Photos by Amruta Mokal/ChessBase India  

Although first round was by no means a one-sided battle for favorites, the second round was destined to be even tougher as the rating differences between paired opponents got less. All the games were hard-fought and contained interesting and bold play from young stars.

This years edition sees a record-breaking number of participation, players from 65 different countries have come to Gebze/Turkeycompete for the most important title U-20. But it’s not just about quantity. In the open section there are 30 players who have an ELO rating higher than 2500, which shows the strength of the competition. As for girls, it might seem to be not as strong as the open category but still in a very evenly matched field anything might happen,so lots of surprises and difficult battles should be expected in this category as well.

Let’s have a short look at first round in both sections.

Dear participants,

Tournament schedule revised according to the decision taken at Technical meeting today.

Istanbul Atatürk Airport: Upon arrival at the International Arrivals Terminal, our Guests must turn to the left, then it is a 50-meter walk where the passengers arrive to the Meeting Point No.1 which is located next to the Acıbadem Heatlhcare point in order to meet our official wearing a championship T-shirt and carrying championship symbols.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport: Upon arrival at the International Arrivals Terminal, our Guests must turn to the right, keep walking and arrive to the Meeting Point No.1 which is located next to the Acıbadem Mobile Healthcare Point and ATM in order to meet our official wearing a championship T-shirt and carrying championship symbols.