Hola! Sunway Sitges Chess festival 2017 begins!
Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival has begun. The A- tournament is definitely the centre of attraction for the entire festival. Players like Motylev, Shankland, Salem Saleh will be fighting out for the top prize. Apart from the main tournament there are some very exciting side events as well. Our youngest ChessBase India reporter Avathanshu Bhat is at Sitges in Spain and sends us this round one report. Find out more about the welcome reception and first round, as well as a pictorial representation of the environment.
The Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival is getting bigger and better with every passing year. The organizers and staff made sure that the tournament is conducted smoothly, with no delays or hassles. Players were greeted with a warm welcome reception and treated to some sumptuous appetizers and drinks.
The venue, Hotel Sunway Playa Resorts, which has a breathtaking view, was the perfect place for the tournament to take place. The A category consists of 189 players, with 26 GMs and 35 IMs.
Starting rank
| No. | Name | FideID | FED | RtgI | RtgN | sex | Typ | Gr | Club/City | |
| 1 | GM | Motylev Alexander | 4121830 | RUS | 2675 | 0 | ||||
| 2 | GM | Shankland Samuel | 2004887 | USA | 2662 | 0 | ||||
| 3 | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | 9301348 | UAE | 2638 | 0 | ||||
| 4 | GM | Melkumyan Hrant | 13302485 | ARM | 2633 | 0 | ||||
| 5 | GM | Zubov Alexander | 14109409 | UKR | 2626 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | GM | Edouard Romain | 633429 | FRA | 2621 | 0 | 2614 | Club de Ajedrez Sestao | ||
| 7 | GM | Bologan Victor | 13900048 | MDA | 2607 | 0 | ||||
| 8 | GM | Kozul Zdenko | 14502879 | CRO | 2607 | 0 | ||||
| 9 | GM | Can Emre | 6302181 | TUR | 2605 | 0 | H | |||
| 10 | GM | Agrest Evgenij | 1705024 | SWE | 2600 | 2593 | 2591 | Colon Sabadell Chessy |
The first Round for the A category began at 16.30 hours on 15th of December 2017.
Motylev was playing against Spanish FM Jordi Cuadras. He played a very interesting exchange sacrifice which led to a position of great complications. But he did manage to overcome his opponent in the complex middlegame.
The B category consists of 88 players.
Parallel to the Open tournament are a lot of events that one can enjoy. A Grandmaster Simultaneous Exhibition was conducted by GM Oleg Romanishin and GM Awonder Liang. The latter is just 14 years old!
Round 2 pairings:
Category A:
Category B:
There is a lot more to say about the accommodation, arrangements, playing arena and about the man behind the scenes, Mr. Oskar. But this will follow in the second report that will be published on ChessBase India after a couple of days! Until then I wish all the players at Sunway Sitges the best and urge the readers to follow this exciting tournament.
About the author:
Avathanshu Bhat is a 12-year-old chess player from Mumbai. Apart from being a chess fanatic, he is a voracious reader and his favourite books include Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and the complete adventures of Feluda by Satyajit Ray. He loves Daniel King and enjoys his Power Play DVDs very much. He maintains his own blog. Like his FaceBook page for more updates!
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