Fide World Rapid

[Hans Jung]

Timur Gareev won his first four games and his reward was Black against Magnus.

[Hans Jung]

https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-rapid-blitz-2023-d1

[Hans Jung]

https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-rapid-blitz-2023-d2

[Victor Plotkin]

St.-Petersburg (Leningrad) is arguably the strongest chess city in the world. Fedoseev (2nd place in Open) and Bodnaruk (the winner) both from there.

[Hans Jung]

You could add the word still to be more accurate but it is remarkable and worthy of total respect. How many years has that been the case? This is a valuable historic fact.
(how many years did you live there Victor?)

[Hans Jung]

Victor, is Murzin from Leningrad?

[Victor Plotkin]

Victor, is Murzin from Leningrad?

Murzin is not from Petersburg. But Svidler (finished 12) and Matlakov (17) both from this city. Giri (24) was living in Petersburg many years (his mom is Russian and he is absolutely fluent in Russian).

I was living in S-P. first 22 years of my life.

[Hans Jung]

So a real chess pedigree. Wow!

[Hans Jung]

So if the top ten pl;ayers from St. Petersburg played the top ten players from St. Louis in a team match would you bet on St. Petersburg?

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

So if the top ten pl;ayers from St. Petersburg played the top ten players from St. Louis in a team match would you bet on St. Petersburg?

How many are home-grown St Louis players even IMs? sorry but that how much I know about the St Louis :)

[Hans Jung]

https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-rapid-blitz-2023-d3 Magnus wins again.

[Hans Jung]

Good point. I guess anybody can bring in professionals. St Louis has only one home grown IM so its no contest.

[Victor Plotkin]

Possible top-10 line-up (all time) from S-P. Botvinnik-Spassky-Korchnoi-Kamsky-Khalifman-Svidler-Chigorin-Sakaev-Salov-Levitina. I don't mention Karpov and Giri who both lived many years in this city.

Could you even imagine similar line-up for St.-Louis or any other American city?

Probably, only Moscow and Baku can compete.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Probably, only Moscow and Baku can compete.

Adrian Mikhalchishin posted a picture of Lvov (Ukraine) grandmasters. Looks a contender for a prize place :)
Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Romanishin, Mikhalchishin, and couple younger ones, then to add from older days Leonid Stein, then sisters Muzychuks.

Players from New York city should give a run to St-Louis - couple locals B Fischer and F.Marshall, some who came to NY - Steinitz, Capablanca, E. and Ed. Laskers, Kasparov (I heard he has home there or his kids live and he only visits), and some less known gms Dlugy, Benjamin, women seat with Irina Krush.

[Erik Malmsten]

Adrian Mikhalchishin posted a picture of Lvov (Ukraine) grandmasters. Looks a contender for a prize place :)
Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Romanishin, Mikhalchishin, and couple younger ones, then to add from older days Leonid Stein, then sisters Muzychuks.

Players from New York city should give a run to St-Louis - couple locals B Fischer and F.Marshall, some who came to NY - Steinitz, Capablanca, E. and Ed. Laskers, Kasparov (I heard he has home there or his kids live and he only visits), and some less known gms Dlugy, Benjamin, women seat with Irina Krush.

Also New Yorkers Donald and Robert Byrne, Rueben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky, Larry Evans, William Lombardy, Arthur Bisguier, and Pal Benko. Historically New York was the place in the US to go to play masters.