{{Short description|Annual chess tournament held in Gibraltar}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} [[File:Vassily Ivanchuk caleta 2013.jpg|thumb|Vasyl Ivanchuk at the 2013 edition]] The '''Gibraltar International Chess Festival''' was a chess tournament held annually at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. Its eleven days of competition usually run from late January to early February. The inaugural edition, then known as the ''Gibtelecom Gibraltar Chess Festival'', took place in 2003, when fifty-nine competitors took part, of whom 24 held the FIDE Grandmaster title. In 2011 the festival was renamed to the ''Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival'' when Tradewise Insurance Company Ltd became the new primary sponsor.<ref>{{cite web|last=Crowther|first=Mark|title=Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2011|url=http://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/tradewise-gibraltar-chess-festival-2011|publisher=The Week in Chess|access-date=26 March 2016|date=3 February 2011}}</ref> Beginning in 2019 Tradewise no longer sponsored the tournament and the name was changed to the ''Gibraltar International Chess Festival''.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Name for Chess in 2019: 'Gibraltar International Chess Festival' |url=http://chronicle.gi/2018/02/new-name-for-chess-in-2019-gibraltar-international-chess-festival/ |website=Gibraltar Chronicle |access-date=1 February 2019}}</ref>
==History== The main event, the Masters, was open to all, and was voted the best open event in the world by the Association of Chess Professionals in 2011,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/acp-tournament-year-results|title=ACP | Injustice done to one is a threat to all}}</ref> 2012,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/special-acp-prize-be-awarded-tradewise-gibraltar-chess-festival-2013|title=ACP | Injustice done to one is a threat to all|access-date=2014-09-20|archive-date=2018-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020212/http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/special-acp-prize-be-awarded-tradewise-gibraltar-chess-festival-2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/london-candidates-tournament-year-2013|title=ACP | Injustice done to one is a threat to all|access-date=2014-09-20|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191537/http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/london-candidates-tournament-year-2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 2014.<ref>[http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/gibraltar-tradewise-chess-tournament-year-2014 Gibraltar Tradewise Chess is the Tournament of the Year 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020236/http://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/gibraltar-tradewise-chess-tournament-year-2014 |date=1 February 2018 }}. ACP. 16 April 2015</ref> Since 2011 an annual Gibraltar Junior International Chess Festival, also held at the Caleta Hotel, has been organised. It lasts five days and takes place in August and it comprises two events: under-16 and under-12.
The Director of the Gibraltar International Chess Festival has been Stuart Conquest since 2011.
In 2012, special stamps were issued by the Gibraltar Post Office to commemorate the tenth edition of the chess festival.<ref>[http://en.chessbase.com/post/gibraltar-masters-ivanchuk-wins-with-9-0-10-and-2968-performance ChessBase News: Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival], Chessbase News. Retrieved 21 September 2014</ref>
In 2012 Chinese grandmaster Hou Yifan, at the time ranked number two female chess player in the world, scored 8 points from a possible 10 in the Masters, tying for first place with Nigel Short before losing a play-off match for the first prize.<ref>[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7892 ChessBase News: Hou Yifan, Short win Gibraltar, Short wins play=off]</ref> During this event Hou Yifan defeated Judit Polgár, number one rated female chess player in the world from 1989 to her retirement as a professional player in 2014.<ref>[http://en.chessbase.com/post/hou-yifan-beats-judit-polgar-in-an-historic-encounter ChessBase News: Hou Yifan beats Judit Polgar in an historic encounter]</ref>
The highest score achieved in a Gibraltar Masters event has been 9 points from a possible 10, by Vasyl Ivanchuk in 2011, with a performance rating of 2968.
In 2017, Hou Yifan caused controversy by intentionally losing her final game of the tournament in 5 moves against Babu M.R. Lalith to protest the pairings. Hou had grown dissatisfied in recent years with playing in women-only tournaments, and had just dropped out of the Women's World Chess Championship cycle. In Gibraltar, she faced 7 women in her 10 games when the men/women ratio in the tournament was 4:1. The incident was resolved as an extremely unlikely series of computer-generated pairings which nevertheless actually happened, and the result of the protest game stood.
