Alekseenko Takes Sunny Sitges By Storm

Editor's Note: Streamer Lula Roberts reported on her trip to Sitges for the ninth Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival for our March edition of Chess Life. We have republished her piece, with annotations by IM Tom Rendle, here. Consider becoming a US Chess member for more content like this — access to digital editions of both Chess Life and Chess Life Kids is a member benefit, and you can receive print editions of both magazines for a small add-on fee.

The perfect backdrop for a tournament (courtesy of Chessable)

The Catalonian town of Sitges has long been known for its prestigious film festivals and exuberant Carnival celebrations. These days, it’s becoming known for its chess tournaments, too.

The ninth edition of the Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival took place from December 12-23, 2022, with some 420 players competing in two classical time-control sections, including nine Americans. The A group was won by former World Championship Candidate GM Kirill Alekseenko.

Alekseenko at the final ceremony (courtesy Isabel Garcia de la Cruz for Chessable)

Playing under the FIDE flag, Alekseenko went undefeated throughout the 10-round event, winning seven straight games from the outset to finish at 8½/10. Here’s one of his most impressive games of the tournament, the final win in his streak.

Alekseenko wasn’t the only undefeated player in Sitges. GM Hans Niemann scored six wins and four draws to finish with 8/10 and a performance rating of 2764.

Niemann deep in thought against Woodward (courtesy Isabel Garcia de la Cruz for Chessable)

Also at eight points was Iranian GM M. Amin Tabatabaei, who, after being forced to forfeit for political reasons after a round one pairing against an Israeli national, won seven of his remaining games to climb the table, but whom Niemann defeated in a playoff to claim second place.

The playoff for second place (courtesy Chessable)

Here’s one of the games that helped Niemann collect his prize.

I was in Spain courtesy of Chessable, taking some pictures and making some videos, and attending a chess tournament for the first time as a spectator and not a player. The sunny backdrop of coastal Sitges made the whole experience feel more like a vacation than a top chess event, but I’m sure those actually playing the tournament would disagree.

A number of famous faces at Sitges represented a total of 55 federations, including many Ukrainian players like chess legend GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, GM Anton Korobov, and GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy. Also fighting for first place was top seed and super-GM Yu Yangyi, GM Andrey Esipenko, and GM Jorden van Foreest.

The newest addition to U.S. Chess: WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan (courtesy Isabel Garcia de la Cruz for Chessable)

Several notable U.S. players also were among the almost 200 titled players signed up for the 10-round Swiss event, including Niemann, IM Andy Woodward, IM Justin Sarkar, and WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan, who transferred to the U.S. in November from Iran.

Woodward posing for the cameras (courtesy Isabel Garcia de la Cruz for Chessable)

Woodward, who was featured in these pages in November 2022, ended the event with a score of 7/10 and a performance rating of 2510. While he didn’t win the following game against the veteran Korobov, we do get another glimpse of Woodward’s current skills and future promise.

Between rounds, there were free masterclasses open to the public, offered by the likes of English GM Stuart Conquest, Chessable author GM Adhiban Baskaran, and renowned chess commentator GM Jan Gustafsson.

I sat in on one by Ivanchuk, where he analyzed in depth four of his games from Sitges, including his round one win against well-known Danish streamer WFM Ellen Nilssen and his round two draw against WGM Teodora Injac, showing off his famous imagination and analytical skill. These lectures from some of the world’s elite were like nothing else I’d seen at other high-level events, and by all accounts, the spectators enjoyed them thoroughly.

Of course, if you didn’t fancy all that analysis just before the round, there were other options, including sushi and paella workshops, wine and beer tastings, and yoga or zumba in the mornings. With rounds beginning at 4:30 p.m., there was a lot of time for preparation or relaxation, depending on what kind of tournament you were interested in having.

A chess player's paradise (courtesy Emilia Castelao)

Also a short distance away was the actual town of Sitges, offering Christmas markets, boutique shops, and restaurants. If you preferred cycling, the hotel offered complimentary bicycles to all guests. It felt kind of like summer camp (or what I imagined summer camp to be like, having never attended one), but that may have partly been because I ended up sharing my hotel room with a friend.

Emilia Castelao, a chess historian and photographer whom I met on Twitter, came to Sitges for the tail end of the tournament. She and I stayed up late watching speed chess online, and we spent the rest day cheering for opposite teams in the FIFA World Cup. We bought jewelry and macarons at the Christmas market, and talked about upcoming tournaments over mulled white wine.

That was the marvelous thing about Sitges — the atmosphere was bubbling with excitement, due to the upcoming holiday season, the World Cup final, the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, and the prospect of the World Rapid and Blitz, which began just a few days after Sitges ended. With so much going on, I don’t know how the players focused on their games.

IM Tom Rendle (courtesy Emilia Castelao)

And there were plenty of games. Some were absolutely fascinating, including this one by our annotator, IM Tom Rendle.

For those whose appetites were not sated by the slow chess, there were also three blitz tournaments: a late-night blitz, a junior event, and the Chessable Blitz, all played at a G/3+2 time control. The late night blitz was won by Korobov, who scored 7½/9, whilst the junior blitz was won by Turkish IM Yagiz Erdogmus, who scored 6½/7. The Chessable blitz was won by Indian GM Raja Rithvik R, who finished with 8½/9. I almost played in the late-night blitz, but withdrew at the last minute in favor of getting a full night’s sleep — a wise decision, as it turned out, as the tournament went on until almost 2 a.m.

Rapid and blitz specialist GM Anton Korobov (R) squares off against Woodward in round four (courtesy Chessable)

The Sitges Chess Festival came to a close on December 23, culminating with some exciting tiebreak games and a closing party in the playing hall-turned-disco. Sadly, I had to abandon Spain a day early to avoid border strikes going home to the UK, so I missed out on the fireworks, prize giving ceremony, and the party, but I am assured that it was equally as enjoyable as the rest of the event.

All in all, it was the perfect end to the chess year for me, although at times I did wish I had enrolled in the B group tournament. Sitges has a sister tournament in Formentera, the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands, this coming April, and 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Sitges Festival this coming December, so I expect we will see big things from both tournaments this year. Perhaps I’ll even play in the next one!