WGP Cyprus: Zhu Jiner maintains the lead while Anna Muzychuk scores her first win
The third round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Cyprus was played this afternoon at Hilton Nicosia. The ceremonial first move was performed by His Excellency Liu Yantao, the Chinese Ambassador, who opened the game for Zhu Jiner, and by His Excellency Mr. Manish, the Indian Ambassador, who played for Harika on the same board. With accuracy scores in the high nineties across most games, the round featured many fighting draws, proving that this will be a closely contested event. The only decisive result of the round was Anna Muzychuk’s victory over Nana Dzagnidze, ending in checkmate on move 83—the longest game of the tournament so far. Let’s take a closer look at all five games. Divya Deshmukh 0.5 – Aleksandra Goryachkina 0.5 Despite having faced each other only four times, Goryachkina has been a tough opponent for Divya, winning three games and drawing one. However, Divya has made substantial progress in recent months and, playing with White, was eager to improve her record. Goryachkina defended with the Berlin variation in the Ruy Lopez, one of her regular setups with Black. Both players had obviously done their homework as they blitzed out twelve moves of theory. Suddenly, Divya slowed down, spending nearly forty minutes on her fourteenth move! Possibly fearing some complications, the young Indian went for a solid continuation with a massive piece trade. The resulting rook and opposite-color bishops endgame was completely equal and after further simplifications a draw was agreed on move forty-two. The 99% accuracy game score is a testament to the no-risk approach taken by both players. Stavroula Tsolakidou 0.5 – Mariya Muzychuk 0.5 The Greek International Master is rapidly becoming a fan favourite player to follow. All her games are exciting, and today’s encounter was no exception. In two previous classical games, Stavroula had already defeated Mariya Muzychuk, while the other ended in a draw. After a close shave yesterday against Harika, Stavroula opened with 1.d4 and went for the very new 9.Rg1 in Semi-Slav Anti-Moscow Gambit. Visibly surprised, Mariya spent nearly fifteen minutes figuring out her reponse. Although it took her some time, to her credit Mariya nailed all of the twenty difficult computer moves, while Stavroula was blitzing out her own preparation. Tsolakidou was very impressed with her opponent’s play. “I prepared all the line at home with my coach,” said Stavroula in her postgame interview. “It’s amazing that Mariya was able to find all the computer defensive moves, but my coach did warn me to be prepared for this scenario.” Muzychuk achieved an impressive 100% accuracy score: she played a complicated game like a top-level computer, finding her way to a draw in the complications. Check out the Stavroula’s interview for mind-boggling lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIaxFrxKw7w Zhu Jiner 0.5 – Harika Dronavalli 0.5 Having faced each other on six occasions, with six draws recorded, this matchup would prove to be very equal and the 98% accuracy score confirmed this prediction. Facing Harika’s Winawer French, the leader of the tournament advanced her h-pawn “a la Kasparov”. Harika reacted correctly with the precise maneuver 9…b6, trading off the light squared bishops and subsequently the queens on the a6-f1 diagonal. The resulting endgame had the bishop vs knight imbalance but both players kept it close to the vest with absolutely no mistakes and a draw was agreed on move forty-one. With this result Zhu Jiner keeps the lead going into the fourth round. Olga Badelka 0.5 – Elisabeth Paehtz This was the first time that IM Olga Badelka faced GM Elisabeth Paehtz in classical chess. The game opened as an English Defence and remained quite balanced until Badelka launched a fierce kingside pawn storm. True to classical principles, Paehtz counterattacked in the centre by sacrificing a couple of pawns for active piece counterplay. At one moment, Badelka had three extra pawns, but Paehtz’s activity was immense, based mainly on her active dark-squared bishop in the middle of the board, which ultimately allowed her to force a perpetual check. “The game was tremendously complicated,” Olga explained in her post-game interview. “In fact, I was very worried about the safety of my own king.” Although she missed some small opportunities in her calculations, Olga was satisfied with the draw and the chance to play against the best female players in the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCO5CK_XkA Anna Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze 1-0 A classic matchup! Anna and Nana have played no less than twenty-six classical games against each other, with a total score of seven wins for Dzagnidze, three wins for Muzychuk and sixteen draws. These two players know each other in and out! The Georgian GM decided to abandon her favorite defence, the Najdorf Sicilian, in favor of the rare O’Kelly variation, in an attempt to surprise her opponent and