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8/6/2018 – For the third time in his career, Sergei Movsesian won the main section of the Czech Open in Pardubice. Polish IM Lukasz Jarmula finished second and the young German IM Christopher Noe came third. Noe had a great performance but could not earn his third grandmaster norm, as he did not meet all the requirements. | Photos: czechopen.net

A strong field

A little over 300 players from 40 different countries participated in the main section of the Czech Open in Pardubice. The strong field included no less than 43 grandmasters and 66 international masters.

Sergei Movsesian arrived to the final round with a half point advantage over three competitors. Draws in the first two boards secured him sole first place with 7½/9, a remarkable feat considering the size and strength of the field (usually, first place is decided on tiebreaks under these conditions). This was Movsesian's third tournament victory in Pardubice, an accomplishment never attained before.

After his victory, the Armenian declared, "It was a big challenge for me because after last year's break, I played the grandmaster tournament again. It is true that year after year, it seems to me that it is harder. The Czech Open is always a high-quality tournament".

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Sergei Movsesian feels at home in Pardubice | Photo: Official website

A near miss for Noe

Germany almost got a new grandmaster last weekend. A few days earlier, Vincent Keymer had obtained his second GM norm in Helsingør, but luck did not favour his compatriot in the Czech Republic. 22-year-old Christoper Noe had an excellent run in Pardubice: he finished on 7/9 with a 2616 rating performance and faced an opposition with an average rating of just under 2400 Elo points.

These great numbers were not enough to get the norm, however. The rules indicate that the player must face at least three grandmasters in the event, and the fact that Noe did not face even one of the 43 GMs in the field shows how strong this Open actually is. Nonetheless, Noe had a consistent and solid performance, and he will certainly have more chances to achieve the coveted title. Moreover, he took home 25,000 Czech korunas.

Traditionally, a big German delegation travels to the neighbouring country to participate in the tournament that takes place at the local ice hockey arena. Sadly, another young German IM, Roven Vogel, retired after six rounds, while GM Philipp Schlosser was fighting at the top throughout the tournament but could only finish in 20th place on 6½/9.

The best female player in the tournament was FM Nurgyul Salimova (2317) from Bulgaria, who also took home an IM norm. The best U18 player was IM Kumar Jena Rakesh (2385) from India, who finished 22nd with 6½ points. The trophy for the best senior went to Czech GM Marek Vokac (2384). In total, 14 norms were distributed this year, out of which three were GM norms — obtained by Lukasz Jarmula, Johan-Sebastian Christiansen and Kacper Drozdowski.

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A big venue for a big tournament | Photo: Official website

Final standings (top 25)

All games

Translation from German and additional reporting: Antonio Pereira

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