Coming Events: Zurich, Grenke, Gashimov Memorial
Some big events are coming later this month:
1. Kortchnoi [sic] Zurich Chess Challenge: This is an eight player, seven round event featuring the quasi-classical time control of game/45, with a 30-second increment after each move. The tournament runs from the 13th to the 16th, and has a great lineup. The headliners are Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Boris Gelfand; and GMs Grigoriy Oparin (a strong teenager from Russia) and Yannick Pelletier (representing the host country) round out the field.
2. Grenke Chess Classic: This is likewise a seven-rounder, with an impressive field that includes world champion Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Levon Aronian. (The other four: Arkadij Naiditsch, Hou Yifan, Matthias Bluebaum, and Georg Meier.) Play runs from the 15th through the 22nd, with a rest day on the 18th.
3. Gashimov Memorial: The last of the big three takes place in Shamkir and is a traditional 10-player round robin, running from the 21st through the 30th, with a rest day on the 26th. The field is strong from top to bottom, with two 2800s and no one rated below 2710. Here's the field: Wesley So, Vladimir Kramnik (how will he fare playing in back to back events?), Sergey Karjakin, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Michael Adams, Pentala Harikrishna, Pavel Eljanov, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Veselin Topalov, and Teimour Radjabov.
It will be a good month for chess!