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Chess Classic Mainz 2009
The 2009 Chess Classic will take place from July 27 to August 2 in the
Rheingoldhalle of the Congress Centre, Hilton Hotel in Mainz, Germany.
The event includes tournaments and Opens in traditional and Random Chess,
with stars like the current World Champion Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian
of Armenia, strong Russian junior GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and top German
GM Arkadij Naiditsch. Schedule below. |
Ordix Open 2009
In 2007 the Chess Classic ORDIX Open attracted 762 participants to become the
world’s biggest tournament. At that time it was the world’s biggest
open. This year’s ORDIX Open, which will take place from 1st to 2nd August,
320 players have already registered, among them 75 GMs, plus a number of IMs
and FMs. As far as quality is concerned the tournament already tops the record
year 2007. The best ten players have a fantastic Elo average of 2716, and the
top 20 can still boast of a 2695+ average. Currently, the highest rated player
in the field is Vugar Gashimov with 2740, followed by Grischuk, Etienne Bacrot,
Gata Kamsky, Shakh Mamedyarov, Hikaru Nakamura, David Navara, Viktor Bologan,
Vladimir Akopian, Gabriel Sargissian, and many more. Here's an interview with
the sponsor.
Interview: Short term commitments are not what we are looking for
Wolfgang Kögler is CEO of the ORDIX AG, 16 year sponsor of the Chess Classic
Mainz and the company giving the Rapid Open its name. A successful cooperation,
which will again bring hundreds of chessplayers from 27th July to 3rd August
to Mainz to visit the Chess Classic and to play in the ORDIX Open, the world’s
biggest and strongest chess tournament, which will take place 1st and 2nd August.
Harry Schaack spoke with the businessman about parallels between chess and business,
commitment, service and a high class product.
Harry Schaack: Mr. Kögler, allow me to
start with a somewhat provocative question: We are in the middle of one of
the most difficult financial crises of the last hundred years, yet ORDIX continues
to support the Chess Classic in Mainz, the world’s biggest and strongest
open chess tournament. Do you have too much money?
Wolfgang Kögler: No, definitely not. But one year ago
I promised to support the tournament and I will keep this promise. Today, I
would probably decide somewhat differently.
ORDIX is an independent software and consulting company, which offers
service, training, and products such as relational databases for UNIX, Linux
and Windows. Has the IT business been spared from the crisis?
Sponsor Wolfgang Kögler, right, with tournament organiser Hans-Walter
Schmitt
The crisis first of all affected the motor industry and its suppliers and the
machine building industry. We happen to have only few contacts to these fields.
Unlike others we are thus fortunately not that much affected. Our order situation
is still okay. If I wanted to be heretical, I might add: because we work for
banks, which were bailed out by the government. And the banks do not stop their
IT-projects, because these projects are too important.
But the climate has changed.
That’s right. But this development began a couple of years ago. It has
nothing to do with the crisis. A while ago you could still rely on handshake-agreements,
but nowadays even contracts are not always kept or they are "improved“
afterwards.
A couple of months ago World Champion Vishy Anand was invited to the
World Economic Forum in Davos to talk with leading scientists and other authorities
about economics. Where do you see similarities between chess, economics or
your field?
One should not take the comparison too far. But competitive sports –
and I think chess is one – and economics do indeed have things in common.
To successfully lead a company is a kind of competitive sport. Chess focuses
on the individual, but in a company things depend on teamwork. Even though a
strong personality at the top is not bad, in a company interaction is more important.
Can business learn something from chess?
Well, I wished some managers would think as much as chessplayers (laughs).
You have been supporting the ORDIX Open since 1994, for 16 years your
company has been an established part of the Chess Classic. You are the only
sponsor who supported the tournament from the very start. Which connection
do you see between sponsoring and consistency?
In general, consistency is something which distinguishes us. In the work with
our customers we are very steady, which in itself signalizes reliability. This
approach to our work obviously is reflected in our long term support of the
ORDIX Open. Short term commitments are not what we are looking for.
You saw the continuous growth of the event. With 762 participants the
ORDIX Open 2007 was the world’s biggest open tournament ever. What does
this success mean to you?
Such things make you happy. I do not know whether there’s potential
for further growth. However, this is not the primary goal of our sponsoring.
It is a huge tournament, people from many countries come to Mainz and all over
the world people hear about the ORDIX Open. That is fantastic, but this success
is not only due to the money we give, but also due to the efforts of the Chess
Tigers team organizing the event. The joy of the volunteers transpires to the
entire event.
