International Tournament Albena 2011

Albena - a Mecca for intellectual sports

Sun, sea, amusement and leisure – what else could you possibly need?! Dear friends of this ancient wise game! After a certain pause, Albena throws open the door again for the international chess tournament. Our kind hosts in Albena resort offer the perfect conditions for accommodation on different board basis, and of course - at special rates. Furthermore, the preferential rates are valid not only for the participants of the tournament, but also for those who accompany them – trainers, parents, friends and fans. We have chosen the best season for a chess tournament – just before the start of the active summer season, when it is calm and quite – perfect for chess games. At this time of the year The International Tournament of Sport Bridge takes place as well. Organizers: Bulgarian Chess Federation Chess Club "Dobrich - Albena" General Sponsor: "Albena JSCo" Tournametn Venue:"Albena Sports Hall Ideal conditions to combine chess and fun - This is our message to you!

Tournament Rules

TOURNAMENT RULES: 9 rounds, Swiss System, 90 minutes for each player plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first move. Electronic clocks will be used. TOURNAMENT VENUE: Albena Sports Hall SCHEDULE: Registration - until 13:00 on 25th June Technical meeting - starts at 14:00 First Round starts at 15:00 Second to Eight round - starts at 15:00, every day from 26th June to 2nd July Final Ninth Round - starts at 09:00 on 3rd July (Sunday) Closing Ceremony - starts at 14:00 on 3rd July ENTRY FEE: 60 EUR, 40 EUR - for students and retiress. Grandmasters do not pay an entry fee. 60 EUR will be deducted from the prize in case it is won by a grandmaster RANKING: The ranking is determined based on the number of points scored. In case of a draw, the following systems will be used: Median-Buchholz Buchholz Games won Cumulative

Official website: http://www.albenachess.com/index_en.html

Albena International 2011

Albena Chess Tournament 2011 with a prize fund of 40 000 eur
Albena 2011 is the newest Super Open

This year a number of closed events like Linares, Mtel Masters, or even opens like Arctic Chess Challenge are suffering from the financial crisis. But are things really projecting to be so negative financially in the chess world? Not exactly, many traditional opens are coping well with the crisis, while another class of tournaments is emerging - the "Super Opens". These are events with over 30 000 eur prize fund and are open festivals for everyone. Aeroflot 2011 (125 000 eur), Cappelle La Grande 2011 (30 000 eur), Dubai Chess Open (45,000 USD), and Nakhchivan Open (66,500 USD) are just some of the events that have been going on for the first months of this year.

The latest Super Open that was announced is Albena Chess Open. It will take place 25th June - July 3rd in the Albena sea resort (near Varna, Bulgaria), and is boasting a prize fund of over 40 000 eur.

The first prize in Albena is the impressive 8000 eur, but what is even better for the chess enthusiasts, there are 30 prizes ranging from 1000 to 100 eur for amateur chess players, and 16 prizes ranging from 500 to 100 eur for youngsters. Exactly such prize distribution is very typical for the Super opens and beneficial to the whole chess community.

Albena Chess Open rules and regulations

Albena Open 2011 will take place 25th June - July 3rd. It is a 9 round open Swiss tournament with time control 90 minutes for each player plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.

Accommodation is provided right next to the playing hall and starts for as low as 11 eur/night, an incredible deal for the high season of summer for one of the major Black Sea resorts.

All details on the event can be found in the links below.

Registration / Accommodation / Contacts / Prizes (40 000 eur)

Click here for an interractive map of Albena

More here: http://previews.chessdom.com/2011/albena-chess-open

Grigoryan wins Bansko

Avetik Grigoryan impressive in Bansko Open
The Armenian champion wins the tournament with 8 points from nine games

Armenian champion GM Avetik Grigoryan concluded the Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010 in style, by winning the final game with Black pieces and claiming a clear first place with an impressive 8 points from nine rounds. Confident and persistent, strong and concentrated in decisive moments, Grigoryan had the right approach to achieve this fantastic result.

