The Aeroflot Open 2009
It will take place on 16-27 February in Moscow
Official website: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/
Information and Regulationsof the International Chess Open Festival “AEROFLOT OPEN 2009” and the Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship 2009.
General information of the festival:
The International Chess Festival “Aeroflot Open 2009” will be held in Moscow from 16 February (the day of arrival) to 27 February 2009 (the day of departure).
The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, which is popular throughout the world, will be held in February2009 for the eighth time running. This major event is open to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to having a very high rating. As before, the festival is held “under the wings” of our leading air company – Aeroflot.
For the fourth year running the festival will take place in the major tourist complex “Izmailovo” – hotel “Gamma – Delta”, where the participants of the previous festivals so liked to stay and to play. This time the festival has the largest prize fund in the entire history of Aeroflot Open Festival – EUR 180 000 (taking into account the prizes for the World Blitz Qualification Tournament).
Four Open Tournaments (A1,A2, B and C) are made up according to the rating of the participants. Naturally, the most interest is aroused by A1 tournament, requiring from a participant a rating above 2550 and usually boasting a number of extra class players.
This time, within the festival the Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship will be held in addition to four open tournaments.The official hotel and tournament venue is hotel “Gamma-Delta” belonging to the Tourist Complex “Ismailovo”.
The Organizers of the Festival are the “Aeroflot-Russian Airlines”, the Association of Chess Federations and the Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Committee on Tourism of the Municipality of Moscow.
Type of Chess Festival:
The festival consists of four tournaments. Each tournament is a nine rounds Swiss Tournament.
The Tournaments and Prize Fund: The total prize fund of the four tournaments is EUR 140 000.
Tournament A1:for chessplayers with a FIDE rating higher than 2549.
Total prize fund Group A1: EUR 70 000.
What an event! Must be the strongest open tournament in the world.