Vincent Keymer wins 2022 German Masters
For the fourth year in a row, German Chess Summer in Magdeburg brought together hundreds of local players competing in various tournaments, this time, from August 12-24: German individual championships, German Women’s individual championships, German senior individual championships (+ 50 / + 65), German blitz individual championships, German Women’s Individual Blitz Championships, German Cup Individual Championships and many others. The top of the milk was the most prestigious German Masters, a ten-player round-robin tournament featuring the best German players. The top-rated Vincent Keymer entered the competition as the favourite and did not disappoint. The 17-year-old native of Maintz scored 7/9, conceding his opponents just four draws. Vincent’s result could have been even more impressive had he converted an overwhelming advantage in his final round game against Frederik Svane, who finished second. Keymer picked up 12 rating points and became the only unbeaten player. Frederik Svane’s performance was a pleasant surprise. The eighth-rated player stayed in the race for the top spot for the most part and earned 19 rating points. Arik Braun and Daniel Fridman netted 5 points each and tied for third place, with the former making the podium thanks to a greater number of victories. Frederik Svane facing his brother Rasmus Final standings: 1 GM Keymer, Vincent 2672 7 2 GM Svane, Frederik 2547 6 3 GM Braun, Arik 2594 5 4 GM Fridman, Daniel 2606 5 5 GM Kollars, Dmitrij 2643 4½ 6 FM Kölle, Tobias 2433 4 7 GM Svane, Rasmus 2640 4 8 GM Engel, Luis 2557 4 9 GM Huschenbeth, Niclas 2607 3½ 10 IM Rosner, Jonas 2464 2 The 24-seed Leonardo Costa (pictured above) made a splash in German Championship, claiming the title and punching his ticket to the German Masters 2023. Lara Schulze (pictured below) triumphed in the women’s category. Thilo Ehmann secured victory in the German Cup individual championship. Among the seniors, the new German champions are Arno Zude (50+) and Yuri Boidman (65+). Check out full results on the official website. Photo: Deutscher Schachbund Twitter and Deutscher Schachbund Facebook page
Belgian Championship 2022: Daniel Dardha wins third title
GM Daniel Dardha tuned in a dominating performance in the 2022 Belgian Chess Championship organized by the Koninklijke Belgische Schaakbond/Fédération Royale Belge des Echecs (Royal Belgium Chess Federation), claiming his third national title. The teenager from Antwerp previously won this event in 2019 and 2021. The champion finished three points ahead of his closest competitor Georgian-born GM Alexandre Dgebuadze. “Won the Belgian Championship for the 3rd time with 8.5/9, exceeding the 2600 mark and becoming #1 Belgium. On the next goal!” the champion wrote on his Facebook page. Photo: Daniel Dardha’s Facebook page Official website: frbe-kbsb-ksb.be/
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