Spectacular Playing Venue For Reykjavik Chess Festival 2012
The Icelandic Chess Federation, in co-operation with the Reykjavik Chess Academy, welcomes you to the Reykjavik Chess Festival on March 6 to March 13 2012.
Probably the most spectacular playing venue for open tournament EVER!
The tournament will be held in Harpa, Reykjavik’s spectacular new music hall on the harbour. Only 5 minutes walk to downtown Reykjavik, Harpa features several restaurants and concerts during evenings and weekends. More information about the playing venue can be found here.
Special packages for guests
In co-operation with Icelandair, we have arranged special packages, which include flights and hotels. 25% discount of the entrance fee will be provided when package-receipt is shown. More information here.
The tournament
* Total prizes of €15000
* World-class playing conditions
* Extraordinary depth and width of chess talent
* Many side events: sightseeing, Fischer-Spassky exhibit, soccer and pub quiz
We will offer limited number of conditions, flight and accommodations for GMs and WGMs. Our goal is to answer all requests no later than the beginning of January. Interested players can mail to: reykjavikopen2012@gmail.com but very limited conditions can be offered here after.
An Even Better Playing Venue for the 27th Edition
The 2012 tournament is expected to be very strong. It includes at least 2 players with rating above 2700. Players list bellow. In 2011, 166 players from 30 countries participated, including 27 grandmasters, 11 of which with an ELO rating of 2600 and higher.
Total prizes in 2012 will be €15,000, including many special prizes for various ages and rating categories, in addition to the traditional top women prize.
The 2011 Reykjavik Open saw six joint winners, Yuriy Kuzubov (2627), Vladimir Baklan (2602) and Illya Nyzhnyk (2563), all of Ukraine, Kamil Miton (2600) of Poland, Jon Ludwig Hammer (2606) of Norway and tournament regular Ivan Sokolov (2643) of Netherlands.
Join the Legends and Be Part of Chess History
The City of Reykjavík has sponsored the tournament since its inception in 1964, when Mikhail Tal won it with a record 12½ points out of 13. The tournament was initially held every two years, but has since 2008 taken place every year. It was closed in its early years, but has been an open event since the 1980s.
Throughout its history the Reykjavik Open has featured many of the strongest chess players in the world at the time, including Mikhail Tal, Nona Gaprindashvili, David Bronstein, Vassily Smyslov, Bent Larsen, Friðrik Ólafsson, Mark Taimanov, Lev Polugaevsky, Ulf Andersson, Jan Timman, Victor Korchnoi, Samuel Reshevsky, Anthony Miles, Nigel Short, Magnus Carlsen and Alexander Grischuk.
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Fischer-Spassky “Match of the Century”
During the Reykjavik Open in 2012, there will be an exhibition in the National Museum of Iceland commemorating the 40th anniversary of “The Match of the Century” between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. The museum is within a 15-minute walking distance from Harpa. The exhibition will feature, among others, the board and chess sets from the match, and of course much more.
Preliminary list of players (top 25):
GM Fabiano Caruana ITA 2727
1. GM Navara David CZE 2712
2. GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy UKR 2666
3. GM Jones Gawain C B ENG 2653
4. GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2641
5. GM Hess Robert L USA 2625
6. GM Kuzubov Yuriy UKR 2616
7. GM Baklan Vladimir UKR 2612
8. GM Smeets Jan NED 2607
9. GM Avrukh Boris ISR 2605
10. GM Shulman Yuri USA 2598
11. GM LAmi Erwin NED 2596
12. GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2577
13. GM Papin Vasily RUS 2570
14. GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2536
15. GM Harika Dronavalli IND 2516
16. GM Kveinys Aloyzas LTU 2512
17. GM Williams Simon K ENG 2504
18. Kristjansson Stefan ISL 2500
19. IM Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn ISL 2470
20. IM Ziska Helgi Dam FAI 2460
21. GM Ashley Maurice USA 2452
22. IM Gunnarsson Arnar Erwin ISL 2441
23. IM Thorfinnsson Bragi ISL 2426
24. IM Gunnarsson Jon Viktor IM ISL 2424
25. IM Lund Silas DEN 2414
Beautiful place.