== List of winners == Since 2007, ties for first place in the Masters have been resolved by a tie-break. {{clear}} :{| class="sortable wikitable" ! Year !! Winner(s) !! Leading Female(s) |- | 2003 | {{flagicon|GRE}} {{sort|Kotronias, Vasilios|Vasilios Kotronias}}<br/>{{flagicon|ENG}} {{sort|Short, Nigel|Nigel Short}} | {{flagicon|HUN}} {{sort|Medvegy, Nora|Nóra Medvegy}} |- | 2004 | {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sort|Short, Nigel|Nigel Short}} | {{flagicon|SWE}} {{sort|Cramling, Pia|Pia Cramling}} |- | 2005 | {{flagicon|ARM}} {{sort|Aronian, Levon|Levon Aronian}}<br/>{{flagicon|UKR}} {{sort|Efimenko, Zahar|Zahar Efimenko}}<br/>{{flagicon|BUL}} {{sort|Georgiev, Kiril|Kiril Georgiev}}<br/>{{flagicon|ESP}} {{sort|Shirov, Alexei|Alexei Shirov}}<br/>{{flagicon|ISR}} {{sort|Sutovsky, Emil|Emil Sutovsky}} | {{flagicon|GEO}} {{sort|Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan|Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant}}<br/>{{flagicon|LTU}} {{sort|Cmilyte, Viktorija|Viktorija Čmilytė}}<br/>{{flagicon|SWE}} {{sort|Cramling, Pia|Pia Cramling}}<br/>{{flagicon|POL}} {{sort|Radziewicz, Iweta|Iweta Radziewicz}}<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} {{sort|Skripchenko, Almira|Almira Skripchenko}} |- | 2006 | {{flagicon|BUL}} {{sort|Georgiev, Kiril|Kiril Georgiev}} | {{flagicon|BUL}} {{sort|Stefanova, Antoeta|Antoaneta Stefanova}} |- | 2007 | {{flagicon|ARM}} {{sort|Akopian, Vladimir|Vladimir Akopian}} | {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sort|Houska, Jovanka|Jovanka Houska}} |- | 2008 | {{flagicon|USA}} {{sort|Nakamura, Hikaru|Hikaru Nakamura}} | {{flagicon|SCO}} {{sort|Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan|Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant}} |- | 2009 | {{flagicon|RUS}} {{sort|Svilder, Peter|Peter Svidler}} | {{flagicon|GEO}} {{sort|Dzagnidze, Nana|Nana Dzagnidze}} |- | 2010 | {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sort|Adams, Michael|Michael Adams}} | {{flagicon|UKR}} {{sort|Zhukova,Natalia|Natalia Zhukova}} |- | 2011 | {{flagicon|UKR}} {{sort|Ivanchuk, Vasyl|Vasyl Ivanchuk}} | {{flagicon|GEO}} {{sort|Dzagnidze, Nana|Nana Dzagnidze}} |- | 2012 | {{flagicon|ENG}} {{sort|Short, Nigel|Nigel Short}} | {{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Yifan, Hou|Hou Yifan}}<ref>[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7892 2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Festival Hou Yifan ties, Nigel Short wins]</ref> |- | 2013 | {{flagicon|RUS}} {{sort|Vitiugov, Nikita |Nikita Vitiugov}} | {{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Zhao, Xue|Zhao Xue}} |- | 2014 | {{flagicon|BUL}} {{sort|Cheparinov, Ivan |Ivan Cheparinov}} | {{flagicon|UKR}} {{sort|Muzychuk, Mariya|Mariya Muzychuk}} |- | 2015 |{{flagicon|USA}} {{sort|Nakamura, Hikaru|Hikaru Nakamura}} |{{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Yifan, Hou|Hou Yifan}} |- | 2016 | {{flagicon|USA}} {{sort|Nakamura, Hikaru|Hikaru Nakamura}} | {{flagicon|UKR}} {{sort|Muzychuk, Anna|Anna Muzychuk}} |- | 2017 | {{flagicon|USA}} {{sort|Nakamura, Hikaru|Hikaru Nakamura}} |{{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Wenjun, Ju|Ju Wenjun}} |- | 2018 |{{flagicon|ARM}} {{sort|Aronian, Levon|Levon Aronian}} |{{flagicon|SWE}} {{sort|Cramling, Pia|Pia Cramling}} |- | 2019 |{{flagicon|RUS}} {{sort|Artemiev, Vladislav|Vladislav Artemiev}} |{{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Zhongyi, Tan|Tan Zhongyi}} |- | 2020 |{{flagicon|RUS}} {{sort|Paravyan, David |David Paravyan}} |{{flagicon|CHN}} {{sort|Zhongyi, Tan|Tan Zhongyi}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.gibchess.com Official website]
{{Chess tournaments}}
Category:Invitational chess tournaments Category:Festivals in Gibraltar Category:2003 in chess Category:Recurring sporting events established in 2003 Category:2003 establishments in Gibraltar Category:International sports competitions hosted by Gibraltar Category:Annual events in Gibraltar Category:Chess in Gibraltar