Ian Nepomniachtchi and Aleksandra Goryachkina became the 2020 Russian Champions. The results of the year were recapped in the Central Chess Club.
Moscow, 17 December 2020 – A festive event, which included the awarding ceremony to the new Russian champions and the winners of the FIDE Online Olympiad, and took place in the M. Botvinnik Central Chess Club on 16 December 2020.
President of the International Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich and the Deputy Minister of Sport of Russia Andrey Selsky congratulated the members of the Russian national team, which had won the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad held in the summer of 2020, and awarded them with gold medals from FIDE.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich: "My congratulations to everyone on the victory of the Russian national team at the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad. We are very proud of you! I thank you on behalf of all your fans and wish you new successes! I hope that we will see new victories of the Russian chess players in the coming year!”
Andrey Filatov, President of the Chess Federation of Russia and Head coach of the Russian national chess team: "2020 has been a difficult ordeal for everyone. Chess has shown itself to be a very flexible sport adaptable to the realities of today. According to the existing data, the popularity of chess has increased this year. Online tournaments, master classes, and even simultaneous exhibitions proliferated during the lockdown. In addition, the Chess Federation of Russia managed to organize and host the most important tournaments on our calendar: the Superfinals, the Russian Championships Higher League, and the Russian Team Championships.
At the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad, the Russian team won gold medals, setting a record of sorts: our team now concurrently holds the titles of the winner of the Olympiad and the World and European champions. I congratulate our players and fans on this outstanding achievement, I wish you all success, victories, and, most importantly, health in the coming year!"
The Russian national team included Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daniil Dubov, Vladislav Artemiev, Andrey Esipenko, Alexey Sarana, Kateryna Lagno, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Polina Shuvalova, and Margarita Potapova. The team captain is Alexander Motylev; the Head coach of the Russian national chess team is Andrey Filatov.
At the Russian Championships Superfinals, the plot was thickening up to the final day. Ian Nepomniachtchi, the rating favorite of the open event, became the 2020 Russian champion, having repeated his success of the year 2010. Sergey Karjakin finished second, while Vladimir Fedoseev is third.
Ian Nepomniachtchi: "It is a challenging competition, in no small part due to the long pause from live chess. In general, I am not concerned about my final standings as there are other priorities, such as not to catch a virus, to get some over-the-board practice, and not to drop the rating. However, my team — coaches Vladimir Potkin and Ildar Khairullin — have done a great job predicting the upcoming openings and winning some games as early as the opening, including the most crucial matchup with Sergey Karjakin, where we managed to uncork a novelty idea."
Final Standings:
1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 7½/11
2. Sergey Karjakin – 7
3. Vladimir Fedoseev – 6½
4. Daniil Dubov – 6½
5. Vladislav Artemiev – 6
6. Maksim Chigaev – 6
7. Nitita Vitiugov – 5½
8. Peter Svidler – 5½
9. Andrey Esipenko – 5
10. Maxim Matlakov – 5
11. Aleksey Goganov – 3½
12. Mikhail Antipov – 2 (withdrew after playing only 6 games)
The women's tournament traditionally ended on tiebreak, in which Aleksandra Goryachkina and Polina Shuvalova were fighting a life and death battle. Curiously, they both were born in the small town of Orsk. Both rapid games were drawn, but Goryachkina won the "Armageddon" with white pieces and became the three-time Russian women's champion (she previously won this event in 2105 and 2017). Alexandra Kosteniuk won bronze.
Final standings:
1. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 8/11
2. Polina Shuvalova – 8
3. Alexandra Kosteniuk – 6½
4. Marina Guseva – 6½
5. Alina Kashlinskaya – 6½
6. Leya Garifullina – 6½
7. Alisa Galliamova – 6
8. Natalija Pogonina – 6
9. Olga Girya – 4
10. Valentina Gunina – 3½
11. Yulia Grigorieva – 2½
12. Tatyana Getman – 2
Aleksandra Goryachkina: "I am happy about my tournament performance. Of course, if I had won game two of the tie-break, it would have been much better, but what happened was a nerve-racking victory instead. There is much for me to work on."
The total prize fund of the Superfinals is 10 million rubles (approximately $136,000).
The medallists were given tickets to the legendary CHESS musical.
The tournament was a part of the Chess in Museums programme, which has been carried out by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Elena and Gennady Foundation since 2012.
The organizers are the Chess Federation of Russia and the Timchenko Foundation. The tournament was supported by the Russian Ministry of Sports. The general sponsor of the Russian national teams is the Federal Grid Company Unified Energy System (FGC UES). The CFR general partner is PhosAgro.
Media contacts:
Eteri Kublashvili
Press Officer
Chess Federation of Russia
Tel: +7 905 791 76 51
E-mail: ekublashvili@gmail.com
Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) (from 1992 till 2019 known as the Russian Chess Federation) is an All-Russian non-governmental organization uniting regional chess federations as well as being a member of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The Federation was founded in 1992 as a successor to the USSR Chess Federation.
The CFR charter recognizes the Federation congress as the supreme governing body to be convened at least once every four years. Besides, the collegiate governing body is the Federation’s Supervisory Board, which consists of five vice presidents and 26 representatives of regional federations. Since 2014, the sole executive authority has been vested with the President of the Chess Federation of Russia. Andrey Filatov is the CFR’s current President.
The CFR is a direct organizer of many national and international tournaments, including the Russian Championship Higher League, Russian Team Championship, and the international tournament Belaya Ladya. The CFR also hosts the Russian Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Russian Cup, the Grand Prix Rapid, and the Children's Russian Cup.
The official website of the Russian Chess Federation: https://ruchess.ru/en/
Photo: Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili
