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The strongest Icelandic Chess Championship in history took place from 14th to 24th May in Reykjavik. The eleven round round-robin tournament featured six Grandmasters, three International Masters, two FIDE Masters and one Woman Grandmaster. For the first time for many years all top players competed in the Championship, among them former World Championship Quarterfinalist GM Johann Hjartarson. The venue was the concert hall and conference centre Harpa.
Harpa, the tournament venue
Magnificent view from the tournament hall
GM Hedinn Steingrimsson, who currently lives in New York, won the tournament with a 1.5 point margin. In the last seven rounds he did a „Caruana“ by winning seven games in a row (as Caruana did in the Sinquefield Cup 2014) to finish with an Elo-performance of 2763.
Hedinn Steingrimsson, the new Icelandic Champion
Previously Steingrimsson had also won the Icelandic Championships in rapid and blitz and he is now the reigning Icelandic Champion in all three time controls - a feat which no player in Iceland has managed before (though Magnus Carlsen is World Champion in all three disciplines).
After two rounds Grandmasters Hedinn Steingrímsson and Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson led the tournament with two wins. Till the last round they both stayed in front but then Steingrimsson, who had half a point more than his rival, beat Gretarsson with black and clinched the title. Here's the crucial encounter with notes by the winner.
The first moves of a long game: Jon Arnason against Hedinn Steingrimsson
Grandmaster Arnason played well and made few mistakes. He lost only two games and in the end shared third place with Stefansson.
Jon Arnason (left) and Hedinn Steingrimsson have a friendly chat.
Steingrimsson is now the reigning Icelandic Chess Champion in all three disciplines: classical, rapid and blitz. The rapid event took place on 13. December 2014 and Steingrimsson won with 8.5/9.Ten days after winning the rapid event Steingrimsson also became Icelandic blitz champion. Six grandmasters took part in the blitz event and Steingrimsson won with 9.0/ 11.
Photos: Skakblog, fréttablaðið
