Kings and Princes drew 32-32 at the Nutcracker. Queens defeated Princesses 36-28. Grigoriy Oparin won the first men’s prize and will be invited to the supertournament Kortchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge.
The traditional Christmas event – Nutcracker generation tournament – ended at the Central House of Chess Player in Moscow on December 22. There were played two Scheveningen matches: Kings vs. Princes and Queens vs. Princesses.
The lineup of the Kings: Boris Gelfand (Israel), Alexander Morozevich (Russia), Alexei Shirov (Latvia), Alexey Dreev (Russia);
Princes: Vladimir Fedoseev, Daniil Dubov, Vladislav Artemiev, Grigoriy Oparin;
Queens: Alisa Galliamova, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Elena Zaiats, Galina Strutinskaya;
Princesses: Polina Shuvalova, Elizaveta Solozhenkina, Aleksandra Dimitrova, Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (all – Russia).
Each event is a double-round Scheveningen. Each team member played three games against each player from the opposing team – one in classical chess and two in rapid chess.
Classical games cost 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, for rapid games the scores are halved.
The more experienced Kings won the classical part with 17 to 15 score (2 points for a win, 1 points for a draw), and prevailed on the first day of the rapid play 8.5-7.5 (1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw). However, the final day of the event clearly showed that the Princes preserved more energy, as they completely dominated the opposition, won 9.5-6.5 and equalized the match score – 32-32.
Individual results:
1-2. Oparin, Shirov – both 10 points, 3-4. Artemiev, Gelfand – both 9, 5. Dubov – 7.5, 6-7. Dreev, Morozevich – both 6.5, 8. Fedoseev – 5.5.
The main prize of the men’s tournament was an opportunity to participate in the Korchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge supertournament (April 2017). Grigoriy Oparin and Alexey Shirov competed for it on the tie-break. The luck was on the young grandmaster’s side – Grigoriy won 1.5 to 0.5. Boris Gelfand already had a personal invitation to Zurich.
The Queens were leading 26.5-21.5, coming into the final day (17-15 in classical chess and 9.5-6.5 on the first day of the rapid). The more experienced team was unstoppable on the second day of the rapid as well, winning 9.5 to 6.5 and securing the overall match victory 36-28.
Individual results:
1. Galliamova – 12.5 points, 2. Zaiatz – 9.5, 3. Shuvalova – 9, 4. Kovalevskaya – 8.5, 5. Maltsevskaya – 7.5, 6. Dimitrova – 6, 7-8. Solozhenkina, Strutinskaia – 5.5.
The organizers: RCF, Ladya Chess Creativity Support Foundation, and Oleg Skvortsov, the entrepreneur who organizes the traditional supertournament in Zurich.
For reference
Kortchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge и Kortchnoi Open. Zurich, April 12-17, 2017
The players invited to the supertournament: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Vishy Anand (India), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), Peter Svidler (Russia), Yannick Pelletier (Switzerland), and Boris Gelfand (Israel). There is also a spot for the Nutcracker tournament qualifier.
The supertournament will be carried out in two parts, with different time controls. The first half is called “The new classical” – 45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for each player. The second half is somewhere in between blitz and rapid – 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move. Classical games bring 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, speed games bring 1 points for a win and 0.5 points for a draw.
Alongside the main event, a large 7-round open tournament Kortchnoi Open will take place (time control – 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per game). The organizers expect about 150-200 participants.
Both events will be played at the Congress Hause Zurich, which hosted the famous Candidates tournament of 1953.
More details will be published in January 2017 on the tournament website www.zurich-cc.com.
Russian Chess Federation (RCF) is a public non-profit organization that brings together individuals and chess federation of republics, territories, regions, federal cities, autonomous regions and autonomous areas of the Russian Federation. RCF activities are aimed at the development and popularization of chess in the Russian Federation. RCF was established on February 15, 1992. The management bodies of the Russian Chess Federation are the Congress and the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation. The Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation is a collegial advisory and consultative body, acting on a voluntary basis.
RCF organizes the annual nationwide «White Castle» Children’s Chess Tournament for Schools, the Russian Chess Championship and numerous other chess competitions. The Federation’s «Chess in Museums» initiative has been running successfully in Russia since 2012.
RCF initiates and implements chess development programs, including those targeting children, and promotes expansion of the network of chess clubs and sections in the regions. RCF manages individual and team competitions in Russia, organizes participation of Russian players in international competitions, promotes Russian chess in the international arena, and develops sporting links with national chess federations, national and international organizations, including FIDE.
Official website: www.ruchess.ru