While the first edition of the PokerStars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament was a resounding success in October 2014, this year’s tournament promises to put the Isle of Man on the global chess map for good.
Thanks to the continued partnership with PokerStars and the Scheinberg family, the 2015 edition will not only be the strongest open tournament ever to be held in the British Isles, but also one of the strongest worldwide.
With exactly ten days to go until the first round, the Masters section of the tournament boasts an impressive 108 entries from 27 countries. Out of these, a staggering 37 are GMs, with 17 of them being rated over 2600. A further 27 are IMs, 2 WGMs, 2 WIMs, 15 FMs, 1 WFM and 1 CM, leaving only 23 untitled players.
Just like last year, the tournament will be held at the magnificent Villa Marina, on Douglas’ seafront promenade. In another parallel, the PokerStars UKIPT (UK & Ireland Poker Tour) will again take place at the same venue from 1-4 October. This means that the combined chess and poker tournament, an innovative event which proved to be very well-liked by all its participants, will also be repeated and is set to take place on Friday the 2nd October. You can find all the information about this event here.
As for the players registered, the field could hardly be more imposing, as the top 10 seeds make for a startling 2689 average rating (according to the 1st September list).
The top seed is none other than Michael Adams, who has been the English number one since 1999 and was once ranked number 4 in the world. Besides Adams, three other players rated above 2700 (which is generally considered the world elite benchmark) will be gracing the tournament with their participation: Harikrishna, Howell and Fressinet.
GM Michael Adams England 2742
GM Pentala Harikrishna India 2737
GM David Howell England 2705
GM Laurent Fressinet France 2702
GM Arkadij Naiditsch Azerbaijan 2684
GM Gabriel Sargissian Armenia 2679
GM Nigel Short England 2678
GM Julio Granda Zuniga Peru 2667
GM Sergei Movsesian Armenia 2658
GM Daniel Fridman Germany 2642
The tournament doesn’t lack world-class women and junior players either. Harika Dronavalli, who is the top female seed, has been holding the GM title since 2011 and is a former Junior World Champion as well as World Cup semi-finalist. After winning the ladies prize last year she will surely be eager to repeat her good performance, but she will be challenged by Germany’s number one Elisabeth Pähtz and England’s number twoJovanka Houska amongst many others.
As for junior players, we are happy to welcome back Jorden van Foreest, who had a very convincing showing at the Isle of Man last year and has meanwhile become the highest rated European player in the under 16 age-group. He is however closely followed by Francesco Rambaldi, who won the very strong Vienna Open this summer and will be making his debut at the Villa Marina in ten days’ time. Something else these two players have in common is that they are both GM-elects and will be awarded their titles at the next FIDE Presidential Board. One can expect the two young men to produce some exciting games and certainly cause a few upsets.
Like last year, the majority of the games will be broadcast live on the internet, so make sure to tune into the action every day at 1.30pm BST from 3-11 October.
All the tournament details are on the official website: http://www.iominternationalchess.com/
Fiona Steil-Antoni
Press Officer