10/10/2018 – The Black Sea coastal city of Sochi held the Russian Rapid & Blitz Championships from October 5th to 9th. The Russian players that participated in the Olympiad were not able to attend — except Nepomniachtchi, who arrived in Sochi for the Rapid Team Championship. The star of the events was Vladislav Artemiev, who won both the Rapid and Blitz Championships and led Ladya to first place in the team event. Polina Shuvalova, Alina Bivol and Ugra won the women's tournaments. | Photo: Russian Chess Federation

10/6/2017 – From October 3rd to 5th, Sochi hosted the Russian Blitz and Rapid Championships. With individual and team events (both open and for women) in blitz and rapid it was a real chess festival that attracted a lot of strong players for a week of fast and exciting games. | Pictured: Gata Kamsky and Alexander Motylev | Photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation