Player norms in the A-open of the 2nd Berlin U 25 Open possible

As last year, we can once again confirm that player norms can be achieved in the A-Open of the Berlin U25 Open.

In addition to the players visible on the published lists, we have many other registrations in the background, which will only be published once the entry fee has been transferred. This creates a certain organizational effort, especially for some foreign players.

We are currently expecting the following title holders:

GM Luis Engel (GER)

GM Szymon Gumularz (POL)

IM Ruben Gideon Koellner (GER)

IM Arad Nazari (IRI)

IM Jonasz Baum (POL)

IM Ashot Parvanyan (GER)

WGM Mobina Alinasab (IRI)

In addition, many other title holders (FM and WFM) have announced their participation.

See you in Berlin in October!

20 C-Open prizes sponsored by the Chess Tigers Shop

Many thanks to the Chess Tigers for sponsoring our C-Open!
Thanks to them we can award 20 prizes with a total value of just under 900 €!
Prizes will be awarded to the top 15 of the C-Open, the best woman, the top 2 U18 players and the top 2 U14 players. Double prizes are excluded, the higher value prize will always be awarded.
The prizes are not assigned to a fixed rank, but may be chosen in the following order:
1. Top 15 (1 to 15)
2. Women’s Prize
3. U18 Top 2 (1 to 2)
4. U14 Top 2 (1 to 2)

PrizeValue
2 hours of individual training with IM Jonathan Carlstedt160,00 €
1 voucher for a Chess Tigers seminar worth 119 Euro119,00 €
One hour individual training with IM Jonathan Carlstedt80,00 €
Tiger Leap 1500 Volumes 1-374,70 €
Free participation in one of the following tournaments (Grenke Open, Deizisauer Herbst-Open, Faschings-Open Baden Baden)70,00 €
50 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop50,00 €
Thinkers Bundle https://shop.chess-tigers.de/products/thinkers-bundle?_pos=3&_psq=Think&_ss=e&_v=1.049,90 €
Gambit books: How to play dynamic chess, 101 endgame tips and the GAMBIT tactics book39,95 €
The Checkmate Pattern Manual39,95 €
30 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop30,00 €
Silman’s endgame course29,90 €
100 endgames you must know22,80 €
Improve your chess – new edition24,95 €
Chess from A-Z19,80 €
All Stappen 6 booklets19,80 €
All Stappen 5 booklets14,85 €
10 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop10,00 €
10 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop10,00 €
10 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop10,00 €
10 € voucher for the Chess Tigers Shop10,00 €
Prizes C-Open

The “2nd Berlin U25 Open” opens its doors

Registration is now open: Registration.

The time has come: now that we have received the confirmation for the premises from the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district office of Berlin, we can announce the 2nd Berlin U25 Open. It will again take place during the Berlin school vacations. Again at the Beethoven-Gymnasium in Berlin, Lankwitz. This time from 21.10. 2024 to 27.10.2024: Announcement.

Most of the key details of the tournament have not changed: there will again be an A, B and C Open. The prize fund is again 32,000 euros this year! Once again, participation in the tournament is only possible for players aged “U25”. This means this year that players born up to 1999 can register. The tournament will therefore once again be a highlight of the young chess scene: we are firmly assuming that in the A-tournament title-norms can be obtained in 2024 as in 2023.

But there are also new features:

The first innovation is a blitz tournament on the eve of the tournament. This is open to all chess players with a FIDE ID, including coaches, parents and other fellow travelers. There is no restriction to the age of U25! We have limited the number of participants for this tournament to 92.

Further adjustments have been made according to the players’ wishes from last year’s premiere:

– Individual rounds no longer start at 10:00 am on the day, but at 4:00 pm. The only exception is the last Sunday, so that the departure from Berlin can still take place on Sunday.

– Adjustment of the Elo values for classification in the A-, B- and C-Open (background is the abolition of the Elo values from 1,000 to 1,400 and the associated increase in the Elo values up to 2,000)

– Farewell to the sports hall (some participants found the volume of the wooden floor too loud). The capacity limit of the tournament could therefore not be raised. On the contrary: we have set a limit of approx. 200 places for the A- and B- Open together.

From our point of view, nothing stands in the way of the tournament. The initial preparations in the background have been completed and the announcement is out. All we need now are the registrations. So go ahead and register!

