At the heart of the chess festival held in Stockholm over the turn of the year was the traditional Rilton Cup, which was staged for the 53rd time. The event was open to players rated 2200 and above, as well as women rated at least 2100 and junior players. The tournament was played over nine classical games with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move from move one, using the Swiss system. Over the years, the long list of winners has included players such as Jan Timman (1972 and 1973), Ilya Smirin (1989), Lars Bo Hansen (1994), and Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2008 and 2009). Last year’s winner, Amin Bassem, did not take part this time.
The King’s Indian Defence has been one of the most dynamic and popular responses to 1.d4 for decades. Legends such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Hikaru Nakamura have employed it at the highest level – and it continues to fascinate today, as it offers Black not only solidity but also rich attacking and counterattacking opportunities. Its special advantage: the King’s Indian is a universal system, equally effective against 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3. Grandmaster Felix Blohberger, multiple Austrian Champion and experienced second, presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black. His approach: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: London System
Of the three pre-tournament favourites rated above 2600, two lived up to expectations. Xu Xiangyu of China (2601) conceded only two draws and finished a full point clear of Anton Demchenko of Slovenia (2631). Both players remained unbeaten and drew their direct encounter in round five. The tournament did not run as smoothly for the third Elo heavyweight, Jon Ludvig Hammer. The Norwegian, who entered the event as the second seed with a rating of 2606, finished in a disappointing 29th place with 5.5 points. He lost in round six to the third-placed finisher, IM Mahadevan Siva of India (2427), and in round eight to the French IM Rajat Makkar (2396), who eventually finished 17th.
A particularly strong performance was delivered by the Austrian junior talent Lukas Dotzer (2478). The U16 player finished in a shared fifth place, which placed him sixth on tie-breaks. He was just half a point behind the players in second to fourth place and, apart from his loss to Demchenko, remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. A draw in the final round against the Pole Krzystof Raczek (2489) secured sixth place and a gain of 13 Elo points. In the previous round, Dotzer defeated the Czech player Bayarjavkhlan Delgerdalai (2376):
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
Final standings after 9 rounds
| 1 | GM | XU, Xiangyu | 2601 | 8 | 48,5 |
| 2 | GM | DEMCHENKO, Anton | 2631 | 7 | 50 |
| 3 | IM | SIVA, Mahadevan | 2427 | 7 | 45,5 |
| 4 | GM | DAI, Changren | 2551 | 7 | 44 |
| 5 | IM | XIE, Kaifan | 2426 | 6,5 | 46,5 |
| 6 | IM | DOTZER, Lukas | 2478 | 6,5 | 46 |
| 7 | GM | LI, Di | 2549 | 6,5 | 45,5 |
| 8 | GM | MESHKOVS, Nikita | 2561 | 6,5 | 45 |
| 9 | GM | SENGUPTA, Deep | 2479 | 6,5 | 45 |
| 10 | IM | RACZEK, Krzysztof | 2489 | 6,5 | 44 |
| 11 | GM | HEBERLA, Bartlomiej | 2508 | 6,5 | 42 |
| 12 | FM | RIEHLE, Marco | 2363 | 6,5 | 41,5 |
| 13 | IM | SARDANA, Rishi | 2459 | 6,5 | 40 |
| 14 | GM | ZHALMAKHANOV, Ramazan | 2454 | 6 | 49 |
| 15 | GM | BAUER, Christian | 2552 | 6 | 43,5 |
| 16 | IM | CIESLAK, Patryk | 2477 | 6 | 42 |
| 17 | IM | MAKKAR, Rajat | 2396 | 6 | 42 |
| 18 | IM | JAIN, Kashish Manoj | 2396 | 6 | 40,5 |
| 19 | IM | DIXIT, Nikhil | 2392 | 6 | 40 |
| 20 | GM | SEEMANN, Jakub | 2507 | 6 | 40 |
…168 participants
