Tuesday 31 January 2012
Today the 17 year-old Chinese Women’s World Champion
Hou Yifan played against the highest rated woman
player of all time, Judit Polgar, from Hungary. They
had never played against each other before, indeed
not even taken part in the same section of a
tournament. [continued
here]
|
 |
|
|
Hou Yifan (CHN) meets Judit Polgar (HUN)
in an historic clash |
|
Round 6 Report by
Stewart Reuben
Monday 30 January 2012
Today there were several games
which were really exciting. They aren’t necessarily
going to win the Best Game Prize as usually there
were many errors on both sides. Personally I like
chess which is full of action in which nobody knows
what is going on until months or years later.
[report
continues here]
Masterclass
30.01.12 - Monday's
masterclass was presented by Zoltan Almasi and Alberto David. If you missed it, watch
it all here.
28.01.12 - There were two
fascinating Masterclasses with Michael Adams and Emil Sutovsky
at 21.00hrs in the commentary room. If you haven't yet seen
them, watch both here Runtimes: 28
mins & 30 mins |
Round 2 Report by
Stewart Reuben
Wednesday 25 January 2012
The life-blood of publicity
for chess tournaments is the games of the players. The better the games, the
more they will be circulated. Since there were so many clashes at the top,
there were a very large number of entertaining games considering it is only
the second round. Some of the games will be anthologised and played over for
many years to come in many different countries.
However the game between
Artur Jussupov GER 2569 and Peter Svidler RUS 2749 was not one of them. The
game was a very fair draw after 30 moves, but there should be a Chessbase
symbol for such games. Virtually all the other games were in complete
contrast and provide a very enjoyable experience when played through.
[report continues here]
Round 1 Report by
Stewart Reuben
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Monday evening there was the usual very pleasant ceremony to start the
congress fully. The Minister for Sports, Leisure, Culture and Heritage
Steven Linares was introduced by Stuart Conquest and then made a short
speech. Miss Gibraltar, Michelle Pedersen, then did the Drawing of Lots for
the first round in the Masters. This is a somewhat more elaborate affair
than in most other countries. There then followed a buffet laid on by the
Caleta Hotel with their customary hospitality. The highlight of the
subsequent evening in the bar was Maria Jose Rescaglio Yarur, who plays in
the Amateur, singing, accompanying herself on a stringed instrument.
[continue reading here]
Monday 24 January 2012
CHESS FESTIVAL
IS 'A MARQUEE EVENT' SAYS REIGNING WORLD CHAMPION
At the opening reception on Monday night
Gibraltar Culture and Sports Minister Steven Linares
weclomed all the players and thanked them for coming
to the Rock to play in the tournament. Mr Linares
wished all well in their game and hoped all would
enjoy the festival. Tournament director, Stuart
Conquest, addressed the familiar faces in the
gathering in the main hall by opening with well
wishes for a successful tournament from the current
World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand.
[more
press releases]
Monday 23 January, 2012
WOMEN IN CHESS IN A MIXED EVENT
Led by the brilliant Judit Polgar, the youngest of the three Hungarian
sisters who between them broke every chess record in the books, this year’s
female contingent includes champion players from China, India, Russia, the
Ukraine, and the USA.
[more
press releases]
Monday 23 January, 2012
Chess players from all over the world continue to
arrive at the Caleta Hotel for what will be the best
and greatest chess open tournament ever held in
Gibraltar and the world – the 2012 Tradewise
International Chess Festival. There is no denying
that the tournament celebrating its tenth
anniversary has attracted some of the world's
leading Grandmasters and the largest concentration
of women players.
[release
continues here]
Wednesday 4 January, 2012
10 days of Chess 24th January to
2nd February, 2012
It is now official! Every chess
player in the world wants to play in Gibraltar this
year to celebrate 10 years of chess. The popularity
and over subscription of the 2012 Tradewise
Gibraltar Chess Festival Masters tournament has
meant that organisers have had to close the Masters
tournament to any further entries.
The record number of entries
and its overall success is a reaffirmation that the
tournament in its tenth edition will be the most
important open tournament in the world. It boasts
the participation of 57 Grand Masters, 11 of which
are rated 2700 or over, attracting some of major
names in both the men's and the women's game with a
total of 240 players competing in the 2012 Gibraltar
Masters. This is a record on both counts for
Gibraltar.
