Bridges of Ingul in Mykolayiv, Ukraine

Hello, my chess friends!

On July 4th, a day the whole world associates with a great American holiday, Ukraine has its own important celebration: Navy Day.

I was lucky enough to visit the city of Ukrainian shipbuilders, Mykolaiv, for the occasion.

I enjoyed the city's beautiful old architecture and even watched a local sailing regatta. But, most importantly, I participated in the "Bridges of Ingul" blitz tournament.

This event brought together experienced masters from Southern Ukraine and many young prodigies from other regions!

Me and Admiral monument near by chess club

If you ever visit this wonderful city, you absolutely must stop by the beautiful chess club on the city's embankment. It sits right in front of a monument to a famous admiral and overlooks the Ingul River.

The blitz tournament brought together 84 players who crossed pawns and rooks in a ruthless, dramatic nine-round battle. The field included five International Masters and five FIDE Masters!

In the end, the first prize went to FM Levitskiy Andrey with a stellar 8 points.

The second spot was claimed by the strong IM Borsuk Konstantin with 7.5 points.

And the third-place winner of this unforgettable event was Mykolaiv’s own FM Punin Andrii, who won ahead of NM Starozhilov Leonid, IM Bogdanov Egor, and Lymar Vladislav, all of whom scored 7 points.

UAArtur with chess blogger and coach Andrii Punin

Now, as you know, I very rarely play chess over the board (OTB). My eyes aren't exactly adapted to wooden squares, and the sight of an electronic clock sometimes makes me quietly melancholic. Why? Because I fully expect to forget to hit it again, and when I remember, I'll be forced to gallop forward, blundering five pieces every move just to catch up!

Photo by Dmitriy Berin, Facebook

Yesterday, however, I actually got lucky! I scored a solid 6 points and collected several impressive trophies, such as:

• Two surprising wins against masters.

• A cash prize for twelfth place (the very last spot on the prize list).

• The undisputed best result among all participants rated under FIDE 1500.

• Oh, and a nice bump of over +100 FIDE rating points. Nice!

But perhaps my most unusual trophy of the day was a game featuring the most unique tactical idea I've ever encountered in practice: a real zugzwang in the middlegame! First time in my life!

Here, let me show you the game...

Thanks for reading!