The next edition of the Reykjavik Open will take place on 4-12th March, 2014. Once again the tournament will be held in the beautiful Harpa concert hall by the Reykjavik harbour.
The 2014 Reykjavik Open will celebrate a 50 year anniversary of the tournament. The organisers will do their best to make this 50 year anniversary edition a very memorable one.
There will be many side events, including a photo-op and book signing by former World Champion Garry Kasparov. Full schedule below.
The tournament will be played over 10-rounds of Swiss system. Top prizes are 5.000€ / 2.000€ / 1.250€ / 800€ / 600€ etc
There are also prizes for best women, juniors and elo categories.
Side Events:
– Monday 3rd of March, Opening Party
For those coming on Monday it’s ideal to go to the opening party which will be held at the official bar of the tournament, Sky Lounge and Bar which is situated at Hotel Arnarhvoll which is straight across from Harpa and only about a minute walk away or so. The party will be held from 17:00 till 19:00.
– Thursday 6th of March, The Golden Circle (before the round)
Guided tour around some of the most spectacular sights in Southern Iceland, including the Gullfoss waterfall, the Geysir hot spring and Bobby Fischer´s final resting place.
Also a stop at the Fischer centre in Selfoss: http://fischersetur.is/index.cfm?page=pages/start_en2&lang=en
Registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ERl7mffewsXa73rmUvA8PbMGLl2l8xRg849h59qoO5M/viewform
– Friday 7th of March, The World Famous Reykjavík Open Chess Pub-Quiz (after the round)
The really popular and entertaining chess pub quiz which is becoming a standard feature of the tournament will be here yet again. As usual there are 30 questions about chess and the history of the game, both recent and past. This will be a pair event. Registration on-site, just show up just before 22:00 at the official bar of the tournament Sky and Lounge Bar.
– Saturday 8th of March, The “Kids’n Blitz” Tournament
The finals of a blitz tournament for 13 year and younger children from the Reykjavík metropolitan area. Elimination format. Will be played in the morning, and finish just before the start of that days round.
“Even Steven” Blitz Tournament at 20:00
A nine round “5-minute” plus 1-second blitz tournament with time odds, where a total of 10-minute playing time is divided between opposing players, depending on the ELO ranking. For each 100-point difference in ELO ranking, there will be a two-minute difference in with a maximum difference of 8 minutes (1 minute and 9 minutes). So, for example, a 2200-rated player will thus have 8 minutes against a 2500-rated player, who will have 2 minutes, but each will enjoy the 1-second increment time per move. Entry fee is EUR10 (or the equivalent in ISK) and is due prior to the start of the first round. The tournament will be in HARPAN!
Minimum age: 18 years.
– Sunday 9th of March, Kobalia Lecture
At 11:00 on Sunday the very strong 2650 rated GM Mikhail Kobalia from Russia will give a lecture. Hopefully Kobalia can give us some insights or secrets since he one of the head trainers of the Russian youth teams traveling to junior events!
– Football – Iceland vs. Rest of the World
The 4th annual soccer match, open to all. To be played at 22:00 in the indoor hall: Fifan. Registration possible up to and including Saturday the 8th. Pickup will be from Harpan @21:30. The plan this year is 4 teams and played about 7-a-side on half a pitch.
– Monday 10th of March, Kasparov photo-op and book signing
Kasparov will be on site before the round on Monday and there will be a photo opportunity as well as book signing. Details later
– Wednesday 12th of March, Closing Ceremony at City Hall
Closing ceremony at Reykjavík City Hall commences at 18:30. Everybody welcome.
He is busy.