Valsecchi victorious in Vienna

by Klaus Besenthal
9/3/2019 – The 21st "Vienna Chess Open" relaunched this traditional tournament in the Austrian capital Vienna after a four-year hiatus. The tournament was a major chess event: Nearly a thousand players from more than fifty countries fought for points for a week in the magnificent Great Hall of the Vienna City Hall. The A-Open won the Italian GM Alessio Valsecchi with 7½/9. As part of the A-Opens also the Austrian Champion was determined: The title went to GM Nikolaus Stanec. | Photo: Wiener Schachverband / Betti Plach
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21st Vienna Chess Open

The still untitled American Gabriel Bick caused a stir in Vienna. The 20-year-old had been at the top of the table for almost the entire tournament, until he was defeated in the final round by tournament winner Alessio Valsecchi in a lengthy endgame. Valsecchi was able to prevail with two minor pieces against Bick's rook. That relegated Bick to third place — including a GM norm!

The power of the two pieces was on display in this unusual endgame — particularly in the following forced sequence:

 
Valsecchi vs Bick
Position after 51...Ke5

52.h5 gxh5 53.♖f5+ ♚e4 54.♗c2+ ♚e3 55.♖f3+ ♚d2 56.♖d3+ ♚c1 57.♘e2+ ♚xc2 58.♖xa6 and Valsecchi converted the rest with ease.

Within the A-Open was the Austrian national championship was determined: The best placed Austrian would be awarded the title, and that honour fell to Grandmaster Nicholas Stanec who ended the tournament in fourth place. It was the twelfth time since 1995 that Stanec — the fifth best Austrian by Elo rating — won the title. Among the women Regina Theissl-Pokorna won the national champion honours.

Nikolaus Stanec | Photo: Austrian Chess Federation

Final standings (A Open)

Rk. Snr   Name Land Elo Pts.
1 11 GM Valsecchi Alessio ITA 2494 7,5
2 5 GM Palac Mladen CRO 2551 7,0
3 48   Bick Gabriel USA 2375 7,0
4 13 GM Stanec Nikolaus AUT 2483 7,0
5 7 GM Shengelia David AUT 2523 7,0
6 3 GM Peralta Fernando ARG 2572 7,0
7 6 GM Nasuta Grzegorz POL 2533 7,0
8 21 IM Abdumalik Zhansaya KAZ 2457 7,0
9 2 GM Buhmann Rainer GER 2574 7,0
10 17 GM Diermair Andreas AUT 2473 7,0
11 28   Janzelj Tim SLO 2435 7,0
12 32 IM Gilevych Artem ITA 2424 6,5
13 19 IM Blohberger Felix AUT 2467 6,5
14 1 GM Dastan Muhammed Batuhan TUR 2582 6,5
15 27 IM Markoja Boris SLO 2440 6,5
16 77 FM Dobrovoljc Vid SLO 2331 6,5
17 46 IM Kojima Shinya JPN 2390 6,5
18 16 IM Yankelevich Lev GER 2480 6,5
19 52 FM Muckle Julius GER 2368 6,5
20 8 IM Gumularz Szymon POL 2501 6,5
21 25 IM Bakhmatsky Vladislav UKR 2442 6,5
22 42 IM Valmana Canto Jaime ESP 2406 6,5
23 49 IM Kaasen Tor Fredrik NOR 2373 6,5
24 44 IM Halvax Georg AUT 2403 6,5
25 50 IM Miedema David NED 2371 6,5
26 14 IM Janik Igor POL 2483 6,5
27 40 FM Gschnitzer Adrian GER 2410 6,5
28 47 IM Soysal Serkan TUR 2388 6,5
29 33 IM Menezes Christoph AUT 2420 6,5
30 53 FM Bawart Markus AUT 2364 6,5
31 41 GM Fernandez Garcia Jose Luis ESP 2407 6,5

... 401 Players

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Translation from German and additional reporting: Macauley Peterson

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Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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