
Loiseau wins the 6th Lucopen in Lille
Report from France by Sagar Shah
In 1878, Charles Rameau, who was the president of Lille Corporation of horticulture, bequeathed 300,000 francs to the city of Lille in France on the condition that a building be designed and constructed to host exhibitions of flowers, fruit, art exhibitions and music festivals.

The Palais Rameau is classified as one of the historic monuments of France
On 4th of May 2015, when I arrived in Lille to play in the 6th Lucopen tournament, little did I know that it would take place inside a heritage structure. I must confess that there is something really wonderful about playing chess inside a building that is spacious and has a height of 25 metres. It gives a free hand to your imagination and creativity. Maybe that’s the reason why chess tournaments are increasingly being held in art galleries and museum.

The gigantic tournament hall
The sixth Lucopen International tournament was held from the 4th to 10th of May 2015. The tournament consisted of 150 players, including the participation of eleven grandmasters and nine International Masters. The top seed was the strong French GM Tigran Gharamian (2647). It was a nine-round Swiss event with a time control of one hour and 30 minutes, with 30 minutes added after 40 moves, and a 30 second increment from move one. The total prize fund was €10,000 with the first prize of €1500.
As the last round began on the 10th of May, and as many as 13 players had a chance of finishing first at the event. The following was the pairing of the final round:
Board |
White |
Pts
|
Black |
Pts |
1 |
IM Adrien Demuth |
6.5
|
GM Boris Chatalbashev |
6.5 |
2 |
GM Tigran Gharamian |
6
|
IM Kevin Terrieux |
6 |
3 |
GM Andrey Zhigalko |
6
|
GM Alexander Karpatchev |
6 |
4 |
GM Igor Naumkin |
6
|
GM Vladimir Burmakin |
6 |
5 |
IM Pavel Martynov |
6
|
IM Pierre Bailet |
6 |
6 |
GM Marius Manolache |
6
|
IM Quentin Loiseau |
6 |
7 |
IM Sagar Shah |
6
|
GM Nikita Maiorov |
5.5 |
The top board was a pretty sedate affair as the two leaders Demuth and Chatalbashev made a quick draw to end up on seven points. This left the field all the other players on six to win their games and join them at the top. The last round was so bloody that no less than five games ended decisively from the next six boards.

Fighting last rounds are always a treat for spectators
Top seeded Tigran Gharmanian got the better of IM Kevin Terrieux after a marathon five hour struggle. Andrey Zhigalko was able to overcome Karpatchev while Burmakin got the better of his country mate Igor Naumkin. IM Pavel Martynov was lucky as in a technically lost position his opponent Pierre Bailet blundered an entire rook. IM Quentin Loiseau played a beautiful game to win against Marius Manolache, while yours truly (Sagar Shah) drew his game against Nikita Maiorov.
This meant that seven players tied for the first place with seven points. The unpredictable Buchholz would decide the champion of the event. In the end it was IM Quentin Loiseau (2415) who was the deserving winner of the sixth Lucopen tournament. GM Tigran Gharamian finished second and IM Adrien Demuth had to settle for the third spot.

