Daniel Dardha wins Sardinia World Chess Festival 2024
Sardinia World Chess Festival 2024 Open A had an intriguing finish. It would have been difficult to predict it for anyone. Daniel Dardha (BEL), Jorden van Foreest (NED), Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) and Volodar Murzin scored wins in the final round. They all finished with the same score 7/9. Daniel and Jorden defeated the coleaders Alan Pichot (ESP) and Yair Parkhov (ISR) to dash their championship hopes. Kirill and Volodar got the better of Lorenzo Lodici (ITA) and Maksim Chigaev (ESP). The Belgium no.1 Daniel won the tournament due to better tie-break scores, Kirill second, Volodar third and Jorden fourth. IM Ramazan Zhalmakhanov (KAZ) scored his final GM-norm, crossed 2500 in the live ratings and became Kazakhstan's latest Grandmaster. Photo: Niklesh Jain
Ramazan Zhalmakhanov becomes the latest GM of Kazakhstan; Six-norms scored
The success of a GM tournament can be solely measured by how many norms are scored. The average rating of 2278 and a strong lineup gave an inkling that a lot of norms will be scored. Nobody could have predicted exactly how many until the end of the final round. Six norms - a GM-norm, three IM-norms and two WIM-norms were scored by six different players. One of them, IM Ramazan Zhalmakhanov (KAZ) became a Grandmaster too. It goes without saying the tournament was a resounding success. The total prize fund of the tournament was €50000. GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) earned €10000, GM Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) won €6000 and GM Volodar Murzin got richer by €4000 along with a trophy each. Open B and C reports will be published separately.
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L to R: Luigi Maggi, President of Federazione Scacchistica Italiana (FSI), GM Daniel Dardha, GM Kirill Shevchenko, Elisa Farris, Mayor of Sardinia, Danilo Mallò, President of the regional section of FSI, and GM FST IO Roberto Mogranzini, Tournament Director. They all distributed the prizes.
GM Alan Pichot (ESP, 2644) and GM Yair Parkhov (ISR, 2513) were the coleaders 6.5/8, heading into the final round. Both of them lost their respective games against GM Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2630) and GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2668) respectively.
Pichot - Dardha
Alan needed to find the precise defense 37.Ba6 Rb2 38.Bxb7 Bxb7 39.c6 Ba6 40.Ra7 Be2 41.Rxa4 Bxg4 and White still has good chances to fight for a draw. Instead, 37.Bc4? Re1 38.Kd2?? turned things completely in Black's favor 38...a3-+ and he won in another ten moves.
Kirill - Lorenzo
Try to think like Kirill and find out the winning continuation. It is a typical Kirill move and idea.
Jorden - Yair
Computer suggests some inhuman lines 28.Bxa7 Ra5 29.Bb6 Rxa2 30.Rd1 and evaluates White to have a decisive advantage. However, Jorden opted for the human 28.b4 a5 29.a3 Nd7 30.Rxh7 Kg8 31.Rh3 Ne5 32.Rd1 Nf7 33.Rg3 Bh4 34.Rg2 Ng5 35.c3 Nxf3 36.Rf1 Bf2 37.Rgxf2 exf2 38.Qxf2 d3 39.c4 Rxc5 40.bxc5 d2 41.Qe2 and White went on to win the complex battle.
IM Yahli Sokolovsky (ISR) became the highest non-GM finisher. He scored 6.5/9 to be placed tenth.
Norm makers
GM-norm - IM Ramazan Zhalmakhanov (KAZ) 6/9
IM-norm - FM Ezra Paul Chambers (BDI) 6/9, FM Diego Anton Vergara (ESP) 5.5/9, Giulio Lo Presti (ITA) 5/9
WIM-norm - WIM Alexandra Shvedova (ITA) 4.5/9 and FM Liya Kurmangaliyeva (KAZ) 4.5/9
Photo Gallery
For more Round 9 and Prize distribution ceremony photos, please click at the respective links. Lots of exciting, interesting game videos and interviews will be published soon, stay tuned!
