The Riga Technical University Open (also RTU Open) is an international "open" chess festival annually held in Riga, Latvia in August. It is the largest classical chess tournament in the Baltic states.

Abstract

The Riga Technical University Open has been held since 2011, with the exception of the year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently the 10th jubilee edition followed in summer 2021. The festival is organized by Riga Technical University in cooperation with the Latvian Chess Federation and the Riga Chess Federation. The founder and tournament director is IO (International Organizer) Egons Lavendelis from Latvia, who, as a player, is also an FM. Chief Arbiter of the RTU Festival is IA (International Arbiter) Alberts Cimiņš. Chief Arbiter of Tournament A is IA Andra Cimiņa. The current venue where the festival is held is the Ķīpsala exhibition hall in Riga, the capital of Latvia.

Over the years, the RTU Open has attracted thousands of chess players from over 50 countries, becoming one of the biggest chess festivals in northern Europe and in Europe as a whole. Additional events include GM lectures, excursions, simuls, as well as Bughouse (tandem) and Dice Chess are offered, too.

History

The first three international chess festivals (2011–2013) were held in the main building of the Riga Technical University. The first and second festival included two classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B for amateurs) and a last day blitz tournament. The third festival included three classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B-C for amateurs). The fourth international chess festival in 2014 was moved to the International Exhibition Centre Ķīpsala, where larger number of participants applied. The fourth international chess festival included five classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B–E for amateurs) and a first day blitz tournament. The fifth and sixth festival was held in Ķīpsala and included four classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B–D for amateurs) and a last day blitz tournament. Overall, more than 1,200 participants took part in the festivals from the years 2014 to 2016.[1] The seventh festival in 2017 was held in Ķīpsala and included five classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B–E for amateurs) and a last day blitz tournament. The eighth festival in 2018 was held in Ķīpsala and included five classical chess tournaments (A for masters and B–E for amateurs) and two blitz tournaments. The ninth festival in 2019 was held in Ķīpsala and included six classical chess tournaments (A for masters, Y for young chess players and B–E for amateurs), a rapid chess tournament and two blitz tournaments. In 2020, the tournament did not take place due to a COVID-19 pandemic. The tenth festival in 2021 was held in Ķīpsala and included four classical chess tournaments (A for masters, B&Y for young chess players and amateurs, and C&D–E for amateurs), a rapid chess tournament (G) and two blitz tournaments (F and H). The eleventh festival in 2022 was held in Ķīpsala and included five classical chess tournaments (A for masters, B, C, D for amateurs and Y for young chess players), a rapid chess tournament (F) and two blitz tournaments (E and G). The twelfth festival in 2023 was held in Ķīpsala and included five classical chess tournaments (A for masters, B, C, D for amateurs and Y for young chess players), a rapid chess tournament (F), two blitz tournaments (E and G) and three qualifying tournaments for beginners (Q1, Q2 and Q3).

List of A tournament winners

YearWinner2nd place3rd placeBest woman
2011 Luxembourg Alberto David United States Jaan Ehlvest Latvia Vladimir Sveshnikov Poland Katarzyna Toma
2012 Slovakia Ján Markoš Brazil Alexandr Fier Germany Daniel Fridman Germany Judith Fuchs
2013 Poland Bartosz Soćko Netherlands Robin van Kampen Russia Mikhail Antipov Slovakia Zuzana Štočková
2014 Armenia Hrant Melkumyan Hungary Richárd Rapport Venezuela Eduardo Iturrizaga Serbia Maria Manakova
2015 Latvia Alexei Shirov Armenia Robert Hovhannisyan Kazakhstan Rinat Jumabayev Poland Monika Soćko
2016 Ukraine Martyn Kravtsiv Armenia Hrant Melkumyan Latvia Arturs Neikšāns India Soumya Swaminathan
2017 Ukraine Vladimir Onischuk Ukraine Sergey Pavlov Israel Tamir Nabaty China Lei Tingjie
2018 Armenia Robert Hovhannisyan Armenia Manuel Petrosyan Russia Alexandr Predke India Nutakki Priyanka
2019 Latvia Igor Kovalenko Lithuania Šarūnas Šulskis Armenia Arman Mikaelyan Romania Irina Bulmaga
2021 Germany Alexander Donchenko India S. L. Narayanan Lithuania Tomas Laurusas Estonia Margareth Olde
2022 Lithuania Paulius Pultinevičius Latvia Toms Kantāns Sweden Erik Blomqvist Latvia Laura Rogule
2023 Norway Elham Abdrlauf Sweden Erik Blomqvist Moldova Dragoș Cereș Estonia Anastassia Sinitsina

References

  • RTU OPEN Riga Technical University Open home page
  • Riga Technical University Open 2011 Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2011
  • Riga Technical University Open 2012. Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2012
  • Riga Technical University Open 2013 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2013
  • RTU OPEN 2014 Riga Technical University Open 2014
  • RTU OPEN 2015 Riga Technical University Open 2015
  • RTU OPEN 2016 Riga Technical University Open 2016
  • Riga Technical University Open 2017 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2017
  • Riga Technical University Open 2018 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2018
  • Riga Technical University Open 2019 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2019
  • Riga Technical University Open 2021 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2021
  • Riga Technical University Open 2022 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2022
  • Riga Technical University Open 2023 - Tournament A Riga Technical University Open 2023
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