SPARKASSEN
CHESS MEETING
2005
8
to 17 July 2005 |
Press release
World-Class Field Will Compete for the Dortmund Trophy –
Grand Chess Festival in the Heart of the City
The chess world elite in the super tournament, open Elo tournament and open
tournaments, artistic works on the theme of chess, blitz tournament with the
grand masters, live commentary, specialized publications, software and books:
Dortmund is preparing for Germany’s most renowned chess festival that
will fascinate fans once again this summer: the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
– this is the 33rd time for the “Internationalen Dortmunder Schachtage” – will take place in the heart of the city from 8th to 17th July, with a varied
bill of first-class sports and an entertaining programme surrounding the event.
A world-class field of ten grand masters, among them six out of the top ten,
will compete for the Dortmund trophy in Dortmund Civic Theatre. The quality
of the participants (the tournament is classed Category 19) once again strengthens
Dortmund’s position among the leading tournaments in the world.
Among the contestants is the world champion: Vladimir Kramnik
(29) from Russia. Last October the serial winner and record-holder in Dortmund
(six tournament victories) defended his world champion title in classical chess
successfully. In Dortmund he will encounter his opponent from the world championship
finals, Peter Leko. The 24-year old Hungarian (twice Dortmund
winner) presented the champion with a great challenge and missed the world
champion title just by a hair’s breadth. In January Leko proved his strength
by his victory in Wijk aan Zee.
Veselin Topalov (30) from Bulgaria ranks among the top favourites
of the tournament. By now he has reached third position of the current ranking
and showed his enormous power in Spanish Linares where he became joint winner.
Peter Svidler (28) from Russia wants to reach for the Dortmund
trophy again after achieving third place last year. Michael Adams
has the same ambition. For two years the 33-year old stayed away from the Westphalian
capital, now he joins the competition for the title in Dortmund’s theatre
again.
This year further strong players from Western European countries will join
the field: for example Etienne Bacrot, the sixth player out
of the world’s top ten. He is only 22 years old and already ranks 9th
in the world, so his will be an exciting debut in Dortmund. This also applies
to further newcomers to the Sparkassen Chess Meeting: Loek van Wely
(32) is no 1 in the Netherlands. The Danish colours will be represented by
31-year old Peter Heine Nielsen who has been part of the extended
world elite for some time.
With his victory at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow Emil Sutovsky
from Israel won his qualification for the Sparkassen Chess Meeting. In addition
to Bacrot, Van Wely and Nielsen the 27-year old will be the fourth new face
in Dortmund. Arkadij Naiditsch will once again face the challenge
of the strong competition, this will be the third year of his participation
in the Super Tournament. The 19-year old Dortmund local champion, who gained
a strong 5th place in last year’s Chess Meeting, has established his
position among the top 100 in the world ranking.
The tournament will be played in one group. In a total of nine rounds each
of the grand masters will play each of his opponents once (no play on 13th
July). The winner of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting will be the player who has
gained most points after the nine rounds.
Dortmund Civic Theatre offers the perfect ambience for experiencing the “Battle
of Brilliance“ from close by: all matches will be relayed live to big
projection screens, and expert commentaries by the German grand masters Dr
Helmut Pfleger and Klaus Bischoff via headphones will enable the audience to
follow the matches minutely. In the foyer chess fans will find the latest publications,
software and books on their sport. The sculptor Gautam will lead other artists
in the presentation of their ideas and works on the subject of "Chess
in Art". In Dortmund town centre the festival atmosphere of the Sparkassen
Chess Meeting will be enhanced further by the traditional Sparkassen Open (Town
Hall) as well as a blitz chess tournament (Berswordt Hall) where the grand
masters of the Super Tournament may be challenged by amateurs.
