Master chess players from 35 countries in the first El Llobregat Open Chess

But chess is not only a man’s sport. In El Llobregat Open Chess will play the U12 world champion, coming from India, Savitha Shri, with an ELO, as of October 2019, of 1,916 points, although she reached her highest score in June, with 2,144 points. All these chess players mean that the Llobregat Open Chess, a few days before its celebration, has an average ELO of 2,329 points, being the highest average of the tournaments that have been held in Spain this year. Of all the registered participants, 24 have the title of Grand Master and 34 have the title of International Master.

Two hundred registrants
As of today, Llobregat Open Chess has more than 130 registered players for group A, open to all players with a valid International Chess Federation (FIDE) license and an ELO of at least 1,900 points.

For their part, more than fifty chess players have signed up for group B, open to players with an ELO of less than 2,000 points and who have not exceeded 2,100 points in the last three years. Among the approximately 200 registered players are professional players with a high ELO, from 31 countries and four continents.

On November 4, the Hotel Ciudad de El Prat will host the official presentation to the sports press, where it will be detailed that the championship has the vocation to be held annually and itinerant throughout the Baix Llobregat. The El Prat open will be directed by the editor of El Llobregat, Xavier Pérez Llorca, together with the Argentine international Master Marcelo Panelo, who will act as manager.

This initiative has the approval of the Catalan Chess Federation, with the support of the City Council and the Chess Club of El Prat de Llobregat and with the collaboration of the Diputació de Barcelona.

Pace of play
In order to dynamize the chess open, the organization proposes, in collaboration with the clubs of the region, to hold a tournament of rapid games. Although the usual pace of chess play during the championship will be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest, with an increment of 30 seconds from the first move.

The battle over the board will begin a few days before the Sunway Chess Festival in Sitges. This proximity of dates can serve as an incentive for players with a high Elo to attend the event proposed by El Llobregat and then move to the tournament in Sitges.

All the information about the two competition groups, the game rules and times, as well as last minute registrations, can be made on the tournament website, elllobregatopenchess.com.

A tournament that is already making its mark in the region. This summer the City Council of El Prat installed two tables to play chess outdoors, one of them in the Plaza de Cataluña and the other in the gardens of La Pau, both in the shade to enjoy a good game. And good will be the games that chess lovers will be able to enjoy from the 3rd to the 11th of December in the first El Llobregat Open Chess.

Savitha Shri, the precocious and talented Indian chess player arrives at Baix Llobregat

The current U12 world champion will be welcomed in El Prat as one of the most talented chess players in India and the world. Savitha Shri has an ELO as of October 2019 of 1,916, although she reached her highest score in June with 2,144 points. A talent that has come to the fore thanks to the support of his family. Savitha’s father, Baskar, left his job as an electrician in Dubai to travel with his daughter to every chess championship in the world. A way to make sure her daughter was okay and could continue to play. Baskar also became involved in Chessbase India, where he met a chess lover: Deepan Subbiah. He decided to sponsor Savitha’s tournaments in Austria. The young chess revelation keeps winning tournaments, with the unconditional support of her father, who wants to make her the best chess player in the world. We will see her live this December at the Llobregat Open Chess.

OUTSTANDING PLAYERS OF THE FIRST EL LLOBREGAT OPEN CHESS

NATIONAL

Diego Vergara, champion of Spain U12
He is from Asturias, has an ELO of 2,138, is champion of Spain and is not even 12 years old. He began to stand out in the world of chess when he was five years old. Back then, in order to see the board, he had to perch on his legs on the chair. Those who know him emphasize his ability to concentrate, unbecoming of his age, and a self-control that allows him to calculate and strategize. The triumph in the national championship was achieved in July, where he was undefeated. Another of the young prodigies that will give much play in the Llobregat Open Chess.

Del Rio Angelis, champion of Spain 2019
Born in 1976 in Argentina, Salvador Gabriel del Río Angelis was twice Spanish Junior Champion, and in 2018 he won the Spanish Absolute Championship. Del Río Angelis has been a Grandmaster since 2002 and has represented Spain in European Championships and Chess Olympiads. He currently has a FIDE ELO rating of 2,491 and will not go unnoticed in the tournament.

INTERNATIONAL

Gukesh D, second youngest Grandmaster in history
Dommaraju Gukesh, known as Gukesh D, is the second youngest person in history to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, awarded by FIDE in March 2019. At only 13 years old, he has won different continental and world championships, such as the 2018 World Junior Chess Championship or the Asian School Chess Championship in 2015, where he won 5 gold medals. For a month he was not the youngest chess player in history to become Grandmaster, an honor that goes to Sergey Karjakin. But if the youngest in India. On the verge of competing in El Llobregat Open Chess, Gukesh D has a FIDE rating of 2,520, as of October 2019.

Eduardo Iturrizaga, the great Venezuelan talent
Born in 1989 in Venezuela, Eduardo Iturrizada has the honor of being the first International Grandmaster in the history of his country since 2008. He has participated in six Chess Olympiads and won the individual bronze medal in 2006. The Venezuelan has repeatedly been in the FIDE top 100 world ranking and his latest score is 2,597.

Maxime Lagarde, champion of France 2019
Lagarde is one of the most promising chess players in France. He won the French chess championship in 2019, having placed second in the 2018 Reykjavik Open. Born in 1994, Lagarde achieved the title of International Master in 2011 and Grandmaster in 2013. He is currently considered one of the great promises of this sport in France. With a FIDE of 2,657, as of October 2019, he is in the top 10 chess players of El Llobregat Open Chess.

Karen Movsziszian, world veterans’ champion
Movsziszian, an Armenian based in Manresa, is world champion in veterans, after winning in the Slovenian city of Bled. He has been an International Grandmaster since 1994 and plays with Club Escacs Sant Andreu. He has an ELO of 2,491 and has just been crowned for the sixth consecutive time in the Open de la Pobla de Lillet, where he is highly esteemed, both by the people and by the players and companions, with whom he usually sympathizes. With his character and courageous style of play, Movsziszian stands out as one of the players to watch in the tournament.

Fernando Peralta, the great Argentinean asset
Peralta has an ELO of 2,587 and is in the top 10 players with the highest level of El Llobregat Open Chess. He was born in 1979 in Lomas de Zamora, near Buenos Aires, and is an International Grandmaster. In 2010 he received the Konex Award as one of the five best chess players of the decade in Argentina. In fact, he has represented his country in five Chess Olympiads, between 2002 and 2012 all over the world. Now, Peralta will once again be one of the assets of the Argentine delegation in the Llobregat Open Chess.

Edouard Romain, from central France to Baix Llobregat
A native of Poitiers, in central France, Romain is 28 years old and has been used to winning since he was very young. He learned to play chess at the age of five, at 15 he won the European Youth Chess Championship in 2006 in Herceg Novi (Montenegro), in the U-16 category and at 17 he was already an International Master. In 2012 he managed to become champion of France, a country he represented in three chess Olympiads and three European Championships. He currently has a rating of 2,635 in the latest FIDE ranking.

Savitha Shri, the Indian talent arrives in Baix
The current U12 world champion will be welcomed in El Prat as one of the most talented girls in Indian chess. Savitha Shri has a FIDE ELO, as of October 2019, of 1,916, although she reached her highest rating in June with 2,144 points. A talent that has come to the fore thanks to the support of his family. Savitha’s father, Baskar, left his job as an electrician in Dubai to travel with his daughter to every chess championship in the world. A way to make sure her daughter was okay and could continue to play. Baskar also became involved in Chessbase India, where he met a chess lover: Deepan Subbiah. He decided to sponsor Savitha’s tournaments in Austria.