23 September 2022

Daniil Dubov Wins Russian Championship Superfinal in Cheboksary

Valentina Gunina became the five-time Russian women's champion.


The Russian Championship Superfinals among men and women are over in the city of Cheboksary. 
 
In round eleven, the race leader Sanan Sjugirov drew Andrey Esipenko, and Daniil Dubov caught up with him by defeating Ilia Iljiushenok. The regulations required that Sjugirov and Dubov play a tiebreaker match. Both rapid and the Armageddon games ended in a draw, and Dubov, who had had black pieces in the “sudden death” game, was declared a winner.  
 
Daniil Dubov: “My initial strategy for the entire tournament was minimising risks and trying to outplay underdogs. And I have coped with this task indeed. This is not exactly something to be proud of creatively, but I am happy from the athletic point of view. I had three chances and won all those games, including game eleven. We were both exhausted going into the tie-breaker, and you can see it in the games. However, luck sided with me in "Armageddon", which clearly is always a flip of the coin. My trembling hands did not let me down. High five to Sanan for doing such a great job in this tournament!”
 
In other games of the final round Volodar Murzin defeated Evgeniy Najer, whereas Nesterov – Tomashevsky, Matlakov – Artemiev, and Chigaev – Rakhmanov ended in a draw.
 
Evgeny Tomashevsky, Vladislav Artemiev and Volodar Murzin have scored 6 points apiece. Better tiebreakers have favoured Tomashevsky. 
 
Final standings:
 
1. Daniil Dubov, 2. Sanan Sjugirov – 7 points out of 11
3-5. Evgeny Tomashevsky, Vladislav Artemiev, Volodar Murzin – 6
6. Ilia Iljiushenok – 5.5
7-11. Evgeniy Najer, Maxim Matlakov, Maksim Chigaev, Andrey Esipenko, Aleksandr Rakhmanov – 5
12. Arseniy Nesterov – 3.5.
 
In the women's section, Valentina Gunina literally whitewashed Evgenija Ovod as Black to become five-time Russian women's champion with 8 points out of 11.
 
Valentina Gunina: “Of course, I am very happy no matter the fatigue. My victory over Evgenija Ovod is one of the most significant when taking into account my condition going into the final round. When my coach and I would analyse the following day, it became clear that the games quality left much to be desired. However, technique, calculation, and fighting qualities have remained as is, of course.”
 
Marina Guseva drew Natalija Pogonina to finish with 7.5 points. The bronze medal went to Olga Girya after drawing her game against Alina Bivol.
 
In other encounters, Leya Garifullina and Ekaterina Goltseva outplayed Daria Charochkina and Maria Yakimova, respectively. Galliamova – Zhapova ended in a draw. 
 
Final standings: 
 
1. Valentina Gunina – 8 points out of 11
2. Marina Guseva – 7.5
3. Olga Girya – 6.5
4-6. Alina Bivol, Alisa Galliamova, Ekaterina Goltseva – 5.5
7-10. Evgenija Ovod, Leya Garifullina, Natalija Pogonina, Daria Charochkina - 5
11. Yana Zhapova – 4.5
12. Mariya Yakimova – 3. 


***

 
The Russian Championship Superfinals among men and women take place in Cheboksary as part of the Chess in Museums project, jointly organised by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Foundation. The tournament venue is the Chuvash State Art Museum. 
 
Tournaments are held to a round-robin system in 11 rounds. Game days: September 11-16 and 18-22. Rest day – September 17. Each round begins at 15:00. 
 
The total guaranteed prize fund makes 11 million rubles: 7 million rubles in the open and 4 million in the women's section.
 
The Superfinals are organised by the Chess Federation of Russia with support of the Russian Ministry of Sport, the Government of the Chuvash Republic, and the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Foundation. 

The CFR general partner is PhosAgro. The tournament partners are Aeroflot, Akkond, Gazprombank, and Locko-Bank. 

Tournament on Chess-Results (Open)

Tournament on Chess-Results (Women)

Tournament page


Photos by Eteri Kublashvili