Full Schedule
Round 1: Friday, July 8, 15:00h |
Peter Leko |
- |
Loek van Wely |
Michael Adams |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
- |
Emil Sutovsky |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Peter H. Nielsen |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Games – Report |
|
Round 2: Saturday, July 9, 15:00h |
Loek van Wely |
– |
Etienne Bacrot |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
Emil Sutovsky |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Peter H. Nielsen |
Peter Leko |
- |
Michael Adams |
Games – Report |
|
Round 3: Sunday, July 10, 15:00h |
Michael Adams |
- |
Loek van Wely |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Peter H. Nielsen |
- |
Emil Sutovsky |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
- |
Peter Leko |
Games – Report |
|
Round 4: Monday, July 11, 15:00h |
Loek van Wely |
– |
Peter Svidler |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Peter H. Nielsen |
Emil Sutovsky |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Peter Leko |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Michael Adams |
- |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
Games – Report |
|
Round 5: Tuesday, July 12, 15:00h |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
- |
Loek van Wely |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Emil Sutovsky |
Peter H. Nielsen |
- |
Peter Leko |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Michael Adams |
Games – Report |
|
Rest day: Wednesday, July 13 |
|
Round 6: Thursday, July 14, 15:00h |
Loek van Wely |
- |
Emil Sutovsky |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Peter Leko |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Michael Adams |
- |
Peter H. Nielsen |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Games – Report |
|
Round 7: Friday, July 15, 15:00h |
Vladimir Kramnik |
– |
Loek van Wely |
Emil Sutovsky |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Peter Leko |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Michael Adams |
Peter H. Nielsen |
- |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
Games – Report |
|
Round 8: Saturday, July 16, 15:00h |
Loek van Wely |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Peter Leko |
- |
Emil Sutovsky |
Michael Adams |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Peter H. Nielsen |
Games – Report |
|
Round 9: Sunday, July 17, 13:00h |
Peter H. Nielsen |
– |
Loek van Wely |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Peter Leko |
Emil Sutovsky |
- |
Michael Adams |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Arkadij Naiditsch |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Games – Report |
|
Sparkassen Open A and B
Traditionally, a big open tournament with 250 places is offered. The Sparkassen
Open is divided into two classes: Open A (Open ELO Tournament) and Open B (Amateur
Open). The venue will be the town hall (Rathaus) of the City of Dortmund at
Friedensplatz. Each day play begins at 11 a.m.. The conditions for the Open
Tournaments, with information on registration, may be found on the internet
under Schachfreunde Brackel
as well as on the official organizers’ homepage (see links below).
Chess and Art in the Civic Theatre
Works of art dealing with the phenomenon of chess will accompany the Dortmund
Sparkassen Chess Meeting. In co-operation with the Dortmund artists’
association Kunstknoten the sculptor Gautam as the artistic
director of the exhibition will present a wealth of creative ideas in Dortmund
Civic Theatre.
Blitz Tournament with the Grand Masters on 13th July
Testing one’s skills against the greatest in chess: this is a pleasure
hobby players can look forward to on 13th July. On the day of rest in the Top
Tournament all ten grand masters will play blitz matches against ambitious
young talents and amateur players in the Berswordt Hall opposite the town hall.
Over the years this blitz chess event has developed into a permanent fixture
of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting. From 13th June registrations will be accepted
by Sparkasse Dortmund.
Please state your full name, e-mail address as well as your telephone number.
Special Programmes on WDR Television
Westdeutscher Rundfunk will produce two of their popular special programmes
covering the Dortmund Chess Meeting. These one-hour programmes will be broadcast
on 11th and 18th July and repeated in the morning programme of the following
day.
Advance Ticket Sales
Tickets may be booked with Theater Dortmund, Kuhstraße 12, D-44227 Dortmund,
Telephone:
+49 231/50-27222. Alternatively tickets may be ordered via the organizer’s
homepage under the address karten_dortmund@chessgate.de. A day ticket costs
6 euros, concessions 4 euros. A ticket valid for all nine days is available
for 35 euros.
Staying at the Grand Masters’ Hotel
During the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting chess fans may book into the Park Inn
Dortmund, the grand masters’ hotel, at special rates (single room 65
euros, double room 75 euros per night, including breakfast). Please book direct
with the hotel and quote "Sparkassen Chess-Meeting":
Park Inn Dortmund, Olpe 2, D-44135 Dortmund, Tel. +49 231 543200, Fax: +49
231 574354, e-mail: sandra.ruehlemann@eventhotels.com. Hotel information: www.parkinn.com.
Rolf Behovits, Press Officer Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
Contact by e-mail: pr-behovits@uumail.de.
Links