A weekend Open in Palmanova

by Gerhard Bertagnolli
12/22/2019 – The planned city of Palmanova in north-east Italy cannot be called a chess stronghold, but it was once a real fortress! The small local chess club has been organizing a popular weekend tournament with international participation for eight years, and this time an Italian took home top honours. GERHARD BERTAGNOLLI tells the tale. | Photos: Gerhard Bertagnolli

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Unplanned moves in the planned city

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Palmanova is a municipality with about 5,500 inhabitants in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in north-east Italy, about 15 km south of Udine immediately east of the A4 (Venice – Trieste) and A23 (junction to Villach) triangle.

The city was founded on October 7th, 1593. Palmanova was designed as a fortress city of the Republic of Venice to protect it from the Turks. Above all, however, the city should have become the most important rural base for the Venetians — a plan that failed. Only the nearly round giant main square, which is completely oversized for the small town, is evidence of this intention.

Palmanova is also known as the "nine-pointed star". The highest security standards known in the 16th century were taken into account during construction, making Palmanova the most secure fortress in Europe for centuries.

During the First World War, Palmanova was an important base for the Italians in the hinterland of the Isonzo front; military hospitals and military training areas were set up accordingly.

In 1960 the city was declared a national monument and was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

Bird's eye view of the city

Bird's-eye view of the city | Image: Google

A look at the main square

A small but nice open

The local chess club “Palmascacchi” was founded eight years ago, has been organizing a small weekend tournament from December 6th to 8th since the beginning — this year for the eighth time — in which a total of 95 players took part.

The tournament "Magistrale" (= master tournament), whose games were broadcast live, had 22 participants, the "Sfidanti" (= candidate) tournament had 24 players, the "Amatori" (= amateurs) tournament attracted 23 fighters and the "Esordienti" (= beginner) tournament was the largest at 26 players.

Five rounds were played, starting on Friday afternoon with a double-round on Saturday and Sunday, each at a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for the whole game.

A trophy designed by the artist Sabrina Alessandrino awaited the winners of the individual categories.

The organizers have invited four young winners of the last Italian youth championship.

The venue

The playing venue

The Championship group

Already in the first round on Friday afternoon the number 1 on the starting list, IM Aleksandar Savanovic (BIH) suffered a surprising defeat after a short game against the local player Sasa Kobal (ITA). The number two by Elo, FM Fulvio Zamengo (ITA) had to struggle to reach a draw against Maksim Savanovic (BIH).

In the second round there was a pretty quick draw on board 1 between IM Dusan Lekic (MNE) and the new U20 champion of Italy, FM Gabriele Lumachi (ITA).

On board two, one of the favourites FM Daniel Beletic (SLO) was converting a winning position against Enrico Ghersinich (CRO) with black...until his cellphone (which he reportedly turned off) somehow made a noise! He was so upset that he withdrew from the tournament. It is surprising that even experienced players make the mistake of taking electronic devices into the playing hall.

After two rounds, there were still three players with perfect scores points: Roland Margl (HUN), Enrico Ghersinich (CRO) and Sasa Kobal (ITA). While Kobal and Margl quickly agreed on a draw in round three, Zamengo took advantage of the opportunity to catch the leaders with a victory over Ghersinich.

In the fourth round on Sunday morning, Zamengo fought a long time to get the full point against Margl, but failed, acquiescing to a draw in the longest game of the round.

Thus, before the last round, the top group consisted of four players with 3 points each: Lekic (MNE), Ghersinich (CRO), Zamengo (ITA) and Margl (HUN).

The top pairings were set:

  • Zamengo vs Lekic
  • Ghersinich vs Margl

With a masterful victory in only 23 moves against Lekic, Zamengo was able to jump to 4 points.

 
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1.e3 Nf6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nf3 h6 6.Be2 c6 7.Ne5 A12: English Opening: 1...c6 with b3 by White 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.d4 Ne4 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.0-0 Bd6 11.h3 0-0 12.Nd2 Bh7 13.a3 Qe7 14.b4 a6 0-1 (52) Bacrot,E (2695) -Meier,G (2630) chess.com INT 2017 7...Nbd7 8.f4 8.0-0= 8...Nxe5N Predecessor: 8...Bd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nc3 Nxe5 11.cxd5 Nd3 0-1 (11) Roos,L (2360)-Andersen,L (2275) St Denis 2013 9.fxe5 Black has an edge. Ng4 Black should play 9...Ne4 10.0-0 Bc5 10.cxd5= Qh4+ 10...h5!= 11.g3± Qg5 12.dxc6 0-0-0 13.cxb7+ Kb8
14.Bxg4! Bxg4 15.Qc2 15.Qc1 15...Qh5? 15...Bf5± 16.e4 Bh3 16.Bd4 aiming for 0-0. Kxb7 16...Bf3 17.0-0 Bxb7 17.Qe4+ Kb8
Strongly threatening ...Bf3. 18.0-0 Be2 19.Nc3 Bxf1? 19...Ba6 20.Qc6 Bb7 21.Bxa7+ Ka8 20.Rxf1+- Threatens to win with Qc6.White is clearly winning. Be7 20...Rd7 21.Qc6 Rc7 21.Qc6 Rxd4 22.exd4 Intending Nb5 and mate. Rd8 23.Nb5 Accuracy: White = 72% (10/4/17), Black = 38% (7/2/15).
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Zamengo,F2357Lekic,D23471–02019A128° Open Palmanova - Torneo Magistrale5.1

