Alexandra Botez dominates Sardinia World Chess Festival 2024 Open B
WFM Alexandra Botez (CAN) defeated the top seed, Dejan Dimitrov (BUL) to win Sardinia World Chess Festival 2024 Open B (<2000) convincingly. She completely decimated the competition and finished a whopping 1.5 points ahead of the rest. Alessia Natoli (ITA) and Federico Maida (ITA) scored 7/9 each. They secured second and third place respectively according to tie-breaks. Alexandra did not face either of them. However, she battled her sister for the first time in a rated event in the third round. The elder sister and eventual champion prevailed in it. The total prize fund of the entire festival was €50000. The top three prizes in Open B were €1500, €1000 and €700 along with a trophy each. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Women claim top two in a rare feat
It is not every day we get to see a woman winning an open or a rating restricted open tournaments, let alone top two claimed by women. The festival was successful not only because of six norms including the formation of a new Grandmaster, but also the marvelous finish of two women at the top, one of them delivering a career best performance. Open C results will be published in a separate report
L to R: Luigi Maggi, President of Federazione Scacchistica Italiana (FSI), GM Daniel Dardha, GM Kirill Shevchenko, Elisa Farris, Mayor of Sardinia, Danilo Mallò, President of the regional section of FSI, and GM FST IO Roberto Mogranzini, Tournament Director. They all distributed the prizes.
WFM Alexandra Botez (CAN, 1970) had a full point lead going into the final round. She just needed a draw against the top seed - Dejan Dimitrov (BUL, 1998). However, when the opportunity arose, she went for a full point and finished 1.5 point ahead of the field.
Dejan - Alexandra
Alexandra made a nice practical decision to play 25...c4 26.dxc4 Qxe4 27.Bc2 Qc6 Black gained the c4-pawn in another six moves.
Where should White move his king? 46.Kf1 is the best and 46.Ke3?? led to a loss. 46...Bc5+ 47.Kf4 Kf6 48.g4 g5+ 49.Kg3 h4+ 50.Kg2 Nxa4 and Black went on to convert her advantage into a win.
Photo Gallery
For more Round 9 and Prize distribution ceremony photos, please click at the respective links. Lots of exciting, interesting game videos and interviews will be published soon, stay tuned!
Photos by Niklesh Jain: Round 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6, 7, Black and White dinner, and FIDE 100, 8, 9 and Prize distribution ceremony.
In case you missed taking part in the inaugural edition, don't fret, the second edition was announced to be held from 26th April to 3rd May 2025 at the same place Club Hotel Marina Beach in Orosei, Sardinia, Italy.
Replay live stream
A total of 99 players took part from 19 countries across the world in this eight-day nine-round Swiss league Below 2000 Rating tournament which was organized by Emmedi Sport ASD at Club Hotel Marina Beach 4* at Orosei in Sardinia, Italy from 27th April to 4th May 2024. The time control for the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Replay Round 9 games
Round 9 Open B results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Benoit Hugues | 1935 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6½ | Natoli Alessia | 1917 | 19 | PGN | ||||
| 2 | 10 | Maida Federico | 1961 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6 | Carfagna Alex | 1939 | 15 | PGN | ||||
| 3 | 2 | Knors Rudi | 1992 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | Simonelli Mattia | 1886 | 26 | PGN | ||||
| 4 | 1 | Dimitrov Dejan | 1998 | 6½ | 0 - 1 | 7½ | WFM | Botez Alexandra *) | 1970 | 5 | PGN | |||
| 5 | 8 | Wang Shanshan | 1966 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | Botez Andrea *) | 1879 | 28 | PGN | ||||
| 6 | 34 | Molinari Carlo | 1867 | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | Neri Enzo | 1978 | 4 | |||||
| 7 | 6 | CM | Joel Paul Ganta | 1969 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | Mascia Germano | 1884 | 27 | ||||
| 8 | 13 | Becker Alexander | 1950 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | Orman Attila | 1728 | 64 | |||||
| 9 | 11 | Costabile Vincenzo | 1955 | 5 | 0 - 1 | 5 | Petrosino Germano | 1824 | 43 | |||||
| 10 | 42 | Fonda Marco | 1825 | 5 | 0 - 1 | 5 | Porcu Riccardo | 1877 | 29 |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | WFM | Botez Alexandra | w | CAN | 1970 | 8,5 | 50 | 46 | 47,25 | 1908 | |
| 2 | 19 | Natoli Alessia | w | POL | 1917 | 7 | 52 | 47,5 | 39,50 | 1857 | ||
| 3 | 10 | Maida Federico | ITA | 1961 | 7 | 47 | 45 | 33,50 | 1839 | |||
| 4 | 34 | Molinari Carlo | ITA | 1867 | 6,5 | 51,5 | 48 | 34,50 | 1877 | |||
| 5 | 16 | Benoit Hugues | FRA | 1935 | 6,5 | 49,5 | 47,5 | 33,00 | 1842 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Dimitrov Dejan | BUL | 1998 | 6,5 | 49,5 | 45 | 34,25 | 1841 | |||
| 7 | 64 | Orman Attila | AZE | 1728 | 6,5 | 48 | 43,5 | 34,00 | 1914 | |||
| 8 | 27 | Mascia Germano | ITA | 1884 | 6,5 | 46 | 43 | 31,50 | 1846 | |||
| 9 | 83 | Naimanov Rinat | KAZ | 1671 | 6 | 50,5 | 46 | 32,50 | 1883 | |||
| 10 | 8 | Wang Shanshan | w | CHN | 1966 | 6 | 48,5 | 44,5 | 30,75 | 1885 |
Links
Sardinia Chess Festival: Official site, fb page and instagram
