The Paul Keres Memorial Tournament is a chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 tournament played in honour of the chess legend Paul Keres

Paul Keres

Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....

 (1916–1975).
It is being played mainly in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Canada and Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

.

An annual international chess tournament has been held in Tallinn every other year since 1969. Keres won this tournament in 1971 and 1975. Starting in 1977 after Keres' death, it has been called the Paul Keres Memorial Tournament. From 1991, the tournament has been held yearly and changed into a rapid event. From 1999 this tournament also had a women's section. In the past twenty years, apart from this rapid tournament, several other memorial tournaments have been played in honour of Keres.

In 1975, Keres won a tournament in Vancouver. It was his last tournament he would ever play in, as on his way back to his native Estonia, he died from a heart attack. There has been an annual memorial tournament in Vancouver ever since.

Tallinn International

The Tallinn International has been held every other year from 1969 to 1989. It was named after Keres from 1977.

#	Year	Winner
1	1969	Leonid Stein Leonid Stein Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
2	1971	Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....   Paul Keres Paul Keres Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
3	1973	Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
4	1975	Paul Keres Paul Keres Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
5	1977	Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
6	1979	Tigran Petrosian Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
7	1981	Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
8	1983	Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
9	1985	Sergey Dolmatov Sergey Dolmatov Sergey Viktorovich Dolmatov is a Russian Grandmaster of chess and former World Junior Chess Champion.Born in Kiselevsk in the former Soviet Union, Dolmatov's solid yet enterprising style of play was soon to launch him to the forefront of youth chess, culminating in him winning the World Junior...
10	1987	Mikhail Gurevich Mikhail Gurevich (chess player) Mikhail Naumovich Gurevich is a Soviet chess player. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey....
11	1989	Georgy Timoshenko  Lembit Oll Lembit Oll Lembit Oll was an Estonian chess grandmaster. He was already successful as a junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. FIDE awarded him the IM-title in 1983 and the GM-title in 1992...   Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 is a chess player, who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987 and was named Estonian sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1989...

Tallinn Rapid

From 1991 the Tallinn international has been replaced by an annual rapid tournament. From 1999, the tournament has had a separate women's section.

#	Year	Winner	Women's section
1	1991	Anto Remmel
2	1992	Leonid Yudasin Leonid Yudasin Leonid Grigoryevich Yudasin is a prominent chess grandmaster and trainer, now living in New York City.Awarded the International Master title in 1982, he secured the International Grandmaster title in 1984, the year he became Leningrad Champion...
3	1993	Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 is a chess player, who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987 and was named Estonian sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1989...
4	1994	Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
5	1995	Lembit Oll Lembit Oll Lembit Oll was an Estonian chess grandmaster. He was already successful as a junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. FIDE awarded him the IM-title in 1983 and the GM-title in 1992...
6	1996	Vassily Ivanchuk
7	1997	Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov is a Lithuanian-Swiss chess Grandmaster.Gavrikov shared 1st with Gintautas Piešina in the 1978 Lithuanian Chess Championship at Vilnius...
8	1998	Suat Atalık Suat Atalik Suat Atalık is a Grandmaster of chess. As of the July 2009 FIDE rating list, he is ranked number 165 in the world and number two in Turkey, behind Mikhail Gurevich....   Lembit Oll Lembit Oll Lembit Oll was an Estonian chess grandmaster. He was already successful as a junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. FIDE awarded him the IM-title in 1983 and the GM-title in 1992...
9	1999	Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov is a Lithuanian-Swiss chess Grandmaster.Gavrikov shared 1st with Gintautas Piešina in the 1978 Lithuanian Chess Championship at Vilnius...	Tatiana Stepovaia
10	2000	Vassily Ivanchuk	Tatiana Stepovaia
11	2001	Jan Timman Jan Timman Jan Timman is a Dutch chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West"...	Viktorija Čmilytė Viktorija Cmilyte Viktorija Čmilytė is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster . She won the gold medal at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship in 2011...
12	2002	Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov Viktor Gavrikov is a Lithuanian-Swiss chess Grandmaster.Gavrikov shared 1st with Gintautas Piešina in the 1978 Lithuanian Chess Championship at Vilnius...	Dana Reizniece
13	2003	Alexander Morozevich Alexander Morozevich Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....	Pia Cramling Pia Cramling Pia Cramling is a Swedish chess grandmaster. Since the early 1980s, she has been one of the strongest female players in the world....
14	2004	Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...	Maia Chiburdanidze Maia Chiburdanidze Maia Chiburdanidze is a Georgian chess grandmaster, and the seventh Women's World Chess Champion. She is the only chess player in history who has won nine Chess Olympiads....
15	2005	Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...	Ekaterina Kovalevskaya Ekaterina Kovalevskaya Ekaterina Kovalevskaya is a Russian chess player with the titles International Master and Woman Grandmaster . She won the Russian women's championship in 1994 and 2000. and was runner-up in the Women's World Chess Championship 2004.-External links:...
16	2006	Vassily Ivanchuk  Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...   Rustam Kasimdzhanov Rustam Kasimdzhanov Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...	Ilse Berzina
17	2008	Vladimir Malakhov	Ilse Berzina  Viktorija Čmilytė Viktorija Cmilyte Viktorija Čmilytė is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster . She won the gold medal at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship in 2011...

Keres Memorial Festival

In the 1990s there have been several Keres memorials in Tallinn which were played at regular time control. These tournaments seem to have been held irregularly. At present there is an annual Keres Memorial Festival which started off in 2004 with a special rapid tournament, where Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand

V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....

 emerged as a winner, followed by a regular tournament. The winners of the regular tournament for 2004 and subsequent years are listed below. The field of these tournaments has been notably weaker than that of the rapid tournaments.