The only player that could follow his pace was IM Tamir Nabaty of Israel. Nabaty shared the lead earlier, but drew the last round against the top-seeded Ivan Cheparinov and finished clear second with 7.5 points. He also won the fifth and final GM norm, and having already sporting the elo above 2500 FIDE, he will be awarded the Grandmaster title at the next FIDE Presidential Board in Antalya. It is curious that Nabaty earned three GM norms on Bulgarian soil (Albena, Plovdiv, Bansko).

IM Grigor Grigorov is another player bound to celebrate the event. He defeated GM Marijan Petrov and fulfilled the requirements for the Grandmaster title. His final standing was clear third, with 7 points. Sergey Strelnikov from Ukraine earned the IM norm with a total of 6 points.

Round 9 top results:

GM Georgiev Vladimir - GM Grigoryan Avetik 0 - 1
IM Nabaty Tamir - GM Cheparinov Ivan ½ - ½
IM Arnaudov G Petar - GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios ½ - ½
GM Petrov Marijan - IM Grigorov Grigor 0 - 1
GM Danielsen Henrik - IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ½ - ½
GM Savchenko Boris - IM Berbatov Kiprian ½ - ½
IM Collas Silvia - GM Nikolaidis Ioannis ½ - ½
Korobkov Piotr - FM Aggelis Nikolaos 1 - 0
IM Perunovic Miodrag - IM Dobrev Nanko 0 - 1
WIM Videnova Iva - GM Georgiev Krum ½ - ½
IM Maksimovic Branimir - Malikentzos Sotirios ½ - ½
Sotirov Nikolaj - IM Ashwin Jayaram 0 - 1
Zygouris Hristos - Strelnikov Sergey 0 - 1
IM Dimitrov Radoslav - Yakimenko Alexander A 1 - 0

Final standings:

1 GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2580 8
2 IM Nabaty Tamir ISR 2529 7.5
3 IM Grigorov Grigor BUL 2479 7
4 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2668 6.5
5 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2556 6.5
6 IM Dobrev Nanko BUL 2376 6.5
7 Korobkov Piotr UKR 2484 6.5
8 IM Arnaudov G Petar BUL 2468 6.5
9 GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2516 6.5
10 IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ISR 2424 6.5
11 GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2632 6
12 GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2582 6
13 GM Petrov Marijan BUL 2534 6
14 GM Nikolaidis Ioannis GRE 2552 6
15 Strelnikov Sergey UKR 2419 6
16 IM Berbatov Kiprian BUL 2461 6
17 FM Kukov Velislav BUL 2355 6
18 IM Collas Silvia FRA 2300 6
19 IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2420 6
20 IM Dimitrov Radoslav BUL 2410 6
21 FM Velchev Hristo BUL 2322 6
22 IM Maksimovic Branimir SRB 2421 5.5
23 GM Georgiev Krum BUL 2422 5.5
24 IM Perunovic Miodrag SRB 2465 5.5
25 Malikentzos Sotirios GRE 2312 5.5
26 Galburd Yan ISR 2322 5.5
27 FM Fazulyanov Sergey RUS 2365 5.5
28 FM Pavlidis Anastasios GRE 2352 5.5
29 Dounis Alexandros GRE 2207 5.5
30 FM Aggelis Nikolaos GRE 2337 5.5
31 WIM Videnova Iva BUL 2269 5.5
32 NM Gochev Mladen BUL 2261 5.5
33 NM Dichev Nedelcho BUL 2142 5.5
34 Harokopakis Georgios GRE 1984 5.5
35 Kolev Vasil BUL 1991 5.5

More here: http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/avetik-grigoryan-bansko-open

Bansko Open Round Eight

Bansko Open Round Eight

Avetik Grigoryan and Tamir Nabaty extend the lead to a full point

The leading duo at the Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010, IM Tamir Nabaty and GM Avetik Grigoryan, achieved new victories in the penultimate round of the tournament and are now leading a full point ahead of the nearest followers.

