The composition of the championship this year, as in the past, is strong. For the first time in a rather long period of time, the last championship of Russia had the opportunity to perform VIII dan, which in itself speaks of the strength of the participants. True, according to the results of the past championship, no one performed the discharges (I thought I was the closest to discharge, but I did not have half a point to get V dan). This year the opportunity to perform VIII dan is also available.

There are several favorites for the championship. The main favorite, perhaps, is Konstantin Nikonov. Last year he finished second, gaining 10 points, but lost by the coefficient. Konstantin Nikonov is in very good shape: for the second year now he has become the champion of Moscow, and also wins the festival tournament “Larix”, which takes place a few weeks before the Russian championship.

Another favorite is Oleg Fedorkin. If someone can be called the champion of the city of Suzdal, then it is him, since he won a significant number of competitions of different levels, taking place in this city. Such tournaments include the festival “Vladimir-Open” of different years, and the European Championship, held in Suzdal in 2012. Last year, in the championship, he took 3rd place with 9.5 points.

Another favorite is the current champion of Russia Dmitry Epifanov. He won the championship for the second year in a row.

Maxim Karasev and Sergey Artemyev are also applicants for places in the top three. However, their lack of tournament and match practice makes them unlikely candidates for the championship.

You can also note Alexander Mikhailov, in the year before last in the championship of Russia, he took second place. However, the poor form prevented him from even reaching the six last year (he finished seventh with 9 points, but with the lowest odds in the nine-point group). It is difficult to predict what his performance will be this year, but it is worth noting that he is traditionally one of the contenders for the medals.

Dmitry Epifanov made his forecast of the distribution of places based on Russian and international ratings, taking into account the personal account between each pair over the past 5 years:
Nikonov
Epifanov
Fedorkin
Karasev
Artemyev
Hook
The final six in his forecast is the same as last year, but with slight changes in the places occupied by the players.

A small vote in the Renzist circles also identified Konstantin Nikonov as the most likely winner.

An interesting situation is also with the women’s championship of Russia. The clear favorite is the current champion Olga Kurdina, her competition will be Cyrus Laško, Nonna Salnikova and Alexandra Sumarokova.

The first games of the XXIII Championship of Russia in Renju will begin tomorrow.