VIII Internet Chess Tournament “Ciudad
de Dos Hermanas”
(Internet Chess Club (ICC), March 16th-24th 2007)
IM Michael Rahal (EDAMI, Barcelona)
The 32 qualifiers of the 8th Internet Chess Tournament "Ciudad de Dos Hermanas", which is being held on the Internet Chess Club playing zone (www.chessclub.com), have already been established. Although the official participation statistics must still be calculated, 1920 registrations to the tournament have been made, making this event the most important Internet chess tournament in the world, taking into account both the number and the level of the participants
Among the qualifiers for the final stage on Friday, March 23rd and Saturday March 24th we would like to stand out Azerbaijan GM Sharidyar Mamedyarov, who is currently number 4 on the world best player list, with a 2754 Fide Rating. Another world-class player who has qualified is American GM Gata Kamsky (Fide Rating 2705). You won't find many events with a 1.800 euro first prize with this level of competition. Also qualified is another American GM, Hikaru Nakamura (2651 Fide Rating ), number 55 on the list, in addition to FIDE Vice-President, GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili (2632 Fide Rating), number 83 on the world's list, and Bulgarian GM Kiril Georgiev (2661 Fide Rating), world number 43. Along with these world-class players, many other strong GM's have qualified to the final, along with some strong +2400 International Masters. Lastly, another strong player to have qualified is the American player Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, who, although doesn't have an international title, has a Fide Rating of 2449.
Below you will find the complete relation of qualified players, sorted by rating, and on the main page of ICC http://www.chessclub.com/resources/event/doshermanas2007/ the pairings of the 1/16 final have already been published. The winners of the 12 qualifiers plus the 18 best other finishers are seeded by FIDE rating in the knockout finals played Friday March 23 starting at 3:00 pm EDT and Saturday March 24 starting at 3:00 pm EDT.
The total prize fund is 7.700 euros, with a first prize of 1.800
euros. As a novelty this year, 16 new cash prizes have been added,
increasing the prize fund in 1600 euros, so that now the 32 finalists all win
a cash prize. In addition, the first six non GM-IM players classified will receive
a free 6-months subscription to ICC, twelve free 6 month free membership prizes
will be raffled between all participants in the event who finish at least one
qualifier, and also the novelty that
the
three players who accumulate most points during all the qualifying events will
win a 6-month free subscription
to
ICC.
Complete standings and other interesting information can be found at the Dos Hermanas web site www.doshermanas.net. The complete game file of the 12 qualifying tournaments can be downloaded at the link http://www.chessclub.com/resources/event/doshermanas2007/dh2007.zip
Qualifiers to the final
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