Icelanders on Top

Icelandic players performed best in the large Janus Open chess tournament over the weekend. Both the winner and the runner-up were from Iceland.

Símun Þórhallsson won the tournament with seven points out of eight possible. Dagur Ragnarsson finished in second place, half a point behind.

The Faroese champion Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen, who had the highest rating of all the participants, finished in third place with the same number of points as Dagur Ragnarsson, Luitjen Akselsson Apol, and Jón Kristinn Thorgeirsson.

No fewer than 135 players took part in the tournament at Kolshøll in Eiði over the weekend. The field included adults and young players, children and seniors, women and men, Faroese players, Nordic players, and participants from further afield.

Interest in the chess tournament in Eiði was strong over the weekend, including among the youngest players.

Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen was the rating favourite in Janus Open both last year and again this year, but has yet to claim the title. His results against the two leading Icelandic players yielded only half a point, which ultimately proved costly.

Símun Þórhallsson edged half a point ahead of his countrymen Dagur Ragnarsson and Jón Kristinn Thorgeirsson, as well as the Faroese players Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen and Luitjen Akselsson Apol.

Símun Þórhallsson and Dagur Ragnarsson were the only players to go through the tournament unbeaten.

Rógvi Egilstoft, Sjúrður Thorsteinsson, and Elias Petersen, like Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen and Luitjen Akselsson Apol, finished among the top ten with six points each.

It appears that this tournament is here to stay.

More information can be found on the website janusopen.fo.

Final top-10 standings in Janus Open II

1. Símun Þórhallsson (2192), Iceland – 7 points

2. IM Dagur Ragnarsson (2363), Iceland – 6½ points

3. IM Høgni Egilstoft Nielsen (2391), Faroe Islands – 6½ points

4. Luitjen Akselsson Apol (2305), Faroe Islands – 6½ points

5. Jón Kristinn Thorgeirsson (2270), Iceland – 6½ points

6. Sjúrður Thorsteinsson (2132), Faroe Islands – 6 points

7. Rógvi Egilstoft (2313), Faroe Islands – 6 points

8. Søren Bach Hansen (2230), Denmark – 6 points

9. Elias Petersen (2109), Faroe Islands – 6 points

10. Páll Gauti Jónsson (2133), Iceland – 6 points

The 27-year-old Icelander Símun Þórhallsson won the Janus Open II chess tournament in Eiði.