won best woman, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan was second and GM Krush from America was third.
The winner circle! All of the top 10 players are there, if you can spot them.
Li Chao, Olafsson and Harika: three big names in the top of the leaderboard
An important victory for the Chinese player, who is sky rocketing in rating lately
Pictures by Alina l'Ami
LinksThe games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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