Alekhine Memorial Opening Ceremony

The Alekhine Memorial will take place from 21 April - 1 May. The excellent line-up includes world champion Vishy Anand, world #2 Lev Aronian, and world #3 Vladimir Kramnik.

The tournament is a 10-player single round robin competition, with the first half held in the Louvre in Paris and the second half in the Russian State Museum in St. Petersburg.

The tournament opens with a concert by Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky. The distinguished pianist has selected a programme for the Alekhine Memorial by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Live coverage of the opening ceremony (including the draw for pairings and the concert) can be watched here on 20 April at 16:00 UTC.

The official site (in English!) can be found here.

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The Alekhine Memorial line-up

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The time control is 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes to a finish with a 30 second increment from the start.  No draw offers are allowed until after 40 moves have been played.  The prize fund is €100,000 with €30,000 for first place.

All rounds start at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC when in Paris, 10:00 UTC when in St. Petersburg), except the last round which is 1 hour earlier.

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The schedule of events

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The Louvre Museum with its famous Pyramid

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