Though players from 15 countries participated in this event, it was the Frenchmen who had
the last laugh! GM Tigran Gharamian (2nd), IM Quentin Loiseau (1st) and IM Adrien Demuth (3rd)
Final standings (after nine rounds)
Pl |
Ti. |
Nom |
Elo |
Pts |
Tr. |
Perf |
Bu. |
1 |
m |
Loiseau Quentin |
2415 |
7 |
45½ |
2644 |
56 |
2 |
g |
Gharamian Tigran |
2647 |
7 |
45 |
2653 |
56 |
3 |
g |
Demuth Adrien |
2515 |
7 |
45 |
2602 |
54½ |
4 |
g |
Chatalbashev Boris |
2541 |
7 |
45 |
2564 |
55½ |
5 |
g |
Zhigalko Andrey |
2586 |
7 |
43 |
2577 |
52½ |
6 |
g |
Burmakin Vladimir |
2585 |
7 |
42½ |
2549 |
53 |
7 |
f |
Martynov Pavel |
2376 |
7 |
40 |
2422 |
47½ |
8 |
m |
Sagar Shah |
2436 |
6½ |
45½ |
2608 |
55½ |
9 |
m |
Le Quang Long |
2405 |
6½ |
41½ |
2418 |
50 |
10 |
m |
Van Foreest Jorden |
2519 |
6½ |
40½ |
2385 |
49½ |
11 |
m |
Dourerassou Jonathan |
2414 |
6½ |
40 |
2364 |
48 |
12 |
m |
Bailet Pierre |
2519 |
6 |
45 |
2495 |
55½ |
13 |
g |
Maiorov Nikita |
2563 |
6 |
43 |
2449 |
53 |
14 |
m |
Terrieux Kevin |
2439 |
6 |
43 |
2412 |
52 |
15 |
g |
Karpatchev Aleksandr |
2466 |
6 |
43 |
2411 |
52½ |
16 |
g |
Naumkin Igor |
2445 |
6 |
43 |
2360 |
53½ |
17 |
m |
Shirazi Kamran |
2385 |
6 |
42 |
2427 |
51 |
18 |
f |
Di Nicolantonio Lucas |
2414 |
6 |
41½ |
2401 |
51½ |
19 |
g |
Manolache Marius |
2498 |
6 |
41½ |
2378 |
49½ |
20 |
|
Midoux Sebastien |
2315 |
6 |
40 |
2303 |
48 |
21 |
|
Guezennec Franck |
2231 |
6 |
38½ |
2195 |
47½ |
22 |
|
Van Foreest Lucas |
2312 |
6 |
38 |
2289 |
46 |
23 |
g |
Strikovic Aleksa |
2526 |
6 |
37½ |
2329 |
46 |
24 |
f |
Bannink Bernard |
2267 |
6 |
36½ |
2201 |
44 |
25 |
|
Frederic Clement |
2231 |
6 |
35½ |
2122 |
43 |
26 |
|
Majhi Ankit |
2178 |
6 |
32 |
2070 |
38 |

