The Russian Championships Superfinals have ended in Barnaul. The ceremonial first move in round 11 in the D. Charochkina vs A. Goryachkina game was made by the President of the Altai Krai Chess Federation, member of the CFR Supervisory Board and tournament director Artem Polomoshnov.
In the open tournament, the main contenders for the title, Vladislav Artemiev and Andrey Esipenko, drew with Daniil Dubov and Artyom Timofeev, respectively. They each had 7 points, so the Regulations required a tie-breaker to determine the champion.
Vladislav Artemiev (above right) was the winner of both games with a “15+10” time control and thus confirmed his status as Russian champion. Our congratulations!
“The tournament has gone well for me in terms of performance. The quality of my games varied from high to not so high. The two games I won at the end of the tournament are of a good level, so I can highlight them in particular. As for poor positions, I don’t remember having any. I don’t think there were any. In my opinion the tournament saw a high level of organisation”, Vladislav Artemiev said.
The other games of round 11 ended in a draw: Dreev – Najer, Ponkratov – Grebnev, Matlakov – Makarian, and Nesterov – Grischuk.
In the open tournament, the Top-5 players have qualified for the 2025 FIDE World Cup. Daniil Dubov, the bronze medalist of the Superfinal, as well as Evgeniy Najer and Arseniy Nesterov got the spots in the World Cup.
Final standings:
1. Vladislav Artemiev – 7 points
2. Andrey Esipenko – 7
3-5. Daniil Dubov, Evgeniy Najer, Arseniy Nesterov – 6
6-7. Aleksey Grebnev, Rudik Makarian – 5.5
8-9. Aleksey Dreev, Alexander Grischuk – 5
10-11. Maxim Matlakov, Artyom Timofeev – 4.5
12. Pavel Ponkratov – 4 points.
In the women’s section, Kateryna Lagno (photo above) saved a difficult position as Black against Ekaterina Goltseva and forced a draw from a position of strength. This result was enough for her to become Russian Women’s Champion for the first time in her career. Our congratulations!
“When you win, everything is good. It is as simple as that. How can a champion complain about anything? So, everything went well for me, and I have come to like Barnaul,” Kateryna Lagno said.
Polina Shuvalova defeated Natalija Pogonina as White, and Olga Karmanova won her only tournament victory in a game against over Valentina Gunina. The games Charochkina – Goryachkina, Kovanova – Girya and Garifullina – Voit ended in a draw.
The second and third places are shared by Daria Charochkina and Aleksandra Goryachkina with 6.5 points apiece. Better tiebreakers landed Charochkina in second place.
In the women’s competition, the top three players qualified for the FIDE Women’s World Cup.
Final standings:
1. Kateryna Lagno – 7 points
2-3. Daria Charochkina, Aleksandra Goryachkina – 6.5
4-5. Polina Shuvalova, Leya Garifullina – 6
6-7. Daria Voit, Ekaterina Goltseva – 5.5
8-11. Valentina Gunina, Natalija Pogonina, Olga Girya, Baira Kovanova – 5
12. Olga Karmanova – 3.
The Superfinals were organised by the Chess Federation of Russia with support of the Russian Ministry of Sport and Timchenko Foundation in cooperation with the Government of the Altai Territory and the Chess Federation of the Altai Territory.
The CFR general partner is PhosAgro. The CFR partners are Aeroflot and Sima-land.