4/3/2011 – It was an enthralling event through and through, and a just result for the players who showed exceptional fighting spirit when it mattered and quality of play. Potkin had seemed to be losing steam, but when it mattered the most he secured his lead and top spot. Wojtaszek was next to join him, and then Judit Polgar won her fourth straight game and a historic third place. Final report with videos.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.
€39.90
The 2011 European Individual Championship (Mixed) is currently underway, and will run from March 21st to April 3rd in Aix-Les-Bains, France. The first round is on March 22nd, and the last on April 2nd, with no tie-break matches to decide the final places. Besides determining the title of European Champion, the top 23 finishers also qualify for the 2011 World Cup.
Entering the penultimate round, twelve players were tied in the lead, and the question was who would be able to distance themselves going into the last round. The answer was three players. After four straight draws, Potkin's initiative seemed on the verge of evaporating, but in round ten he demonstrated great character by beating Jobava in a sharp game where he seemed to be a step ahead of his opponent in the tactics. Polish star Wojtaszek, who had seen some of his 2700+ Elo evaporate earlier this year, had been on the constant rise, and a win here also secured his spot at the top. The third and final player to reach 8.0/10 was the amazing Judit Polgar, who racked up her fourth consecutive win, this time against Romanian GM Iordachescu in a merciless rout.
This seemingly innocuous move carries a great deal of venom in it. 15...a6. Taking with 15...dxc4? would flat out lose to 16.Rc1 and there is no defense against Rxc4. 16...Ne7 To try Rxc4 Nc6 17.Bxe7 Kxe7 18.Rxc4 Nc5 (18...Qd8 19.Qd6+ Ke8 20.Rd1) 19.b4 16.cxd5! axb5 17.Rc1 Qb8 18.dxe6 fxe6 19.Qb3 Nf8?! Black panics now that he can no longer castle and under such pressure from a renowned attacker. 19...0-0? 20.Qxe6+ Rf7 21.Rxc8+ Qxc8 22.Rc1 Qb8 23.Qb3! with e6 to follow.; 19...Rc4! 20.Qxb5 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Rf8= 20.Qxb5+ Kf7 21.Rxc8 Qxc8 22.Rc1 Qb8
23.g4! Nh6 24.Qb4 Kg8 25.Bxh6 gxh6 26.Qe7 Qe8 27.Qxb7. The Romanian is completely tied up and can barely move a piece. 27...Qa4 28.b4 Be8 29.Qe7 Qd7 30.Rc7 Qxe7 31.Rxe7 Bc6 32.Nd4 Bd5 33.b5 Ng6 34.Rc7 Nxe5 35.f4 Nf7
36.f5! exf5 37.Nxf5 with Rc8+ in the air. 37...Be6 38.b6 Bxf5 39.gxf5 Kg7 40.b7 Rb8 41.a4 Kf6 42.a5 Nd6 43.a6 Kxf5 One has to ask oneself what exactly he is hoping for here. 44.a7 Rg8+ 45.Kf2 Nxb7 46.Rxb7 Ra8 47.Ke3 Ke5 48.Rxh7 Rc8 49.Kd3 Kd5 50.Rxh6 Kc5 51.Ra6 Ra8 52.h4 Kb5 53.Ra1 Kb6 54.Ke4 1-0. [Click to replay]
The final round saw Potkin paired against Polgar, and they made no attempts to jeopardize their standings and agreed to a quick draw. Wojtaszek was much the same against Svidler, while only one player in the group with 7.5/10 was able to notch a win: Moiseenko at the expense of Brit GM McShane. This might have spelled disaster for the Englishman's spot in the World Cup, but since Potkin, Mamedov, and Svidler had already qualified, the extra spots benefited McShane, Fridman, and Motylev as a result.
The 2011 European champions
Potkin's superb tournament, assuredly his best result to date, and a 2822 performance, crowned him the 2011 European Champion, while Wojtaszek came in second also with a 2800+ performance. Judit's incredible rally, after her round six loss to Ragger, with four straight wins not only placed her as the first female to climb the podium of the Absolute European Championship, but her performance was also enough to bring her back to the 2700 club, or within a point, depending on any other pending results to be computed.
Europe Echecs once again brings English video reports with comments by Polgar, Wojtaszek, and of course, the winner, Potkin.
Round ten report with comments by Judit Polgar and Wojtaszek(courtesy Europe Echecs)
Final report with prize ceremony and comments by Potkin (courtesy Europe Echecs)
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!
Throughout the video course, Sasikran shows various examples from his career to explain sacrifices for initiative, an attack, a better pawn structure and much more.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
Powerbook based on more than 618 000 games in which White already sidesteps the main variations of the Sicilian on move 2.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