Grigoryan defeated the 2nd-seeded GM Boris Savchenko in a very complicated game, where the final stage was played on incremental time. Nabaty was pawn down with black pieces against GM Ioannis Nikolaidis, but he succeeded to create a dangerous attack which eventually netted him a full point.

Round 8 top results:

GM Grigoryan Avetik - GM Savchenko Boris 1 - 0
GM Nikolaidis Ioannis - IM Nabaty Tamir 0 - 1
IM Grigorov Grigor - GM Georgiev Vladimir ½ - ½
GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios - Korobkov Piotr 1 - 0
GM Cheparinov Ivan - IM Dimitrov Radoslav 1 - 0
GM Georgiev Krum - GM Petrov Marijan 0 - 1
FM Kukov Velislav - GM Danielsen Henrik 0 - 1
Strelnikov Sergey - IM Arnaudov G Petar 0 - 1
IM Zaslavsky Mikhail - Hristodoulou Panagiotis 1 - 0
IM Dobrev Nanko - FM Fazulyanov Sergey 1 - 0
NM Kjurkchiiski Georgi - IM Perunovic Miodrag 0 - 1
Galburd Yan - IM Berbatov Kiprian 0 - 1

Round 8 standings:

1-2. IM Nabaty Tamir ISR 2529 and GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2580 - 7.0

3-10. GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2668, GM Petrov Marijan BUL 2534, GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2582, IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ISR 2424, IM Grigorov Grigor BUL 2479, GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2556, IM Arnaudov G Petar BUL 2468 and GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2516 - 6.0

11-18. GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2632, IM Dobrev Nanko BUL 2376, GM Nikolaidis Ioannis GRE 2552, Korobkov Piotr UKR 2484, IM Perunovic Miodrag SRB 2465, IM Berbatov Kiprian BUL 2461, FM Aggelis Nikolaos GRE 2337 and IM Collas Silvia FRA 2300 - 5.5 etc

Round 9 top pairings:

GM Georgiev Vladimir - GM Grigoryan Avetik
IM Nabaty Tamir - GM Cheparinov Ivan
IM Arnaudov G Petar - GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios
GM Petrov Marijan - IM Grigorov Grigor
GM Danielsen Henrik - IM Zaslavsky Mikhail
GM Savchenko Boris - IM Berbatov Kiprian
IM Collas Silvia - GM Nikolaidis Ioannis
Korobkov Piotr - FM Aggelis Nikolaos
IM Perunovic Miodrag - IM Dobrev Nanko
WIM Videnova Iva - GM Georgiev Krum
IM Maksimovic Branimir - Malikentzos Sotirios

Bansko Open Round Five

Bansko Open Round Five
Top board drawn, six players leading with 4.5 points each

GM Boris Savchenko and IM Tamir Nabaty drew their game on the top board of the 5th round of the Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010, and IM Nanko Dobrev was defeated by GM Vladimir Georgiev, thus there are no more players with perfect score in the tournament.

Piotr Korobkov, the untitled but decently rated player from Ukraine, outwitted the 3rd-seeded GM Vasil Spasov, while GM Ioannis Nikolaidis won the Greek derby against GM Athanasios Mastrovasilis.

GM Avetik Grygorian, the reigning Armenian champion, got the better off from his encounter with IM Miodrag Perunovic. After the game he commented: "In the morning I thought that it's been a long time since I played my favourite King's Indian defence, and I decided to use it today, especially as I thought it would have been a surprise for my opponent. Later I found that Miodrag guessed which opening I'll choose, but he misplayed the moves' order and got worse position, which he couldn't save from that moment on."

