67 chess players from different cities of the Vladimir region took part in the competition. They competed in both individual and group tournaments, and the winner was determined according to the number of points scored. In the group tournaments, the results of two male and two female participants who showed the best results in the team were taken into account and summed up. The individual tournament took place in nine rounds, the team tournament in seven, teams were divided into two subgroups: one included chess players from larger cities, the other included players from smaller ones. It is believed that this allows participants to equalize their chances for winning.

This time the Kirzhach team faced very serious opponents, which are at the same level with strong candidates for master of sports. But Kirzhach chess players also had something to surprise their opponents.

From the very beginning, our chess players were ahead of the rest of the participants, on a par with the team from Vladimir. Therefore, the final winner could only be determined after the sixth round, when the Kirzhach team scored the maximum number of points in the team competition, and the Vladimir team “lost” several victories to their group opponents. As a result, the Kirzhach team won not only in its subgroup, but also became the championship winner, beating its strongest opponent by two points. In the individual competition, Darina Fayzieva became the regional champion, having won all the games, followed by Ekaterina Kozlova in the second place. In the men's tournament, Maxim Parshin and the Vladimir chess player scored the same number of points (8 out of 9). Maxim lost to his opponent by only 0.5 points and took second place.

“I’m very glad that our team performed greatly at the championship,” said Evgeniy Dolgopyatov, coach of the chess school of the Kirzhach Preschool Educational Center. “A team from a small town was able to beat opponents from a large regional center - this is a very serious victory. We have won in our subgroup before, but this year we succeeded to become the absolute champions of the Vladimir region for the first time in the last 40 years.

A difficult path to victory

Students and graduates of the Kirzhach chess school have repeatedly become winners of all-Russian and international competitions. And none of these victories were accidental; each of them is the result of many years of work carried out by the school’s coaching staff. Another peculiarity of chess is that players had to prepare not just for competitions, but for each individual game with a specific opponent. Therefore, players, together with their coach, study the opponent’s technique, look for his weak points and formulate a general strategy for each future game.

Of course, regular training require time, so mostly school-aged children come to the chess school. But graduates also keep in touch with the school. And when it is necessary to compete for the Kirzhach team, people come even from other cities. So Kirzhach has many chances to go beyond the title of absolute champion of the Vladimir region and bring new cups and victories this year. And the Beko company will try to help our chess players continue to remain among the best in the region.