Aeroflot Open 2017 Begins in Moscow

Opening ceremony and drawing of lots took place in Kosmos Hotel.

On February 20, a traditional chess festival Aeroflot Open started for the 15th straight year in the Kosmos Hotel, Moscow. This is one of the strongest and most popular mass chess events in the world. 

The opening ceremony was led by the executive director of the festival, adviser of the RCF President Alexander Bakh, executive director of RCF Mark Glukhovsky, and chief arbiter of the event, international arbiter Andrzej Filipowicz. 

Alexaxnder Bakh thanked the main sponsor of the festival, Aeroflot – Russian Airlines, which supports the tournament for many years and is interested in its development. Mr Bakh also read out loud an address from the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, who also supports the event. 

According to Mark Glukhovsky, the latest study revealed that only two players of the World Top 10, Kramnik and Anand, haven't participated in the Aeroflop Open. At least 15 players from the top 20 took part in the Aeroflot Open at least once. This makes the Aeroflot Open not only one of the strongest open tournaments in the world, but also the place where the future elite players grow and demonstrate their ambition. 

Andrzej Filipowicz reminded the players about the regulations and carried the drawing of lots. The top seed Yu Yangyi was still on the road, so Mark Glukhovsky took his part, and drew a White piece, giving all players with odd numbers White in the first round. 

The festival consists of three tournaments for different rating groups. The Tournament A is led by Yu Yangyi (China, 2738). Other players rated above 2700 are Nikita Vitiugov (Russia, 2724), Ernesto Inarkiev (Russia, 2723), Maxim Matlakov (Russia, 2701), and Baadur Jobava (Georgia, 2701).

The winner of the Tournament A will participate in a supertournament in Dortmund, July 13-24. 

The classical Swiss tournament is played on February 21 – March 1. All games start at 3 pm. The traditional Blitz Tournament starts on March 2 at 10 am. The total prize fund of the festival is 140,000 Euro.

The organizers are Aeroflot – Russian Airlines, Russian Chess Federation, and Association of Chess Federations. 

Official site  

Event of Chess Results  

Photos by Eteri Kublashvili