The Amateur and Challenger tournaments played
simultaneously remain as popular as ever and entries
are still being taken for these.
| |
 |
| |
Tournament Organiser
Brian Callaghan OBE |
Organiser Brian Callaghan, who received an OBE in
the New Year's honours list appointed by Her Majesty
The Queen for his services to tourism and chess (see
below), is delighted with the growth and success of
the festival. "I am ready to welcome all the top
chess players in the world to our tournament at the
end of this month, and looking forward to the best
10 days of chess yet. It is indeed an honour to be
hosting the 10th edition of the festival in
Gibraltar, important too because it falls in the
Diamond Jubilee year," he said.
The 2012 tournament promises to be stronger than
ever before and will be enjoyed by a huge internet
audience, thanks to Gibtelecom's innovative
technology and the unique, built-for-purpose
webcasting suite installed at the Caleta Hotel.
Hosting the broadcasts this year is Macauley
Peterson, a freelance mediamaker. He was voted 2008
"Chess Journalist of the Year" by the Chess
Journalists of America, and has written in Chess
Life, Chess Life Online (U.S.A.), New in Chess
(Netherlands), "64" (Russia), Chess (U.K.), and
elsewhere.
Her Majesty The Queen appointed Brian Callaghan
to be Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the
British Empire ("OBE") for services to tourism and
chess. Brian Callaghan is the driving force behind
the Gibraltar Chess Festival, which will shortly
celebrate its 10th anniversary and now attracts 300
players from over 40 countries, including some 50
grand masters. He is also a former Deputy Chairman
of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
Make a note in your diary ...
| Masters (Open to all): |
Tues 24 January - Thurs 2
February |
(10-round Swiss, FIDE rated) |
| Challengers A (Under
2250): |
Mon 23 January - Fri 27 January |
(5-round, Swiss, FIDE rated) |
| Challengers B (Under
2250): |
Sat 28 January - Wed 1 February |
(5-round, Swiss, FIDE rated) |
| Amateurs A (Under 1800): |
Mon 23 January - Fri 27 January |
(5-round, Swiss, FIDE rated) |
| Amateurs B (Under 1800): |
Sat 28 January - Wed 1 February |
(5-round, Swiss, FIDE rated) |
Play starts every morning at 10am. The Masters
start every afternoon at 3pm.
Alice Mascarenhas, Chess
Press Officer
Steve Connor, Webmaster
| Download this press release |
 |
Word |
|
PDF |
| |
|
|
|
|
Links to all press releases are
here.
|
 |
|
|
FIDE World Women's Championship 2011 |
|
• Games
in PGN
•
Official website
Prizes
02.08.11 -
Prize money as been increased to an amazing £155,000.
See full prize lists.
2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival:
Masters (Open to all): Tues 24 January -
Thurs 2 February (10-round Swiss, FIDE rated) Challengers A (Under
2250): Mon 23 January - Fri 27 January (5 rounds, FIDE rated)
Challengers B (Under 2250): Sat 28 January - Wed 1 February (5 rounds,
FIDE rated) Amateurs A (Under 1800): Mon 23 January - Fri 27 January (5
rounds, FIDE rated) Amateurs B (Under 1800): Sat 28 January - Wed 1
February (5 rounds, FIDE rated)
Click to see the detailed
schedule.
|
Increased prizes
Norm opportunities
Top female participation
Commonwealth prize
Master classes with elite players
Two evening blitz events
|
|
Live game commentaries
Gala dinner
5-round Morning Events
Challengers A and B
Amateurs A and B Increased prizes
Women's awards
|
| |
|
|
|
All events hosted by the
Caleta Hotel.
August saw the inaugural Gibraltar
Junior International Chess Festival for players aged under 16
and under 12, held at the Caleta Hotel from 18-23 August 2011.
For full details, click here.
En Agosto tenemos el primer Festival
Internacional de Ajedrez Junior de Gibraltar
(llegada el 18 de agosto 2011 y salida el 23)
The event is run under the auspices of the English Chess Federation.