take her “out of the book”. After three or four minutes of thought, Anna Muzychuk returned the favour by playing 3.Be2 instead of one of the more popular moves, and only seven moves the position was totally new, with no major game references in the databases. “Knowing Anna, who is such a hard-working person, and normally prepares for so many hours the day before the game, during the morning, she checks everything! She probably spent so much time preparing all the options, but I don’t think 2…a6 was one of them,” explained commentator WGM Anastasiya Karlovich on the live stream. As the game progressed, the position in a Marozcy pawn structure was mostly equal, although it was always Muzychuk who was pressing. In the ending, Dzagnidze had to defend a queen ending a pawn down, a draw according to the engines, but it still accuracy was needed. Moment of the Day After defending the ending correctly for more than 50 moves, Dzagnidze blundered right at the end. It has to be said that both players were nearly out of time, essentially only playing with the 30-second increment. In this position, Dzagnidze played 83…Kg8, which loses after 84.f5! Qh1 and now 85.Qe8+ Kg7 86.f6 checkmate! The correct move, which
FIDE WGP Cyprus: Zhu Jiner leads after two rounds
The second round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Cyprus began punctually this afternoon at 15:00 at the Hilton Nicosia. The ceremonial first move was performed by Valeriya Avksenteva, Deputy Executive Director of main sponsor Freedom24. She opened the game for Mariya Muzychuk, who faced Divya Deshmukh. Although only one game ended in a decisive result, with Zhu Jiner emerging as the new leader of the tournament, all five were quite entertaining in their own right. Let’s take a closer look at all five games. Mariya Muzychuk 0.5 – Divya Deshmukh 0.5With a 99% accuracy score, the first game to finish was the encounter between former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk and up-and-coming young Indian star Divya Deshmukh. Although a bit under the radar with a cold, Divya equalised comfortably in the Steinitz variation of the French defence. The opponents followed a 2023 game between Caruana and Carlsen until move nine, when Divya tried 9…cxd4 instead of the main line 9…Be7. It looked like Divya had it all worked out in her home preparation – she hardly spent any time finding the precise follow-up manoeuvre 12…Nb8 and then 13…Nc6, fighting for the d4-square. After the subsequent exchange of queens, Muzychuk also allowed the four rooks to be traded, resulting in an absolutely equal light-squared bishop endgame. A draw was agreed on move forty. “Most of the game was prepared before-hand but in the end, I had to do some serious calculations to make the draw. I am sure that there must be many different ways to achieve it,” said Divya in a conversation with us after the game. Nana Dzagnidze 0.5 – Olga Badelka 0.5 The Austrian International Master is playing in her first Grand Prix cycle. Unfortunately, being drawn number six on the cross table, she has been forced to play two consecutive games with Black in her first two challenges. In today’s game against seasoned Grand Master Nana Dzagnidze, she went for the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, a somewhat risky choice as Nana herself played this defence successfully yesterday against Goryachkina. Moreover, although Dzagnidze has been around forever, this was the first classical game between them. Dzagnizde surprised her opponent with the move 9.Bg5 and Badelka went into the tank for more than twenty minutes, trying to figure out the right setup. Although she managed to force the exchange of queens, the ending was better for Dzagnidze: a healthier pawn structure and better placed minor pieces. The engine was suggesting a +1.5 White’s advantage around move twenty. But, low on time, Dzagnidze started to lose the thread of the game and gave Badelka some breathing space. Displaying excellent defensive technique, Badelka neutralized her opponent’s advantage and a draw was finally agreed in a close-to-equal position on move forty-three. Elisabeth Paehtz 0 – Zhu Jiner 1 Playing with White, and in an attempt to recover from yesterday’s defeat, Paehtz opted for the 5.Qb3 line in the popular Ragozin defence. Zhu Jiner chose to deviate from mainline theory by playing 5…a5 instead of 5…c5, but then went into the tank for more than fifteen minutes when Paehtz pinned her knight with 7.Bg5. The game progressed in a principled manner, ending up in a middlegame position in which Black enjoyed more active short-term options with her bishop pair, but White had the superior pawn structure. It would all boil down to the weakness of the isolated d-pawn: would it hold or not? And indeed, the d5-pawn finally fell but in exchange for the a2-pawn and the game headed into an equal rook and bishop ending, with four pawns apiece. A draw should have been the logical result but Zhu Jiner kept setting little traps and finally Paehtz fell for one of them. Nonetheless, even a