The 20-year-old Quentin Loiseau had the tournament of his life
Starting out as the fifteenth seed and coming from the French Junior Championships, where he performed badly, not much was expected of Quentin. But the French IM surpassed all expectations, scoring 7.0/9 and remaining unbeaten in the event. He scored wins over strong players like GM Marius Manolache, GM Igor Naumkin and IM Jorden van Foreest. With a performance of 2644 he not only made his maiden GM norm but also gained 26 Elo points from tournament. Maybe the most defining moment of the event came for Quentin in the last round, when a draw was sufficient for him to get his GM norm but a win would have helped him to fight for the top spot. He was up against the Romanian GM Marius Manolache and this is what he has to say about the crucial encounter in his annotations below:
At the begining of the game I planned to offer a draw on move 20 (the limit fixed by the tournament rules), whatever happened, in order to secure my GM norm if he accepted. But here I changed my mind because the two leaders had drawn their game on board one. I had about 20 minutes against five and, last but not least, my position was absolutely great, without any risk to play on.
Of course, this was a courageous decision from the youngster and he was amply rewarded for this bravery. The crucial last round battle has been annotated in great depth by Loiseau, who shares with our readers not only some excellent analysis, but also tells us what was going on in his head during the game.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 5.e4 5...a6 6.a4 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.0-0 Be7 9.b3?! 9.Qe2 9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 10.exd4 10...Bd7 10...Na5 11.Be2 11.Qe2 Nxc4 12.bxc4 Qa5 11...e5 12.Nf3 Be6 10...Nxd4 11.exd4 0-0 12.Bb2 Qc7 13.d5∞ 11.Re1?! 11.Bb2 11...0-0 12.Bb2 Qa5 13.Na2?! 13.Nf3 13...Rfd8 14.Qe2 Nxd4 14...Ne5 15.b4! 15.Bxd4 Bc6 16.Rac1 Rd7 17.Red1 17.b4 Qg5 17...Qxa4 18.Rb1 Bb5 18.f4 Qh4 19.b5 axb5 20.Bxb5= 17...Rad8 18.h4? 18.b4 Qg5 18...Qxa4! 19.f4 Qh6 19...Qh4 20.b5 axb5 21.Bxb5 Bxb5 22.axb5 Nd5 23.g3 Qh3 24.Nc3= 20.b5 axb5 21.Bxb5 Bxb5 22.axb5 Nd5 18.f4! Nd5! 19.Bxd5 19.g3 Nf6 19.Rf1 Nxe3! 20.b4! 20.Bxe3? Rd2-+ 20...Rxd4‼ 21.bxa5 Rd2 22.Rf2 Rxe2 23.Bxe2 Rd4 19...Bxd5 18...Qf5 19.Nc3 Ng4 20.f3?! 20.Bd3! Qh5 21.f3! 21.g3 e5 21...g5!? 22.Bb6 Bxh4 23.gxh4 Qxh4 24.f3 Qg3+ 25.Qg2 Qxg2+ 26.Kxg2 Rxd3 27.Bxd8 Nxe3+ 28.Kg1 Nxd1 29.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30.Nxd1 Bxf3 21...Ne5 22.Be4 Bxh4 23.g4!? Qg5 24.Kf1 f5! 25.Bxe5 fxe4 20...Ne5-+ 21.Bxe5 21.e4 Nxf3+! 22.gxf3 22.Qxf3 Qxf3 23.gxf3 Rxd4-+ 22...Qg6+-+ 21...Qxe5 22.Rxd7 Rxd7 23.Nd1 23.Bd3 23...h5 24.Nf2 Bc5 25.Re1 Qg3 26.Bd3 Bd6 27.Be4 Bxe4 28.Nxe4?! 28.fxe4 28...Qh2+ 29.Kf1 Bb4! 30.Nf2 30.Rd1 Qh1+ 31.Kf2 Rxd1 30...Bxe1 30...Rd2 31.Qc4 Rxf2+ 32.Kxf2 Qxh4+ 32...Bxe1+ 33.Kxe1 Qg1+ 33.Qxh4 31.Qxe1 Qxh4 32.Qc3 Qd8 33.f4 Qc7 34.Qb4 Qc2 35.Qe1 Qxb3 36.a5 Qc2 37.Kg1 Rd2 0–1
