Right bank of the Alster against the left bank of the Alster

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Right Alsterufer versus Left Alsterufer , also known as the “Alsteruferturnier”, is a Hamburg school chess event that took place from 1958 to 1971 and has been held annually since 1976 (the tournament was canceled from 1972 to 1975). Today it is one of the largest chess tournaments in the world and took place in the Congress Center Hamburg until 2016 . The Barclaycard Arena has been the new venue since 2017 .

Host

The organizer is the authority for schools and vocational training . The main sponsor is Barclays , the Hamburg chess software company ChessBase is a secondary sponsor . The authority's technical committee organizes the tournament together with the Hamburg Youth Chess Association and the Hamburg Chess Association.

Attendees

At the tournament, a school team of eight from the right and left bank of the Alster (as seen from the source) are set up against each other (if one side has more teams , however, some teams have to compete for the "wrong" bank of the Alster). The competitions are scheduled in such a way that teams of the same strength as possible meet. The Hamburg Office for Schools supports the event with a challenge cup , which is awarded to an 8-0 winning team. In addition, the winning schools receive a trophy that they can keep. The teams from Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony are playing for a special cup. In addition to the main tournament, an alumni tournament has also been held since 2003.

history

The tournament was started in 1957 by teachers from what is now the Education and Science Union . In 1958, 193 pupils met for the first time under this name at the Heinrich Hertz School . In 1959 the world chess champion Michael Botwinnik and the grandmaster Salo Flohr visited the tournament.

In 1976 it was brought back to life by the then head of the Sport Department and has been organized annually since then without interruption. The current status (April 2017) since 1958 is 36 wins for the left bank and 19 wins for the right bank of the Alster.

In 1986 a world record was set with 382 teams of eight. In 1988 its own record was exceeded again, 3,616 students in 452 teams from 161 Hamburg and guest schools in the surrounding area. The then Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker was the guest of honor and even took part in the game. The world record found its way into the Guinness Book of Records . A new attendance record was aimed for in 2017. In addition to Barclaycard as a tournament sponsor and long-term supporter of the Hamburg school chess, the Hamburg S-Bahn supported the project with special "moves" and a special timetable. With 4240 participants, not only was the previous Hamburg participant record broken, but a new world record was also set. With the new result, the right bank of the Alster has won 20 times and the left bank of the Alster 36 times.

Imitations

Scene from the annual school chess tournament in Frankfurt (here from February 2, 2006)

In Frankfurt am Main , a tournament of schools around and in the Main metropolis was organized by the Frankfurter Sparkasse . It is called "Hibbdebach - Dribbdebach", which also refers to the northern and southern sides of the Main , based on the Hamburg event . In 2005 over 400 participants from elementary schools to high schools took part.

Chess sport

Due to the small number of games per player (1 to 2), the sporting significance of the results is low. Since there are always a number of teams with eight points, the winner is ultimately drawn. The luck of the draw is therefore predominantly decisive both for the selection of the opponent and for the victory. There is also no evaluation (DWZ, TWZ, Elo). The tournament itself has only a minor sporting significance, but due to its size, its level of awareness, its tradition and the nature of the event it has great advertising effectiveness for the game of chess.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alsteruferturnier | Right bank of the Alster against the left bank of the Alster. Accessed March 17, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Right against the left bank of the Alster: Register now! In: de.chessbase.com. February 3, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Schools: Record number of participants in the traditional school chess tournament. In: zeit.de . April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Editor: World record: 4200 students in traditional chess duel in Hamburg - "Right Alsterufer" wins - News4teachers. In: news4teachers.de. May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017 .