The festival will take place on August 7th – 13th in International Exhibition Centre “Kipsala” (Riga, Latvia). This year around 500 players are expected making it to be the largest and strongest classical chess tournament in Baltics and also in Northern Europe.
The program of the festival will include six tournaments, namely five ELO tournaments and a blitz tournament. The tournament A will have GM, IM, WGM and WIM norms and it is part of the ACP tour. At the moment Tournament A features 254 registrations from 38 countries, including 40 GMs and 139 titled players. The biggest names of the festival so far are Krishnan Sasikiran (2688, IND), Tamir Nabaty (2650, ISR), Ilja Smirin (2644, ISR), Daniel Fridman (2635, GER), Igors Rausis (2625, CZE), and Vladimir Onischuk (2610, UKR). The prize fund for the 7th edition of the festival is 20 000 EUR. First prize of the tournament A is guaranteed to be 2500 EUR, there will also be special prizes for women, juniors, seniors and rating prizes.
This year’s novelty can be found on the other end of the list of ELO rated tournaments – Tournament E will be plaid in 3 days with time control of 30 min + 30 sec per move. This tournament is for players rated below 1600.
Early registration deadline for main tournaments (A-E) is July 17. It is still possible to join any of the tournaments and participate!
Tournament A Grandmaster Tournament
Swiss System, 9 rounds, August 7th – 13th, Open tournament for players with ELO until 2299 and Latvian rating until 2399. Time limit: 90 minutes per game per player + 30 seconds per move starting from the move 1.
Tournament C Weekend Amateur ELO Tournament
Swiss System, 7 rounds, August 10th – 13th, open for players with ELO until 2199 and Latvian rating 2299. Time limit: 60 minutes per game per player + 30 seconds per move starting from the move 1.
Tournament D Amateur open ELO Tournament
Swiss System, 7 rounds, August 10th – 13th, open for players with ELO until 1899 and Latvian rating 1999. Time limit: 60 minutes per game per player + 30 seconds per move starting from the move 1.
Tournament E Amateur open ELO Tournament
Swiss System, 7 rounds, August 11th – 13th, open for players with ELO until 1599 and Latvian rating 1699. Time limit: 30 minutes per game per player + 30 seconds per move starting from the move 1.
Tournament F Open Blitz Tournament
Open blitz tournament, 13.08, 19:00, Swiss system, 11 rounds.
More detailed information about schedule, accommodation and registration can be found in the official homepage of the tournament http://rtuopen.lv/. Feel free to contact organizers via e-mail chess@rtu.lv.
