MEMBERS

Chess Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk
and Darts Champion Andy Fordham
win First World Championchip Chessdarts 2005

On February 28, 2005 the first World Championship in Chessdarts took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 32 chess pieces and 3 darts in addition to some excellent darts and chess players is everything you need for an unique and original event. The venue of the World Championship was the magnificent Krasnopolsky Hotel, in exactly the same room where Max Euwe beat Alexander Alekhine in 1935. The organizer of the event was the energetic director of the successful company Hotels.nl, Mr. Kees Eldering. In each team there was one darts and one chess player. Every team member competed in his own discipline. For every win the team got a point. Among the darts players was the 2004 World champion Andy Fordham, who was teamed with the Current Women Chess European Champion and celebrity GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. Darts player Raymond van Barnevelt, a true Summit in darts was also present, teamed with IM Tea Lanchava. Here is a report and some pictures of this extraordinary event:



The smiling winners and First ChessdartsWorld Champions 2005: GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and Andy Fordham (called "The Beauty and the Beast" by the press - see article in DA by clicking here)


Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk holding the enormous World Champions cup.



In the semifinals Alexandra Kosteniuk played 2 games against IM Yge Visser and won both of them. This performance put her and her teammate Andy Fordham into the final.



Tea Lanchava and her teammate Raymond van Barnevelt, who is a truly famous darts player, won their semifinal, too. In the final the spectators saw a match between the two women chess players and two great darts players.



Alexandra Kosteniuk won all 3 games against Tea Lanchava and did a great performance at the World Championchip with 5 out of 5. The final was played with best of 7 which means that Alexandra's teammate Andy Fordham's performance, with his one win, was sufficient to get the title since Alexandra put 3 points into the purse.




The organizer of the event, Kees Eldering, is the director of the successful company Hotels.nl and a serious chessplayer, too. We are thankful to Kees for the great event he invented and put into place.


You will find all 73 pictures of this historic event by clicking here.

Photos (c) Pufichek, www.kosteniuk.com