ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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The 24th edition of the international chess and games festival was held in Pardubice, Czech Republic, with a myriad of chess tournaments of all kinds and many other games as well.
The giant playing hall was host to the myriad events
Pardubice Open – FIDE Elo and LOK CR credited grand master tournament, part of the ACP Tour
After eight rounds, only one player remained in the lead – GM Nisipeanu from Romania. In the final round he played against Czech GM Martin Petr. Nisipeanu knew that a draw would be enough for him, which he secured and thus became the winner of the 2013 Pardubice Open! “Nisipeanu played very well and deserved the victory. He proved to be a very offensive, aggressive and complex player,” said the chess expert of the Czech Open festival, IM Petr Pisk.
The top finishers GM Nisipeanu (1st), GM Oleksienko (2nd), and missing is GM Shyam
who came in third.
GM Oleksienko had a fantastic final run with six in six
The biggest surprise of the grandmaster tournament was the second place by GM Oleksienko from Ukraine. “Oleksienko had a fantastic finish, scoring 6.0/6 in the last rounds and obtained 7.5/9 like GM Nisipeanu, for a superb performance in the Czech Open,” said IM Petr Pisk after the final game. Oleksienko’s last challenger was top-rated GM Laznicka, who played for win with black in very good style, but at one point underestimated Oleksienko’s position and lost. Oleksienko’s play was of a very high standard not just during this game, but throughout the entire event. This loss in the final round plummeted GM Laznicka to 13th place.
Top Czech participant, GM Laznicka (right) stumbled in the last round and finished 13th
Very good performances were delivered by players from India. Four managed to fight their way into the top 20, the best being GM Shyam who claimed the third place, after an impressive defeat of IM Dourerassou from France in the final round. “French international master Dourerassou had a very nice tournament, despite his loss in his final game. However, he has nothing to regret, because he earned his grandmaster norm in Pardubice,” said IM Pisk.
In fourth was GM Lalith also from India. Another impressive performance was delivered by IM Das, who ended up eighth and also earned a grandmaster norm. In the last round, he faced GM Michalik from Slovakia. “In the eighth round, GM Michalik lost after a big mistake to Nisipeanu and was probably unable to endure the situation mentally, which resulted in his another loss in the final round,” remarked IM Pisk.
This year, a total of ten norms were awarded: four grandmaster norms, four international master norms and two woman international master norms:
The best Czech player in the tournament, GM Petr, ranked 21 in the starting list, ended up fifth with 7.0/9. The best woman in the tournament proved to be GM Harika Dronavalli (2489) from India, who finished 62nd. The best woman from the Czech Republic was WIM Kristýna Havlíková (2241) who scored 4.0/9 and finished 171st.
The trophy for the best senior player went to another Czech player, GM Vlastimil Jansa (2442), who finished 51st with 5.5/9 and the best player in the U18 category was IM Idani (2476) from Iran, who took 29th place with 6 points.
Pardubicky Kraj Open – open rating tournament with rating for FIDE
With a total of 7.5/9, FM Fabian Mueller from Germany dominated the Pardubicky Kraj Open final table, followed by FM Vladimir Tappyrov from Russia and FM Leonid Nikolaev from Ukraine – both also with 7.5 points. The best Czech performance was turned in by Jan Turner, who finished 7th with 7.0/9.
Česká Podnikatelská Pojišťovna Open – FIDE Elo < 2200 rating tournament
The 7.5/9 winner of this tournament, Jiri Jezbera from Hradec Kralove, also received the title of the best Czech player. Vadin Matsenko from Russia finished after him, with 7.0/9. The Russian dominance was confirmed by third place finisher Vasily Vasilyev.
Motorgas Open – FIDE Elo < 2000 rating tournament
The gold medal in this tournament went to Yuri Galishnikov from Russia, who scored 8.0/9. Aisen Metsnikov (RUS) ended with 7.5/9 and also earned the prize for best player in U14 category. third was Russian Nikita Bogdanov, who also scored 7.5/9, but with a worse tiebreak. Bogdanov was also the second player in the U14 category.
ChessBase Open
Among the interesting aspects of the festival, is that partner sponsors are not simply given a banner or logo, they are given an entire tournament with their name. ChessBase has long been a partner and supporter of the lovely event, and sponsored a youth tournament.
ChessBase sponsored a tournament for youths
It was well enjoyed by the participants as can be seen
The event is rightly called a chess and games festival, and although the biggest focus is indeed on chess with well over a dozen chess tournaments held throughout, other games both classic and not-so-classic are also given a place of their own for the aficionados.
It wasn't all chess, and many games, such as Go had a competition to their name
Among the classic games were Draughts (10x10 checkers), Go, Shogi, Backgammon, and more, while the less common games included a Sudoku competition, Rubik’s Cube, and even table tennis and bowling. It makes for a very eclectic competition, but why not? It is all in good fun.
For those who preferred a less confrontational competition, there were Sudoku
and Crossword competitions.
Rubik's Cube competitions are nothing new, and to keep them interesting,
special modalities such as blindfold solving are included....
... and even timed competitions to solve the puzzle with your feet!
If you want a more classic challenge, try your hand at the 7x7 puzzle
Outside the hall was a tent where participants could get food and refreshments
It was there also that the live broadcasts could be followed
Some players preferred to enjoy their passions in a more relaxed atmosphere
Children also had their fun
All results, photographs, games and information are available online at the Official site.
