The 76th Ukrainian Men's Chess Championship
Report by Olena Boytsun – with photos by Anatoliy Lisenko
Valeriy Aveskulov is an International Grandmaster, rated 2545, born on the
31st of January 1986 – which means he is 21 years old. He is from the
Lugansk region, where he also started to play chess, but now he studies and
lives in Kharkiv. Valeriy saw chess for the first time when he was five; his father
showed him the rules of the game and some simple combinations. He received the title
of international grandmaster in autumn 2006. He was a multiple medal winner
of the Ukrainian Youth Championships, a medal winner of the World Youth Championships
(France 1998, rapid chess; Greece 2003) as well as the first prize winner of
a number of other international tournaments.
Why is all this the beginning of the article, you will ask. And the answer
is simple: because Valeriy Aveskulov is the new Ukrainian Chess Champion.
The Rector of the National Law Academy in Kharkiv, Vasyl Tatsiy, congratulates
Valeriy Aveskulov
The 76th Chess Championship of Ukraine was held in Kharkiv, in the Palace of
Students of the National Law Academy of Ukraine, from November 16-25, 2007.
There were 28 participants, among them 19 international grandmasters from different
regions of Ukraine, who fought for the title of the "Champion of
Ukraine" in nine rounds.
Announcement of the Championship on the streets of Kharkiv
Three years ago Kharkiv already hosted the championship. In 2004 it was a knock-out
event, with Ivanchuk, Karjakin and Moiseenko participating. This year the tournament
clashed with other important events, with the World Cup, for example. That is
why the top-players were not able to participate. But still – it was the
same big venue, a strong tournament (19 grandmasters, don't forget!) and great
support from the city administration and the management of the Law Academy.
Viktor Petrov, the President of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, Mikhailo
Dobkin, the mayor of Kharkiv
As the President of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, Viktor Petrov stated: "The
tournament was possible thanks to the combined efforts of the Ukrainian Chess
Federation, Kharkiv State Administration and National Law Academy of Ukraine"
Mikhailo Dobkin, the mayor of Kharkiv, also emphasized the importance of the
activities of the Academy for the city and the region: "The fact that the
76th Championship is taking part in Kharkiv means that the old traditions of
our city as the leading chess center of Ukraine are revived."
There was a fighting spirit throughout the tournament. After the fifth round
Valeriy Aveskulov took the lead, thanks to his win against Krivoruchko; one
can say that it was one of the crucial moments of the tournament. But Yevgeniy
Miroshnichenko and Yuriy Kuzubov were close, so after the eighth round three
grandmasters had an equal number of points – 5,5 out of 8. Four more people
were breathing down their necks with five points. Nothing was clear until the
last game.
The playing area
The end of the tournament was also rather dramatic. Miroshnichenko and Kuzubov
made a quick draw, but Aveskulov won the last game and the whole tournament.
Yevgeniy Miroshnichenko vs Yuriy Kuzubov
Valeriy Aveskulov (left) with chess friends
Valeriy Aveskulov is already a legend at his native chess school in the small
town Antratsit in Lugansk Region of Ukraine, where he started to learn the game. "I
just like chess," he said in an interview with a local paper, "the
game develops your logic, teaches your to think. I would advise every parent
to teach their children to play chess. The ability to think, to seek the best
solution of a problem, I believe, will help a child in adult life, and it
doesn't depend on how long the child will pursue chess."
The new champion of Ukraine is a student of law at the National Law Academy,
and has no idea so far whether he will become a professional chess player with
a good knowledge of his rights, or a professional lawyer with a great ability
to think strategically. I personally believe that both choices are great.
The second place was taken by Yevgeniy Miroshnichenko (above), rated 2651, from
Donetsk. Yevgeniy was already Ukrainian Champion in 2003, and he won some prizes
both in personal and team competitions as well.
Yuriy Kuzubov vs Yuriy Drozdovskiy
The famous Ukrainian grandmaster Oleg Romanishin from Lviv
The 17-year old student of the famous Kramatorsk chess school, Yuriy Kuzubov
(2582) came in third, with 6.0 points out of 9 games.
Apart from the money prize, the winner and the prize winners got medals and
diplomas from the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport of Ukraine. The same prizes
were given to their coaches as well. The closing ceremony was splendid, with live music and many people who came to congratulate the new Ukrainian Chess
Champion, Valeriy Aveskulov.
The medalists: Yevgeniy Miroshnichenko (second), Rector Vasyl Tatsiy, Valeriy
Aveskulov (winner) and Yuriy Kuzubov (third)
The participants and orginizers of the 76th Ukrainian chess championship
Links
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About the author
After working on her PhD in International Economics at the Russian and
Eurasian Studies Center, St. Antony's College, Oxford University, Olena
Boytsun has returned to Ukraine and is currently working in Kiev
as head of the marketing department of Alfa-Gorizont,
a Ukrainian-based company that produces and sells crushed granite and
sand for the national and European market.
Olena has played chess since her childhood. Her current title is Woman
International Master. She is a regular contributor to the ChessBase news
page
Olena plans to submit the PhD by the end of December, to publish two
fiction books by the end of January – and to survive the windy snowy
winter in Ukraine by the end of February. |
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