FEMIDA 2007 – traditional for many GMs

by ChessBase
11/15/2007 – Recently the city of Kharkov, Ukraine, hosted three tournaments: Men and Women GMs and a Women Rapid Tournament. Great organization, great chessplayers, surprises, and Ukranian food. And music by students of the local Academy of Law (yes, law, not music). Our report by Elena Partac includes lots of pictures, a video and a recipe for Ukrainian Borscht.

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FEMIDA 2007 – traditional for many GMs

Report by Elena Partac


Map of Ukraine (from www.ukraine.be)

Kharkov is situated in the north-east of Ukraine. Its airport has 200 flights a day, almost all of them passenger flights. The population of Kharkov city is about 1,600,000 people, but of the Kharkov region about 3,170,000.


Kharkov city in the middle of autumn…


The Student Palace inside the Academy


The Academy of Law and the playing hall


A small video with impressions from Kharkov (4 minutes)

Men and Women's GM Tournaments

Every year, the city of Kharkov successfully organizes closed GM tournaments. This year, twelve chess players from four countries participated in the Men's GM. The rating average of this tournament was 2465. The only one who made the GM norm was the 14-year-old Sjugirov Sanan from Ukraine, who also took first place in the event. The top player was GM Mamedov Nidjad from Azerbaidjan.


IM Sanan Sjugirov, 14, 2422, from Ukraine, took first place and made a GM norm


IM Yakup Erturan, 2419, Turkey


Ukrainian IM Georgy Arzumanian, 2493, ready for the game…

Women's GM “Femida 2007” and Rapid Super tournament

The same number, 12 participants from four countries, played in the women's tournament. Two of them, the Russians Elizaveta Borisova and Anna Burtasova made WGM norms. The GM tournaments were held in the Academy of Law in Kharhov.

The women's rapid tournament was held the day after the GM tournaments. Eight ladies – six GMs, one IM and one FIDE Master – played. The total price fund was US $2000, with all eight participants receiving money prizes, flowers and a wrist watch with a Kharkov inscription. All the games were broadcast live online, for the first time in the tournament's history. Most of the ladies who played in the rapid also played in the Women's GM tournament.


WIM Anna Burtasova 2328, from Russia, 100% concentrated


In great spirits: WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova, 2208, Ukraine


WIM Elizaveta Borisova, 2266, Russia, second in the Women's GM tournament


Georgia Grapsa, 2106, from Greece


FM Irina Bulmaga, 2176, Moldova


Ukrainian WGM Anastazia Karlovich, 2244, one of the organizers of the tournaments


WGM Inna Romanova, 2287, from Belorussia


Double-winner of the Women's GM and Rapid, WIM Anna Burtasova


Here are all the eight ladies, participants of the women's rapid tournament. From the left: Galina Breslavska, Evgeniya Doluhanova, Anna Burtasova, Anastazia Karlovich, Elena Partac, Oksana Vozovic, Inna Romanova and in the center Elizaveta Borisova

Closing Ceremony

Unusual for the chess tournaments, the closing ceremony of the Femida Festival was organized in a unique way: a loooot of people, speeches, music, prize giving, speeches, prizes and again music. The organizers invited three singers, well known in Ukraine, but at the same time, students of the Academy of Law (yes, Academy of Law, not of Music). Take a look...


A song for the chessplayers…


All students of the Academy of Law!


...including opera singer “Garry”, who has an extraordinary voice


After the closing ceremony everybody went to eat pizza, and talk about... well of course, chess. The dinner is traditional in Kharkov, after you finish the tournament, and chess players enjoy this.


Girls, spending the free time in one of the Borscht restaurants in Kharkov: Anna Burtasova, Anastazia Karlovich, Elena Partac and Georgia Grapsa from Greece. For those who want to try it, here's a recipe for Ukrainian Borscht.

About the author

Elena Partac, born on 25th March 1984, is a Woman Grandmaster and member of the Moldova Olympic Chess, for which she has played in three Olympiads. Elena won the Women's Chess Championship of Moldova three times. She graduated from the University, Faculty of Journalism and Public Relations.

Elena is also the director of the Moldavian Chess Federation web site. She tells us that she fell in love with chess when she was five years old.

[Photo: Pufichek]


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