Carlsen Guides Offerspill To European Chess Club Cup Glory
Offerspill Chess Club was crowned as the champions in the open division of the recently concluded 2023 European Chess Club Cup (ECCC) after scoring six match wins and a draw against some of the world's top club teams in Durres, Albania.
Led by GM Magnus Carlsen on board one (5/6) and Indian maestro GM Raunak Sadhwani (5/7), Offerspill won the €10,000 first prize ahead of Gokturk Chess Sport Club and Novy Bor, who rounded out the podium.
In the women's event, the GM Nino Batsiashvili-led team Superchess secured victory in the final round with a 2.5-1.5 victory over the eventual runners-up, Garud Ajka BSK, which featured Batsiashvili's compatriot GM Bela Khotenashvili.
The 38th European Chess Club Cup and the 27th European Chess Club Cup Women concluded yesterday in Durres, Albania 🇦🇱! @ECUonline
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 8, 2023
Congratulations to the winners! 👏👏
Open Section
🥇 Offerspill Sjakklubb
🥈 Novy Bor
🥉 Gokturk Chess Sport Club
Women's Section
🥇 Superchess
🥈… pic.twitter.com/89OhQhR8DK
Taking place at Durres' five-star Grand Blue Fafa Resort and boasting a €32,000 prize fund, the ECCC brought in many of the world's best players to play for their respective clubs. In terms of the format, registered teams were required to build eight-player rosters and elect six players to participate in each round of a seven-round team Swiss tournament.
To many chess fans, it would almost seem a surety that a team stacked with Carlsen, Sadhwani, GM Eric Hansen, and GM Aryan Tari would win comfortably. However, Offerspill Chess Club was only seeded fourth in the event.
Topping the field seed-wise was the formidable Superchess team with a rating average of 2711, courtesy of GMs Viswanathan Anand and Richard Rapport. To truly indicate the strength of this team though, one needn't look further than board six, where the five-time Titled Tuesday winner and 2691-rated GM Vladimir Fedoseev sat on their roster.
While Superchess' team loomed as heavy favorites to win the event, the 10-time ECCC champions and 2022 winner Novy Bor could not be counted out, with GMs Vincent Keymer, Nils Grandelius, David Navara, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, and David Anton Guijarro fronting for the famous club.
After coasting through the first four rounds of the event, round five is where the slugfests truly began as the top four folded inwards and determined which two teams would play for the lead. Team Superchess lived up to expectations and toppled the French team, Asnieres- Le Grand Echiquier, by a single point.
Draws on all boards, including one between Anand and the newly minted super-GM Haik Martirosyan, were outshone by Fedoseev's win over Armenia's GM Sergei Movsesian, which tipped the match in Superchess' favor.
A similar tale panned out in Novy Bor-Offerspill Chess Club, and the former world champion came in clutch against Keymer to break the deadlock and upset the defending champions 3.5-2.5. For Carlsen, the determination shown in his first four games (which he won) indicated a will to help carry his team to his first European chess title and an opportunity to forget the woes of Norway's recent Olympiad performances.
With just two teams left undefeated, the inevitable match between Superchess and Offerspill Chess Club took place in round six. Two former world champions, two illustrious crews of GMs hungry for victory, and yet, the round was merely an exhibition of what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force... 3-3.
Overall, the draw was most favorable for Offerspill, who led by 1.5 game points (which would act as the first tiebreaker in the event of a tie) heading into the final round. Notably, the top four teams had all worked their way back to boards one and two and were all within reach of seizing the title.
Novy Bor pulled out all the stops in the final round in their match against Superchess and brought down the co-leaders 3.5-2.5, leapfrogging them in the process. While GM Jorden van Foreest (Superchess) was able to dispatch Nguyen on board four, Novy Bor's boards five and six, Anton Guijarro and GM Mateusz Bartel, were able to secure wins over Fedoseev and GM Kirill Shevchenko, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the other critical matchup, Asnieres- La Grand Echiquier-Offerspill Chess Club, tense draws in GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave-Carlsen and Martirosyan-Sadhwani left the result in the hands of the lower boards.
Board six GM Matthieu Cornette's winning position against GM Frode Urkedal gave a glimmer of hope to the French club. However, Tari and Offerspill's youngest player, GM Pranav Venkatesh, won their games and secured a historic victory for their team.
Upon receiving the colossal winner's trophy at the prizegiving ceremony, Carlsen spoke with gusto: "I am so surprised, I am so proud of my team... every single one of the boys did amazing."
Magnus Carlsen wins his first European title! 🔥
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 8, 2023
🥇 Offerspill Sjakklubb, comprised of five-time World Champion and world #1 Magnus Carlsen, Raunak Sadhwani, Aryan Tari, Pranav, Eric Hansen, Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal and Benjamin Haldorsen, won their… pic.twitter.com/yhTToAFdH8
For Superchess, the final round was a disappointing one although as a club they could take solace in the fact that their women's team surged to victory in their section. A single-match loss at the hands of TAJFUN SK Ljubljana in round three spooked the 2454-average-rated Superchess team but the second seeds were simply too strong for their other competitors.
Many of the tournament's participants will now travel to the Middle East for the Qatar Masters, where one of 2023's strongest open events will commence on October 11.
Standings - Top 10 (Open)
(Full final standings here.)
Standings - Top 10 (Women)
(Full final standings here.)
All Games
The 2023 European Club Cup (ECC) was an over-the-board team event that took place in Durres, Albania between October 1 and October 8 and featured a €32,000 prize fund. Top players including GMs Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Vincent Keymer were among the participants across an 80-team-strong field.
