The tradition of including the student-grandmaster round-robin tournament as an event of the RSSU Cup will be upheld for the Moscow Open 2015. This year's edition is held in memoriam Aleksandr Pochinka, the talented organizer and head of the RSSU Board of Trustees, himself a great enthusiast of chess.

As before, the men's and women's sections will each be contested by 10 participants. The top-seeded player in the men's section is GM Daniil Dubov (2629) from Moscow. The other Russian participants are Vladimir Belous, David Paravyan, Maksim Vavulin (all from Moscow) and Daniil Yuffa (Tyumen). They will be competing against: Santosh Vidit (India), Samuel Ter-Sahakyan (Armenia), Olexander Bortnyk (Ukraine), Ulvi Bajarani (Azerbaijan) and Daniel Sadzikowski (Poland).

Topping the women's section is RSSU student Alina Kashlinskaya (2429). Her board mates will be compatriots Maria Severina (Moscow) and Polina Rodionova (Moscow Region) as well as Dinara Saduakassova (Kazakstan), Irine Sukandar (Iran), Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), Anna Iwanow (Poland), Keti Tsatsalashvili (Georgia), Petra Papp (Hungary) and Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul (Mongolia).

The student-grandmaster round-robin tournaments will be held Jan 31 to Feb 8.