The Riga Technical University International Chess Festival was held on 5-11th August at the University building in 1 Kalku Street, Riga, Latvia.
The Festival, which was was organized by the Riga Technical University and Latvian Chess Federation, consisted of four events. The total prize fund for all tournaments was 7 700 LVL (11 000 EUR).
Tournament A was a 9-round Swiss and open for all players. 173 players from 28 federations competed, including 30 Grandmasters and 30 International Masters.
The last round was very exciting since as many as ten players entered the arena with 6,0/8 points each. Reigning Polish Champion Bartosz Socko and Robin Van Kampen (Netherlands) were victorious to finally share the first place with 7,0/9 points each. Socko claimed the winner’s trophy on better tie-break.
The 16-years old Russian IM Mikhail Al. Antipov finished third on tie-break and completed the requirements (norms, elo) for the Grandmaster title.
Tournament B was a 9-round Swiss for the players with an Elo rating below 2099 and a Latvian rating below 2199. 78 players competed in this section. Nikolaijs Krilovs (LAT 1998) and Edgars Ungurs (LAT 2045) shared the first place with 7,5/9 points each.
Tournament C was a Weekend Amateur ELO Tournament for players with Elo under 2199 and Latvian rating under 2299. After 7 rounds of play Mihail Gutmans (LAT 2137) took a clear first place with 6,5 points. There were 51 participants in this event.
After the conclusion of the main competition, a blitz event (Tournament D) was played in the evening on 11th August. 128 players participated in the 11-round event with a time control 3′+2”. The winner was IM Ziska Helgi Dam from Faroe Islands with 9,5/11 points.
Tournament A final standings (top finishers):
1. GM Socko Bartosz POL 2646 – 7
2. GM Van Kampen Robin NED 2606 – 7
3. IM Antipov Mikhail Al. RUS 2488 – 6.5
4. GM Burmakin Vladimir RUS 2565 – 6.5
5. GM Kovalenko Igor LAT 2646 – 6.5
6. IM Naroditsky Daniel USA 2503 – 6.5
7. IM Collins Sam E. IRL 2463 – 6.5
8. FM Lugovskoy Maxim RUS 2372 – 6.5
9. GM Rausis Igors CZE 2552 – 6.5
10. GM Vovk Yuri UKR 2608 – 6.5
11. GM Kulaots Kaido EST 2581 – 6.5
12. GM Hera Imre Jr. HUN 2567 – 6.5
13. GM Dragun Kamil POL 2546 – 6.5
14. GM Kveinys Aloyzas LTU 2491 – 6
15. GM Vovk Andrey UKR 2581 – 6
16. GM Gleizerov Evgeny RUS 2567 – 6
17. IM Baghdasaryan Vahe ARM 2414 – 6
18. IM Carlstedt Jonathan GER 2387 – 6
19. IM Boruchovsky Avital ISR 2441 – 6
20. GM Neiksans Arturs LAT 2557 – 6
21. GM Vysochin Spartak UKR 2531 – 6
22. GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2564 – 6
23. Paravyan David RUS 2426 – 6
24. IM Berzinsh Roland LAT 2400 – 6
25. Ben Artzi Ido ISR 2341 – 6
Impressive.