The highest ranked player is Evgenij Miroshnichenko (2670) of Ukraine, followed by Luke McShane (2664), Ivan Sokolov (2657), one of last year’s winners who also regularly features in international chess tournaments in Iceland, and German GM Jan Gustafsson (2652). From Scandinavia, we have Magnus Carlsen’s contemporary, Jon Ludvig Hammer (2647) and Denmark’s Sune Berg Hansen (2603). Moreover, all active Icelandic GMs will take part, including Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson (2580), who has been among the winners in the last three tournaments, Héðinn Steingrímsson (2554), one of the 2009 winners, Henrik Danielsen (2519) and Þröstur Þórhallsson (2387).
Africa’s highest ranked player, Ahmed Adly (2640), Latvian chess legend Evgeny Sveshnikov (2521), who is also joined at the tournament by his son Vladimir, are also registered.
As in previous years, many of the youngest and most promising chess players in the world are attending the MP Reykjavík Open, including the world’s youngest GM, the year 14-year old, Illya Nyzhnik (2530), 14-year old Bulgarian IM Kiprian Berbatov (2437), a nephew of Manchester United player Dimitar Berbatov, and 13-year old IM Suri Vaibhav (2421) of India.
Additionally, Harika Dronavalli (2520), one of the highest ranked women in the world, is attending, together with Tania Sachdev (2391), Sophie Millet (2375) of France and Anna Sharevich (2332), Belarus’ strongest female player and Lenka Ptácníková (2317).
The City of Reykjavík and MP Bank are the main sponsors of the tournament. MP Bank, which was founded by and bears the initials of Icelandic GM Margeir Pétursson, is the only bank that survived the Icelandic financial crisis that begun in 2008. The City of Reykjavík has sponsored the tournament since its inception in 1964, when Mikhail Tal won it with a record 12½ points out of 13. Now in its 26th edition, the tournament was held every other year until 2008, but has since been every year. It was closed in its early years, but has been an open event since the 1980s.
The MP Reykjavík Open has enjoyed such an enviable reputation that more than 120 GMs registered interest in participating this year. Unfortunately not everybody could be accommodated and all conditions have been allocated. Given its open format, however, places are still available for anyone interested in taking part in a strong and lively tournament.
As in earlier years, several chess-related events will take place at the same time as the tournament, including the now famous the Reykjavík Open Chess Pub Quiz and the Golden Circle sightseeing tour that includes stops at Geysir and Robert J. Fischer´s final resting place in the southern part of Iceland. And given the favorable exchange rate of the Icelandic króna, Iceland is one of the most attractive places in the world to visit and play in chess tournaments.
For more information, please check out the website of the tournament at www.chess.is, where all relevant information can be found, including list of players and a registration form.
We look forward to welcoming you to the MP Reykjavík Open.
On behalf of the Icelandic Chess Federation,
Gunnar Björnsson,
President of ICF.
This is a great tournament.