Pier Luigi Basso and Elena Sedina emerged as the winners of the Italian Championship 2021 held in Chianciano Terme (Province of Sienna).

The open event, a 12-player round-robin tournament, took place from November 24 to December 11, 2021. Players had 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one.

The rating favourites Pier Luigi Basso and Luca Moroni went neck and neck, crushing the competition until Round 8, in which the future champion had a windfall: after achieving a very promising position, his opponent Francesco Sonis touched a wrong piece and resigned immediately as his rook was under attack. This unexpected victory allowed Pier Luigi to create a half-point gap from Luca, which he managed to preserve to the very end to win his maiden national title.

Alberto David also delivered a strong performance and suffered no defeats (like the champion) to take bronze.

Final standings open:

The women’s championship, an 8-player round-robin, turned into a very close race among Elena Sedina, Sara Gabbani and Giulia Sala coming into the final round jointly leading the field. Sedina pulled off a victory over Elisa Cassi, whereas her competitors suffered defeats at the hands of Marianna Raccanello and Tea Gueci, respectively. Elena Sedina won her second national title in a row with 5/7, whereas Tea Gueci leapfrogged the ex-leaders to snatch silver. Three players tied for third, with Marianna Racanello earning bronze thanks to better tiebreaks.

Final standings women:

The U20 Italian Championship, also an 8-player round-robin held in the same location, ended with a victory of Edoardo Di Benedetto, who scored an equal amount of points with Emmanuele Carlo, but came out on top thanks to better tiebreaks. Christian Palozza finished third. The champion became the only unbeaten player in the tournament.

Official website: federscacchi.it/campionati/

Photo: official website