Reykjavik Open 2010

The traditional tournament scheduled for 24th February - 3rd March, 2010, GM Vladimir Baklan is top-seeded

The Reykjavik Open 2010 is set to take place on 24th February - 3rd March, 2010. The website of the tournament is www.chess.is and the e-mail of the organize committee is reykjavikopen2010@gmail.com.

There are, of course, many reasons for participating in Reykjavik open 2010. Iceland is a traditional place of chess and most of the current chess elite has played in Reykjavik one time or another. And Reykjavik hosted the "Match of the Century" in 1972.

Iceland has a long history of chess activities, dating from the Middle Ages. The Reykjavik Chess Club was founded in 1900 and ever since chess tournaments have been organized in Iceland on a regular basis. Most Icelanders know how to play chess and local Grandmasters were, for a period of time, amongst the celebrities.

Iceland's first grandmaster, Fridrik Ólafsson, was in fact her first "celebrity", and every popular media followed his ventures with a great interest and the public flocked to watch, as he showed his magic in Reykjavik.

Most chessplayers know Iceland's affiliation to chess and her reputation for hosting great tournaments. The first Reykjavik international tournament took place in 1964. The magician from Riga emerged the winner. In 2008 the Chinese duo, Wang Hao and Wang Yue, along with the Icelandic champion Hannes Stefánsson, tied for the 1st place.

Despite the crises, Reykjavík Open in 2009 was the most crowded in her history. 110 participants from 21 countries took part. It was the first Reykjavík Open in odd number year despite the crises - Hédinn Steingrímsson, Hannes Stefánsson and Yuiry Kryvoruchko were the winners.

In fact, those who play in Iceland have the tendency of wanting to return as soon as possible. Playing in Iceland is a venture you cannot dismiss.

Reykjavik 2010

Iceland has changed drastically in the last months. The banks went bankrupt, the currency was devalued by around 50% or more. Iceland is facing the worst economic crisis since the World War I era.

However, every cloud has a silver lining. Tourists are now flocking to Iceland as never before. Hotels are fairly cheap, as well as most consumer goods. If you want to buy Armani, Boss, Gucci, or other expensive labels, Iceland is the place to shop. Food is now fairly cheap for tourists and other visitors, as well as travels and leisure.

Reykjavik has been named as among the "places to visit" in 2009. Her nightlife is renowned throughout the Western World and beyond, and there are many wonderful places to visit in or close to the capital. You can go swimming in one of Reykjavik's geothermal outdoor swimming pools, go to the gym or just relax and prepare for your next game in your comfortable hotel room.

Hoping to see you in Reykjavík in February!

All information at www.chess.is

Gunnar Bjornsson
President of the Icelandic Chess Federation

Top seeded players

GM Baklan Vladimir UKR 2654
GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2650
GM Sokolov Ivan BIH 2649
GM Kuzubov Yuriy UKR 2634
GM Shulman Yuri USA 2624
GM Ehlvest Jaan USA 2600
GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2581
GM Gupta Abhijeet IND 2577
GM Stefansson Hannes ISL 2574
IM Lenderman Alex USA 2560
GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2554
GM Kveinys Aloyzas LTU 2536
GM Nataf Igor-Alexandre FRA 2534
GM Miezis Normunds LAT 2533
GM Kogan Artur ISR 2524
IM Grandelius Nils SWE 2515
GM Romanishin Oleg M UKR 2512
GM Danielsen Henrik ISL 2495
IM Nyzhnyk Illya UKR 2495
GM Galego Luis POR 2487
IM Cori Jorge PER 2483
IM Harika Dronavalli IND 2471
GM Ivanov Mikhail M RUS 2465
IM Krush Irina USA 2455
IM Boskovic Drasko SRB 2454
FM Grover Sahaj IND 2448
IM Bromann Thorbjorn DEN 2434
IM Gunnarsson Jon Viktor ISL 2429
GM Thorhallsson Throstur ISL 2426
WIM Cori T Deysi PER 2412
WGM Karavade Eesha IND 2405
IM Thorfinnsson Bragi ISL 2398
IM Tania Sachdev IND 2398