See you in Berlin in October!

Announcement 2nd Berlin U25 Open

The 2nd Berlin U25 Open is currently being prepared! This time there will also be a blitz tournament on the first registration day. The pages are currently being updated for announcements, registration, and all other information. That’s why it still looks a bit messy in some parts.

Tournament Recap

The first Berlin U25 Open, in which 269 players from 23 nations participated, concluded successfully last Sunday with an award ceremony followed by an afterparty. The tournament at the Lankwitzer Beethoven Gymnasium went smoothly, and all minor and major challenges were successfully overcome.

For many, the tournament began on Saturday, October 21st, with the setup. Volunteers, including members of the organizing SV Königsjäger Süd-West e.V. club and parts of the arbiters team, helped preparing the tables for the games, layed carpets in the gymnasium, set up the playing equipment, and arranged the live broadcast.

The actual start of the tournament took place on Monday. At exactly 13:00, the tournament was opened by the team led by Chief Arbiter Carsten Haase, Chief Organizer Jonathan Born, and Chairman Torsten Rose, allowing the first round to commence at 13:20.

The atmosphere was excellent from the very first round in all playing areas. In the cafeteria, the first 46 boards of the A-Open were in action, providing spectators with the opportunity to watch grandmasters and international masters live, while most players participated in the first round in the large gymnasium. Additionally, Kristin Schäfer and Alois Möschl provided excellent refreshments, including sandwiches, fruits, and cakes, which were considered very affordable and satisfying from many perspectives.
Thank you, Kristin and Alois, without you, the tournament atmosphere would not have been the same!

Throughout the tournament, the positive atmosphere prevailed, even though many players were exhausted after double rounds. The arbiters team handled all emerging issues through open discussions and contributed to a positive atmosphere. Friday was particularly exciting as the C-Tournament concluded, and the award ceremony took place. Thanks to our learning partner “Chessable”, many young participants in the C-Tournament received their first DWZ ratings, and the feedback was consistently positive.

The A-Open and B-Open reached their peak over the weekend. FM Bennet Hagner maintained the lead in the A-Open and triumphed over strong grandmasters and international masters. He not only won an unusually high prize money of €5,000 but also achieved one of the required norms for the IM title. Many players who arrived from different parts of Europe achieved notable results. The top three in the A-Open, all with the same points, were completed by GM Szymon Gumularz from Poland in second place, winning €4,000, followed by IM Vadym Petrovskyi from Ukraine in third place, earning €3,000. Several players also reached an Elo rating of over 2300, a primary requirement for the FIDE Master title. Jáchym Šmolík from the Czech Republic, who finished in 7th place, also achieved an IM norm.

In the B-Open, many aspiring chess talents took impressive cash prizes home. Andrey Pichugov, who started the tournament with an incredible 7/7 and ultimately won with 7.5/9, received the top prize of €1,000 and returned to England, while Gustaf Klühs from Berlin narrowly secured second place and received €750.

After the conclusion of this incredibly strong U25 youth chess tournament, most participants made their way to the train station or the airport. However, some enjoyed the afterparty at the World Chess Club, where a large blitz tournament took place, and a DJ created a lively atmosphere.

What remains are contented faces and unforgettable memories. The organizers are already looking forward to planning and executing the 2nd Berlin U25 Open in 2024.

Tournament ended – Winner chosen

At the closing ceremony on October 29th, 43 winners of the A- and B-Opens won cash prizes. Following are the lists of rating cateories and overall winners.

  1. place A-Open: Bennet Hagner (center)
  2. place A-Open: Szymon Gumularz (left)
  3. place A-Open: Vadym Petrovskyi (right)
  1. place B-Open: Andrey Pichugov (center)
  2. place B-Open: Gustaf Klühs (right)
  3. place B-Open: Brian Heinze (left)
  4. Chief Arbiter Carsten Haase (rightmost)
Continue reading →

The 1st Berlin U25 Open & Carsten Haase

The chess club Königsjäger Süd-West e.V. organizes the 1st Berlin U25 Open in 2023. The podcast “Schachgeflüster” by Michael Busse, which is well known in Germany, interviewed the chief arbiter Carsten Haase in this context.
You can find the complete interview about our tournament on Youtube, Spotify and other platforms:

Youtube:

Spotify: