11th World University Chess Championship
Zurich, Switzerland - September 5th to 12th, 2010
The 11th World University Chess Championships reached an exceptional level with the participation of many grand masters and international masters.
For more than 150 years, Zurich University (founded in 1933) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technologies (ETH, founded in 1855), have attracted chess players from all over the world. The first academic club was created in 1870! On the strength of this long tradition, the Swiss Federation of University Sports (SHSV), in a joint effort with the 
Academic Sports Federation of Zurich and the Academic Chess Club of Réti, very naturally applied to organize the 11th World University Chess Championships in the city of Zurich. For 11 editions now, the tournament has systematically drawn grand masters in the discipline, both men and women. No doubt you realize that there are two individual tournaments held simultaneously in our championships, one for men and one for women, for the great pleasure of connoisseurs who don't miss the opportunity to watch the games on internet.
From the very outset, the tournament promised to be explosive with the presence of great stars like Chinese Wang Yue, 23 years old and the great favourite thanks to the FIDE (International Chess Federation) ranking him as the 8th world player, as well as two Russians, Igor Lysyj and Pavel Ponkratov. For the ladies, as is traditionally the case, the favourites came from countries like Russia, Georgia and Mongolia. Batkhuyag Munguntuul, a 23-year old champion from Mongolia, lined up a frightening list of wins and was the only female international master.
Women's Gold Medallist Munguntuul Batkhuyag (MGL)
For the team competition (combining men's and women's results), the favourite countries included Russia, Mongolia, as well as Serbia and Iran that had great ambitions.
In the opening ceremony, the organizing committee showed that it wanted the championships to be a magic cultural moment. Music and art enchanted a large audience. In all, 20 nations were accredited for the tournaments with 57 players for the men and 39 for the women. It was a pleasure to see the (modest) registration of the Seychelles for the first time.
Men's Gold Medallist Wang Yue (CHN)
Already in the first round, the surprises began, as the favourites, with the exception of Wang Yye, had trouble finding their pace. Igor Lysyj stumbled over the superb resistance of the Swiss international master Julien Carron, who very nearly took the game. The story was similar for the ladies, as Batkhuyag Munguntuul had trouble besting local Monika Seps.
But a chess tournament lasts a long time – the FISU tournament is played in 9 rounds, so there was time to get settled. Wang Yue proved to be by far the best at the game. This student in communication from Nanka University impressed us all with his technical mastery and his cool, that never left him throughout the championship. On the eve of the last day, he was already essentially certain of winning, but his fighting spirit did not let up for the last game against Russian Pavel Ponkratov. He took the game easily, battening down his gold medal. Behind him, Ismagambetov Anuar, from Kazakhstan took silver after a close battle with the bronze medal winner Georgian Davit Benidze.
Sopiko Guramishvili (GEO)The women's tournament was much less decisive. The favourite, Batkhuyag Munguntuul, managed to keep her place. She started the last round with only a half-point lead, and so she had to win to gain the gold medal. Her concentration was such that she didn't leave much hope for Khrasma Sukandar (INA), her opponent that day. At the end of the round, she had the top step on the podium followed by Serbian Lijilja Drljevic and Georgian Sopiko Guramishvili.
In the team competition, Mongolia came in ahead of Georgia and Russia.
We meet again in 2012 for the 12th edition of the World University Chess Championships to take place in Guimaraes, Portugal.
Organizing Committee
Dufourstrasse 22
8024 Zurich
Switzerland
Phone: +41 (44) 256 73 58
Fax: +41 (44) 256 73 54
E-mail: office@wucc2010.ch
FISU Technical Chair
Previous WUCs
OVERVIEW WUC CHESS PARTICIPANTS
News
01 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Competition, Art & Culture
05 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Competition Starts
06 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess: Top Seeds Struggle after Opening Ceremony
07 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Two Men and Two Women in the Lead
08 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Status Quo Maintained
09 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Wang Yue Learns Fast and Takes the Lead
11 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Wang Yue Secures Title with One Round to Go
11 Sep 10 - 2010 WUC Chess Update: Wang Yue and Batkhuyag Munguntuul win World University Chess Championship
FINAL STANDINGS
Men
1. GM Wang Yue (China) 8,5.
2. GM Anuar Ismagambetov (Kaz) 6,5 (38,5).
3. IM Davit Benidze (Geo) 6,5 (38,0, GM norm).
4. Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa (Mgl) 6,5 (37,5).
5. IM Vasily Papin (Rus) 6,5 (32,5) - 57 participants.
Women
1. WGM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (Mgl) 7,0.
2. WIM Ljilja Drljevic (Srb, WGM norm) 6,5 (37,5).
3. WGM Sopiko Guramishvili (Geo) 6,5 (37,0).
4. WIM Judith Fuchs (Ger) 6,5 (36,0).
5. Tamara Cheremnova (Rus) 6,0 (32,0) - 39 participants.
Nations' Ranking
1. Mongolia 19.
2. Georgia 18,5 (113).
3. Russia 18,5 (101).
4. Kazakhstan 18.
5. China 17.
- 10. Switzerland 14,5.
- 17 nations.
