Chess Slovak Open tournament in Skalica confirmed its reputationé, with the bonus of the triumph of the houseof the host Martin Jablonickéhim
The sixth edition of the Chess Slovak Open was the highlight of the weekséit Skalickéof chesséfestival organized byéorganized by the Skalica Chess Club.
It confirmed its quickly acquired and growing reputation as a very strong tournament in Slovakia.
“When we started this event, we had just such athat ambaction. We are succeeding in fulfilling it, after all, we are even among the top of the Euro of Opoleevents and we are proud tobe a member of the world’s organizing elite,” said Milan Roman, the event director and president of the Slovak Chess Federation (SŠZ).
Ambassador of the legendary Ján Plachetka
The game was played in the hotel ****Svätá Ludmila in the locality of Tehelňa in Skalica, using the Swiss system for 9 rounds with a pace of 90 minutes and a bonus of 30 seconds for each move. The tournament was intended for chess players with ELO rating 2000 and more and its results counted for FIDE rating and standards credit. The ambassador was GM Ján Plachetka, the first member of the Slovak Chess Hall of Fame.
Local main partners of the festival (3-10 August 2024) were Energy Group, O2 Business Services and SKAND Skalica, other sponsors were K CERO Invest Real Estate & Financial, Protherm, Schaeffler, Grafobal, Didaktik, Slovanet Impact, Winterberg Winery, ROD Skalica, hotel ***Svätá Ludmila as a venue, as well as the Trnava Self-Governing Region and the Regional Chess Federation Trnava. Media support was provided by Záhorák and Pro Záhorí.
The tournament was held thanks to the support of the CAP Foundation.
The main prize fund of the Chess Slovak Open itself, also conceived as an open championship of the Trnava region, was 4850 €, while the accompanying categories (women, seniors, juniors and players with ELO up to 2300) offered an additional 2415 € after fulfilling the proposed conditions. The sum total of the financial prizes of the Skalica Chess Festival reached a value of up to €10,000.
“In total, more than 161 players from 16 countries took part in Skalica. Many of them were accompanied by family friends players orcoachesand several of them stayed with us for more than a week,“ said Milan Roman.
The winner received a trophy and a prize of 1800 euros
The winner of the Chess Slovak Open among 37 participants (4x GM) from 14 countries and with an average ELO of 2186 finally became 25-year-old local FM Martin Jablonický (now holder of the IM title) from ŠK Osuské, who scored 6.5 points, as well as Czech GM Tomáš Polák and FM Adam Frank. In addition to the trophy, he took home a prize of €1,800. Among the women, Slovenia’s Barbara Skuhalova (5.5 points), ninth in the overall results, was the best performer. She was awarded 965 € in the women’s category. She was all the more happy because she won the WIM standard.
“I am inI am very glad that this tournament contributed to the popularization of chess among the wider public and encouraged others to join this beautiful game. I am glad to see that chess in Slovakia is progressing and we have many talented players, “ said Milan Roman.
Places for Juraj Druse and Emma Walter
The 46th Slovak Open Blitz Championship – Chess Slovak Open Blitz for the Prize of the Mayor of Skalica Olga Luptakova and with the contribution of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic for 11 rounds was won by the Slovak representative IM Juraj Druska (ŠK Mladost’ Žilina).
Druska won a place at the European Championships in blitz as well as among women WFM Ema Walter (KŠN Bratislava). The place is connected with the payment of costs by the WFM. The championship in Skopje, Macedonia, is scheduled for December 6-11.
“This is a prestigious event on our chess sceneéand an important platform for Slovak players to measure forces with international competition in a fast-paced game. The tournament attracted a number of top ch chess players, who showed ourdherné games full ofé tactics and quick decision making. Once again, it was shown that chess has a strong and thriving community in Slovakia, ” concluded Milan Roman.
Contributed by both the SŠZ and the host club
The 30-year-old Lipták Drusek was followed by the third Vladimír Bochnička (KŠN Bratislava) and the fifth GM Milan Pacher (ŠK Modra).
Among 65 chess players from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Canada, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy and Ukraine, Druska scored 9.5 points out of 11 possible points. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley student triumphed by a convincing 1.5 point margin and took home €250 of the €1,500 prize fund from the SHA.
The bonuses were divided among the top ten domestic players, or female players, as well as (cumulatively, if applicable) the champions of specific categories by gender, rating and age. In addition, the host Chess Club Skalica contributed 400 euros for the most successful eight chess players regardless of the country of registration – 150 euros of which belonged to Druska.
Twenty-one-year-old Eme Walter (18th in the absolute ranking), who studies in Leuven, Belgium, was congratulated from the lower podium by Lucia Ševčíková (21st, MKŠS-KŠ Kysucké Nové Mesto) and Alena Mrvová (25th, 1. ŠK Košice) on the national title.
V rapide Sergei Movsesian’s success
The additional 7-round rapid tournament was held as the Cup of the Mayor of the Trnava Region Jozef Viskupic and was won by GM Sergej Movsesyan representing Armenia ahead of GM Milan Pacher (ŠK Modra) and FM Martin Jablonický (ŠK Osuské). The Quartet Cup, traditionally providing an opportunity for those with a maximum rating of 1999, became the prey of Jozef Benci from ŠK Doprastav Bratislava.
The Sergey Movsesian Award for the highest rating increase went to Lukáš Gay from Chess Reinter Košice. The prize for the most beautiful game of the tournament was taken from the hands of Jan Plachetka by Canadian WGM Maili-Jade Ouellet.