27th Geneva International Chess Open
26th to 30th December in Geneva, Switzerland
The Geneva Chess Federation organized the 27th International Chess Open from 26th to 30th December in Geneva, Switzerland. The tournament was played in two rating groups and over 7 rounds of Swiss system. Total prize fund was 16.000 CHF, with 3.000 being reserved for the winner.
The top star of the tournament, French Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot, entered the final round with 5 points, half a point ahead of the eight followers, but he made a draw and allowed GM Igor Khenkin and the Italian hope FM Alessio Valsecchi to catch him on the shared first place. Bacrot was still declared winner on best additional criteria.
Final standings:
1-3. GM Bacrot Etienne 2715 FRA, GM Khenkin Igor 2617 GER and FM Valsecchi Alessio 2333 ITA – 5.5
4-9. GM Zelcic Robert 2539 CRO, GM Palac Mladen 2566 CRO, IM Foisor Cristina-Adela 2403 ROU, IM Gerber Richard 2391 SUI, IM Vuilleumier Alexandre 2362 SUI, IM Foisor Ovidiu-Doru 2397 ROU – 5.0 etc
Grandmasters Sokolov Andrei, Vorotnikov Vladislav and Fargere Francois remained in the group of players with 4.5 points each. Open A had 60 players competing.
Bacrot is king.