The 8th edition of the Vera Menchik Memorial kicks off in England’s capital, London. The event is dedicated to the memory of the first women’s world chess champion Vera Menchik (1906-1944) who lived in England since she was 15.
The tournament gathers 10 female players in a fierce competition between eminent players and young chess talents. Spanish Chess Champion IM Marta Garcia Martin (Spain, 2356) is the highest-rated player in the tournament, which includes five-time British Chess Champion IM Harriet Hunt (England, 2307), former World Junior Women’s Champion (1985) GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (Scotland, 2290), Women’s Chess Olympiad individual silver medalist WGM Andreea Navrotescu (France, 2200), 22-year-old Kamila Hryshchenko (England, 2186), individual gold medalist at the Women’s Olympiad in 2006 WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni (Luxembourg, 2154), 27-year-old WGM Andreea-Marioara Cosman (Romania, 2115), 8-year-old rising star WCM Bodhana Sivanandan (England, 2088), WFM Olivia Smith (Wales, 2054) and 15-year-old WCM Anusha Subramanian (England, 1997).
Live games can be followed here.
Marking 80 years since Vera Menchik’s death, the participants will compete over 9 round-robin rounds, with the time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Tournament schedule:
Friday 22nd March: 9:45am Opening Ceremony & Photos
10am Round 1
3pm Round 2
Saturday 23rd March: 10am Round 3
3pm Round 4
Sunday 24th March: 10am Round 5
3pm Round 6
Monday 25th March: 10am Round 7
3pm Round 8
Tuesday 26th March: 10am Round 9
3pm Prize-giving
The event will be broadcasted live with commentaries by Mr Dodgy. The tournament director is Agnieszka Milewska, Director of Women’s Chess in England.
Starting list of players – The 8th Vera Menchik Memorial:
| No. | Name | FED | Rtg | |
| 5 | IM | Garcia Martin, Marta | ESP | 2356 |
| 3 | IM | Hunt, Harriet V | ENG | 2307 |
| 10 | GM | Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan E | SCO | 2290 |
| 6 | WGM | Navrotescu, Andreea-Cristiana | FRA | 2200 |
| 8 | Hryshchenko, Kamila | ENG | 2186 | |
| 7 | WIM | Steil-Antoni, Fiona | LUX | 2154 |
| 4 | WFM | Cosman, Andreea-Marioara | ROU | 2115 |
| 1 | WCM | Sivanandan, Bodhana | ENG | 2088 |
| 9 | WFM | Smith, Olivia | WLS | 2054 |
| 2 | WCM | Subramanian, Anusha | ENG | 1997 |
