Nordic Internet Club Cup Takes Off Today
The Nordic Internet Club Cup, an online competition for Nordic chess clubs organized by the Icelandic Chess Federation, starts today on Chess.com. Russian talent GM Andrey Esipenko and Africa's number-one GM Bassem Amin are among the top players.
Although online play is not exactly the same, chess players are definitely lucky to have it as an alternative to over-the-board events these days. The Nordic Internet Club Cup is one of the great examples of alternative competitions that are being organized online with the coronavirus crisis forcing people to stay home.
No fewer than 67 club teams from Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have signed up for the tournament. That's a total of 610 players, including 27 grandmasters.
"The success of the tournament came as a surprise," said Icelandic Chess Federation President Gunnar Bjornsson. "We did not expect so many clubs. To see over 600 players, 27 grandmasters and 135 title holders in total is far above our expectations! This says that there are opportunities to continue with good events on the internet. For sure we will think about continuing this event and even start a new one!"
A team can consist of 6-12 players from different countries. However, in every round at least 50 percent of the players on a team need to be from the Nordic countries. B teams are also allowed, but every player can play on just one team.
The schedule is seven double rounds with a time control of 10 minutes and a three-second increment. Participation is free, and prizes include trophies and medals.
To give you an idea of who will be playing, below are the top six teams. The ratings used are the April FIDE rapid ratings.
| Bo. | Fed | Title | 1. SSON A | Rtg | Bo. | Fed | Title | 4. Wasa SK | Rtg |
| 1 | GM | Esipenko Andrey | 2629 | 1 | GM | Amin Bassem | 2608 | ||
| 2 | GM | Demchenko Anton | 2631 | 2 | GM | Hellers Ferdinand | 2565 | ||
| 3 | GM | Antipov Mikhail Al. | 2663 | 3 | IM | Suarez Garcia Carlos | 2467 | ||
| 4 | IM | Lomasov Semyon | 2576 | 4 | FM | Moreau Teodor | 2340 | ||
| 5 | GM | Thorfinnsson Bragi | 2414 | 5 | WGM | Reizniece-Ozola Dana | 2204 | ||
| 6 | IM | Gunnarsson Arnar | 2395 | 6 | IM | Cramling Dan | 2403 | ||
| 7 | IM | Arngrimsson Dagur | 2383 | 7 | FM | Grandell Anders | 2292 | ||
| 8 | FM | Galaktionov Artem | 2305 | 8 | IM | Sagit Rauan | 2406 | ||
| 9 | FM | Lagerman Robert | 2295 | 9 | WGM | Rogule Laura | 2289 | ||
| 10 | FM | Lavendelis Egons | 2273 | ||||||
| 11 | Wernberg Hugo | 1866 | |||||||
| 12 | Gundersen Ingvar | 1704 | |||||||
| Bo. | Fed | Title | 2. Huginn | Rtg | Bo. | Fed | Title | 5. Reykjavík Chess Club | Rtg |
| 1 | GM | Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn | 2554 | 1 | IM | Kjartansson Gudmundur | 2451 | ||
| 2 | GM | Stefansson Hannes | 2517 | 2 | GM | Gretarsson Helgi Ass | 2396 | ||
| 3 | GM | Olafsson Helgi | 2517 | 3 | GM | Petursson Margeir | 2336 | ||
| 4 | GM | Thorhallsson Throstur | 2510 | 4 | IM | Thorsteins Karl | 2401 | ||
| 5 | FM | Ulfarsson Magnus Orn | 2297 | 5 | FM | Johannesson Ingvar Thor | 2363 | ||
| 6 | IM | Jensson Einar Hjalti | 2410 | 6 | FM | Heimisson Hilmir Freyr | 1771 | ||
| 7 | FM | Sigfusson Sigurdur | 2230 | 7 | Omarsson Dadi | 2239 | |||
| 8 | Edvardsson Kristjan | 2216 | 8 | FM | Jonasson Benedikt | 2165 | |||
| 9 | CM | Birkisson Bardur Orn | 1993 | ||||||
| 10 | Olafsson Thorvardur | 2213 | |||||||
| 11 | Jonsson Gauti Pall | 2019 | |||||||
| 12 | Arnason Arni A. | 2118 | |||||||
| Bo. | Fed | Title | 3. Víkingaklúbburinn A | Rtg | Bo. | Fed | Title | 6. OSS 1 | Rtg |
| 1 | GM | Gajewski Grzegorz | 2515 | 1 | GM | Agdestein Simen | 2522 | ||
| 2 | GM | Dziuba Marcin | 2486 | 2 | IM | Hauge Lars Oskar | 2409 | ||
| 3 | GM | Hjartarson Johann | 2512 | 3 | GM | Johannessen Leif Erlend | 2491 | ||
| 4 | IM | Gunnarsson Jon Viktor | 2414 | 4 | IM | Galinsky Timofey | 2251 | ||
| 5 | IM | Thorfinnsson Bjorn | 2445 | 5 | IM | Moen Andreas G.R. | 2273 | ||
| 6 | IM | Kjartansson David | 2346 | 6 | FM | Altarbosh Ward | 2138 | ||
| 7 | GM | Arnason Jon L | 2421 | 7 | FM | Ingebretsen Jens E | 2047 | ||
| 8 | Runarsson Gunnar | 2043 | 8 | FM | Andersen Lars Even | 2215 |
The schedule is as follows:
• Round 1 Thursday, April 9 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 2 Friday, April 10 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 3 Friday, April 10 at 16:00 CEST (10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 4 Saturday, April 11 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 5 Saturday, April 11 at 16:00 CEST (10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 6 Sunday, April 12 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 7 Monday, April 13 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
The games can be followed in Live Chess, and the results will be reported in Chess-Results.
For more upcoming events on Chess.com, such as the Man vs. Machine match Smerdon vs. Komodo or the Team India COVID-19 simul, see our events calendar.
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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