Zamengo and Lekic

Left: FM Fulvio Zamengo (ITA), the winner of the 8th edition
Right: 
IM Dusan Lekic (MNE)

On the neighbouring board it seemed as if a draw would follow after 42 moves. Margl, with black offered draws at two moments (he correctly assessed the position), but White overestimated his position, declined the draw offers only to get into a lost position soon thereafter. The win also gave Margl 4 points.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3 cxd4 4.exd4 Nc6 5.c3 Bf5 5...Nf6 6.Nd2 Bf5 7.Ngf3 e6 8.Nh4 Bg6 9.Qb3 Qd7 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bb5 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.Nf3 0-0 0-1 (40) Shirov,A (2658)-Kovalenko,I (2654) Riga 2019 6.Qb3 B13: Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation and Panov-Botvinnik Attack Qd7 7.Nf3 e6 8.Bb5 The position is equal. Bd6 9.Ne5
9.Bxd6= Qxd6 10.Nbd2 9...Qc7! 10.Qa4N 10.Bg3 might be stronger. Predecessor: 10.Bg3 Nge7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Re1 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Bxe5 14.Rxe5 0-1 (68) Nadj Hedjesi,B (2382)-Mihok,O (2506) Kecskemet 2016 10...Nge7 11.Bxc6+ White should try 11.0-0 11...bxc6 11...Nxc6 12.Na3= 12.Bg3 0-0 13.Nd2 f6 14.Nef3 e5 15.Nb3 Bc2 15...a5-+ 16.0-0 Bd3 17.dxe5 fxe5 16.Qa5 Nf5 17.Qxc7 Bxc7 18.Nc5 Nxg3 19.hxg3 Rfe8 20.Kd2 Bf5 21.Rhe1 a5 22.Re3 22.b4 was worth a try. 22...a4 22...Rab8-+ 23.b3 Bd6 23.Rae1? 23.Ree1 23...e4 24.Ng1 Reb8 25.Kc1 Bd6 26.Ne2 Ra5 27.f3 Bxc5 28.dxc5 Rab5 Don't play 28...Rxc5 29.Nd4 29.c4 29.Nd4 Rxb2       Double Attack 30.R3e2 Rb1+ 31.Kd2 R8b2+ 32.Ke3 Rxe1 33.Rxe1 29...Rxc5-+ But not 29...Rxb2 30.Nd4-+ 30.Rc3 exf3 Less strong is 30...Rxc4 31.Rxc4 dxc4 32.Nd4 30...dxc4 31.Nd4 31.gxf3 Re8 32.Kd2
32...d4!       33.Rcc1 33.Nxd4 Rd8 33...Rd8? 33...Re3-+ is more deadly. Hoping for ...Rd3+. 34.Rf1 Rce5 34.g4 Bg6 35.Nf4 White should play 35.b4 axb3 36.axb3 35...Rb8 35...Bf7 36.Ne6 Bxe6 37.Rxe6 Kf7 36.Nxg6= Ne7+ is the strong threat. Rxb2+ 37.Kd3 hxg6 38.Kxd4       Endgame KRR-KRR Ra5 39.Rb1 a3 40.Kc3 Rxa2 And now ...g5 would win. 41.Rb8+ Kf7 White must now prevent ...Ra7. 42.Rb7+ Kf8 43.Rd1 43.Rb8+= Kf7 44.Rb7+ Kg8 45.Rb8+ Kf7 43...Re2 aiming for ...a2. 44.Rdd7?       44.Rd8+! Re8 45.Rdd7 44...a2-+ Black is clearly winning. 45.Kd3 a1Q ( -> ...Qd1+) 46.Kxe2 Qe5+ 47.Kd3 Ra3+ 48.Kd2 intending Rd8+. Qe3+       Double Attack. Accuracy: White = 62% (23/10/40), Black = 81% (21/15/39).
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ghersinich,E2157Margl,R22490–12019B138° Open Palmanova - Torneo Magistrale5.2

The final result of the championship tournament after 5 rounds was:

  1. FM Fulvio Zamengo (ITA) — 4 points
  2. Roland Margl (HUN) — 4 points
  3. FM Gabrile Lumachi — 3½ points
  4. IM Aleksandar Savanovic (BIH) — 3½ points

Lumacgi

FM Gabriele Lumachi (ITA), third place for the 16-year-old U20 Italian champion

The victories in the other categories went to Hungary (Open Challenger — Istvan Presznyak), Croatia (Open Amateurs — Giuseppe Ghersinich) and Austria (Open Beginners — Giorgio Gugler).

The 9th edition is expected to take place from December 5th to 8th, 2020 (6 rounds).

