We started with a brief description of Fano, to bring out just a fraction of its attractions, but being on the news pages the reason is obvious – it is connected to chess. The wonderful international chess festival, ‘Mare di Fano’ took place from 29 July to 5 August. The first thing that comes to mind is – a chess festival at the peak of summer?! Yes, this is a tournament where a splash in the sea, fresh fish, a taste of famed wines of the region and a chess fighting company of several GMs and IMs, gives the term ‘chess tourists’ the most literal meaning. It was only its second edition, but the Fano Chess Festival already showed all the marks of a professionally organised tournament that has the potential to grow into one of the most attractive in Italy and Europe.
Dario Pedini, an organiser ‘par excellence’, brought together 144 players that battled in three groups, a Major (above 1900), a B group (under 2000), a C group (under 1600), a Junior U16 and a rapid that carried a reasonable 1500 euro prize fund. Invited GMs and IMs were at hand to make the achievement of norms possible. A Fano local ‘boy’, Dario, got the appreciation of the community and the support of several sponsors including LUBE Kitchens, Grohe marbles, the Fano Marina Yacht Club, the banking group Carifano, BM Marmi and Net Level and got an initial prize fund of 6000 euro and other prizes in kind.
A highlight of the tournament was the guest of honour, the young Hungarian GM Richard Rapport, who made it over straight from the Biel Masters to play in the rapid, and give a simultaneous exhibition and lessons over the last three days of the festival.
Richard Rapport at the 25-board simultaneous exhibition
The organiser Dario Pedini and Richard Rapport bathed in the glow of a sunset
Richard next to the ‘Athlete from Fano’
The ‘Athlete from Fano’ was fished out by local fishermen in 1964. The two meter bronze sculpture is attributed to the famous Athenian artist, Lyssipos (IV Century BC), the personal sculptor of Alexander the Great. The original of this valuable work is found at the Getty Museum in California and is currently a subject of court proceedings with the Italian side claiming that it was illegally removed from the country and seeking its return to the homeland.
The winner of the tournament, Yuri Solodovnichenko (UKR), was awarded a replica of the ‘Athlete from Fano’
Here is a game annotated by the winner, GM Yuri Solodovnichenko:
Mother and son: Axel Rombaldoni and his mother Brigitta Banki Horvath Axel, who won second place, will relinquish his IM title in September when he is due to be awarded the GM title, thus bringing the number of GMs in Italy to ten.
Brigitta, originally a Hungarian, is running a club in the close-by city of Pesaro. She is a chess teacher in a school where chess is included in the main curriculum. A number of youngsters that she has trained had notable successes in junior competitions in Italy. This year the Italian Chess Federation awarded her for her services as Best Chess Instructor.
Brigitta very often acts as a ‘mother’ to a number of chess players whom she welcomes and cares for at her own home during a tournament.
Brigitta Banki surrounded by Axel’s guests and colleagues as well as her own: (from left) FM Allessandro Bonafede, Axel, GM Peter Prohaska (HUN) and GM Tamas Banusz (HUN) who won the rapid tournament.
The Serb GM Ivan Ivanisevic, a third place winner, chatting to Richard Rapport after the prize giving ceremony
WGM Karina Ambartsumova from Kazan, Russia with 5.5/9 won the best woman prize
Here is a game by Karina with her notes:
Father and son: Ernst and Lars Rindlisbacher from Switzerland
Ernst runs a chess club in Bern and is a chess trainer. He is also a passionate cyclist and took thirteen days to reach Fano by bike! Only, going back might prove more difficult. As a winner of the B group, he was a recipient of a special price donated by the sponsor Bargnesi di Cascioli: a bike!
The younger Rindlisbacher is an FM and at this tournament made his second IM norm.
Mother and daughter: WGM Tunde Csonkics and Eszter Vujosevics
Tunde, a former Hungarian Olympic player, is steadily returning to competitive chess. Eszter, trained by her mother, is making a successful entrance in the chess scene, and won the U16 tournament with 7.0/7.
Ludovico Serloni, one of the best U10 of the Marche region, won third prize in the U16 group
IMs Andrea Stella (5.5/9) and Luca Shytaj (6.0/9) provided chess lessons throughout the tournament. Luca recently was the subject of an article about another worthy cause.
19-year-old Italian IM Guido Caprio (5.5/9)
From Nubia to Fano: Fathi Hassan (4.0/9), a successful painter and a successful chess player in the making. Having won a scholarship to study art in Naples in the 80s, Fathi Hassan abandoned his native Cairo, Egypt, and moved permanently to Italy. Eventually he settled in Fano where he has been living for the last 30 years. He is a professional artist, represented by Rose Issa Projects (London)) with numerous exhibitions worldwide including the Venice Biennial, and works included in the collections of the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Smithsonian Institute.
Italians Giulia Tonel (4.5/9) and WFM Chierici Marianna (2.5/9)
Andreas Persson (5.0/9) from Sweden
A sumptuous dinner with local products and wine under the stars on a hill in the Fano countryside.
This year the Fano Chess Club, founded in 1988 and presided by the young Fano’s chess ‘entrepreneur’ Dario Pedini (32), celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Dario Pedini with the celebratory cake
Dario is also behind the very successful Italian National Rapid Championships, for men, women and juniors, which under his organisation over the last three years, have reached above 500 players. In addition, he has been entrusted the organisation of the Italian Senior Championship, to run concurrently with the Rapids in April, 2014.
Under Dario’s able hand a couple of more tournaments should be noted: in the first week of January 2014, the second edition of ‘Mare d’Inverno Deluxe‘ (Winter Sea Deluxe) will take place. ‘Deluxe’ means exactly that – a tournament in a five-star hotel by the sea, with a swimming pool and saunas, but, astonishingly affordable prices! Starting on the 2nd Jan, enterprising chess players can continue the New Year celebrations with a tournament in style.
Later on, in April, he will be adding an Open International Tournament to run alongside with the traditional Italian Championships in rapid, and the Italian Senior Championship, all in Fano, thus bringing even more fortune to the Fanum Fortunae.
Click here for final standings
Pictures by Diana Mihajlova
LinksYou can also use ChessBase 12 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. |
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