Round 5 top results:

GM Savchenko Boris - IM Nabaty Tamir ½ - ½
GM Georgiev Vladimir - IM Dobrev Nanko 1 - 0
GM Petrov Marijan - GM Cheparinov Ivan ½ - ½
Korobkov Piotr - GM Spasov Vasil 1 - 0
IM Perunovic Miodrag - GM Grigoryan Avetik 0 - 1
GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios - GM Nikolaidis Ioannis 0 - 1
GM Danielsen Henrik - IM Gvetadze Sopio 1 - 0
WIM Nikolova Adriana - IM Grigorov Grigor 0 - 1
IM Arnaudov G Petar - Galburd Yan ½ - ½
Malikentzos Sotirios - IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ½ - ½
IM Collas Silvia - IM Ashwin Jayaram ½ - ½
IM Dimitrov Radoslav - Kanakaris Georgios ½ - ½

Round 5 standings:

1-6. GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2632, GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2582, Korobkov Piotr UKR 2484, GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2580, IM Nabaty Tamir ISR 2529 and GM Nikolaidis Ioannis GRE 2552 - 4.5

7-11. GM Petrov Marijan BUL 2534, IM Dobrev Nanko BUL 2376, GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2668, IM Grigorov Grigor BUL 2479 and GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2516 - 4.0

12-30. GM Spasov Vasil BUL 2606, IM Perunovic Miodrag SRB 2465, IM Maksimovic Branimir SRB 2421, Strelnikov Sergey UKR 2419, IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ISR 2424, FM Kukov Velislav BUL 2355, IM Arnaudov G Petar BUL 2468, IM Berbatov Kiprian BUL 2461, IM Dimitrov Radoslav BUL 2410, GM Georgiev Krum BUL 2422, Malikentzos Sotirios GRE 2312, IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2420, IM Collas Silvia FRA 2300, Kanakaris Georgios GRE 2285, FM Fazulyanov Sergey RUS 2365, NM Gochev Mladen BUL 2261, Kolev Atanas Tonchev BUL 2049, FM Velchev Hristo BUL 2322 and Galburd Yan ISR 2322 - 3.5 etc

Round 6 top pairings:

GM Nikolaidis Ioannis - GM Savchenko Boris
IM Nabaty Tamir - GM Georgiev Vladimir
GM Grigoryan Avetik - Korobkov Piotr
GM Cheparinov Ivan - GM Danielsen Henrik
IM Dobrev Nanko - GM Petrov Marijan
IM Grigorov Grigor - GM Spasov Vasil
FM Kukov Velislav - IM Arnaudov G Petar
Galburd Yan - IM Perunovic Miodrag
Kanakaris Georgios - IM Berbatov Kiprian
IM Zaslavsky Mikhail - FM Fazulyanov Sergey
GM Georgiev Krum - FM Velchev Hristo
NM Gochev Mladen - IM Maksimovic Branimi

3 with perfect score at Bansko Open

Bansko Open Round Four
Three players leading with perfect scores

The participants of the Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010 switched the gear to fighting mode for the fourth round this Wednesday afternoon. A draw was rare occurrence and the top seventeen boards netted decisive results.

The 2nd-seeded GM Boris Savchenko won yet another game and is topping the standings with perfect score, together with International Masters Nanko Dobrev and Tamir Nabaty. Dobrev defeated another Grandmaster, this time his victim was GM Athanasios Mastrovasilis. Nabaty used the advantage of white pieces to inflict a loss to the GM-norm aspirant Petar Arnaudov.

Round 4 top results:

IM Grigorov Grigor - GM Savchenko Boris 0 - 1
IM Dobrev Nanko - GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios 1 - 0
IM Nabaty Tamir - IM Arnaudov G Petar 1 - 0
GM Cheparinov Ivan - IM Berbatov Kiprian 1 - 0
GM Spasov Vasil - GM Georgiev Krum 1 - 0
Strelnikov Sergey - GM Georgiev Vladimir 0 - 1
GM Grigoryan Avetik - NM Tomov Georgi 1 - 0
GM Nikolaidis Ioannis - IM Maksimovic Branimir 1 - 0
FM Kukov Velislav - GM Petrov Marijan 0 - 1
NM Ljangov Petar - Korobkov Piotr 0 - 1
Iskos Alexandros - IM Perunovic Miodrag 0 - 1
NM Kjurkchiiski Georgi - GM Danielsen Henrik 0 - 1
IM Zaslavsky Mikhail - WIM Videnova Iva 1 - 0
IM Ashwin Jayaram - Zygouris Hristos 1 - 0

