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Good conditions for IM/GM
If you are an International Master (IM) or Grandmaster (GM), we will offer you to stay for free in the player’s hotel during the tournament. Grandmasters can also expect an appearance fee. Please contact the tournament organizers if you are interested.
Welcome to 11th Uppsala Young Champions 2024
The dates for this year’s edition of Uppsala Young Champions are October 25-30, and you are very welcome! The competition is open to everyone born in 2004 or later, and a new feature this year is that there is a class for those with a rating of 2000+ and one that is open to everyone. Read more about the competitions on the website and register. Welcome!
And the winner is… Axel Falkevall!
In the tournament, he was ranked sixth in the starting field and was hardly considered a favorite for victory. And when he comments on how the tournament went, he doesn’t think he played particularly well. Nevertheless, it is Axel Falkevall who stands as the winner in the tenth edition of Uppsala Young Champions.
In the final round, he faced another surprise player, Adam Omarsson from Iceland, and Axel executed a classic attack that ended in style:
Those who are familiar with playing the King’s Indian Defense with Black may recognize the final coup de grâce. Axel played 30…Bxh3! Sacrificing the bishop to eliminate the protection in front of the white king. 31.gxh3 g2! This threatens, among other things, 32…Nxh3 with an imminent checkmate, so White tried to save themselves with a queen sacrifice. 32.Qxg7† Kxg7 33.Kxg2 But it’s completely beyond repair; nothing can help. 33…Qg3† 34.Kh1 Qxh3† 35.Kg1 Qg3† 36.Kh1 Nxf3, and in the hopeless position, White resigned the game.
On the same score as Axel, Hampus Sörensen and David Gavrilescu also finished. David was placed second after a tiebreaker, and Hampus took third place. Hampus finished third two years ago and has also had two fourth-place finishes before, and he didn’t manage to claim the top spot on the podium this time either.
Congratulations to all the prize winners!
The complete results list is available here.
Exciting last round awaits
Before the final round of this year’s Uppsala Young Champions, Axel Falkevall, Hampus Sörensen, and David Gavrilescu are still sharing the lead after all of them played a draw in round 8. Falkevall holds a slight advantage in the race for the overall victory as he has accumulated the most points in their three head-to-head encounters.
You can follow the final round on chessbase.com, lichess or chess.com.
Upsets i round 7
Surprisingly, both field grandmasters lost in the seventh round, making the tournament very exciting heading into the final day of play. Icelandic player GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson chose a tricky opening with the black pieces, and although he emerged from it with his honor intact, his compatriot Stephan Briem ultimately managed to win the game.
On the top board, Axel Falkevall played with the black pieces against Romanian GM David Gavrilescu, and it seemed like a lost cause for Axel fairly early in the game. However, White’s latest move, 30.Qd2-c3, wasn’t the best and allowed Axel to complicate the position.
30…Nf3†! The only chance, but also a strong move. 31.Bxf3 31.gxf3 is also possible, but Black’s pieces quickly get closer to the white king after 31…gxf3 32.Bf1 Ng4! 31…gxf3 32.Bd6 Qd8 33.c7 Qd7 34.Be5 Ne8 35.Bxg7 Nxg7 36.Nd4 Rc8 37.Rc1 Ne8 38.Nc6? When the pawn on c7 disappears, White’s major advantage also disappears. Now it’s Black who’s in the driver’s seat. 38…Rxc7 39.gxf3 f6! 40.Kh1 Kh8 41.b5 Qh7 42.Rg1 Qh6! And now the position is completely won for Axel. A truly surprising turnaround. 43.f4 Rh7 44.Rg2 Bh3 45.Rg3 Bg4 46.Kg1 Qxh2† 47.Kf1 Qh1† 48.Rg1
The finish is elegant. 48…Qxg1†! After 49.Kxg1 Bf3! there’s no way to defend against Rh1 with checkmate. White resigned.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Uppsala Young Champions concludes with two rounds, and going into them, three players are leading with 5 points – Axel Falkevall, Hampus Sörensen, and David Gavrilescu. It’s not a bold guess to say that the tournament winner will likely be found among these three.
Congratulations!
The person who has played in the Uppsala Young Champions the most times is Hampus Sörensen, and this year he is participating for the seventh time! He does this despite his birthday always falling right in the middle of the tournament, on October 30. Today, Hampus turns 20 years old and was duly congratulated by the organizers with flowers, chocolate, and a big stack of chess books!
134 players from 23 countries
During the first ten years of the tournament, a total of 134 different players have participated. As expected, most of them are from Sweden, but players from a total of 23 countries have been part of the tournament.
Shared Grandmaster Victory in the Uppsala Blitz
When you look at the results list, it becomes very clear how big the class difference was between the two participating grandmasters on one side and everyone else on the other. They drew against each other and won the rest, which meant that they finished a whole 3.5 points ahead of the rest of the field.
They shared the victory, but if you want to be precise, GM David Gavrilescu came in first after a tiebreaker, and thus GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson came in second. Congratulations!
