During FIDE European Rapid and Blitz Championship
Russia’s Ivan Popov won the rapid event — earning 10 points (out of 11 possible). Second place went to Armenia’s Grant Melkumyan and bronze was captured by Ukraine’s Vadim Razin.
Alexey Fiodorov did best within the Belarusian team, taking 9th place, to his own surprise. He admits, “I didn’t prepare for the tournament especially. I didn’t take part in the Blitz event and this helped me, as I was more mentally alert than the other participants.”
Until the last minute, young Belarusian Vladislav Kovalev was a favourite for a win. However, in the last round, he was placed behind Czech David Navara, who occupied fourth position. Sergey Azarov came 22nd and the Belarusian team leader, Sergey Zhigalko, finished 27th.
By Yegor Glebov
