Tomashevsky and Goriachkina are Russia’s Chess Champions (Photos)

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The Russian Championship Superfinals, the 68th for men and the 65th for women, were completed in Chita on August 20.

In the men’s tournament, Igor Lysyj defeated Vladislav Artemiev. The games Tomashevsky – Svidler, Jakovenko – Karjakin, Vitiugov – Khairullin, Dubov – Motylev, and Khismatullin – Bukavshin were drawn.

The Saratov grandmaster Evgeny Tomashevsky became the Russian champion with 7.5 points out of 11. The silver medal went to the Muscovite Sergei Karjakin, who scored 7 points. The bronze winner, Nikita Vitiugov from St. Petersburg, lagged half a point behind.

In the women’s section, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya beat Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina defeated Natalia Pogonina, Anastasia Savina got the upper hand over Evgenija Ovod, and Marina Guseva outplayed Alina Kashlinskaya. Alexandra Goriachkina defended a difficult position in a game with Kateryna Lagno, and their game ended in a draw. Anastasia Bodnaruk and Olga Girya had a draw too.

Alexandra Goriachkina (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug) became the Russian champion with 8 points out of 11. Anastasia Bodnaruk (St. Petersburg) and Alexandra Kosteniuk (Moscow) had 7 points each; Bodnaruk became the second through additional tie-breakers.

Final standings:
Men:
1. Tomashevsky – 7.5; 2. Karjakin – 7; 3. Vitiugov – 6.5; 4-7. Artemiev, Jakovenko, Dubov, Khismatullin – 5.5 each; 8-10. Bukavshin, Lysyj, Svidler – 5 each; 11-12. Khairullin, Motylev – 4 each.
Women:
1. Goriachkina – 8; 2-3. Bodnaruk, Kosteniuk – 7 each; 4-5. Kovalevskaya, Gunina – 6.5 each; 6. Lagno – 6; 7-8. Savina, Girya – 5.5 each; 9. Pogonina – 4; 10-11. Ovod, Kashlinskaya – 3.5 each; 12. Guseva – 3.

Konstantin Ilkovsky, governor of Zabaykalsky Krai, and Anatoly Karpov, the 12th world champion, deputy of the Russian State Duma and vice president of the Russian Chess Federation, welcomed everyone at the closing.

Ilkovsky noted that hundreds of chess fans had taken autographs from the famous players during the Superfinal.

“I hope that these fourteen days of the Superfinal will stay in the memory of Zabaykalsky Krai people. One of the main goals that we set for ourselves was to bring chess in the regions to a new level, so that parents want their children to play chess and be successful people. I think we have achieved this.”

The Zabaykalsky Krai governor also expressed gratitude to the Russian Chess Federation for the opportunity to hold the Superfinal in Chita and wished the participants further victories.

Anatoly Karpov: “The Superfinal is a competition of the highest level. I congratulate the champions on the well-deserved victory. It is nice that the tournament was held in the Zabaykalsky Krai for the first time, and it is also good that other competitions were held during the Superfinal. It is important to point out the initiative and perseverance of the Zabaykalsky Krai leadership in their aspiration to have the Russian Championship in Chita. The Superfinal has never been held so far to the east yet, and I think that the Russian Chess Federation made the right choice. And, of course, holding the Superfinal in Chita will contribute to chess development in the regions. I hope that Zabaykalsky Krai will have its own champions.”

Alexander Tkachev, deputy executive director of the Russian Chess Federation: “I want to share a small secret: after we received the invitation to hold the Superfinal in Chita, we didn’t doubt for a minute that everything would be organized in the Zabaykalsky Krai at the highest level. A great thanks goes to Governor of the Zabaykalsky Krai Konstantin Ilkovsky and the entire organizing committee for your love of chess. I congratulate everyone on this chess feast, which is unfortunately nearing its end.”

The tournament results were summed up by its chief arbiter, International Arbiter Anatoly Bykhovsky. The medalists and winners were awarded by Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Tkachev, and Konstantin Ilkovsky.

All tournament participants received presents from the organizers.

The Russian Championship Superfinals were held by the Russian Chess Federation, the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation and the Zabaykalsky Krai Chess Federation, with support from the government of the Zabaykalsky Krai. The competition partners were Norilsk Nickel and the Baikalsk Mining Company.

The tournaments’ total prize fund reached 8 million rubles.

As became a tradition at these tournaments, the organizers prepared an extensive additional program for chess lovers of any age.

The tournament’s official website: http://ruchess.ru/

For more information, please contact: Eteri Kublashvili, +7-905-791-76-51, e-mail: ekublashvili@gmail.com; Elena Fedorova, 8-964-470-06-06, e-mail: epfedorova@gmail.com.