piece down the engine still considered the position to be a draw, but it was very tricky to hold and eventually Paehtz blundered, allowing Black to create a passed pawn. Elisabeth fought for another 24 moves, but had to resign in the end. In her postgame interview, Zhu Jiner showed us some of the key lines that she considered to pick up her second point. https://youtu.be/qtijlstyqKQ Aleksandra Goryachkina 0.5 – Anna Muzychuk 0.5 A perfect game by both contenders! Playing White for the second time in a row, the former Women’s World Championship challenger opened with 1.e4 instead of 1.d4, which she used unsuccessfully yesterday against Dzagnidze. Anna Muzychuk, the younger of the two sisters, and former World Blitz and Rapid World Champion, defended with the Two Knights variation of the Sicilian Defence. Displaying excellent opening preparation, Goryachkina opted for a secondary line, first with 4.Bd3 and then trading knights on c6, a system that has recently become quite trendy. Although the choice of opening might have come as a surprise for Muzychuk, she reacted in a very principled way, developing her pieces comfortably and securing a safe, symmetrical position. However, Goryachkina conserved a small but nagging advantage: a slightly superior dark-squared bishop and, more importantly, a big advantage on the clock. On move twenty, Muzychuk had only thirty minutes left against Goryachkina’s full hour. To her credit, Anna defended superbly, neutralizing any intent of aggression, and traded down to a no-risk, bishop ending. A draw was agreed on move forty-two. Harika Dronavalli 0.5 Stavroula Tsolakidou 0.5 Definitely the most entertaining game of the round! Harika went for the Rossolimo Attack – an enterprising option bearing in mind that Stavroula won her game yesterday with precisely this opening. Playing the sharp 6.Qxd4 line, Black was forced to weaken her kingside, but theory maintains that Black is more than OK: a solid pawn structure and bishop pair. Indeed, even Carlsen defeated Vachier-Lagraeve in 2019 in this line. After fifteen minutes of thought, and definitely out of her opening preparation, Harika threw a spanner into the works with 11.b4, an unbalancing move with pros and cons for both sides. Stavroula offered a three-fold repetition on move twenty-one but Harika decided to play on. With fifteen moves to
Zhu Jiner and Stavroula Tsolakidou strike first in WGP Nicosia
The first round of the Cyprus WGP was highly entertaining. Except for the encounter between the Muzychuk sisters, which ended in a quick draw, the four remaining games were fought to the bitter end, resulting in two important wins for Stavroula Tsolakidou and Zhu Jiner. The fourth leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024-25 kicked off this afternoon at 15:00 in the fantastic Hilton Nicosia. Evgenii Tiapkin, executive director of main sponsor Freedom24, performed the ceremonial first move for Stavroula Tsolakidou. One of the toughest events of the six that compose the Grand Prix, Cyprus features leg 2 winner Aleksandra Goryachkina, former Women’s World Champions Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, side-by-side with young powerhouses such as China’s Zhu Jiner and Greece’s own Stavroula Tsolakidou. If the fighting spirit displayed this afternoon at the Hilton Nicosia is a prelude to the rest of the tournament, glorious afternoons of great chess await us. Let’s take a closer look at all five games. Aleksandra Goryachkina 1/2-1/2 Nana Dzagnidze Thanks to her two excellent results in Shymkent and Monaco, Goryachkina currently leads the Grand Prix and is widely considered the favourite here: a strong performance in Cyprus would practically secure her spot in the next women’s Candidates Tournament. Starting off the tournament with White against Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze, with whom she has a +3 =8 record with no defeats, couldn’t be better. But Dzagnidze is a very experienced player, and her international rating of 2513 is no small feat. She tends to play with strength and focus: defeating her takes a lot of energy and commitment. Goryachkina began with the Queen’s Gambit, one of her usual openings, against which Dzagnidze had prepared a line in the Accepted Variation, in which she faces an isolated queen’s pawn. Although Goryachkina developed a small initiative during the first moves, Dzagnidze neutralized White’s attack and ultimately exchanged queens. The endgame seemed to favour the Georgian GM very slightly but, low on time, she wasn’t able to capitalize, and the game petered out into a draw. Both players performed this afternoon at the highest level with an all-around 98% accuracy score. Anna Muzychuk 1/2-1/2 Mariya Muzychuk The Muzychuk sisters have faced each other in classical chess on twenty-one occasions in the past. Except for a single win by Anna in the 2002 U-12 Ukrainian Girls Championship, all the other games have ended in draws, and this afternoon’s encounter was no exception. Today they battled it out in a 99% accuracy Najdorf Sicilian, more specifically a line that features eleven master games that all end in equal endgings and subsequent draws: for example, a 2009 bout between elite GM’s Akopian and Miroshnichenko. Although the tournament rules forbid draws before 40 moves have been played, a three-fold repetition is one of the few exceptions to the rule, and a peaceful outcome was signed on move twenty-seven. Divya Deshmukh 1/2-1/2 Harika Dronavalli As per rules, players of the same federation must face each other in the first round. Both Indian players, playing in their second tournament of the cycle, decided to go for a fight, but proceeded with caution trying not to overstep. The result? A long, 50-move, 98% accuracy draw, more than enough for both players to be content with their over-the-board efforts. In their previous three encounters, Harika was dominating with two wins and one draw but today she had to settle for a half-point. For most of the game, in a well-known solid line of the Ruy Lopez Berlin, fan-favourite Divya nurtured a very small edge with White. But the pawn structure was symmetrical and Harika managed to force some interesting exchanges – it soon became clear that the talented young player from Nagpur wasn’t getting anywhere. Moreover, her experienced opponent finally obtained the bishop pair and, for a moment, entertained the idea to press for the advantage, but to no avail. Divya kept things under control and a three-fold repetition was recorded on move fifty. Zhu Jiner 1-0 Olga Badelka A six-event cycle that runs over several months is bound to produce replacements. Players that may fall ill, or run into other commitments, vacate their spots for other contenders, under the specific rules of the competition. Both Zhu Jiner and Olga Badelka fall into this category. Although Nicosia is the fourth of the six tournaments, and all players are set to play three, funnily enough, for both of them this is their first event! Olga Badelka has replaced Regina Theissl-Pokorna and will play in Cyprus and her home country Austria, while Zhu Jiner is replacing China’s own Lei Tingjie and will add the India and Austria legs to Cyprus. Even though the game began as a Ruy Lopez, it soon developed into a slow Italian opening. Going into the middlegame, it seemed that Badelka had equalised comfortable but a couple of minor inaccuracies – 15…Bxf3 and above all 20…Nh7 landed her in a very difficult position. Zhu Jiner had the two bishops against her opponent’s two knights, plays a superior pawn structure. To top it all, Badelka was slowly spending all her time, in an attempt to defend against her opponent’s attack. With excellent combinatorial play, the Chinese prodigy won a couple of pawns and opened up the gate to her opponent’s king, forcing the Austrian to resign on move forty-seven. In her postgame interview, Zhu Jiner gave us her thoughts on her fine performance. https://youtu.be/S92m9mKCaXY?si=jP-JmXJ89DH-ZL4p Stavroula Tsolakidou 1-0 Elisabeth Paehtz The other victory of the day went to Greece’s top-ranked female player, Stavroula Tsolakidou. The twenty-four-year-old player from Kavala, who actually turns twenty-five during this event, gave a fine performance against another very experimented GM, Elisabeth Paehtz, representing Germany. Both players went down a rabbit hole in an extensively pre-analysed variation of the Sicilian Rossolimo Attack. On move thirteen, with both opponents having used hardly any time on the clocks, Paehtz offered a draw by means of a three-fold repetition attempt. Eager to continue the fight, Stavroula went into the tank, considered her options, and
European Individual Championship 2025 begins in Eforie Nord, Romania
The European Individual Chess Championship 2025 has officially commenced in Eforie Nord, Romania. The event is being held from March 15–26 at Ana Hotels Europa. Nearly 400 players from 40 European federations have registered for the tournament, including 103 Grandmasters, 77 International Masters, and 71 FIDE Masters. The top seeds are: Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU, 2692)Alexey Sarana (SRB, 2689)Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 2676)Pavel Eljanov (UKR, 2666)Shant Sargsyan (ARM, 2666)Daniel Dardha (BEL, 2665)David Anton Guijarro (ESP, 2663)David Navara (CZE, 2663)Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL, 2659)Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2658) The starting list of players can be found here. The European Individual Chess Championship 2025 serves as a qualification event for the FIDE World Chess Cup. According to FIDE regulations and the ECU Board decision, 20 players will qualify. The tournament features a total prize fund of €100,000, with €20,000 awarded to the winner. The competition is an 11-round Swiss tournament, with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes until the end of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one. The opening ceremony took place in the playing venue with the attendance by the Vice President of the Romanian Chess Federation Mr. Alin Berescu, Secretary General of the Romanian Chess Federation Mr. Gabriel Grecescu, and ECU Tournament Director Mr. Petr Pisk who addressed the distinguished guests. The first round started at 15:00 (local time). Live games with live video broadcast and commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and WIM Lena Govedarica can be followed through the ECU TV and ECU YouTube channel. Photos: Florin Ardelean Official website: https://www.eicc2025.com/