In contrast to patronage, sponsoring is an investment for which a company
expects some value in return. What did ORDIX get from the Chess Classic?
We did not have a concrete, measurable benefit. However, our support is pretty
clear and straightforward and this is no absolute must. We wanted to establish
a brand and to make the name of ORDIX better known in an environment, in which
not only IT-people move. We hope that maybe the one or the other wants to find
out more about ORDIX and about what our company does. Which in turn might yield
results.
Your commitment as sponsor mainly focuses on minority sports…
Yes. I like to give money to fields, where I feel my contribution might change
something. For me, it is more satisfying to get a direct feedback from the person
I gave the money to. And I can more easily see what is done with it. In minority
sports I can also more easily support amateur sport and junior sport, which
are dear to me.
Recently, you even increased your support for the Chess Classic. This
year will be the third, in which you support the Mini-ORDIX Open.
When Hans-Walter Schmitt asked, whether I would like to support the Mini-Open
as well, I immediately agreed. He just hit a nerve. I always look forward to
this tournament.
By now, the world’s best players come to Mainz to play in the ORDIX
Open. As prizes are scaled, even relatively weak players can win unusually
high prizes in their rating-class. How do you see the relation between amateurs
and professionals?
It is good that we offer something for everyone. But the top level chess is
necessary to attract the many others. I think every amateur is happy to have
an opportunity to play against the top players.
Does this ratio of mass and class work in business?
While there is a good ratio of professionals and amateurs in the ORDIX there
are too many amateurs in business. The „class“ should actually have
prevented a crisis such as we have now. Unfortunately, too many just look for
short term profit.
You are a regular visitor of the Gourmet Club of the Chess Classic. Do
you also invite your customers to this club?
Yes, for instance last year. I like it there: the rooms are dignified, grandmasters
explain the games in entertaining fashion, and there is good food and good wine.
You also play chess yourself, even though you have little time for it.
Did you ever play in a club?
No, I never did. At university I used to play regularly for some time. I know
the rules and if a commentator explains the characteristics of the position
I can even follow the high-class games well. The computer evaluations, now common
at the Chess Classic, also help a lot.
An important aspect of your work is customer orientation. If you look
at the Chess Classic: what does service mean in chess?

Hans-Walter Schmitt und Wolfgang Kögler presenting the prize
to the winner of the 2nd Mini-ORDIX Open 2008, Dennis Wagner
The Chess Classic is a great event. It offers so much. Not only to chessplayers
but to whole families. You can leave the „little ones“ in the children’s
club where a number of educators take care of them. This allows you to focus
on the games. The Gourmet Club is also to my taste, because I like good food.
Another advantage of this festival might be that the games reach their crucial
point quickly and you thus see a lot of highlights. This is certainly very attractive
for visitors. The Chess Classic is a quick-decision-event – another parallel
to our IT-business. In IT, slow people won’t get far.
Are you also interested in top level chess apart from the Chess Classic?
I am generally interested in sports and I follow the top chess events, last
year, for instance, the World Championship in Bonn or the Olympiad in Dresden.
Do you have personal contacts to the top players who regularly play in
Mainz?
Yes, but only in connection to the Chess Classic. 16 years ago Hans-Walter
Schmitt introduced Vishy Anand to me and said that this one could really go
far. To be honest, at that time I was rather skeptical. However, I see things
differently now (laughs). At the opening ceremony, the Champions Diner, I once
sat at a table with Vladimir Kramnik and we had a very entertaining conversation.
I enjoy contact with the top players on such occasions.
How do you and the ORDIX staff follow the Open?
One or two members of our staff played in the Open and in the simultaneous
event. They were rather taken with it. We also publish regular reports on our
website.
You know the Chess Classic from the very beginning. This successful festival
is also a business product, which has adapted to changed times and circumstances.
What do you think distinguishes this product? And what were the most important
innovations of the tournament?
The most important innovation was to move from Frankfurt to Mainz. The ambience
of the Rheingoldhalle by far surpasses everything the tournament had in Frankfurt.
Since then the event had a fixed place and surrounding. This was not the case
in Frankfurt. I think this is good for the whole event. Being close to the Rhine
and downtown Mainz is also attractive. I would even say: if the event had not
moved to Mainz, it might no longer exist by now.
