The Chinese are coming – 31 Grandmasters playing!
Special packages for guests!
Reykjavik Open is now only in a few weeks time and is scheduled to take place 19th-27th February in Harpa, the glamorous glass hall along the Reykjavik Harbour, and probably the most spectacular playing hall any chess tournament has ever seen!
Last year, there was a record number of participants, when 198 players from 33 countries participated. This year, the record will for sure be shattered since 180 players are already registered. There are still package deals available for travel to Iceland and you can find fine hotel very much downtown at very decent price (from only 42€ per night including breakfast).
The week-end before the Reykjavik Open, there will be a national competition between Iceland and China on six boards. So China will have a particularly strong presence at the tournament with 11 players. The best known of them is Ding Liren (2708), already three times winner of the Chinese championship, even though he is only 20. The Chinese chess delegation also includes Wei Yi (2501), who is only 13 years old and the highest rated player under 14 in the world and the women world champion under 20, Guo Qi. (Although not Chinese, the Reykjavik Open will also welcome back from last year another world champion, Alexander Ipatov from Turkey, who is the world champion under 20 in the men´s section.
Many other chess heroes are also coming, the best known probably being Nigel Short, former world champion challenger, as well as an old friend of Iceland and two times winner of the Reykjavik Open Ivan Sokolov. Other players with more than 2700+ players are Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2711), David Navara (2710) and Ivan Cheparinov (2709). Some of the more notable women attending the tournament, besides Guo Qi of China, include Tania Sachdev from India and Sopiko Guramishvili from Georgia.
The home team consist of the grandmasters Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson, the most successful player of Reykjavik Open ever, Henrik Danielsen, Stefán Kristjánsson og Þröstur Þórhallsson national champion and Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson, who is now playing in Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, like Fabio Caruana, the winner of the ReykjavikOpen last year .
There will be fun in Harpa this year!
