NAIDITSCH EMERGES WINNER OF MONTREAL TOURNAMENT !
The 10th Montreal International Chess Tournament finished this evening, with German grandmaster Naiditsch emerging as the surprise winner. The French superstar , Bacrot, had lead the tournament from beginning to end (almost!) , with Naiditsch catching up with him only in the final rounds.
Going into the last round, both were tied. Bacrot only managed to draw (with some suffering and luck) against the Argentine promise Anton Kovalyov, while Naiditsch had a relatively easy victory over the very talented, but unpredictable, Bhat from the USA.
Congratulations to grandmaster Naiditsch!!
This 10th edition of the Montreal International has been something of an embarrassment both to the local organization (ineptly lead by local organizer Andre Langlois) and to the main sponsor Empresa. One would think that going into your 10th effort (of anything!) one would be able to produce a quality event and one that the world would be interested in.
Instead, both local and international coverage of the tournament was a deception. The tournament web site, http://www.echecsmontreal.ca/, despite numerous complaints, was never fixed and remained an embarrassment to all. I mean, how much effort is required to change Cananda to Canada?
One of the most important internet news sites (http://www.chessvibes.com/) simply stopped covering the tournament after the first rounds because of difficulties getting daily information !
Shame on both Empresa and Langlois!
One would hope that for 2010 either the organizers or the sponsor part company and try to produce something that does not remind one of Mickey Mouse or back to the future!
I was especially impressed with the performance of the young grandmaster Anton Kovalyov! Living in Montreal the past 2 years, Anton has been reluctant to change his status as an Argentine player for Canadian player.
I consider Anton a budding superstar in the chess world. Canadian chess reality and chess politics have not treated Anton with the respect that he deserves. Last year I tried to get some sponsorship for him in Montreal, but encountered resistance. Especially from Andre Langlois!
After his excellent performance in the Montreal tournament, I hope that the Quebec chess community recognize the incredible talent that lives among them at this moment. If not, it will be them that will be the big losers. I recall that when the late Terry Fox ran his marathon across Canada in the beginning of the 80's (Fox died in mid 1981), in Quebec he was totally ignored by the media. It was only when he left Quebec that he became a national phenomenon!
Of course, Anton Kovalyov is not dying, but Quebec chess might be! Quebec needs its superstars, regardless of where they were born or what their mother language is!
