8th Internet Chess Tournament “Ciudad de Dos Hermanas”

(Internet Chess Club (ICC), 16th-24th March, 2007)
IM Michael Rahal (EDAMI, Barcelona)
 

The winner of the 8th edition of the Ciudad de Dos Hermanas Internet Chess Tournament, played on the Internet Chess Club, was Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (formerly Jorge Zamora), owner of the ICC handle NECF-InSchools. Although having no IM or GM title, but a 2449 international rating, Sammour-Hasbun defeated three grandmasters in the final three knockout rounds, to win the €1,800 EUR first prize. Nearly 2000 players participated in the event, more than 300 of them international titled players.

Dos Hermanas is a Spanish City 15 km south if Seville, with nearly 115.000 residents. It is famous for being the venue during many years of the famous Dos Hermanas World Class tournament, which has now sadly disappeared.  The city' name, which means "Two Sisters" dates from its foundation in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castile and honours the sisters of Gonzalo Nazareno, one of the king's principal military commanders

The 12 qualifying tournaments left an impressive field of world-class players for the quarterfinals, which included GM's Shahriyar Mamedyarov, Tigran L. Petrosian, Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura, Kiril Georgiev and Sergey Shipov, along with up to 32 other players including many strong IM's. A lot of other very strong players didn't even make the finals. Jorge Zamora was a chess child prodigy. He won the Under 10 World Championship in 1988, the same year and at the same venue that one Alexei Shirov became Under 16 World Champion,  and he also became under 12 world champion a couple of years later. Jorge’s family emigrated from Palestine to America and there, at the age of 15 he already had a USCF rating of 2500 and an over-the-board defeated of Gata Kamsky.  He has an ambitious over-the-board comeback planned now on the back of his resounding victory at Dos Hermanas, an event regarded by many as the world’s premier online chess tournament. Those of you who are interested to learn about the background of the winner can listen to the 27 minute interview (in English), recorded live, just minutes after his harrowing 227 move draw to guarantee the match win against runner-up GM Tigran L Petrosian. The interview is conducted by Macauley Peterson.

The complete classifications, games in PGN format, and other interesting information can be found at the official Dos Hermanas website.

Prize winners

Place Real Name Prize
1st Jorge Sammour-Hasbun EUR 1,800
2nd GM Tigran L. Petrosian EUR 900
3rd/4th GM Hikaru Nakamura EUR 600
3rd/4th GM Rasul Ibrahimov EUR 600
5th-8th GM Shahriyar Mamedyarov EUR 250
5th-8th IM Farid Khanlar Abbasov EUR 250
5th-8th GM Sergey Shipov EUR 250
5th-8th GM Kiril Georgiev EUR 250
9th-16th GM Jan Smeets EUR 150
9th-16th GM Vitali Golod EUR 150
9th-16th GM Ronen Har-Zvi EUR 150
9th-16th GM Yaroslav Zinchenko EUR 150
9th-16th GM Gata Kamsky EUR 150
9th-16th GM Zhang Zhong EUR 150
9th-16th GM Farrukh Amonatov EUR 150
9th-16th GM Gadir Guseinov EUR 150
17th-32nd IM Levon Babujian EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Namig Guliyev EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Pavel Jaracz EUR 100
17th-32nd IM Manuel Leon Hoyos EUR 100
17th-32nd IM Boris Savchenko EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Arthur Kogan EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Miron Sher EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Dusan Popovic EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Keith Arkell EUR 100
17th-32nd IM Yuri Vovk EUR 100
17th-32nd IM Alex Lenderman EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Valeriy Aveskulov EUR 100
17th-32nd GM Daniel Fridman EUR 100
17th-32nd IM Georg Meier EUR 100