A Corus of Online Approval!
In a unique partnership with the Corus Chess Tournament, one of the world’s most famous chess festivals, Internet Chess Club (ICC) will be hosting a special satellite qualifier for one of the final spots in the 2009 ‘C’ Group.
16 invited players, selected by Corus in consultation with ICC, will fight it out in an online rapid knockout tournament, held on the weekends of November 1st & 2nd and 8th & 9th (starting at 10am Eastern Time each day), with the winner receiving the Corus ‘C’ Group invite, a round-trip ticket to Wijk aan Zee, Hotel & Breakfast plus $1,300 (1,000 Euro).
And its a true international line-up, with the 16 players spanning the globe and different time zones. From the USA through Canada to Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela, and from Scotland, England, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Azerbaijan and Russia, to even far away Australia all coming together as one over the internet.
The full field includes: GM Alexander Fier (Brazil), GM Eljtaj Safarli (Azerbaijan), GM Georg Meier (Germany), GM Mark Bluvshtein (Canada), GM Ivan Salgado (Spain), IM Sanan Giri (Russia), GM Eduardo Iturrizaga (Venezuela), IM Manuel Rodriguez (Cuba), IM Sevak Krikor Mekhitarion (Brazil), IM David Smerdon (Australia), IM Ray Robson (USA), FM Anish Giri (Russia), IM Robert Ris (Netherlands), FM Marcos Lamos (Brazil), WGM Dagne Ciuksytev (England) and FM Graham Morrison (Scotland).
And to ensure fair-play for all, at each location and for each match, an independent “proctor” will be in place to oversee the proceedings, many of whom being national chess officials, international arbiters, national arbiters and ICC administrators.
For further information of the tournament and the pairings, click here.
Contact: John Henderson, ICC Director of Marketing
Anish Giri has a good chance, a great talent.
Surprising because there is no Indian player. Especially since Corus is now an Indian company.