7th Kings Tournament starts Tomorrow

The opening ceremony of the 7th edition of Kings Tournament Romgaz took place on the 6th of October in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Piata Romana Nr.6). This international tournament is organized by the Sports Club “Elisabeta Polihroniade” and is a part of the Grand Slam circuit.

The Kings Tournament will be a double round robin competition with 5 world-class participants: Fabiano Caruana (Italy, GM, 2779), the former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, GM, 2756), Wang Hao (China, GM, 2736), Radjabov Teimour (Azerbaijan, GM, 2733) and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, (Romania, GM, 2665).

"We are pleased in organizing the Kings Tournament because such a competition underlines the complexity and beauty of chess. This year's edition with its famous participants represents a truly great show for every chess lover", said International Grandmaster Elisabeta Polihroniade, who represented Romania in the Women's Chess Olympiad over ten times.

This year’s edition will be played in the Magna Auditorium and Conference Hall "Virgil Madgearu" of the  Bucharest University of Economic Studies – a partner of the Kings Tournament. The rounds will start every day from the 7th until the 17th October at 3:30 p.m. (last round starts at 1:30 p.m) and entrance will be free for spectators.

The main sponsor of the event is the largest Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz. The partners are the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, RYSA (Romanian Youth Sports Association) and Marshall Turism.

The drawing of lots had one of the most interesting formats we have seen in recent times. Though slightly complicated, it was entertaining to say the least. In essence, the player's played two blitz games: one against a VIP chosen by the organization (among them the Romanian singer Victor Socaciu, who played Caruana) and one against one of the top finishers of a gigantic blitz tournament held before the opening ceremony! That meant that every blitz participant was fighting for a chance to play a super-GM. The winner of the blitz tournament chose who he played against, and the second place would choose from the remaining four, and henceforth.

The tipping point was that the player who won their games in the LEAST AMOUNT OF MOVES would choose his pairing number in the tournament! The rules don't say what would happen if the grandmasters didn't win their games, but alas that did not end up happening...

The qualifying blitz tournament was held at a library

And the tournament is under way!

The games were very hard fought: after all there were only five desirable spots

The opening ceremony about to start with the grandmaster blitz games

A sign of a top grandmaster is that they take every game seriously

Ponomariov got a tough round in his VIP game, here he is playing against WGM Elisabeta Polihroniade!

The grandmasters started with three minutes on their clock against six for their opponents

The local player Nisipeanu will have tough opposition in this event

Caruana is the highest rated player in the event

Wang Hao was the 'victor' of the competition, and he chose pairing number one. Most players thought this was undesirable, but it gives him a rest day in round one - remember that Wang Hao, Ponomariov and Caruana are just coming from the Grand Prix in Paris.

Information and photos by Dorian Rogozenco

Schedule

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.