Round 4 standings:

1-3. GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2632, IM Dobrev Nanko BUL 2376 and IM Nabaty Tamir ISR 2529 - 4.0

4-11. Korobkov Piotr UKR 2484, GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2668, GM Spasov Vasil BUL 2606, GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2582, GM Nikolaidis Ioannis GRE 2552, GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2580, GM Petrov Marijan BUL 2534 and IM Perunovic Miodrag SRB 2465 - 3.5

12-26. GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2556, GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2516, IM Grigorov Grigor BUL 2479, IM Arnaudov G Petar BUL 2468, IM Dimitrov Radoslav BUL 2410, IM Zaslavsky Mikhail ISR 2424, Malikentzos Sotirios GRE 2312, IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2420, WIM Nikolova Adriana BUL 2328, IM Collas Silvia FRA 2300, NM Gochev Mladen BUL 2261, Kanakaris Georgios GRE 2285, Galburd Yan ISR 2322, FM Fazulyanov Sergey RUS 2365 and IM Gvetadze Sopio GEO 2350 - 3.0 etc

Round 5 top pairings:

GM Savchenko Boris - IM Nabaty Tamir
GM Georgiev Vladimir - IM Dobrev Nanko
GM Petrov Marijan - GM Cheparinov Ivan
Korobkov Piotr - GM Spasov Vasil
IM Perunovic Miodrag - GM Grigoryan Avetik
GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios - GM Nikolaidis Ioannis
GM Danielsen Henrik - IM Gvetadze Sopio
WIM Nikolova Adriana - IM Grigorov Grigor
IM Arnaudov G Petar - Galburd Yan
Malikentzos Sotirios - IM Zaslavsky Mikhail
IM Collas Silvia - IM Ashwin Jayaram
IM Dimitrov Radoslav - Kanakaris Georgios

Bansko Grand Chess Opening Ceremony

Bansko Grand Chess Opening Ceremony
Bansko Mayor Alexander Kravarov and GM Ivan Cheparinov made the first move

The official opening of the Bansko ski season and of the Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010 took place on Sunday, 12th December, at the Central City Square. The singing group "Pirinski Biseri" opened the ceremony, and then the ECU Board Member Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou spoke about the chess tournament.

Mr. Tsorbatzoglou thanked the Mayor of Bansko, Alexander Kravarov, the Bulgarian Chess Federation and the ECU President, Silvio Danailov, for the invaluable support in preparation of the chess tournament.

Mr. Kravarov welcomed the chess players and wished them a pleasant stay in Bansko. Both speakers expressed desire the chess event to be held annually. Mr.Kravarov and the top-seeded player GM Ivan Cheparinov made the ceremonial move on the stage, and then the folklore group from Alexandropolis, Greece, closed the program.

Cheparinov top seed in Bansko

GM Ivan Cheparinov top seeded in Bansko
15 GMs, 14 IMs, and a total of 40 titled players in Bansko

15 GMs, 14 IMs, and 40 titled players is the total count for Bansko Open 2010. More than 170 players have confirmed their presence in what is projecting to be one of the strongest opens of the season.

GM Ivan Cheparinov (2668) is the top seeded player of the competition. His main competition comes from the World Blitz Championship finalist GM Boris Savchenko (2632), the many times Bulgarian Champion GM Vasil Spasov (2606), as well as the Armenian Champion GM Avetik Grigoryan (2580), GM Vladimir Georgiev (2582), GM Athanasios Mastrovasilis (2556), GM Ioannis Nikolaidis (2552), and the Israel silver medalist IM Tamir Nabaty (2529).

