The Norwegian Championships as a Chess Festival
Every year in early July, Norwegian chess players gather for the Landsturneringen, the national chess championship. This year, nearly 600 participants made their way to Bergen. The tournament took place at the Edvard Grieg Hotel, which provided excellent playing conditions.
The championships were held across various skill and age categories. In addition to the main competitions, there was a rich side program featuring tournaments, lectures, and simultaneous exhibitions. The annual congress of the Norwegian Chess Federation also took place during the same week at the Grieg Hotel.
With the exception of the elite tournament and the 65+ senior section, a double-round format was used to avoid an early Friday start for most players. Each day’s round started at 10:30 a.m., leaving plenty of time afterwards for other activities. In addition to the official Norwegian Blitz Championship, the week also featured a Bughouse tournament, team blitz with time handicaps, the Team Talk Blitz (pratelagsjakk), and even a football (soccer) tournament.
The Bughouse event was held as an unofficial Norwegian championship, with 70 two-player teams competing for a prize fund of 6,000 kroner. After the preliminary rounds, the top eight teams advanced to a knockout stage.
The winners were Benjamin Halvorsen and IM Mads Vestby-Ellingsen from Tromsø, who finished ahead of two young teams from Bergen.
2nd place: Sigur Myny (13) and Felix Wiger-Nordås (15)
3rd place: Mateja Krbacevic (13) and Aksel Elias Gjersvik (12)
Bughouse: IM/WGM Jovanka Houska teamed up with Robert Skytte against IM Torstein Bae and his son Anton. The latter duo made it to the quarterfinals. | Photo Holger Blauhut
In Team Talk Blitz, matches are played on six boards with a time control of 10 minutes per game plus a 5-second increment per move. However, each team consists of only two to four players, who are allowed to switch boards among themselves and communicate during the games.
In 2018, Magnus Carlsen supported a team in the Team Talk Blitz. And had no problems with the dress code. | Photo Anniken Vestby
Team Talk Blitz: IM Helge Nordahl keeps an eye on the action from his seat. | Photo: Holger Blauhut
In the more traditional approach to the game, the four players started on boards 1, 3, 4, and 6, while boards 2 and 5 were handled by both neighboring teammates. More entertaining, however, was the choreography of some teams, where players moved around each other like dancers. This format is very popular in Norway, attracting many elite players—including younger ones—to take part.
Reigning Norwegian champion Aksel Bu Kvaløy (age 16) postponed his preparation for the next day’s game and was rewarded shortly before midnight with a win in the Team Talk Blitz.
Top talkers: David Mindestrømmen Simonsen, IM Aksel Bu Kvaløy, and FM Martin Holten Fiskaaen. | Photo: Jonas Hundven
In the final, Kvaløy’s team Pawn Stars (Aksel Bu Kvaløy, Martin Holten Fiskaaen, David Mindestrømmen Simonsen) drew 3–3 against En springer i kjeften (Alexander Øye-Strømberg, Mathias Lind Schouten, Max Dahl, Birk Sæther Rostad). Hans Olav Lahlum, the inventor of Team Talk Blitz, came up with a way to calculate the tiebreaks based on the teams’ preliminary round opponents, and Kvaløy’s team was declared the winner.
In the team blitz with time handicap, 74 teams competed for a prize fund of 10,000 kroner. Each game was played with a total of 10 minutes on the clock. The time was divided between the teams based on the average Elo rating of each side:
|
Rating Difference (Elo Points) |
Time Control (Minutes) |
|
0–49 |
5 – 5 |
|
50–149 |
6 – 4 |
|
150–299 |
7 – 3 |
|
300–399 |
8 – 2 |
|
400–499 |
9 – 1 |
|
500+ |
9.5 – 0.5 |
Aksel Bu Kvaløy, who was leading the elite tournament with two rounds to go, didn’t miss the chance to take part again. And once more, he won.
Winners of the time-handicap blitz: IM Aksel Bu Kvaløy, FM Martin Holten Fiskaaen, and David Mindestrømmen Simonsen. | Photo: Anniken Vestby
The runners-up in the time-handicap final: William Olsen, Espen Siben Yang, Astor Moe Maurstad. | Photo: Anniken Vestby
Last year marked the debut of the Norwegian Women’s Blitz Championship. Along with the national title, the winner also earns a spot at the Blitz World Championship. A total of 44 players competed under excellent conditions, playing on the same boards used for the elite tournament. The event was overseen by three arbiters: IA Anniken Vestby, IA Monica F. Lauvik, and Anna Matsyiak. WGM Niina Koskela won the title with 7 points from 9 games. Just half a point behind were Christine Nordahl and Monika Machlik.
The winner, WGM Niina Koskela, has every reason to smile. Here she is before her game against WFM Nina Hagesæther. In the background, Ingrid Skaslien faces Live Jørgensen Skigelstrand. | Photo: Holger Blauhut
On the evening before the final round of the main tournament, the Norwegian Blitz Championships took place. The groups were organized similarly to the main event, with sections divided by junior and senior age groups as well as by Elo-based rating classes. However, in blitz chess, the Master, Candidate, and Elite classes are merged into a single “Master Class” for players rated 2000 and above. Both the preliminary rounds and finals were played using a continuous (round-robin or Swiss-style) system.
The tournament began with a delay due to unexpected international attention. A group of Chinese hackers had taken down the server running the tournament software, forcing organizers to manage everything by hand. Fortunately, players passed the time the best way possible—by playing blitz chess. The Master Class was won by Elham Amar, who dropped only half a point in the entire tournament, drawing with Aryan Tari.
Master Class Blitz: from left to right – IM Tor Fredrik Kaasen (2nd place), IM Joachim Birger Nilsen (6th), GM Aryan Tari (3rd), GM Elham Amar (1st), IM Kjetil Stokke (4th), IM Aksel Bu Kvaløy (5th). | Photo: Anniken Vestby
In the main tournament, 16-year-old defending champion Aksel Bu Kvaløy achieved his third GM norm with one round to spare, becoming Norway’s 20th grandmaster. Heading into the final round, he was tied for the lead with Jon Ludvig Hammer on 6 points from 8 games, holding a half-point lead over Elham Amar. Kvaløy’s final-round game ended in a draw after just 16 moves by repetition. Hammer seized the opportunity, defeated Håvard Haug in a rook endgame, and claimed the Norwegian championship title for the fourth time.
Hammer celebrating his fourth title| Photo: Anniken Vestby
Next year, the chess festival will take place in Kristiansund from July 3 to 11.
Final standings
Games
