Pier Luigi Basso wins the Maranello blitz marathon
The young International Master Pier Luigi Basso (born 1997), from the province of Treviso, won the blitz marathon of 19-20 November with a final score of 61 points out of 67. 49 players from all over Italy were at the start. A lower number than expected, probably attributable to the overcrowded November calendar and the overlap with other important chess events in the region and neighbouring regions. The 67 rounds in total were played by adding a final 18-round Swiss tournament to the 49-round round-robin. The tournament recorded a very high average Elo: 1,963 points. Second was another young International Master: Andrea Stella from Cremona (59 points). The podium was completed by another expert blitz player, the Ukrainian FIDE Master Grigory Seletsky (with 56 points). Fourth overall International Master Milan Mrdja from Zagreb with 55.5 points, fifth overall FIDE Master Christian Cacco from Vicenza (53.5 points), sixth overall Grandmaster Kenny Solomon from Venice (also with 53.5 points but behind Cacco because he obtained a lower score in the round robin) and seventh overall the young FIDE Master Alberto Barp from Belluno (51.5 points). The band winners are: first in the 2000-2200 band Marco Gallana from Venice (46 points, 9th overall), first in the 1800-2000 band Massimiliano Ballista from Modena (38 points, 15th overall), first in the 1600-1800 band Claudio Castellari from Bologna (30 points, 33rd overall), first in the 1450-1600 band Matteo Crippa from Como (20.5 points, 41st overall) and first in the band below 1450 Cristiano Bolognese from Como (8.5 points, 47th overall). The tournament started at 10.40 on Saturday and, with 2 quick breaks for lunch and dinner, ended at 4 at night. The unusual night-time prize-giving ceremony took place immediately afterwards. A total of 1,608 games were played, net of byes. In the 1,176 games of the Round Robin (first 49 rounds) there were 577 wins for White (49.1%), 100 draws (8.5%) and 499 wins for Black (42.4%). The exceptional chief arbiter for the occasion was International Arbiter Sergio Pagano, who kindly accepted the organisers' invitation. Sincere thanks to Sergio for his availability. Thanks of course also to all the other arbiters who took turns during the 17 hours of play: Luciano Panini, Andrea Vezzelli and Adriano Verrelli, who made themselves available from morning until the dead of night to arbitrate this unusual chess event. Thanks also to the Villa di Là agriturismo for the excellent venue offered and for the delicious typical local cuisine with which the players recharged their batteries during the two breaks. Obligatory thanks also to our friend and co-organiser Marco Benincasa for the excellent management of the event and the organisational coordination. Congratulations to all the winners and to all the participants for the sportsmanship shown during the tournament. In the concrete hope of repeating the event again, greetings and thanks to all the marathon players.
Photos: 17-hour non-stop Blitz Marathon
88 photos