GM Kirill Alekseenko (Austria) is the triumphant champion of the eighth edition of the prestigious Semana Santa (Holy Week) International Chess Open. This highly anticipated event, supported by the FIDE Aid Package, was hosted in the Ginés Alenda pavilion in San Vicente del Raspeig from March 27 to April 1, witnessing an impressive turnout of nearly 600 players.
Alekseenko turned in a commanding performance, scoring 8/9 and taking clear first thanks to a crucial final-round victory over Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (Greece). GM Kasper Piorun (Poland), who drew his last-round game, and IM Dimitris Alexakis (Greece) finished a half-point behind the champion and tied for second place, with the former claiming silver thanks to a better Buchholz.
There was a three-way tie for the top position in the B Tournament. Based on the Buchholz tiebreaker, Zhuravlev (FIDE) came out on top, followed by Carretero Ajo in second and Vila Castillo (both Spain) in third. Impressively, throughout the course of the tournament, a total of seven title norms were successfully completed, including six IM and one GM.
The closing ceremony took place in the sports hall, and the prizes were awarded by the president of the Dama Negra Chess Club and organizer of the event, Patricia Claros, the representative of Chess Excelsior, David García, the representative of the International Chess Federation, Patrick Van Hoolandt, the president of the Chess Federation of the Valencian Community, Emilio González Gómez and the editor of Europe Echecs, Jean Michel Pechine.
Photos: Luis Barona