Year	Winner
2004	Kaido Külaots Kaido Külaots Kaido Külaots is an Estonian chess Grandmaster .He won Estonian Chess Championship in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010 and played for Estonia in the Chess Olympiads of 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008....   Artiom Smirnov
2005	Meelis Kanep
2006	Mikhail Rytshagov Mikhail Rytshagov Mihhail Rõtšagov is an Estonian chess Grandmaster.He played for Estonia in the Chess Olympiads of 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and in the European Team Chess Championships of 1992 and 1997...
2007	Georgy Timoshenko
2008	Vasily Yemelin

Vancouver

The tournament in Vancouver has been played ever since Keres won it in 1975. It was Keres' final tournament, as he died shortly thereafter.

#	Year	Winner
	1975	Paul Keres Paul Keres Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
1	1976	James Tarjan James Tarjan James Edward Tarjan is an American Grandmaster of chess.Tarjan was just 17 when he was selected to the American team for the 1969 World Students' Olympiad, at Dresden. He was a member of the winning American side at Haifa 1970, and was selected again at Graz 1972...
2	1977	John Watson John L. Watson John Leonard Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering...
3	1978	Robert Zuk
4	1979	Peter Biyiasas Peter Biyiasas Peter Biyiasas is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He was Canadian champion in 1972 and 1975, represented Canada with fine success on four Olympiad teams, played in two Interzonals. He moved to the United States in 1979, settling in California. He has been retired from competitive play since the...   John Grefe John Grefe John Alan Grefe is an American International Master of chess. His best result is a tie for first with Lubomir Kavalek in the 1973 U.S. Championship. FIDE awarded him the title of International Master in 1975. Grefe and Stuart Rachels are the only players since 1948 to win or share the U.S...   James McCormick
5	1980	Viktor Pupols
6	1981	John Donaldson John Donaldson John Wesley Donaldson was an American baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.-Highlights:...   Ray Fasano
7	1982	John Donaldson John Donaldson John Wesley Donaldson was an American baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.-Highlights:...   Eric Tangborn
8	1983	John Donaldson John Donaldson John Wesley Donaldson was an American baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.-Highlights:...
9	1984	Leon Piasetski  Gordon Taylor Gordon Taylor Gordon Edward Taylor was a Canadian politician, businessman and teacher.-Provincial political career:He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1940 provincial election representing Drumheller for Social Credit and continued to sit in the legislature for 39 years...   Jeremy Silman Jeremy Silman Jeremy Silman is an American International Master of chess. He has won the US Open, the American Open, and the National Open, and was the coach of the US junior national chess team...   Robert Zuk
10	1985	John Donaldson John Donaldson John Wesley Donaldson was an American baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.-Highlights:...   Lionel Joyner  John Braley
11	1986	Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
12	1987	Tom O'Donnell Tom O'Donnell Thomas G. O'Donnell is a former Irish Fine Gael politician. He was born at Bulgaden, County Limerick and was educated at the Crescent College, Salesian College and University College Dublin where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree...
13	1988	Alex Kuznecov  Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
14	1989	Juri Vetemaa
15	1990	Jonathan Berry Jonathan Berry Jonathan Berry is a Canadian International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter, a FIDE Master over-the-board, and a chess journalist and author...   John Donaldson John Donaldson John Wesley Donaldson was an American baseball pitcher in Pre-Negro league and Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.-Highlights:...
16	1991	Ľubomír Ftáčnik Lubomir Ftácnik Ľubomír Ftáčnik is a Slovak chess player and a former European Junior Champion.He became European Junior Champion in 1976/77 and was awarded the International Master title shortly after...
17	1992	Ľubomír Ftáčnik Lubomir Ftácnik Ľubomír Ftáčnik is a Slovak chess player and a former European Junior Champion.He became European Junior Champion in 1976/77 and was awarded the International Master title shortly after...
18	1993	Igor Stohl
19	1994	Jonathan Berry Jonathan Berry Jonathan Berry is a Canadian International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter, a FIDE Master over-the-board, and a chess journalist and author...   Juri Vetemaa  Gary Basanta
20	1995	John Hallam John Hallam John William Francis Hallam was a Northern Irish character actor.- Career :He appeared in many film and television roles including Nicholas and Alexandra , Murphy's War , The Pallisers , The Mallens , Flash Gordon , Dragonslayer , the BBC television adaptations of Prince Caspian...   Juri Vetemaa  Yan Teplitsky
21	1996	Georgi Orlov
22	1997	Yan Teplitsky
23	1998	Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
24	1999	Yan Teplitsky  Georgi Orlov  Jack Yoos
25	2000	Vladimir Epishin Vladimir Epishin Vladimir Epishin is a Russian chess grandmaster with an Elo-rating of 2610.He finished third in the 58th USSR Chess Championship...
26	2001	Georgi Orlov
27	2002	Fanhao Meng  Georgi Orlov  Jack Yoos  Besnik Beqo
28	2003	Georgi Orlov
29	2004	Georgi Orlov
30	2005	Jack Yoos
31	2006	Alfred Pechisker
32	2007	Georgi Orlov
33	2008	Georgi Orlov  Bindi Cheng
34	2009	Jack Yoos
35	2010	Jack Yoos  Georgi Orlov  Katerina Rohonyan  Manuel Rivas Pastor  Roman Jiganchine
36	2011	Georgi Orlov  Maxim Doroshenko