Fair Play Commission leadership update
The leadership of the FIDE Fair Play Commission has changed. The current Commission’s Councilors Andrew Howie and Vincent Geeraets will take over the roles of Chair and Secretary, respectively. Both are experienced fair play specialists, committed to strengthening FIDE’s efforts in ensuring a fair and secure chess environment. In recent years, FIDE has made significant strides in fair play: enhancing detection methods, conducting training, establishing titles and providing control routines at major events. These efforts will continue with even greater intensity. We sincerely thank Bojana Bejatović and Yuri Garrett for their contributions to the Commission’s work. Moving forward, our priorities include expanding the use of advanced fair play detection tools, training and streamlining the work with arbiters, and strengthening collaboration with federations, tournament organizers, and online platforms. We will organize round table discussions with key stakeholders to align on best practices and further reinforce fair play policies in a professional and cost-efficient manner. FIDE maintains a zero-tolerance policy for cheating in all its events. We want to serve the chess community in the best possible way, and our mission remains clear: to prevent, detect and catch cheaters, ensuring that chess competitions are fair and secure for all.
Fourth leg of FIDE WGP 2024-2025 kicks off in Nicosia
The fourth leg of the 2024-25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix kicked off this evening in the magnificent Nicosia Hilton Hotel, in the capital of Cyprus. Under the auspices of the International Chess Federation and Cyprus Chess Federation, the event runs from the 14th to the 25th of March, and will showcase the skills of ten of the best female players in the world. The opening ceremony began at 19:00 with the national anthem of the Republic of Cyprus, followed by the anthem of FIDE. Immediately afterward, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky took the stage, welcoming everyone to the opening ceremony, and highlighted the significance of the tournament. “In the past two years, Cyprus has become one of the European chess hubs. We are delighted with our cooperation with the Cyprus Chess Federation and with our partner, Freedom, who are backing a number of important events all over the world. Our mission here is not only to stage a high-level event, but to lay a foundation and keep building on the previous work to make chess more popular, more accessible and more attractive to everyone.” Furthering their firm commitment to promoting chess in Cyprus, and supporting the event, Freedom Holding Corp CEO Timur Turlov, initiated his speech thanking the players for their participation and pointing out that it is a great honor to have them here. “I believe that the Cyprus role as interconnector of finance and chess will continue to grow. This is a country with very welcoming people, great weather, great cuisine, and with a lot of opportunities to enjoy and also focus on your business.” Turlov wished the players to be really focussed on their games but also have fun during their breaks and, if at all possible, visit other beautiful cities in Cyprus, such as Limassol. He was also very grateful to FIDE for their continued cooperation. “I am very thankful to FIDE for our partnership. We definitely share the same values and I believe that we will continue this cooperation through some new initiatives such as the International School Federation. I really see how prestigious this game is rising all over the world and how more and more people are being involved.” Finally, the President of the Cyprus Chess Federation, Criton Tornaritis, took the floor, welcoming all the players to Cyprus and highlighting the joint association with Freedom. “This is the second time we organize this tournament in Cyprus and I hope that there will be a third time. The most important thing for me is to enjoy some good games. Chess in Cyprus before Freedom was very poor. Now we have more than 2,000 members, most of them kids.” After the speeches, the attendees enjoyed the performance by a talented group of young dancers from Live Dance Studio, who brought a touch of energy and artistry to the ceremony. The evening culminated in a family group photo, with all the players on the stage joined by FIDE Secretary General and tournament director Lukasz Turlej and Takis Nikolopoulos, Chief Arbiter. Afterward, the guests had the chance to speak to the players, take photos, and enjoy the cocktail reception. The first round is scheduled for Saturday, March 15, at 3pm. As per rules, players representing the same federation must face each other at the start of the event. You can follow the games live and watch the action with our wonderful commentators GM Alik Gershon and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich on YouTube. Written by Michael Rahal Photos: Mark Livshitz Official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/
