High-level chess players visit P.E.I. for prestigious tournament

At the Franklin Chess Center in Meadville, Miss., on Feb. 24, 2017. (Elijah Baylis / The Clarion-Ledger via AP)

The Maritime Chess Festival is taking place in Summerside, P.E.I., bringing some of the highest-level competitors to the province.

The event consists of five tournaments and is the largest of its kind in Atlantic Canada. It is said one of the most prestigious in the country.

This year’s event is said to be special, as it’s set to be the highest-level chess competition in the Maritimes this year, with two FIDE Masters, two Women FIDE Masters, and three National Masters taking part in the competition.

Three International Masters are also competing in the event, including Mark Plotkin, Mike Ivanov and Tangi Migot of Quebec. International master is the second highest title that can be awarded to a chess player behind Grand Master.

The winner of the Open Championship will have their name put onto the Colpitts Trophy, which has been awarded to the Maritime chess champion since 1947.

World’s second-best player visits P.E.I.

One of the world’s most famous chess players, Hikaru Nakamura, also made a surprise appearance in the tournament on Sunday and Monday.

Nakamura is ranked as the second-highest rated chess player in the world and five-time U.S. Chess Champion, as well as a World Fischer Random Chess Champion. He earned his title of grandmaster at the age of 15, and now boasts more than three million subscribers on YouTube.

Nakamura said on his YouTube channel he was taking part in the tournament as he needs to play 11 classical-rated games by 2026 to qualify for the FIDE Candidates Tournament, a prestigious tournament which is held every two years and only features eight of the world’s best players.

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