Full participants list

The average ELO of the top 10 participants is 2588.

Round 1 of Bansko Open is December 13th at 17:00 local time. The competition is 9 round Swiss event and will continue until December 19th, when last round and prize giving take place.

The tournament is organized by Chessdom.com, Capital Chess Center (Sofia), and Chess Akademy (Thessaloniki).

Official website : http://banskochess.chessdom.com/

More info about Bansko

Opening ceremony and blitz

Opening ceremony will take place December 12th at 10:00 at the central square of Bansko. It will include greeting from the Mayor Alexander Kravarov, draw of colors for round 1, and a symbolic first move. Several hours of concert from local groups is to follow, organized by municipity to celebrate the chess tournament and the opening of the ski season.

Signup for blitz takes place from 10:30 to 12:00, when registration closes and pairings will be made. 1st round of blitz is scheduled for 13:00.

Bansko Open Is Your Perfect Challenge!

Seeking Title Norms? Bansko Open Is Your Perfect Challenge!
Lion's share of the prize fund reserved for amateurs

The premium Bulgarian ski resort in Bansko is ready to host its first International Grand Open Chess Tournament from 12th to 19th December. So far over 150 players have signed up, among them 15 Grandmasters and 50 titled. The response of the chess players has been overwhelming, for many reasons.

- The opening of the ski season provides the opportunity to combine participation in the strong chess tournament and all-day enjoyment in winter sports. The Bansko Grand Open organizers have set the round start at 17:00h local time, so that there is plenty of room for various outdoor activities.

- The organizers have enlisted participation of 15 Grandmasters and 11 International Masters from 19 different chess federations. The FIDE Norm seekers will be in comfortable position to fulfill their goals and advance to the next level.

- The prize fund of 9.000 EUR for the main group has been carefully distributed to provide incentive for the amateur players of all rating levels to play in their best shape and fight for the top position within the respective groups. First place in each rating category brings 500 EUR (U1800, U2000, U2200, U2400). In addition, the amateurs with good run can meet and have a shot at the seasoned titled players.

- The Open B is reserved for the talented Youth. The kids can match the skill against the fellows of their own age. Winner of the each age group will be awarded with a valuable laptop computer. The gifts raise the total prize fund to the value of 15.000 EUR!

- Finally, as cherry on the top of the cake, the accommodation rates for the chess players have been downsized to the incredibly low levels, despite the high season in one of the most prestigious ski resorts.

Signups close in just several days, make sure to register on time!

15 000 eur prize fund

The total prize fund of Bansko Grand Chess Open is 15 000 eur. The first players in the main group will receive a total of 9000 eur, as there are special prizes dedicated to rating groups

A. International Rating Category 2201 – 2400
1st 500 € 2nd 300 € 3rd 100 €

B. International Rating Category 2001 – 2200
1st 500 € 2nd 300 € 3rd 100 €

C. International Rating Category 1801 - 2001
1st 500 € 2nd 300 € 3rd 100 €

D. International Rating Category up to 1801
1st 500 € 2nd 300 € 3rd 100 €

As the future of chess depends on the young players enthusiasm and development of technology, the organizers will award laptop computers to U14, U12, U10, and U8 categories.

A total of 24 medals and 8 cups will be given.

The tournament is valid for GM/IM/FM /WFM/WIM/WGM norms and the youth section is application to the ECU Grand Prix.

Official website: http://banskochess.chessdom.com/

Participants (top 10 seeds)

GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2632
GM Safarli Eltaj AZE 2609
GM Radulski Julian BUL 2606
GM Spasov Vasil BUL 2606
GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2582
GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2580
GM Nikolov Momchil BUL 2565
GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2556
GM Nikolaidis Ioannis GRE 2552
GM Petrov Marijan BUL 2534

More here.