International Festival Baku Open 2025 announced
The Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF) is thrilled to announce the Baku Open 2025, an international chess festival celebrating the game and the rise of Azerbaijani talent. The event will take place at Baku Crystal Hall from April 27 (arrival) to May 6 (last round and closing ceremony). The festival features three tournament sections (A, B, and C)—all 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control: Tournament A: Open to players with a FIDE Elo rating above 2250 (Women: above 2100). Tournament B: Open to players with a FIDE Elo rating under 2250 (Women: under 2100). Tournament C: Open to young players with a FIDE Elo rating born in 2013 or earlier. Unrated players may be accepted at the ACF’s discretion. The total prize fund for the festival is $55,000, with $12,000 awarded to the winner of Tournament A. Additionally, the first 10 registered players with a FIDE Elo above 2650 (as of April 1, 2025) and women rated above 2450 will receive full board accommodation at the official festival hotel, Ibis Hotel. Exciting side events Simultaneous exhibition by a former World Champion Viswanathan Anand (April 27, 2025) The legendary Viswanathan Anand will showcase his exceptional skills in a simultaneous exhibition against some of Azerbaijan’s most talented young players. This is a rare opportunity to see a chess icon take on the future stars of Azerbaijani chess! Rapid match: Viswanathan Anand vs. Rauf Mamedov (April 28–29, 2025) A thrilling rapid match between Viswanathan Anand and the 2025 Azerbaijani Chess Champion promises an intense, fast-paced showdown. Blitz match: Viswanathan Anand vs. Rauf Mamedov (April 30, 2025) A high-energy blitz match between Viswanathan Anand and Azerbaijan’s third-rated player will deliver lightning-fast moves and an electrifying conclusion to this prestigious event. All side events will be held at the Museum of Carpet in Baku, a venue that beautifully blends culture and competition, providing a perfect stage for these exciting chess battles. We warmly invite chess enthusiasts and supporters from around the world to join us for this spectacular festival. Don’t miss this celebration of chess, talent, and tradition in Baku! Regulations for Baku Open 2025 (PDF) Official website: http://www.asf.org.az/
FIDE extends fee waiver for Rapid and Blitz through 2026
The FIDE Council has announced the extension of its rating fee waiver for all Rapid and Blitz tournaments through 2025-2026 The FIDE Council—the organization’s strategic and oversight body—stated that the decision aims to expand player participation and promotion of chess. These rating fees, covered by federations, are outlined in the Financial Regulations of the FIDE Handbook. According to the regulations, “All rated tournaments are subject to rating fees. The FIDE Council, at its sole discretion, may waive or reduce rating fees for Rapid and Blitz tournaments for a given year.” The fee waiver was first introduced for the 2021-2024 period. Since then, nearly 60,000 Rapid and Blitz tournaments have been rated (59,603), with the estimated waived fees exceeding €2.2 million. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich noted that this helps not only federations and organizers but also players. While rating fees are a source of revenue for FIDE, this waiver is widely welcomed by national federations as it supports both organizers and players,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “We believe this is not the right time to impose additional financial burdens. Instead, federations can redirect these funds toward increased prize pools and greater opportunities for players—which is fantastic news for the chess community.” Nebojsa Baralic – an International Arbiter who has also organized many chess events in his native Serbia and the Balkans, welcomed the news of the decision to continue waiving the rating fees. “This initiative eases financial pressures on organizers and federations while encouraging more Rapid and Blitz events,” said International Arbiter Nebojsa Baralic. “Support like this is crucial for the growth of chess, especially in regions with limited resources. By reducing financial barriers, we can have more grassroots tournaments and create opportunities for players at all levels.” Baralic further highlighted the positive impact on arbiters and organizers: “With reduced financial constraints, we can focus more on the quality and accessibility of events, ensuring that our sport reaches a broader audience.” The decision has been added to the FIDE Handbook and takes effect immediately.
