2013 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival

It's January and that means the warm tradewinds of Gibraltar are beckoning chessplayers from around the world.  The weather, yes, but especially excellent playing conditions that the players have responded to over the years, and generous prize structures!  What's not to love about Gibraltar at the end of January?

The Masters attracts top talent from everywhere, and this year is no different.  Top female players include (all players numbered by rating):

25

14111330

Muzychuk, Anna

g

SLO

2582

29

13601903

Dzagnidze, Nana

g

GEO

2555

35

617822

Sebag, Marie

g

FRA

2530

36

1700030

Cramling, Pia

g

SWE

2518

38

2902257

Stefanova, Antoaneta

g

BUL

2516

39

12801259

Cmilyte, Viktorija

g

LTU

2515

40

5015197

Harika, Dronavalli

g

IND

2514

43

8603006

Ju, Wenjun

wg

CHN

2505

46

14101572

Zatonskih, Anna

m

USA

2491

47

4167570

Gunina, Valentina

m

RUS

2490

49

4641833

Paehtz, Elisabeth

m

GER

2482

52

4147855

Pogonina, Natalija

wg

RUS

2475

54

14114550

Muzychuk, Mariya

m

UKR

2471

55

12400149

Hoang, Thanh Trang

g

HUN

2470

69

13602446

Melia, Salome

m

GEO

2403

70

5007844

Tania, Sachdev

m

IND

2403

And many more chess femmes.  Thus far 233 players are registered just for the Masters Open!  A notable absence this year, though, is IM Irina Krush, currently U.S. Women's Chess Champion.  She will be providing live commentary instead!  Fellow Team America player IM Anna Zatonskih will again be holding a Master Class (she held one last year and it proved a very popular event), as well as playing in the Masters.

Prizes for the Masters Open:

Open to all		Prizes for best relative rating achievement
1st Prize	£20,000	Rating Band	1st Prize	2nd Prize
2nd Prize	£14,000	2500-2599	£3,000	£2,000
3rd Prize	£12,000	2400-2499	£2,000	£1,000
4th Prize	£10,000	2300-2399	£2,000	£1,000
5th Prize	£6,000	2200-2299	£2,000	£1,000
6th Prize	£4,000	2100-2199	£2,000	£1,000
7th Prize	£3,000	2000-2099	£2,000	£1,000
8th Prize	£2,500	Under 2000	£2,000	£1,000
9th Prize	£2,000	A player may not win more than one complete prize from this table.
10th Prize	£1,000
11th Prize	£1,000
12th Prize	£1,000

Open to all Women
1st Prize	£12,000
2nd Prize	£8,000
3rd Prize	£5,000
4th Prize	£3,500
5th Prize	£2,500
6th Prize	£2,000
7th Prize	£1,500
8th Prize	£1,000
9th Prize	£600
10th Prize	£400

You can be sure the fight for top women's prize of £12,000 will be fierce!  Top prizes for the Open and the special women's prizes are NOT shared.

The Festival runs January 21 - 31, 2013!  You can read more news and player entries at the official website.