Felix Blohberger and Annika Fröwis win Austrian Championship
Felix Blohberger and Annika Fröwis emerged as the winners of the Österreichische Staatsmeisterschaft 2022. The 2022 Austrian Chess Championship, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from August 12-19 in the Vienna Chess House. Both men and women competed in one event but were ranked separately, with the highest-scoring female player claiming the title of Austrian Women’s Champion. The tournament was a very close affair, with Felix Blohberger, Christoph Menezes, Andreas Diermair and Dominik Horvath coming into the final round as joint leaders on 6/8. Blohberger and Diermair drew their games against Horvath and Nikolaus Stanec, respectively, while Menezes got an overwhelming position against Johannes Steindl with black pieces but mishandled it and eventually lost. As a result, four players tied for the top position, scoring 6½/9, but the title goes to Felix Blohberger, thanks to superior Buchholz. Felix made himself an excellent gift for his 20th birthday he is celebrating today. Congratulations! Andreas Diermair took silver, and Dominik Horvath claimed bronze. Final standings: 1 GM Blohberger Felix 2492 6½ 2 GM Diermair Andreas 2458 6½ 3 IM Horvath Dominik 2489 6½ 4 FM Steindl Johannes 2312 6½ 5 IM Menezes Christoph 2414 6 6 FM Leisch Lukas 2404 6 7 GM Stanec Nikolaus 2460 6 8 FM Morgunov Marc 2412 6 9 IM Kilgus Georg 2387 6 10 GM Shengelia David 2462 6 Annika Fröwis seemed to be rushing towards a clear victory after scoring four points after five rounds. However, he suffered three straight defeats against strong opponents and allowed Veronika Exler and Barbara Teuschler to catch up with her heading into the final round. All three ladies lost their games in Round 9 and shared first place. Buchholz variable favoured Fröwis, who took the title and completed a WIM norm with a performance of 2267. Official website: chess.at/ Photo: D. Hiermann