Montenegro Chess Federation, in cooperation with the chess club „Elektroprivreda“ from Nikšić, organized Montenegro Chess Festival from 26th of February to 25th of March. Two IM tournaments were held in Nikšić, while the host of GM and Mix tournaments was Podgorica. IM and GM tournaments were 10 players round-robin with ten participants each. The Mix tournament has 16 participants.
Twenty-nine players from ten federations joined the tournaments. There were players from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Northern Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Montenegro. Twenty-one player held the international title, among whom were:
- 6 Grandmaster (GM)
- 8 International Master (IM)
- 5 Fide Master (FM)
- 1 Woman International Master (WIM)
- 1 Candidate Master (CM)
The two IM and a GM tournament have already been completed, while the Mix tournament is still being played.
Montenegro Chess Festival IM 2021/01, February 26th – March 4th (10 participants, 9 round)
1. Alivodic Dario MNE 2189 6,5
2. IM Nikac Predrag MNE 2320 5,5
3. GM Nikcevic Nebojsa MNE 2412 5,5
Montenegro Chess Festival IM 2021/02, March 5-11th (10 participants, 9 round)
1. FM Pecurica Milos MNE 2320 7
2. GM Nikcevic Nebojsa MNE 2412 6,5
3. IM Nikac Predrag MNE 2320 5
Montenegro Chess Festival GM 2021/01, March 12-18th (10 participants, 9 round)
1. GM Djukic Nikola MNE 2521 7
2. GM Delchev Aleksander BUL 2526 5,5
3. IM Suleymanli Aydin AZE 2512 5,5
During the second tournament, Milos Pecurica achieved the norm to qualify for the International Master title, while Dudin Gleb (RUS) has achieved the same during the Grandmaster event.
Both the top Montenegrin chess players and talented youngsters had the opportunity to participate in the tournaments. It was a distinct pleasure to host grandmaster Sanal Vahap (TUR), Aleksandar Delchev (BUL), grandmaster Thybo Jesper Sondergaard (DEN), as well as international master Suleymanli Aydin (AZE) who won last year’s Aeroflot Open.
It is worth mentioning the participation of the two world champions:
Predrag Nikac (MNE) – IBCA World Chess Champion for Blind 2019
Vladimir Klasan (SRB) – ICCD World Chess Champion for Deaf 2012
The tournaments were held according to all the public health measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic and aside from the great performances, the well-being of the players has been preserved. The great fighting spirit was present in every tournament, so it was really obvious that people missed OTB chess quite a lot in these difficult times. Most importantly, every player and left Montenegro with good health and great impressions.
We really followed every measure and listened to advices, but with players’ great discipline and smiles, everything was easy for us. Looking forward to welcome them and every new player to Montenegro!
The organizers are calling everyone who is interested in future participation to contact them, emphasizing that these tournaments are going to become traditional. The dates of the forthcoming tournaments are 16-22 April and 23-29 April. The organizers provided IM and tournaments for players with a rating below 2300, while GM tournaments will be held according to the possible interest.