Press release WEISSENHAUS Academy

Super talents against seasoned grandmasters: The WEISSENHAUS Young Masters 2024

Text: Conrad Schormann

A test of endurance and an opportunity for four talented players from the WEISSENHAUS Academy: at the "WEISSENHAUS Young Masters" from 14 to 18 October, Marius Deuer, Leonardo Costa, Hussain Besou and Christian Glöckler will compete against five established grandmasters. The young hopefuls of German chess will play, among others, against Pavel Eljanov from Ukraine, the former number six in the world.

Pavel Eljanov, top seed at the Young Masters  | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Competition against strong opponents is a fundamental part of the WEISSENHAUS Chess Academy's development programme. The Young Masters marks the start of a series of exclusive competitions for exceptional German talent under the umbrella of the Academy. The next generation of top German chess players will gain experience and grow from these events.

Deuer (16) and Costa (16) are aiming for the Grandmaster norm, for which they need 6 out of 9 in Weissenhaus. It would be the second norm for Costa and the first for Deuer.

"We don't want to make it easy for our guys," explains tournament director and organiser Sebastian Siebrecht and he has invited renowned, ambitious and combative veterans to play against the young talents.

Hussain Besou (13) and Christian Glöckler (13), hope for another IM-norm in the tournament. Glöckler has already two, Besou has one. For an IM-norm they need 4.0/9 at the Young Masters.

Not easy in the strong field:

• Pavel Eljanov (41, Ukraine) is the top seed in the tournament. The Munich-based grandmaster, Elo 2672, Elo record 2765, is a two-time winner of the Chess Olympiad with the Ukrainian national team, a World Cup semi-finalist and the winner of countless international tournaments.
• P. Sethuraman (31, India), Elo 2576, Elo record 2673, won bronze with the Indian national team at the 2014 Chess Olympiad. Sethuraman has been Asian Champion and Indian Champion, among other titles.
• Christian Bauer (47, France), Elo 2557, Elo record 2682, has been a French international for many years and is a three-time French champion.
• Sune Berg Hansen (53, Denmark), Elo 2520, Elo record 2603, is not only a seven-time Danish champion, he was also a Hamburg champion (1999). For more than 20 years, the 70-time Danish national team player has played for the Hamburger SK in the Bundesliga..
• Kaido Kualots (48, Estonia), Elo 2515, Elo record 2609, nine-time Estonian champion, multiple national team player and one of the very few (the only?) chess players with a positive record against Magnus Carlsen in classical chess (2:1 with three draws).

They are joined IM Benedict Krause (27), Elo 2404, Elo record 2458, a member of the Bundesliga team of FC St. Pauli. For Krause, the tournament is an excellent opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Bundesliga season.

The pairings for the nine rounds under the supervision of international referee Sandra Schmidt have already been determined. The opening game on Monday, 14 October, at 16:00 local time will see, among others, Hussain Besou take on Christian Glöckler. On the following four days, the rounds will begin at 10:00 local time and 16:00 local time. The games are streamed live on ChessBase.

Some of Germany's best players will be watching the youngsters: Jan Henric Buettner, sponsor of the Chess Academy, has invited the German national team to recharge their batteries at Schloss WEISSENHAUS during the Young Masters.

Buettner himself does not want to miss the tournament: "I am looking forward to seeing our super talents competing with established grandmasters," says the entrepreneur and chess sponsor. "The field is strong. I am curious to see how our boys will perform."

Jan Henric Buettner (center) with Frederik Svane, Dmitrij Kollars, Matthias Blübaum and Alexander Donchenko | Photo: Sebastian Siebrecht

Website of the WEISSENHAUS Chess Academy...