Chess Classic


The Chess Classics were a series of chess tournaments held in Germany, from 1994 to 2010. They were organized by Hans-Walter Schmitt. Among other things, the world champions in rapid chess and Chess960 and the computer Chess960 world champion were determined at this event.

Overview

The Chess Classic took place a total of seventeen times, seven times in Frankfurt am Main and ten times in Mainz. In Mainz, the event was played in the. Hans-Walter Schmitt managed to find sponsorship from Jens Beutel, Lord Mayor of Mainz, and he became patron of the event.
There were different events such as the Chess Classic Championship, Quick Chess Open, Chess960 Rapid Chess World Championships, FiNet Open in Chess960 and Chess960 Computer World Championship. In addition, 13 duels against machine and 26 simultaneous sessions were conducted.
Pocket Fritz was created in 2001 in the Rheingoldhalle Mainz. In 2002, Beutel played against Viswanathan Anand on the stage in the Rheingoldhalle; they were both using Pocket Fritz as computer assistance.

Chess Classic Championship

YearWinnerSecondThird
1996Alexei ShirovVladimir KramnikPéter Lékó
1997Viswanathan AnandAnatoly KarpovEric Lobron
1998Viswanathan AnandVladimir KramnikGarry Kasparov
1999Garry KasparovViswanathan AnandVladimir Kramnik
2000Viswanathan AnandGarry KasparovVladimir Kramnik
2001Viswanathan AnandVladimir KramnikDuel
2002Viswanathan AnandRuslan PonomariovDuel
2003Viswanathan AnandJudit PolgárDuel
2004Viswanathan AnandAlexei SchirovDuel
2005Viswanathan AnandAlexander Grischukduel
2006Viswanathan AnandTeimour Radjabovduel
2007Viswanathan AnandLevon AronianRustam Kasimdzhanov
2008Viswanathan AnandMagnus CarlsenAlexander Morozevich
2009Levon AronianIan NepomniachtchiViswanathan Anand
2010Gata KamskyVugar GashimovLevon Aronian

Rapid Chess Open

YearWinnerSecondThird
1994Alexander CherninLev GutmanIgor Khenkin
1995Bogdan LalićLarry ChristiansenAlexander Chernin
1996Eric LobronChristopher LutzStefan Djurić
1997Waleri BeimLajos PortischRafael Vaganian
1998Fritz on PrimergyStefan DjurićAlberto David
1999Loek van WelyVadim MilovMichail Ulybin
2000Sergei RublevskyMikhail GurevichPeter Svidler
2001Michael AdamsVadim MilovOleg Eismont
2002Victor BologanIgor GlekEvgeny Agrest
2003Alexander GrischukIvan SokolovEric Lobron
2004Alexander GrischukRafael VaganianSergei Rublevsky
2005Teimour RadjabovLevon AronianAlexander Morozevich
2006Rustam KasimdzhanovShakhriyar MamedyarovAlexander Morozevich
2007David NavaraMikhail MchedlishviliKrishnan Sasikiran
2008Ian NepomniachtchiPavel EljanovZoltán Almási
2009Shakhriyar MamedyarovArkadij NaiditschVladimir Akopian
2010Gata KamskyVugar GashimovLevon Aronian

Chess960 Rapid chess World Championship

YearCategoryWinnerSecondThird
2001OpenPéter LékóMichael AdamsDuel
2004OpenPeter SvidlerLevon AronianDuel
2005OpenPeter SvidlerZoltán AlmásiDuel
2006OpenLevon AronianPeter SvidlerDuel
2006WomenAlexandra KosteniukElisabeth PähtzDuel
2006SeniorsVlastimil HortLajos PortischDuel
2006JuniorsPentala HarikrishnaArkadij NaiditschDuel
2007OpenLevon AronianViswanathan AnandÉtienne Bacrot
2008WomenAlexandra KosteniukKateryna LagnoViktorija Čmilytė
2009OpenHikaru NakamuraLevon AronianSergei Movsesian

FiNet Open Chess960

YearWinnerSecondThird
2002Peter SvidlerAlexander MotylevDaniel Fridman
2003Levon AronianVadim ZvjaginsevKonstantin Landa
2004Zoltán AlmásiÉtienne BacrotMikhail Kobalia
2005Levon AronianIvan SokolovKlaus Bischoff
2006Étienne BacrotShakhriyar MamedyarovAlexander Grischuk
2007Victor BologanGata KamskyVassily Ivanchuk
2008Hikaru NakamuraSergei MovsesianAlexander Motylev
2009Alexander GrischukGata KamskyRustam Kasimdzhanov

Mini-Ordix und Mini-FiNet Open

In the years 2007 to 2009 special talent tournaments took place for the children. These were three Mini Ordix Open and three Mini FiNet Open: 2009 seven rounds with separate scoring in 5 age groups, and in 2008 and 2007 six rounds each with separate scoring for 4 age groups.
1. Mini ORDIX Open U14
Final score after 6 rounds with 107 participants: Constantin Göbel, Ramil Babayev and Anna Endress. Best in the age groups were: Anna Endress, Constantin Göbel, Stephan Hansch and Björn-Benny Bauer.
1. Mini FiNet Open U14 Final score after 6 rounds with 35 participants: Anna Endress, Alexander Jussupow and Constantin Göbel. Best in the age groups were: Anna Endress, Constantin Göbel, Stephan Hansch and Björn-Benny Bauer.
2. Mini ORDIX Open U14 Final stage after 6 rounds with 104 participants: Dennis Wagner, Joshua Aarash Hager and Johannes Carow. Best in the age groups were: Joshua Aarash Hager, Dennis Wagner, Alexander Donchenko and Elias Müller.
2. Mini FiNet Open U14 Final score after 6 rounds with 26 participants: Sebastian Kaphle, Carlo Pauly and Frederik Eigemann. Best in the age groups were: Sebastian Kaphle, Frederik Eigemann, Alexej Paulsen and Pascal Karsay.
3. Mini ORDIX Open U16 Final score after 7 rounds with 72 participants: Alexander Donchenko, Dominik Will and Frederik Eigemann. Best in the age groups were: Matthias Eimer, Dominik Will, Alexander Donchenko, Robert Baskin and Samuel Weber.
3. Mini FiNet Open U16 ''' Final score after 6 rounds with 32 participants: Johannes Carow, Carlo Pauly and Frederik Eigemann. Best in the age groups were: Achim Bluhm, Johannes Carow, Sonja Maria Bluhm, Robert Baskin and Elias Müller.

Chess960 Computer World Championship

As the highlight of the different show battles between humans and computers and humans versus computers, the Chess960 Computer World Championships in Mainz were held from 2005 to 2009.
YearWinnerSecondThird
2005Spike Jonny Glaurung
2006Shredder Jonny Ikarus
2007Rybka Shredder Spike
2008Rybka Shredder Naum
2009Rybka Shredder Deep thought