2018 European Championship Batumi

by kevinspraggettonchess · Published March 24, 2018 · Updated March 26, 2018

Some Interesting Moments

Friday was a well deserved rest day for the participants of the European Championship and today will see round 7 in play. There will be no more rest days before the 11th round, the final round, and so the pressure is on! Everything is still wide open for top prize of 20,000 euros, as well as the 23 qualifying spots for the upcoming World Cup.

Do as I say, not as I do!

I got a big kick out of seeing the president of the European Chess Union, Azmaiparashvili, give a simul yesterday to some of the young talents of Georgia. Other photos from the event can be found on the organization’s FACEBOOK.

Dress Code, Azmai?

Is it dignified for the president to appear with jeans and a sloppy sweater? What kind of message is Azmai sending to the young players, EVERYONE of which is clearly already much better dressed than him?

I think this question is important inasmuch as proper dress code was the exact subject of a viral controversy this past fall when Azmai savagely reprimanded Canadian grandmaster Anton Kovalyov for his own informal attire at the World Cup, making several clearly racist remarks at the same time.

Readers will remember that the Canadian immediately packed his bags and returned home. Hundreds of MSM news outlets carried the story, and even the FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov regretted Azmai’s crude behaviour.

Now for some interesting games!

I present below some six games and/or positions from round 6. All of these examples are very combative games with interesting episodes that I am sure my readers will appreciate.