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Manolache,M | 2498 | Loiseau,Q | 2415 | 0–1 | 2015 | D27 | Lucopen 2015 | 9.6 |
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The local boy and tournament favourite, Tigran Gharamian
Top seeded, Tigran Gharamian, was definitely the strongest player in the event. He outrated the second seed by a hefty 60 points margin. Orginially from Armenia, Gharamian has been living in Lille for more than ten years now. He was the local favourite and his games would attract a lot of spectators. He didn’t have the smoothest of tournaments as he drew four games against much lower rated opponents. But when his preparations fell in place, he was simply unstoppable. Take for example his game against IM Le Quang Long, where the French GM showed the importance of staying updated with the latest games at the highest level. He used a fresh idea that had been tried by Leko in the World Team Championships in April 2015 against Ding Liren. Here is the game with excellent annotations by the 2647 player himself.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0-0 c5 7.c4 Nbc6 8.Na3 dxc4 8...a6 8...cxd4? 9.Nb5 9.Nxc4 Nd5 10.a3!? 10.Bg5 Qd7 11.Rc1 10...h6 11.Be3 Nxe3 11...cxd4 12.Nxd4 12.fxe3 Be7? 12...a6 13.Rc1 b5 14.Nd6+ Bxd6 15.exd6 Qxd6 16.Rxc5 0-0 17.Bd3 Ne7 18.b4 a5 19.Bxb5 axb4 20.axb4 Ra2 21.Bc4 Rb2 22.Qa4 Qb8 23.b5 Qa8 24.Qa1 Rc2 25.Rc1 Be4 26.Ne1 Qxa1 27.Rxa1 Rb2 28.Ra3 Nf5 29.Rb3 Rxb3 30.Bxb3 Rb8 31.Bc2 13.dxc5 Bxc5 13...0-0 14.Nd6 14.b4 Qxd1 15.Raxd1 Be7 15...Bb6 16.Nh4 16.b5!? Nd8 16...Na5 17.Nd6+ Ke7 18.Nh4 Bxe3+ 19.Kh1 17.Nd6+ Ke7 18.Nd4 16...Bc7 17.Nxf5 exf5 18.Rxf5 g6 19.Rff1! 19.Rxf7? Kxf7 20.Rd7+ Kg8! 20...Ke6? 21.Bg4# 21.Rxc7 Rh7! 19...0-0 20.Rd7± 16.b5 Nb8 17.Nd6+ 17.Nd4 Be4 18.Nd2 Bd5 18...Bg6 19.Bf3 19.e4 Bc5! 20.exd5 Bxd4+ 21.Kh1 exd5 22.Bf3 Nd7 23.Bxd5 0-0-0 17...Bxd6 18.exd6 Nd7 19.Rc1 0-0 20.Rc7 Nf6 21.Ne5! 21.Rxb7 Be4 22.Rc7 Nd5 23.Rc4 f5 21...Ne8 21...Ne4 22.d7+- 21...Be4 22.Rxf6! gxf6 23.Nd7 Kg7 24.Nxf8 Rxf8 25.d7 Rd8 26.Bf3 Bxf3 27.gxf3 21...Nd5 22.Rxb7 Nxe3 23.Bf3 23.Rc1 23...Nxf1 23...Nxg2 24.Kxg2 24.Kxf1 Rab8 25.d7 Rxb7 26.Bxb7 Rd8 27.Bc8 Kf8 28.Nc6 Bd3+ 29.Kf2 Rxd7 30.Bxd7 Bxb5 31.Ke3 22.Rd7 f6 23.Rxf5! fxe5 23...exf5 24.Ng6! 24.Bc4+? Kh7 24...Rc8 25.Ne7+ 24.Bc4! 24.Rxe5? Rf7 24...Nf6 24...Rxf5 25.Bxe6+ Kf8 26.Bxf5 25.Rxb7 25.Bxe6+ Kh8 26.Rxb7 Rfe8 27.Rxe5 Ng4 28.d7+- 25...Kh8 26.Rxe5 Rac8 27.Rc7! 27.Rc7 Rxc7 28.dxc7 Rc8 29.Rc5 Ne8 30.Bxe6 Rxc7 31.Rxc7 Nxc7 32.Bc4+- 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Gharamian,T | 2647 | Le Quang,L | 2405 | 1–0 | 2015 | B12 | Lucopen 2015 | 4 |
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Text

