On 12-15th September the ACP Cup, an international tournament of the Association of Chess Professionals, will be held in Riga for the first time.

Sixteen outstanding Grandmasters of this intellectual sport from Russia, France, Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Latvia will take part in the competition.

The ACP Cup is organised by the Association of Chess Professionals together with the Latvian Chess Federation. The venue for the tournament is provided by Rietumu Bank, which has one of the best premises in Riga for hosting exhibitions, auctions and other cultural and intellectual events.

The bank is also participating in the financing of the tournament. The total prize fund will amount to USD 75,000.

Latvia will be represented by Grandmaster Alexei Shirov, the prize winner of many international tournaments and a contender for the title of World Chess Champion, as well as the current Latvian Champion Igor Kovalenko.

Participants and tournament format here

Afternoon shift (starts on September 13, at 14:00 Riga time = 13:00 CET):
Mamedyarov – Kovalenko
Nepomniachtchi – Moiseenko
Malakhov – Eljanov
Wojtaczek – Ivanchuk

Night shift (starts on September 13, at 18:00 Riga time = 17:00 CET):
Grischuk – Fressinet
Svidler – Jakovenko
Radjabov – Shirov
Morozevich – Ponomariov

Twitter hashtag is #acpcup (Follow Chessdom)

Official website will provide live commentary

On the Latvian Chess Federation
The Latvian Chess Union was founded on 13 April 1924, and in 1927, when Latvia took part in the World Chess Olympics for the first time, it became an FIDE member. Upon the restoration of Latvian independence, the union resumed its activities in 1991, having resumed its status at FIDE, and later it also became a member of the European Chess Federation (ECU). In 2010 the union was renamed as the Latvian Chess Federation.

Lauris Klavins

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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