Vignesh N R dominates 24th NordWest Cup 2023
IM Vignesh N R scored an unbeaten 6/7 to win 24th NordWest Cup in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. He finished a half point ahead of the field. Nine players finished 5.5/7. His brother, GM Visakh N R was among them and he was placed fifth according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund combining three groups was €5000. The top three prizes in Group A (>1850) were €1200, 800 and 600 along with a trophy each respectively. Vignesh won ₹106208 approximately. The last tournament the elder brother, Vignesh won was 34th All India Railway Chess Championship 2022 in November. Photo: Official site
Terrific start for Vignesh
The only time an Indian won this event was when GM Sethuraman S P won it in 2015. Last year, it was Vignesh's younger brother, GM Visakh N R who dominated several tournaments all over Europe in the summer. This year could possibly be the year of Vignesh.
A total of 161 players including 7 GMs, 16 IMs and a WIM took part in the Open A (>1850) category from various countries across the world. The four-day seven-round Swiss league Rating tournament was organized by SK Union Oldenburg e.V. and SC Schwarzer Springer Bad Zwischenahn e.V at Bad Zwischenahn in Germany from 26th to 29th January 2023. The time control of the tournament was 40 moves in 90 minutes + 15 minutes for the rest, 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final standings
| No | startNb | title | name | elo | club | pts | buchh. | BuSu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | IM | Vignesh N R | 2493 | 6 | 27 | 168 | |
| 2 | 25 | IM | Lammers,Markus | 2297 | HSK Lister Turm | 5,5 | 29,5 | 161 |
| 3 | 9 | IM | Pfreundt,Jakob | 2407 | HSK Lister Turm | 5,5 | 29,5 | 157,5 |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Van den Doel,Erik | 2581 | SG Porz e. V. | 5,5 | 28 | 163 |
| 5 | 2 | GM | Visakh N R | 2544 | SC Heusenstamm | 5,5 | 28 | 159,5 |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Korneev,Oleg | 2481 | 5,5 | 27,5 | 158,5 | |
| 7 | 11 | IM | Meins,Gerlef | 2424 | Werder Bremen | 5,5 | 27 | 155,5 |
| 8 | 7 | IM | Feuerstack,Aljoscha | 2462 | FC ST.Pauli 1910 eV SAbt | 5,5 | 26,5 | 160 |
| 9 | 13 | IM | Koellner,Ruben Gideon | 2417 | 5,5 | 25,5 | 153 | |
| 10 | 40 | Stricker,Florian | 2179 | SpVgg Sterkrade Nord | 5,5 | 22 | 152 |
