Saratov Governor’s Cup
The Saratov Sports Ministry, the Saratov State Socio-Economic University are the regional chess federation have been quietly preparing an outstanding round robin tournament which is set to take place from 8th to 19th October in Saratov, Russia.
The Saratov Governor’s Cup will be 11 rounds all-play-all event with an impressive field. The region is honouring the members of Ekonomist Saratov, a very successful team which claimed the European Club Cup twice (2009 and 2010), and is currently defending the title in Rogaska Slatina.
Thus the starting lineup is featuring Alexander Moiseenko UKR 2726, Evgeny Tomashevsky RUS 2710, Dmitry Andreikin RUS 2705, Pavel Eljanov UKR 2683, Ni Hua CHN 2670, Michael Roiz ISR 2668 and Evgeny Alekseev RUS 2662, all loyal members of Ekonomist through the past few years.
The field is conveniently completed with attractive players, the former World Champion and reigning Ukrainian Champion Ruslan Ponomariov UKR 2758, the unpredictable Alexander Morozevich RUS 2737, the former World Championship challenger Peter Leko HUN 2728, Russian hope Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2726 and “Mr. Fire on Board” Alexei Shirov ESP 2713.
Saratov is a major city in Southern Russia with population of 900 000. It is important port on the Volga river. In the past Saratov region was home of the Volga Germans. Today Saratov is one of the most important scientific, cultural and industrial centers of the Russian Federation.
Cold there?