Yannick Gozzoli takes traditional Cap d'Agde Trophy

A capital of chess

The 16th Cap d'Agde International Chess Meeting took place from October 25th to November 3rd. More than 800 players, of whom 45% were aged under 20, took part in the various tournaments organised at the Communal Centre of Social Action (CCAS) holiday centre of Cap d'Agde. 

The "Cap d'Agde Trophy" was created in 1994. The first tournament was a round-robin (all-play-all) restricted to U25 players, with the winner getting the chance to face Anatoly Karpov in a match. The first Trophy was won by Boris Gelfand, followed in later years by a star-studded cast:

In fact, Magnus Carlsen participated twice, in 2006 and 2008, but could not win the Trophy! Perhaps it would be a different story nowadays.

From the second edition in 1996 (at the time, the tournament took place every two years), a new formula was launched — the championship was played between 16 players with a rapid time control. That formula did not change for 20 years. After Anatoly Karpov had taken part in every single edition, in 2012 the tournament was re-named the "Karpov Trophy".

Master Class Vol.6: Anatoly Karpov

On this DVD a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov's games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov's superb play.

Anatoly Karpov

In 2018, due to a lack of sponsors, the organisers changed the format, focusing their efforts on the Grand Prix (the highest open section). 22 nationalities were represented, with 50 titled players participating, including 23 GMs and 14 IMs. A unique tournament when it comes to the atmosphere: just go through the selection of photos at the bottom of this article and in the gallery above.

Communal Centre of Social Action in Cap d'Agde

Four classical tournaments took place in this edition:

• Le Grand Prix, for players with a rating higher than 1950. The tournament was won by French GM Yannick Gozzoli (7½/9), followed by Jules Moussard (7/9), also from France, and the Ukrainian GM Martyn Kravtsviv (7/9). A longer standings table is presented at the end of the report.
• Le Tournoi du Cavalier, for players in the 1650-2000 rating range. Julien Jehan, Nathan Gautier and Hugi Piar finished in the first three places.
• Le Tournoi de l'Avenir, for players rated under 1700. Rabah Benbellil, Charles-Henri Albouy and Michel Arcusa were the top finishers.
• L'Open "Fil Rouge", for unrated and under 1700 players without official club membership. Alain Schermesser, Gilles Garde and Paul Bedrossian were the winners.

Jules Moussard scored 7 points

GM Martyn Kravtsiv, from Ukraine, the highest rated player in the tournament

The closing ceremony

Mega Database 2018

The "Mega" is the database every serious chessplayer needs. The database contains 7.1 million games from 1500 to 2017, in highest quality standard, full of top level analyses and completely classified.

Besides the 90+30 classical events, a rapid tournament and a VIP blitz event took place, with most of the higher-rated players participating. The results:

Morning rapid event

1. Vladimir Onischuk (UKR) 7/8
2. Mladen Palac (CRO) 6,5/8
3. Sergey Fedorchuk (UKR) 6,5/8

VIP blitz tournament

1. Yannick Gozzoli (FRA) 7,5/9
2. Jules Moussard (FRA) 7/9
3. Christian Bauer (FRA) 6,5/9

GM Vladimir Onischuk won the rapid section

The most beautiful game of the tournament was Sergey Fedorchuk's victory over Harutyun Barseghyan. Enjoy!

A few more combinations that appeared in the daily tournament bulletin (in French):

A different show every night — simul by Romain Edouard on Monday

Blindfold game by Christian Bauer

...and both GMs facing each other in a self-commentated show

Music and smiles, a tradition in Cap d’Agde

Final standings - Grand Prix (top 20)

The Classical French - Main Line

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3, the author takes a detailed look at a daring line with 7... cxd4 8. Nd4 Qb6, as well as the quieter plans with 7...cxd4 8. Nd4 Bc5, and the main line with 7... a6 and b5.

Final standings - Tournoi du Cavalier (top 20)

Correction November 11: Jules Moussard scored 7 points not 7½ as originally stated. Gozzoli, therefore, won clear first, not on tiebreak.

Links

• Official site
• Stories from Cap d'Agde