17 April 2015
Kalegin, Sveshnikov, and Dragomaretsky top the Russian Seniors Blitz Championship
Photographic report by Vladimir Barsky.
The health complex of the Moscow subway service “Lesnoy Gorodok” hosted the Russian Seniors Blitz Championship, which gathered 88 players. Evgeny Kalegin (Bashkortostan) and Evgeny Sveshnikov (Chelyabinsk) scored 9 out of 11 and shared the first place. Kalegin won the main prize due to a better tie-break score. Evgeny Dragomaretsky (Moscow) finished third with 8.5 points. Yury Balashov was tied for 4th-6th with 8 points.
Evgeny Sveshnikov, who also won the Russian Seniors Championship in classical chess, shared his impressions:
– My first visit to “Lesnoy Gorodok” was five years ago. I liked the place immediately, and I think this is one of the best tournaments or even the best. It gathers people who know each other for 50 years. I meet my old friends, people I competed with in Russian Schoolboys Championship. We recall our childhood and youth. I agree with Anatoly Bykhovsky: such tournaments are a place to talk. David Bronstein, who clearly was a genius, also said that chess is a mean of communication between people. For me the sporting results of these tournaments are only of secondary importance, and meeting good friends is the main thing.
At the closing ceremony I thanked the Seniors Committee of the RCF and the leadership of the Federation for creating such splendid conditions. No other country has anything like this. Chess veterans in Russia enjoying the real support, and it makes me happy.
Photos by Vladimir Barsky
