Vladyslav Larkin wins open tournament in picturesque Wasselonne

Larkin prevails in Wasselonne

I have often travelled far and wide during my chess career – for example, to Australia or Hawaii – but this time I went with my son Max to a tournament that, from Freiburg, is practically “on the doorstep”: Wasselonne in Alsace. Travelling by train and bus via Offenburg and Strasbourg still took a while, and along the way I tried to revive my rusty French and equip Max with a few useful words. However, in Alsace you can also get by well with other languages – many older people speak German or Alsatian, while in the younger generation, as elsewhere, English has become dominant.

In Strasbourg, many signs are bilingual, but misunderstandings are, of course, still possible…

Wasselonne is a small town with just under 6,000 inhabitants, but the local club, the Club d’Echecs de la Mossig, is extremely active – with so many people wearing club t-shirts, one might assume that virtually all members were either involved in organising or playing in the tournament. This year marked the 27^th edition of the Open. In the large sports hall, all sections – from Open A to Open C – enjoyed equally good playing conditions, with plenty of space and name cards for each participant, a rarity in opens. Many of the 274 players came from the surrounding area; most of the foreign participants, understandably, from nearby Germany, but some had travelled from further afield, bringing the total to 17 nations represented.

Notable was the high proportion of women and girls in the C-Open, making up more than a quarter of the field

Philipp Schlosser with his students

Three grandmasters took part in the A-Open, including last year’s winner Philipp Schlosser – pictured here with two of his students from Baden-Baden, twins Julius and Johannes Semling. Incidentally, all three share the same birthday!

The course is designed to provide a deep yet practical repertoire for Black, balancing solid foundations with aggressive counterplay.
The Classical Sicilian has stood the test of time as one of the most principled and fighting defences against 1.e4. With its rich history spanning world championship matches and modern elite tournaments, this opening remains a favourite among players who seek a dynamic, counterattacking approach without venturing into extreme theoretical battles like the Najdorf or Sveshnikov.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 6.h3

GM Bilel Bellahcene (27) was born in Strasbourg but has represented Algeria since 2018 and is the reigning African champion

IM Vladyslav Larkin

Most games between the top finishers ended in quick draws, with real battles fought only against lower-rated opponents – understandable from the professionals’ perspective given the number of double rounds, but a little disappointing for the spectators. The approach worked best for Ukrainian IM Vladyslav Larkin, who eventually had the best Buchholz score among the six players tied for first place.

There were also prizes in many other categories (rating, seniors, juniors, etc.) – here are the A-Open prize-winners…

…and those from the C-Open – where all U8 players were awarded a medal.

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

All in all, a very pleasant tournament with excellent playing conditions and a friendly atmosphere. The only disconcerting aspect was that many people were moving around the tournament hall with mobile phones (some of which rang on several occasions). While in some (especially official FIDE) tournaments anti-cheating measures have perhaps been taken to excess recently, in my view it should at least be assumed that spectators should not carry switched-on phones in the playing area. All the more so as there was a good alternative here: next to the tournament hall there was another large room for analysis and socialising, where various food and drinks were available. Unsurprisingly, this area was particularly busy between double rounds.

While Max was playing, I was able to explore the surroundings a little – here in the attractive town centre with its market and castle tower

Just before the prize-giving ceremony there was a special opportunity to visit the Silbermann organ, built in 1745, in the Church of Saint-Laurent. Volker Antusch, who also played in the C-Open, gave a short musical presentation there

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