Final standings — Open

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Zamengo Fulvio 4,0 13,0
2 Margl Roland 4,0 11,0
3 Lumachi Gabriele 3,5 15,0
4 Savanovic Aleksandar 3,5 12,0
5 Ghersinich Enrico 3,0 15,5
6 Lekic Dusan 3,0 15,5
7 Trussevich Sergey 3,0 13,5
8 Forti Francesco 3,0 13,0
9 Belli Giorgio 3,0 13,0
10 Gregoric Andraz 3,0 12,0
11 Kobal Sasa 2,5 15,5
12 Dappiano Andrea 2,5 13,5
13 Hercegovac Neven 2,5 11,5
14 Bozza Gabriele 2,0 11,5
15 Bisaro Andrea 2,0 11,5
16 Laco Giuseppe 2,0 10,0
17 Herega Nejc 2,0 9,0
18 Maione Melissa 2,0 8,0
19 Savanovic Maksim 1,5 14,0
20 Garau Francesca 1,5 12,5
21 Bordin Silvia 1,0 12,5
22 Beletic Daniel 1,0 12,0

All available games

 
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1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 d5 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.e3 0-0 7.c4 c6 8.Bd3 Ne4 9.0-0 Nd7 10.Ne5 Qf6 11.f4 g5 12.Bxe4 fxe4 13.Qh5 Be7 14.fxg5 Qxg5 15.Rxf8+ Nxf8 16.Qf7+ Kh8 17.Qxf8+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kobal,S2100Savanovic,A24181–02019D308° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.1
Zamengo,F2357Savanovic,M2035½–½2019B128° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.2
Gregoric,A2000Lekic,D23470–12019C778° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.3
Beletic,D2315Herega,N20091–02019D028° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.4
Laco,G1972Trussevich,S22800–12019A188° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.5
Dappiano,A2258Bozza,G1948½–½2019C308° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.6
Bordin,S1917Margl,R22480–12019B128° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.7
Lumachi,G2224Forti,F19031–02019E168° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.8
Bisaro,A1845Ghersinich,E21570–12019A588° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.9
Belli,G2159Maione,M18061–02019B788° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma1.10
Lekic,D2347Lumachi,G2224½–½2019D068° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.1
Ghersinich,E2157Beletic,D23151–02019B188° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.2
Trussevich,S2280Belli,G2159½–½2019A138° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.3
Margl,R2248Garau,F18611–02019E068° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.4
Savanovic,M2035Kobal,S21000–12019D008° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.5
Bozza,G1948Zamengo,F23570–12019D938° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.6
Hercegovac,N1983Dappiano,A22580–12019C118° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.7
Savanovic,A2418Bordin,S19171–02019C898° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.8
Forti,F1903Gregoric,A20001–02019E168° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.9
Herega,N2009Bisaro,A18450–12019D118° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.10
Maione,M1806Laco,G1972½–½2019B458° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma2.11
Kobal,S2100Margl,R2248½–½2019A038° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.1
Zamengo,F2357Ghersinich,E21571–02019B768° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.2
Dappiano,A2258Lekic,D2347½–½2019C458° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.3
Lumachi,G2224Trussevich,S2280½–½2019A308° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.4
Belli,G2159Savanovic,A24180–12019B058° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.5
Garau,F1861Forti,F19030–12019C068° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.6
Bisaro,A1845Hercegovac,N19830–12019A588° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.7
Maione,M1806Savanovic,M20350–12019B158° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.8
Laco,G1972Bozza,G1948½–½2019B208° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.9
Gregoric,A2000Herega,N20091–02019B738° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma3.10
Margl,R2248Zamengo,F2357½–½2019D208° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.1
Lekic,D2347Kobal,S21001–02019B068° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.2
Savanovic,A2418Lumachi,G2224½–½2019C678° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.3
Trussevich,S2280Ghersinich,E21570–12019A068° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.4
Forti,F1903Dappiano,A2258½–½2019A908° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.5
Savanovic,M2035Belli,G21590–12019A478° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.6
Hercegovac,N1983Gregoric,A20000–12019C508° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.7
Bordin,S1917Laco,G19720–12019B428° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.8
Bozza,G1948Bisaro,A18450–12019D528° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.9
Garau,F1861Maione,M1806½–½2019B238° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma4.10
Zamengo,F2357Lekic,D23471–02019A128° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.1
Ghersinich,E2157Margl,R22480–12019B138° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.2
Dappiano,A2258Savanovic,A24180–12019C458° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.3
Lumachi,G2224Kobal,S21001–02019B078° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.4
Belli,G2159Forti,F1903½–½2019A028° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.5
Bisaro,A1845Trussevich,S22800–12019A608° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.6
Gregoric,A2000Laco,G19721–02019A348° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.7
Savanovic,M2035Hercegovac,N19830–12019A488° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.8
Herega,N2009Garau,F18611–02019E678° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.9
Maione,M1806Bordin,S19171–02019C898° Festival Città di Palmanova Open Ma5.10

Translation from German: Macauley Peterson

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Gerhard Bertagnolli, born in 1976, international arbiter from South Tyrol / Italy with assignments south and north of the Alps, is also available to German-speaking chess fans for questions about tournaments in Italy.

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