Qazaq Queens Chess Fest 2025: A global chess celebration
On March 7, 2025, Almaty became the focal point of the chess world as it hosted the Qazaq Queens Chess Fest 2025, a women’s blitz chess tournament organized by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess) with support from the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Dedicated to International Women’s Day, the tournament brought together 95 participants of various ages and skill levels, uniting them in a spirited competition for the championship title. More than just a sporting event, the tournament was a true celebration of intellect, artistry, and inspiration. The event was officially opened by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who made the symbolic first move, emphasizing the global significance of women’s chess and reinforcing support for the initiative. Later, the FIDE President had a productive meeting with top officials from KazChess, where they discussed joint projects both in Kazakhstan and internationally. He also fulfilled a long-standing promise by delivering a lecture at NARXOZ University. The rise of new Champions The tournament followed a 9-round Swiss system with a 3+2 time control. In a gripping battle, 13-year-old WFM Aiaru Altynbek emerged victorious scoring an impressive 8 points. Mariya Kholyavko secured second place, while 11-year-old Zhansaya Sholpanbek claimed third. All three winners are recipients of the Young Talent Support Programme scholarships. The tournament’s prize fund amounted to KZT 2 million (approximately $4,000), with the champion receiving KZT 500,000. Additional cash prizes were awarded to the top finishers and best players in various age categories. A Year of Triumph for Kazakhstan 2024 marked a historic milestone for Kazakhstan’s chess scene. Across international competitions, the country’s juniors, adults, and seniors won 160 medals, including 55 golds. The most remarkable achievement came from Kazakhstan’s women’s team, which secured silver medals at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. These victories have inspired a new generation of female players, many of whom participated in the Qazaq Queens Chess Fest 2025. Supporting women’s chess Timur Turlov, President of KazChess, emphasized: “Kazakhstan’s women are shining brighter in chess than ever before in our country’s history. We witness their growing skill and professionalism each year. With their victories, they are paving a new path for Kazakhstan to reach the pinnacle of world chess. This motivates us to invest even more in supporting our remarkable female players. The Kazakhstan Chess Federation remains committed to expanding opportunities for women in chess. We will continue to nurture their talents and open new career prospects for them.” Chess and Art: When Boundaries Blur As part of the tournament, an art exhibition showcased paintings by Kazakhstan’s artist Aituar Amirkhanova, whose works explore themes of women’s experience and self-expression. A special guest at the event was Inessa Nazarova, titleholder of Mrs. Supermodel Worldwide 2019, who inspired participants with her motivational speech. Kazakhstan and the world: Women’s Chess without borders The Qazaq Queens Chess Fest 2025 became part of a global chess movement, with similar women’s tournaments taking place simultaneously in five countries: Wroclaw, Poland – IV Memoriał Apolonii Litwińskiej, honoring the legendary Polish chess player. Saint-Tropez, France – a simultaneous exhibition match with 24 opponents, led by the Ukrainian 15-year-old quad sisters, the Prochaievs. Nairobi, Kenya – the 3rd Queens Rapid Chess Tournament, the largest women’s chess competition in the region. Kampala, Uganda – the 4th Queens of Chess Rapid Chess Tournament, bringing together Africa’s strongest female players. Kazakhstan has reaffirmed its role as a key hub for women’s chess, and the Qazaq Queens Chess Fest 2025 has solidified its place in an international movement that unites women worldwide through the game of chess. Women are changing the chess world—and this is just the beginning.
