Russian Team Championship: Siberia-Sirius and Yugra win

Russian Team Championship: Siberia-Sirius and Yugra win

Report and analysis by Alex Yermolinksy / photos by Eugeny Atarov (click images for high-res)

More than the teams, this was very much the story of the players, and there were many great tales. What can one say that was not said in the previous report? The race for the trophies in the Open section was really about who would come in second. Gold was already spoken for, from day one. Why this excessive ‘confidence’ in the outcome? Take a look for yourself at the top two teams:

Siberia-Sirius (avg. rating 2765)

You just know things are going to be tough when board six is Dmitry Andreikin (2723)

Mednyy vsadnik (avg. rating 2702)

After this, the next highest average was 2665, and no other team had more than one 2700 player, if any. Siberia-Sirius not only has six of the top eight rated players in the entire competition, three of whom are in the world’s Top 10, but even their ‘alternates’ Korobov and Khismatullin are regular tournament winners. For example, Korobov just played in the Karpov-Poikovsky where he finished third… with a 2800 performance. Speaking of whom, the Ukrainian scored a fantastic 5.5/6 with a 2884 performance. Not bad for an alternate...

Still, while the top seed team did live up to its expectations, albeit with some matches won by the bare minimum, what really stood out were the individual performances and games.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had no reason to make faces with his immaculate 4.0/4 result that has now taken him to a lofty 2795 rating in the Live Ratings list. He will play in Moscow at the FIDE Grand Prix. Can he keep up this momentum?

The biggest name was Vladimir Kramnik, who slightly underperformed (meaning compared to his 2800+ rating) and lost two Elo

Speaking of superlative performances, if you don't know the name already, then it is time to become familiar with Vladimir Fedoseev, a young player on the rise.

Vladimir Fedoseev is not a household name yet. Moreover, you might confuse him with someone else. Mega Base 2017 lists his games under two different entries, both listed as a 2152 FM born in 1938! My own version, which I diligently try to keep clean of errors, has Fedoseev, Vl3 (?) with no title or birth year given, but at least the games are of the right guy.

Kovalenko vs Fedoseev (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)

The real Vladimir Fedoseev was born in February 1995, which makes him 22 years of age. He comes from my hometown of Saint Petersburg. Vladimir got his GM title in 2011, but until recently his progress, while steady, had not been spectacular. Just compare Fedoseev to Anish Giri. They both grew up in St. Petersburg, Giri is one year older. They must have played each other a number of times back then, but their career accomplishments and respective standings in the World's ranks are quite different.

Vladimir Fedoseev, looking a bit like Orson Welles in Moby Dick, has been wreaking havoc on his opponents much like the famous white whale

No need to despair, though. Different people have different development curves, and the story continues to be written as we speak. Trust me on that, I obtained my GM title at the ripe age of 34. (Ed: and peaked at world no. 19 at age 40)

Fedoseev seems to be turning things around in 2017. First came an important victory at the Aeroflot Open, which qualifies him for the Dortmund tournament this summer.

Hasangatin vs Fedoseev (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)

Vladimir then made first visit to the United States where he finished equal second behind David Howell in the St. Louis Winter Classic (a total misnomer it is, the tournament wasn't really held in winter and the participants, while quite strong, aren't old enough to fall into the Classic category).

April found Vladimir in Germany, where he competed in the strong Grenke Open, a sideshow to the main event won in style by Levon Aronian. Fedoseev finished with a respectable 7/9, half a point behind four players. In the last two events he could have been placed higher if it wasn't for late round losses.

There were no setbacks on Fedoseev's path in Sochi. His final tally is 6.0/7 (with a 2867 performance), the most individual points scored in the event.

Fedoseev vs Palachev (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)

Vladimir's rating is over 2700 now, and he needs to build up on the momentum. There's not a whole lot of room at the top, so hurry up!

Among his immediate rivals is Vladislav Artemiev, who played board one for Ladya, and turned in a very good 2773 performance over the seven rounds.

Anish Giri was not alone, and came with his wife Sopiko Guramishvili and their infant son

Gata Kamsky was also there in good company, and was with his girlfriend WGM Vera Nebolsina

A typical scene at the venue

Final Open standings

Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses)
Tie Break2: points (game-points)

Siberia-Sirius with their first place medals, trophy and certificates

The Women’s event was very tight, and while top-seed Yugra did take the top honors, it should be noted that they held only a two Elo edge over the second-seed ShSM Legacy Square Capital. In fact, it all was decided in the second round when the muscovite team (ShSM) fell to Yugra for their only defeat in the competition.

The winners Yugra: (from left) Marina Nechaeva, Anna Ushenina, Baira Kovanova, Olga Girya, and Natalija Pogonina

Final Women's standings

Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses)
Tie Break2: points (game-points)

Team Malakhit, with GM Sveshnikov on board one (left) took first in the senior section, played out as a double round-robin

The Girls competition was won by Anatoly Karpov Chess School

The Boys event was won by "Prof Chess Klab"

Links

• Official tournament site
• All Men's games in PGN or Replay them directly here (many analyzed)
• All Women's games in PGN or Replay them directly here (many analyzed)
• All Major games in PGN or Replay them directly here (many analyzed)

You can use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.