GM Bharath Subramaniyam, champion of the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament (PHOTO: David Llada)
The Indian player Bharath Subramaniyam has won the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament (2573). The Chilean Cristóbal Henríquez, runner-up. The third place went to the American Brewington Hardaway.
How difficult it is to stay at the top of a chess tournament for ten rounds! Each game involves facing opponents capable of punishing the slightest mistake; the pressure increases as expectations grow. Therefore, to reach the last round with real options and, finally, to win the first place, not only shows chess talent, but also an exceptional psychological strength.
The Indian grandmaster Bharath Subramaniyam, scoring 8 points out of 10, has been all tournament in the provisional positions of privilege, that noble zone that feeds the hopes of getting a good economic prize when the competition ends. The 5,000 euros that await the champion are an attraction that extends to the 500 euros obtained by the 25th classified, making the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament a highly recommended event for professionals of the game-science. 
GM Cristóbal Henríquez, runner-up of the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament (PHOTOGRAPH: David Llada)
Second place in the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament went to the Chilean grandmaster Cristóbal Henríquez, who will also leave Sant Boi de Llobregat with good feelings. The 3,500 euros he got after his participation in the tournament held at the Sercotel Sant Boi hotel do justice to the 7.5 points of performance, just one step away from the overall victory. 
GM Brewington Hardaway, third in the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament (PHOTOGRAPH: David Llada)
Third place, also with 7.5 points, went to the American grandmaster Brewington Hardaway. It also leaves us with an important life lesson: Hardaway, in the second round, lost against all odds to the incombustible grandmaster Karen Movsziszian. In these circumstances, the overexertion of climbing up the rankings can demotivate the professional, even causing him to drop out of the tournament. However, Hardaway has staged a comeback that has guaranteed him a place of honor and, in addition, 2,500 euros.
https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1149162.aspx?lan=2&art=1&rd=10&turdet=YES&flag=30&SNode=S0
In Group B, the victory in the tournament went to Elsultan Kaliakhmet (7 points); second place went to Joana Ros (6.5) and third place, with the same score, to Xavier Escoriza.
https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1223188.aspx?lan=2&art=1&rd=9&turdet=YES&flag=30&SNode=S0
The new international master Álex Villa Tornero, sponsored by El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament, made the traditional ringing of the bell (PHOTO: David Llada).
The traditional ringing of the bell, which started the tenth and last round, corresponded to the new international master Álex Villa, sponsored by El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament.
The mayoress of Sant Boi de Llobregat and president of the Diputació de Barcelona, Lluïsa Moret (PHOTO: David Llada).
The closing ceremony was very emotional, being honored with the visit of César Thovar, Delegate of Sports of the Generalitat de Catalunya in Baix Llobregat; the mayoress of Sant Boi de Llobregat and president of the Diputació de Barcelona Lluïsa Moret; the deputy mayor of Sant Boi de Llobregat Maria Valencia, the vice-president of the Federació Catalana d’Escacs Teresa Muñoz and the journalist of the newspaper La Vanguardia Roberto Rodríguez, who interviewed the very young IM Roman Shogdzhiev.
César Thovar, Sports Delegate of the Generalitat de Catalunya in Baix Llobregat, presents the trophy for best veteran (+50) to GM Karen Movsziszian (PHOTO: David Llada). of best veteran (+50) to GM Karen Movsziszian (PHOTO: David Llada)
The Armenian grandmaster Karen Movsziszian has been awarded as the best veteran in the +50 category (in which he had already been European champion).
IM Víctor Vehí receives the trophy of best veteran (+65) from Teresa Muñoz, vice-president of the Federació Catalana d’Escacs (PHOTO: David Llada)
The international master Víctor Vehí has been proclaimed best veteran in the category +65, receiving the award from Teresa Muñoz, vice-president of the Federació Catalana d’Escacs (FCE).
Adinur Adilbek, from Kazakhstan, world U-8 rapid chess champion (PHOTO: David Llada).
In the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament 12 master rules have been achieved. For fans of the history of the sport, we remember the milestones achieved by El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament in the five previous editions:
- Best open held in Spain in the 2022 and 2023 editions, as certified by the Consejo Superior de Deportes and the FEDA (Spanish Chess Federation).
- We had more than one thousand participants; 50% international graduates.
- An average of 45 countries are represented at each edition.
- EL LLOBREGAT played: Gukesh, Narayanan, Abdusattorov, Mateusz Bartel, Erijaisi, Muraliu Karthikeyan, Puranik, Alvar Alonso, Maxime Lagarde, Kulkarni Bhakti, Mobina Alinasab, Rakshitta Ravi, Savitha Shri Baskar, Privanka Nutakki, Jaime Santos, Sara Khadem, Sabrina Vega, Lucas Van Foreest, Francisco Vallejo, Yangyi Yu, Ivan Cheparinov, Vladimir Fedoseev, Kiriil Alekseenko, Jaime Santos, Ponomariov, Amin Tabatabaei, Matthias Bluebaum, Vahap Sanal, Antoaneta Stefanova, Hans Niemann, Alain Pichot, Fernando Peralta… and so on up to more than a hundred grandmasters.
- In 2024, female participation was 17% (FIDE average is 11%; Spanish 6%; Catalan 7%).
- MI and MF participants have been able to obtain 47 higher master’s certificates.
- In 2024 we broadcast from 63 electronic boards and 12 cameras; 40,762 users from 40 countries connected to elllobregat.com/openchess, with a total of 71,515 pages served. On YouTube, the videos generated during the tournament totaled 415,892 views.
WGM standard for Guldona Karimova (PHOTOGRAPH: David Llada)
We would also like to mention the young Guldona Karimova, who has achieved her first female grandmaster norm in the VI El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament with a meteoric progression. Keep in mind that three years ago she did not even have an Elo of 1600… What a talent!
We would like to thank our sponsors: El Llobregat (magazine), Ajuntament de Sant Boi, Generalitat de Catalunya, Aigües de Barcelona and Diputació de Barcelona, without whose invaluable help an event of this magnitude would not be possible.
We are waiting for you at the VII El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament! https://www.elllobregat.com