The man who nearly ran away with the event: Adrian Demuth
Adrien Demuth, who recently received his GM title at the FIDE congress held in Chengdu, led the tournament from start to end. He raced to a lead of 5.0/5 and in the end drew his remaining four games. A victory in any of the last four rounds would have sealed the tournament in his favour. However, in the end he had to settle for the third spot. When we asked for him to send his favourite game to us he replied, “I decided to send you my fourth round game against Marius Manolache, a turning point in my tournament. It’s clearly not my best, but it’s how I fight when my position is a mess!”
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 0-0 6.Bd3 e6 7.h3 exd5 8.exd5 Re8+ 9.Be3 Nh5!? 9...Bh6 10.Nf3! Bxe3 11.fxe3 Rxe3+ 12.Kf2 Re8 12...Qe7? 13.Qd2 Rxf3+ 14.Kxf3± 13.Qd2 d6 14.Rhe1 9...d6 10.Nf3 10.Nge2 d6 11.g4 11.0-0 Nd7 12.Nf4 12.b3 Ne5 13.Bc2? Bxh3-+ 12...Nxf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 14.Be2= 11...Nf6 12.Qd2 12.Ng3! Bh6 12...Nbd7?! 13.g5 13.Qd2 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Nbd7 12...Nbd7 13.f4 a6!? 13...b5! 14.Nxb5 Nb6! 15.Nbc3 Qe7 16.Bf2 Ba6 17.b3 Nfxd5! 18.cxd5?? Bxd3 19.Qxd3 Bxc3+-+ 14.a4 b5!? 15.axb5 Nb6 16.bxa6?! 16.0-0! axb5 17.Rxa8 Nxa8 18.Nxb5 Ne4 19.Bxe4 Rxe4 20.Qd3 Qe7? 21.Rf3± 16...Qe7! 16...Bxa6 17.b3 Qe7 18.Kf2! 17.Bf2 17.Kf2?! Bxg4 17...Bxa6 18.Rxa6 18.b3? Nfxd5! 19.cxd5?? Bxd3 20.Rxa8 Bxc3-+ 18...Rxa6 19.0-0 Na4! 20.Nb5 20.Nxa4 Rxa4 21.Nc3 Rb4 20...Ne4! 21.Bxe4 Qxe4 22.Ned4!? 22.Ng3 Qxc4 23.Nc7 Raa8-+ 22...cxd4? 22...Bxd4! 23.Nxd4 Rb8! 24.Re1 Rxb2!-+ 23.Re1 Nc5!? 23...Qxe1+ 24.Bxe1 Nxb2 25.Nc7 Nxc4 26.Qc1 Rxe1+ 27.Qxe1 Ra5 28.Qe8+ Bf8 29.Qe4= 24.Rxe4 Nxe4 25.Qe1?? 25.Qd1! Nxf2 26.Kxf2 Re4∞ 25...d3! 26.Nc7 d2 27.Qd1 Nxf2?? 27...Rc8! 28.Nxa6 Rxc4 29.Be3 Bd4-+ 27...Ra2! 28.Nxe8 Bxb2 29.Be3 Ra1 30.Qxa1 Bxa1 31.Bxd2 Nxd2 32.Nxd6 Bd4+ 33.Kg2 Kf8-+ 28.Kxf2 Bd4+! 29.Kg2 Ra1 29...Re1?? 30.Qxd2 Rg1+ 31.Kh2+- 30.Qxd2 30.Qxa1?? Re1 31.Qa8+ Kg7 32.Ne8+ Rxe8 33.Qxe8 d1Q-+ 30...Re4?! 30...Rg1+! 31.Kh2 Re4 32.Nb5 Bb6 33.Nxd6 Ree1∞ 31.Nb5 31.Nb5 Bb6 31...Rg1+?! 32.Kf3! 32.Kh2? Be3 33.Qd3 Re1 32...Re3+ 33.Qxe3 Bxe3 34.Kxe3± 32.Nxd6 Rg1+ 33.Kf3 Ree1 34.Ne4 Rgf1+ 35.Kg2 Rg1+ 36.Kf3= 1–0
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Demuth,A | 2515 | Manolache,M | 2498 | 1–0 | 2015 | E70 | Lucopen | 4.2 |
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It was highly creditable that GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria finished fourth,
finished fourth in spite of losing the third round against IM Le Quang Long

Fifth: Andrey Zhigalko (2586) of Belarus. He is the elder brother of GM Sergey Zhigalko (2654).
With an average rating of 2620 between them they might well be the strongest siblings in the world.

Sixth: the experienced Vladimir Burmakin from Russia

Seventh: FM Pavel Martynov of Russia

Eighth: The author of this report had a great tournament and made his second GM norm
For me this event turned out to be a very fruitful one, as I scored 6.5/9, remaining unbeaten. Not only that, I was lucky enough to play all the top four seeds of the tournament, Gharamian, Zhigalko, Burmakin and Maiorov, and score +1 against them. In Part II of the article, I share with you one of my favourite games from the event, as well as few of the secrets that helped me achieve a 2600+ rating performance.