You mainly started to sponsor the Chess Classic because the organizer
Hans-Walter Schmitt had been a long time acquaintance of you. What is the
secret of a 16 year long cooperation?
It simply worked. Two people, who others might occasionally be somewhat uncomfortable
with, met. The chemistry between us was simply right.
If you look back to the 16 years: what were your personal highlights?
A personal highlight was the winning ceremony of the Mini-ORDIX Open, where
I gave the prizes to the winners. It was moving to see how the sometimes very
small children stumbled on stage. Moreover, I think it’s satisfying that
we increased our value for the event over the years. We have never been the
biggest sponsor. But some other sponsors no longer exist today or they quickly
stopped their commitment because they had no long-term concept.
Thank you very much for the interview.
|
Translation by Johannes Fischer |
Schedule of events
GRENKELEASING Rapid World Championship – July
31 to August 2nd, 2009
Rapid Chess, 20min/game + 5s/move. Course of events: Fri, 31 July: first
rounds 1, 2 and 3; Sat, 1 Aug.: second rounds 4, 5 and 6, possible tiebreak;
Sun, 2 Aug: four-game matches, big and small final, possible tiebreak,
award ceremony. Start time of rounds: 18:30h, 19:30h, 20:30h, final additionally:
21:30h. Participants:
Player |
Nation |
Title |
Rating |
WRnk |
Viswanathan Anand |
India |
GM |
2783 |
2 |
Levon Aronian |
Armenia |
GM |
2754 |
6 |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
Germany |
GM |
2710 |
26 |
Ian Nepomniachtchi |
Russia |
GM |
2628 |
113 |
Full
details
|
6th Chess960 Rapid World Championship – 28-30 July 2009
Rapid chess, 20min/game + 5s/move. Course of events: Tue 28 July: first
set of rounds 1, 2 and 3; Wed, 29 July: second set of rounds 4, 5 and
6, possible tiebreak; Thu, 30 July: four-game matches, big and small final,
possible tiebreak, award ceremony. Start time of rounds: 18:30h, 19:30h,
20:30h, final additionally: 21:30h. Participants:
Player |
Nation |
Rating |
Title |
WRank |
Levon Aronian |
Armenia |
2754 |
GM |
6 |
Sergei Movsesian |
Slovakia |
2734 |
GM |
16 |
Hikaru Nakamura |
USA |
2699 |
GM |
32 |
Victor Bologan |
Moldavia |
2687 |
GM |
43 |
Full
details
|
16th ORDIX Open – August 1-2, 2009
Eleven rounds Rapid Chess Open, 20min/game + 5s/move. Registration until
Sat 1 Aug, 11:30h. Sat 1 August: rounds 1-5; Sun 2 August: rounds 6-11.
Start of rounds: Sat 12:00h, Sun 10:00h. Award ceremony Sun 17:30h. Details. |
FiNet Chess960 Open – July 30-31, 2009
Eleven rounds Chess960 Rapid Chess, 20min/game + 5s/move. Thu 30 July:
rounds 1-5; Fri 31 July: rounds 6-11. Start of rounds: Thu 12:00h and
Fri 10:00h. Award Ceremony Fri 17:30h. Details. |
3rd Mini-ORDIX (28th July) and the 3rd Mini-FiNet (29th July)
3rd Mini-ORDIX Open: Rapid Chess Open for Children and
Talents U14, 20min/game + 5s/move. Registration
until Tue, July 28, 10:30h. Seven rounds: 11:00h, 12:00h, 13:00h, 14:00h,
15:00h, 16:00h, 17:00h. Award ceremony: 18:00h. Details.
3rd Mini-FiNet Open: Rapid Chess960 Open for Children
and Talents U14, 20min/game + 5s/move. Registration
until Wed, July 29, 10:30h. Seven rounds: 11:00h, 12:00h, 13:00h, 14:00h,
15:00h, 16:00h, 17:00h. Award ceremony: 18:00h. Details. |
5th Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship– 29-31 July
2009
Rapid Chess, 20min/game + 5s/move. Course of events: Wed 30 July: first
set of three rounds; Thurs 31 July: second set of three rounds; Fri 1
Aug.: four-game matches, big and small final possle tiebreak (5min/game
+ 5s/move). Start time of rounds: 11:00h, 12:30h, 14:00h, final additionally:
15:30 h, tiebreak: 17:00h. Participants: Rybka, Deep Shredder, plus two
qualifiers. Details. |