Already the eighth grandmaster can be found on the list of participants of the Sparkassen Open A more than 3 months before the tournament starts and again it is a very prominent face:
GM Adrian Mikhalchishin (Slovenia) is now 10th on the starting list!
Not only has he held the title of Chess Grandmaster since 1978, but he is also one of the most successful chess coaches worldwide. He is chairman of the coaching committee of the world chess federation FIDE. He has long had ties to Dortmund, having won the Masters Tournament of the International Dortmund Chess Days in 1998. He has a particularly friendly relationship with Vladimir Kramnik, who will play in the No Castling World Masters again in 2022. Both chess-wise, "Kramnik was always ready for an attack and developed a fantastic technique", and humanly, "he never forgets old friends and colleagues", Mikhalchishin speaks highly of Kramnik. In the summer, both will now meet again at the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days and chess fans can meet these two legendary players up close and look over their shoulders.
Registrations for the Sparkassen Open are still possible.
Photo: GM Adrian Mikhalchishin (left) and IM Roberto Messa at the Turin Olympiad 2006, by Woodpusher.