Elllobregat Open 2024: Sokolovsky Triumphs, 8 Norms Achieved

by Niklesh Jain - 09/12/2024

The Elllobregat Open 2024, one of Spain’s premier chess tournaments, came to a thrilling conclusion with intense battles and remarkable performances. GM Yahli Sokolovsky from Israel claimed the title after a dramatic final round. GM Savva Vetokhin from FIDE finished in second place, while GM Cristobal Henriquez Villagra from Chile secured third. In addition to the exciting competition for the top spots, a total of 8 international norms were achieved, including IM, WGM, and WIM norms. Among these, Indian player Tejaswini G earned the WGM norm. The organizers of the Elllobregat Open extend an invitation to all players to join the 2025 edition, which will take place on the same dates next year, offering prizes for the top 30 players, with a total prize pool of 40,000 euros. Photo by Angela Franco & Niklesh Jain

GM Yahli Sokolovsky Wins Prestigious Elllobregat Open 2024

Spain's strongest tournament, the Elllobregat Open Chess 2024, was won by Israel's Grandmaster Yahli Sokolovsky. . Demonstrating consistency and composure throughout the tournament, Sokolovsky secured the title by scoring 7.5 points, finishing undefeated.

Champion’s Moment: GM Yahli Sokolovsky receives the winner's trophy and a prize of €10,000 from the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the Elllobregat Open 2024.

Yahli secured the title by drawing against his compatriot International Master Or Bronstein in the final round, earning 8 points.

On the second board, Chile's Grandmaster Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra had a chance to tie for first place

by defeating Grandmaster Savva Vetokhin, but a miscalculation in an equal position led him to lose the game.

This allowed Savva Vetokhin to finish in second place with 7.5 points.

As per the tournament rules, Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra, with 7 points, played a tiebreaker against Israel's Grandmaster Ido Gorshtein, who was also on 7 points. They played two blitz games, where Ido Gorshtein won both, securing third place with a 2-0 score.

In the final round, on the third board, Ido Gorshtein drew with Hungary's Adam Kozak,

while on the fourth board, Germany's Grandmaster Martin Kraemer drew with Bulgaria's Tsvetan Stoyanov, which prevented them from advancing to third place.

In Other notable results Momchil Petkov defeated Spain's experienced Grandmaster Josep Manuel López Martínez and Iran's Mahdi Gholami defeated Hungary's top female player Zsoka Gaal, finishing the tournament with a win.

Final Ranking after 10 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	n	w	we	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	7	GM	Sokolovsky, Yahli		ISR	2516	Mollet, Club d'Escacs	8	0	57,5	62	48,50	10	8	6,09	1,91	10	19,1
2	11	GM	Vetokhin, Savva		FID	2502	FIDE	7,5	0	54	58	42,75	10	7,5	6,73	0,77	10	7,7
3	2	GM	Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal		CHI	2594	CHILE	7	1	60,5	64,5	42,75	10	7	6,74	0,26	10	2,6
4	6	GM	Gorshtein, Ido		ISR	2528	Kfar Saba Chess Club	7	2	57	61,5	39,50	10	7	6,12	0,88	10	8,8
5	4	GM	Kraemer, Martin		GER	2576	SC Heimbach Neuwied	7	0	56,5	61	41,00	10	7	6,67	0,33	10	3,3
6	14	GM	Tazbir, Marcin		POL	2493	POLAND	7	0	54,5	59	41,00	10	7	6,45	0,55	10	5,5
7	5	GM	Petkov, Momchil		BUL	2549	BULGARY	7	0	52,5	57	38,50	10	7	7,40	-0,40	10	-4
8	17	IM	Stoyanov, Tsvetan		BUL	2465	BULGARY	7	0	52	56,5	39,00	10	7	6,09	0,91	10	9,1
9	37	FM	Molenda, Marcin		POL	2359	POLAND	7	0	52	56,5	38,00	10	7	5,33	1,67	10	16,7
10	21	IM	Bronstein, Or		ISR	2440	Rishon LeZion	7	0	52	56	36,25	10	7	5,82	1,18	10	11,8
11	3	GM	Kozak, Adam		HUN	2591	Magyarország	7	0	51,5	54	36,75	10	7	7,63	-0,63	10	-6,3
12	8	GM	Gholami Orimi, Mahdi		IRI	2507	IRAN	7	0	49,5	56,5	38,00	9	7	6,77	0,23	10	2,3
13	9	GM	Quintiliano, Renato R.		BRA	2507	Escola de Xadrez de Osasco	6,5	0	58,5	63,5	39,25	10	6,5	5,71	0,79	10	7,9
14	13	GM	Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis		ESP	2493	Andreu Paterna	6,5	0	56	61,5	39,50	10	6,5	6,70	-0,20	10	-2
15	31	IM	Sanchez, Sebastian Felipe		COL	2376	CE Mollet	6,5	0	56	60	36,75	10	6,5	4,88	1,62	10	16,2
16	10	IM	Seo, Jung Min		SWE	2505	SK Rockaden	6,5	0	52	56,5	36,50	10	6,5	6,85	-0,35	10	-3,5
17	22	IM	Stribuk, Artiom		FID	2435	FIDE	6,5	0	51,5	55,5	35,25	10	6,5	6,29	0,21	10	2,1
18	25	IM	Sorensen, Hampus		SWE	2419	SK Rockaden	6,5	0	51	54,5	33,50	10	6,5	5,97	0,53	10	5,3
19	12	GM	Ioannidis, Evgenios		GRE	2497	Galaxias Thessaloniki	6,5	0	49	52,5	33,50	10	6,5	7,33	-0,83	10	-8,3
20	97		Coles, Ruben		FRA	2155	FRANCIA	6,5	0	45	48	31,50	10	6,5	3,38	3,12	40	124,8

In the Elllobregat Open 2024, four players achieved the International Master (IM) norm. FM Habans Aguerrea Javier (ESP, Elo 2402) scored 6 points from 10 rounds, FM Molenda Marcin (POL, Elo 2359) earned 7 points from 10 rounds, FM Zielonka Adam (POL, Elo 2352) achieved 6 points from 9 rounds, and FM Bogdanov Artyom (KAZ, Elo 2309) also scored 6 points from 10 rounds. All four players successfully secured the IM norm during the tournament.

Three players achieved the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm. WIM Shukhman Anna (FID, Elo 2245) scored 6 points from 10 rounds, WIM Allahverdiyeva Ayan (AZE, Elo 2174) earned 6 points from 10 rounds, and WIM Tejaswini G (IND, Elo 2211) secured 5½ points from 9 rounds. All three players successfully achieved the WGM norm during the tournament.

WFM Shatil Or (ISR, Elo 2124) scored 4 points from 9 rounds, earning the Woman International Master (WIM) norm during the tournament.

Elllobregat Open 2025: Bigger Prizes, Same Exciting Competition

During Round 9, Chief Organizer Xavier Pérez Llorca expressed his gratitude to all the participants for making the Elllobregat Open 2024 a grand success. He officially invited players to the next edition, scheduled for the same dates, 28th November to 8th December 2025. The tournament will feature total prizes worth €40,000, covering placements from 1st to 30th, with registrations set to open in April 2025.

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