! Iranian Chess Championship 2008 In Chessbase

 Report by Fide Master Arash Akbarinia

 Iranian Chess Championship 2008

 If you search the phrase “Iran Chess” in one of the search engines, what will appear on your monitor hardly has anything to do with chess as a sport. Most of the search results refer to the politics, the chess battle of Iran and USA, or the nuclear chess game the IAEA has accused Iran of playing. But this is not all that is happening in Iranian chess. Big pictorial report by Arash Akbarinia.

Iranian Chess Championship 2008

Report by FM Arash Akbarinia

Just a few years ago the idea of having a single Iranian grandmaster was only a fond wish, but currently there are five in the country, and one woman grandmaster to boot.

The Foreign Ministry of Iran. In the middle is the old building of the Foreign Ministry from the Qajar era. The new Ministry offices are on the right.

Thirty years ago there were only three volumes of the Chess Informator in Iran, so you can imagine how hard it was at that time to train chess. In contrast to those years, today just in Tehran almost eight chess schools are working quite intensively to raise champions, although it is not their only aim. Spreading chess as a sport and as an activity, which can improve brain abilities, is also one of their important goals.

Iran Chess Team at the second Asian Indoor Games, Macau, October 2007, won the Bronze Medal in the Team Rapid section. After that Bronze Medal In Doha Asian Games, this Medal was expected. From left to right top: IA Hamid Reza Pourshahmari, IA Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, FIDE delegate, Dr. Mohammad Ebrahim Maddahi, the President of Iran Chess Federation, GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, GM Elshan Moradi, FM Homayoun Tofighi. From left to right front row: IO Hadi Karimi, the General Secretary of Iran Chess Federation, WFM Mitra Hejazipour, WIM Shayesteh Ghaderpour, WIM Atousa Pourkashiyan, WGM Shadi Paridar, IM Khosro Harandi, Iran Capitan, Super-GM Nigel Short, Iran Team Trainer

It goes without saying that, in all sports, the national championship is one of the most important and most interesting events, even when all favourites do not take part. The importance comes from the champion sitting for a full year on the throne of the kingdom. So, let’s take a brief look at this year Iran Chess Championship, which took place, same as the last year, in the building of Iran Chess Federation, from the 14th to 27th March 2008, with the standard Fide time control (90 minutes + 30 seconds per move)

The women section started with 12 players, including one WGM, two WIMs and four WFMs. The number of players was reduced to 11 after the first round, due to the drop-out of WGM Shadi Paridar, the defender of championship. Finally, after 11 rounds or fight, the 19-year-old WIM Atousa Pourkashiyan became Miss 2008 of Iranian Chess , with 8.5 points.

WIM Atousa Pourkashiyan, student of Physical Education and Sport Sciences in Tehran University, World former U-12 Champion, added one more trophy to her uncountable international and national gallery! This photo was taken at the Asian Indoor Games, with Atousa worrying about her team’s match.

The very young WFM Mitra Hejazipour from Mashhad, the former U-10 World Vice-Champion, became in this tournament Vice-Champion as well! Mitra, who turned to 15 in the fifth round, managed to win the silver medal with 8 points.

Third place went to the most honoured Iranian Chess Family!! WIM Shayesteh Ghaderpour, GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami’s spouse, achieved the bronze medal ahead of Sareh Tajik who grabs the fourth place with 6.5 points.

WIM Shayesteh Ghaderpour, student of Hardware Engineering, who was the youngest player of Chess Olympiad of Armenia 1996 (at 12), received the Bronze Medal.

  Eightteen years-old Sareh Tajik, student of Civil Engineering, took the forth place

Final Ranking crosstable after 11 Rounds

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