Photos by Niklesh Jain: Round 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6, 7, Black and White dinner, and FIDE 100, 8, 9 and Prize distribution ceremony.
In case you missed taking part in the inaugural edition, don't fret, the second edition was announced to be held from 26th April to 3rd May 2025 at the same place Club Hotel Marina Beach in Orosei, Sardinia, Italy.
Video Gallery
Replay live stream
Replay Round 9 games
Round 9 Open A results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | Pichot Alan | 2644 | 6½ | 0 - 1 | 6 | GM | Dardha Daniel | 2630 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 4 | GM | Van Foreest Jorden | 2668 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6½ | GM | Parkhov Yair | 2513 | 20 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 1 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | 2690 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6 | GM | Moussard Jules | 2610 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 13 | GM | Gurel Ediz | 2578 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6 | GM | Sjugirov Sanan | 2689 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 3 | GM | Shevchenko Kirill | 2675 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6 | GM | Lodici Lorenzo | 2565 | 14 | PGN | ||
| 6 | 7 | GM | Murzin Volodar | 2632 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6 | GM | Chigaev Maksim | 2621 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 7 | 31 | IM | Royal Shreyas | 2455 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | GM | Lagarde Maxime | 2640 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 8 | 46 | IM | Aizenberg Benny | 2409 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | GM | Moroni Luca Jr | 2580 | 12 | PGN | ||
| 9 | 15 | GM | Sonis Francesco | 2562 | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | FM | Vergara Anton Diego | 2387 | 53 | PGN | ||
| 10 | 47 | IM | Atanasov Anthony | 2407 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | 2551 | 16 | PGN | ||
| 11 | 23 | IM | Sokolovsky Yahli | 2490 | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | IM | Bellia Fabrizio | 2384 | 54 | PGN | ||
| 12 | 24 | IM | Zhalmakhanov Ramazan | 2490 | 5½ | ½ - ½ | 5½ | FM | Ezra Paul Chambers | 2343 | 64 | PGN | ||
| 13 | 29 | IM | Agmanov Zhandos | 2458 | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | FM | Tudor Henry Edward | 2279 | 81 | PGN | ||
| 14 | 57 | FM | Carlo Emanuele | 2363 | 5 | 0 - 1 | 5 | GM | Bharath Subramaniyam H | 2544 | 18 | PGN | ||
| 15 | 19 | IM | Erdogmus Yagiz Kaan | 2540 | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | FM | Zemach Nadav | 2396 | 52 | PGN |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | GM | Dardha Daniel | BEL | 2630 | 7 | 52 | 48 | 39,75 | 2465 | |||
| 2 | 3 | GM | Shevchenko Kirill | ROU | 2675 | 7 | 49,5 | 45,5 | 38,00 | 2413 | |||
| 3 | 7 | GM | Murzin Volodar | U18 | FID | 2632 | 7 | 48 | 44,5 | 37,00 | 2459 | ||
| 4 | 4 | GM | Van Foreest Jorden | NED | 2668 | 7 | 45,5 | 43,5 | 34,50 | 2390 | |||
| 5 | 5 | GM | Pichot Alan | ESP | 2644 | 6,5 | 54 | 49 | 37,25 | 2514 | |||
| 6 | 1 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | SLO | 2690 | 6,5 | 53 | 48 | 37,25 | 2480 | |||
| 7 | 20 | GM | Parkhov Yair | ISR | 2513 | 6,5 | 51,5 | 47,5 | 34,75 | 2537 | |||
| 8 | 13 | GM | Gurel Ediz | U18 | TUR | 2578 | 6,5 | 51 | 46,5 | 35,75 | 2446 | ||
| 9 | 16 | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | SWE | 2551 | 6,5 | 49,5 | 45,5 | 34,00 | 2435 | |||
| 10 | 23 | IM | Sokolovsky Yahli | U18 | ISR | 2490 | 6,5 | 49 | 45 | 34,00 | 2430 |
Links
Sardinia Chess Festival: Official site, fb page and instagram
