Sparkassen Chess Trophy: Who's the number one?

by André Schulz
8/9/2024 – From 10 to 18 August Dortmund will once again be the summer chess capital of Germany. As well as a highly competitive Open, Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner will be competing in a match to see who is number one women player in Germany.

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From 10th to 18th August Dortmund will once again be the German chess summer capital, for the 51st time in more than half a century. The initial spark was once a bid for a World Chess Championship match - for the World Championship match: chess fans in Dortmund wanted to organise the world championship match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer in 1972. As is well known, nothing came of it, but the spark ignited and the tradition of the Dortmund Chess Days was born. With many major tournaments over the course of more than 50 years and a number of different venues in the Ruhr metropolis, which has more to offer than just first-class football.

This year, the Dortmund Chess Days will take place in the Alte Schmiede. The building once belonged to the Hansa Dortmund-Huckarde coal mine and is now run as a cultural centre by the Interessengemeinschaft Huckarder Vereine (IHV). There is room for 200 players in the large hall. A foyer and many other rooms on two levels offer additional space for catering or in-depth analyses.

The centrepiece of the 51st Dortmund Chess Days is the Sparkassen Chess Trophy, an open for which 195 players have registered, and more would not be possible (see above).

Top seed is Ukrainian grandmaster Anton Korobov (2654). He is followed by Frederik Svane from Germany, who is ranked tenth in the world junior rankings and was recently called up to the national team for the Chess Olympiad in Budapest by German national coach Jan Gustafsson.

There are several other strong players in the field, including the newly crowned US Junior Champion Christopher Yoo. Rafael Vaganian is a veteran who can look back on a great past. Vaganian was one of the best players in the Soviet Union and at times number three in the world rankings.

Parallel to the Open, Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner will fight a duel over who is the best German women player. For a long time this has always been Elisabeth Pähtz, the first and only German woman to become a Grandmaster. But since moving to Germany and marrying Dennis Wagner, Kalmykia-born Dinara Wagner has grown in strength and recently became Germany's new number one, at least for a while. However, with a rating of 2455, Elisabeth Pähtz is currently back on top, three points ahead of Dinara Wagner, who has an Elo rating of 2452. Elisabeth Pähtz is well aware that she will eventually be overtaken by younger players. But has it happened yet?

Schedule

Saturday, 10.08.2024

08.30 - 09.15: Registration A- and B-Open (also applies to pre-registered players)

13.30 – 14.15: Registration A-Open (also applies to pre-registered players)

10.30 Round 1 (B-Open)

15.00 Round 1 (A-Open)

 

Sunday, 11.08.2024

10.30: Round 2 (B-Open)

15.00: Round 2 (A-Open) + Round 1 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

 

Monday, 12.08.2024

10.30: Round 3 (B-Open)

15.00: Round 3 (A-Open) + Round 2 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

 

Thursday, 13.08.2024

Rest day B-Open

15.00: Round 4 (A-Open)

 

Wednesday, 14.08.2024

10.30: Round 4 (B-Open)

15.00: Round 5 (A-Open) + Round 3 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

 

Thursday, 15.08.2024

10.30: Round 5 (B-Open)

15.00: Round 6 (A-Open) + Round 4 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

 

Friday, 16.08.2024

10.30 Round 6 (B-Open)

15.00 Round 7 (A-Open)

 

Saturday, 17.08.2024

10.30: Round 7 (B-Open)

15.00: Round 8 (A-Open) + Round 5 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

15.15: Award ceremony B-Open

 

Sunday, 18.08.2024

10.30: Round 9 (A-Open) + Round 6 Match Pähtz vs. Wagner

17.00: Award ceremony

Tournament page...


André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.
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