Celebration of family, friends, and colleagues at Indonesia Chess Museum
By Peter Long There are few chess museums in various countries – Iceland, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Türkiye and now in Indonesia. Museum Catur Indonesia (Indonesia Chess Museum) was soft launched on 26th February 2025. Who are the people who made it happen? Peter Long, who was present at this event, shares everything about it with information and attractive photos. It is located together with Cafe Tutur at the Headquarters of the Utut Adianto Chess School (SCUA) in Bekasi, Indonesia, a FIDE Tier 1 Academy also founded by Eka Putra Wirya. Entrance to the Indonesian Chess Museum The soft launch of the Indonesia Chess Museum (ICM) on 26th February 2025 was indeed a celebration of family, friends, and colleagues of Eka Putra Wirja. ICM is of course located together with Cafe Tutur at the Headquarters of the Utut Adianto Chess School (SCUA) in Bekasi, a FIDE Tier 1 Academy also founded by Eka. Eka Putra Wirja Who is Eka Putra Wirja? To start with, one of the worst kept secrets of the Indonesian chess success of the last three decades, as he is recognized together with Senator GM Utut Adianto, Indonesia’s greatest ever player, as either the first or second of the two main pillars of a trio that includes FST Kristianus Liem. In a long ranging interview conducted with the official opening of ICM, we learned Eka’s story, and indeed how this might be the final piece of a strategic vision which begun in 1990. Post Catholic Mass family photo Remarkably, with family together with hundreds of friends and chess colleagues present, a special Catholic Mass was held to both inaugurate and bless the ICM and Cafe Tutur premises. Tributes then followed, from a member of SCUA management, this writer considered an old friend, a media representative, followed by the keynote address by Eka, after which came the speech and official opening by GM Adianto, also the President of the All Indonesian Chess Federation (PERCASI), and who had rushed back from official government work in China. GM Utut Adianto Media and guests then were taken through a guided tour before adjourning to lunch, and entertainment by a live band helmed by a former junior chess champion where many, including Eka joined the performances, while concurrently two clock simultaneous exhibitions took place with some of the best Indonesian young talent took on the two GM winners of the recently concluded Indonesia GM & IM Tournaments. Main Hall, Indonesian chess history display Eka was in his youth a promising young talent but the responsibilities of being the oldest son in a business family demanded he gave up his chess ambition, at least that of becoming a grandmaster. And yet, when visiting the FIDE World Championship Match in Singapore last year, he was still strong enough to beat former world women chess champion GM Xie Jun in a simultaneous exhibition. Instead, Eka decided to continue to support chess in Indonesia as both an official and as a patron, starting with leading the Indonesian team to the Manila Olympiad in 1990. He hooked up with a player he recognized as having exceptional talent, and convinced him to quit his job to take up chess full-time, and did exactly the same to a journalist who covered and wrote about chess with the same passion he had. Indonesian GM showcase Yes, the soon to become the three pillars of Indonesian chess was beginning to take shape. Adianto of course went on to be the poster boy of Indonesian chess, a top twenty grandmaster, who even when not playing for over ten years and in his 50s could still fill in on board one for a weaken Indonesian team at the Baku Olympiad and make an unbeaten 5/6 score. Liem on the other hand took the operating managing role at SCUA, initially started as Enerpac Chess School. SCUA outdoor signage It is without exaggeration that Eka and his two friends love chess and Indonesia more than anything, and that they were instrumental for every Indonesian success in the last ten years, every World and Asian Cadet, Schools, Youth, and Junior champion, for every grandmaster, international master, women grandmaster and international women grandmaster. Eka is even prouder that the success of SCUA together with the many events organized and sponsorship of national players and teams to international competitions has lifted many chess players out of abject poverty and to middle and even upper middle class lives and this is the simple explanation for the hundred from the chess community who came to the ICM soft opening. Jigsaw complete With ICM, something that no other Asian country has yet to see, Indonesian chess now has a showcase of both the history and achievements of their champions, and to serve as an inspiration to those to come after. But it also recognizes the contributions of individuals and corporations who have given so much to Indonesian chess, and offers a compelling reason for sponsors to come onboard. And finally, it positions chess in education, clearly not only articulating the benefits of chess to their young, but in collaboration with SCUA, also a means for implementation of schools and talent development programs. With ICM, Eka has perhaps put in the last piece of the jigsaw that has long been his vision for chess in Indonesia, together with old and like-minded friends Adianto and Liem. Photos: FM FT IA Peter Long