Many interesting and high-class tournaments are
held in
Norway
this year. Among them is BNbank Blitz in
Oslo
28. November, with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru
Nakamura among the participants.
The big star of BNbank Blitz 2009
BNbank Blitz will be played as a knock-out
tournament with 16 participants. Ten of the
players are invited stars, while six players
will win their spot in one of the qualifying
tournaments 31. October. The qualifiers will
take place in the Norwegian cities
Oslo, Tromsø,
Bergen, Trondheim,
Porsgrunn and
Stavanger, and could be a
once-in-a-life-time opportunity to win a game
against Magnus Carlsen.
Carlsen is of course the favorite in BNbank
Blitz, but he will face fierce competition. US
Champion Hikaru Nakamura will perhaps be the
greatest challenger, but several Nordic top
players will also join the battle. Peter Heine
Nielsen from Denmark is known as World Champion
Vishy Anand’s second, and his great knowledge of
chess openings will be a great asset in this
tournament. Swedish Champion Emanuel Berg has
also shown good form lately, and will be a
dangerous opponent in BNbank Blitz.
Carlsen and Nakamura faced off in Gjovik this
January
Among the other Norwegian participants is GM Jon
Ludvig Hammer, who has been Magnus’s class mate
at the Norwegian College
of Elite Sport. Hammer has achieved many
impressive results the last year, and is
currently the second highest ranked player in Norway.
Jon Ludvig Hammer, Norway's second big hope
The tournament will also feature several world
class female players, among them GM Monika Socko,
who recently won the Arctic Chess Challenge in
Tromsø ahead of many other strong grandmasters.
The similar tournament Glitnir Blitz, which was
held in
Oslo in 2007, was a great
success. Blitz World Champion Alexander Grischuk
won the final against Magnus Carlsen. Magnus has
of course improved with an amazing speed the
last two years, and will therefore play the part
as top seed this time.
More on this year’s tournament, including
portraits of all the invited players, at the
tournament website.
