Home Chess News 25th FIDE Senior Chess Championship

25th FIDE Senior Chess Championship

1302
SHARE

 

The curtains came down on the 25th FIDESenior Chess Championship on 22nd November 2015.  The event was held in the historic Italian city of Acqui Terme in Northern Italy.

Poster of the event
A total over 270 participants took part in this annual event and for the first time there was a Kenyan arbiter Purity Maina in the event.
Arbiter Purity Maina doing Kenya proud . (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)

 

The event was run over 4 different sections – Open for +50 years and + 65 years and the Ladies +50 years and + 65 years.  The most popular section was the Open +65 where 150 players took part.
+50 Open Winner GM Predrag Nikolic (BIH), 2nd GM Eduardas Rozentalis (LTU) & 3rd GM Georg Mohr (SLO) (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
+65 Winner GM Vladimir Okhotnik (FRA), 2nd Anatoly Vasisser (FRA) & 3rd GM Viktor Kupreichik (BLR) (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
The beautiful WGM Mariana Makropoulou from Greece who came out 2nd in the +50 Ladies. (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
One of the many participants. (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
+50 Ladies Winner WGM Galina Strutinskaia (RUS), 2nd WGM Marina Makropoulou (GRE), & 3rd WFM Petra Schulz (GER). (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
+65 Ladies Winner WGM Nona Gaprindashvili (GEO), 2nd WGM Tamar Khmiadashvili (GEO, & 3rd WIM Ludmila Tsifanskaya (ISR). (photo credit Gerhard Bertagnolli)
The winner in the +65 years was GM Nona Gaprindashivili of Georgia.  Nona is the 6thWomen’s World Chess Champion (1962 – 1978) and a 5 time Women Soviet Champion (1964, 1973, 1981, 1983 & 1985).  Nona played a total of 11 Olympiads for the Soviet Union and once for Georgia.  She is also a former World Senior Chess Champion (2009).

The next World Senior Championship will be organized in November 2016 in Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic and in 2017 again in Italy with the same organizers.

 
Our Purity Maina with QC Ian Wilkinson of Jamaica who took part.  (photo credit QC Ian Wilkinson)

It will be interesting to see if Kenya can send a participant for this event in 2016.  Three people who come to mind who can represent Kenya are Clement Miheso, John Mukabi and Peter Gilruth.  All three are experienced players having played in several international tournaments and Olympiads. 

Clement Miheso‘s last international event was the 2015 World Championship for Disabled in Dresden.  See http://www.kenyachessmasala.com/2015/10/kenyan-chess-players-makes-his-mark-at.html

Peter Gilruth – one of Kenya’s strongest players.
John Mukabi (left) who has represented Kenya at 7 Olympiads in action during the 2012 Olympiad Elimination Event
Clement Miheso (left) an experienced officials and player.

The beauty about chess is that age is really no barrier to success.