Nancy 2013 - Grand Prix of France won by Tkachiev

Nancy 2013 - Grand Prix of France

The official poster

210 players came for some weekend fun

On March 9-10, the Nancy stage of the French Rapid Grand Prix was held, bringing in several elite players, as well as a platoon of enthusiasts to take part in the weekend action. No fewer than 210 players came to the city of Nancy, France, of which only sixteen would qualify for the Sunday knockout stage.

Tense moments after the game concluded

Though the qualifying stage saw Bacrot come first, Postny second, and Gharamian in third, all with 7.5/9, with fourteen grandmasters making it through, several heads rolled as two masters sneaked into the group, Dourerassou and Monroy. That said, ten grandmasters did not make it, including one of the world top 50 players, GM Laurent Fressinet, not to mention GM Alberto David, and GM Alexandre Fier, as well as 28 other masters.

Final standing of qualifier

The final knockout stage on Sunday, March 10, was not without a healthy element of surprise Etienne Bacrot was ousted in the last sixteen by Vladimir Dobrov, who came sixteenth in the qualifier, barely making it in. In the quarter finals, Dobrov continued his remarkable run by beating Yannick Pelletier in a clean sweep 2-0, while Vachier-Lagrave, Vladislav Tkachiev, and Georgian GM Tornike Sanikidze also passed to the next rung in the ladder.

The semi-final brought all the excitement one could hope for, albeit at the cost of Vachier Lagrave who was also reduced to debris by Dobrov while Tkachiev overcame Svetushkin and set up an exciting decider between the two.

Vladislav Tkachiev beat Vladimir Dobrov in the final

It was the end of the line for Vladimir Dobrov, as he succumbed to French no.7 Vladislav Tkachiev, when the latter played a powerful attack and dismantled his opponent’s Benko Gambit in the only decisive game of the final.