Bridges of Ingul in Mykolayiv, Ukraine

Hello, my chess friends!

On the 4th of July, when the whole world knows about the great Day in the USA, Ukraine also has our own holiday - I mean, the Navy Day for our country.

On this day I was lucky enough to visit the city of Ukrainian shipbuilders, Mykolayiv.

Here I enjoyed the old architecture, saw a big sailing regatta. And most importantly, participated in a blitz tournament Bridges of Ingul, that brought together experienced masters from southern Ukraine and many young prodigies from another regions.

Me and Admiral monument near chess club

If you visit this wonderful city, please stop by the beautiful chess club on the city's embankment, located in the entourage of the monument to the admiral and overlooking the river Ingul.

The blitz tournament brought together 84 players who crossed pawns and rooks in a ruthless and dramatic battle, including five international masters and five FIDE masters.

In the end or 9 rounds game, first prize went to FM Levitskiy Andrey - 8 points! 

Second place got strong IM Borsuk Konstantin - 7.5.

And the third prize winner of this unforgettable event was Mykolayivian FM Punin Andrii that he pulled forward through additional coef among NM Starozhilov Leonid, IM Bogdanov Egor, Lymar Vladislav - all scored 7 points.

UAArtur with chess blogger and coach Andrii Punin

I very rarely play chess over the board. My eyes are not adapted to wooden squares, and the view of the electronic clock sometimes makes me quietly melancholy. Why? Because I expect that I will forget them again, and when I remember, I will gallop forward blundering five pieces every move.

Photo by Dmitriy Berin, Facebook

Yesterday, however, I got lucky and reached a 6 points during tournament. Also I collected several trophies, such as:

• two wins over the masters,
• a cash prize for twelfth (last in the prize list!) place,
• and absolutely the best result among under 1500 FIDE participants.

And yes, I got a more than +100 points for FIDE rating. Nice!

Here let me show you perhaps my most unusual trophy - a game in which the most unique idea = the zugzwang in the middlespiel was encountered in practice... First in my life!

Thanks for reading!