Chess for Children with ASD: third education seminar conducted
On October 9, 2022, FIDE, together with FIDE Social Commission, held the 3rd FIDE Educational Seminar of Infinite Chess Project, “Chess for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Learn and teach”. This year eight new partner countries joined the project: Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Maldives, Albania, Latvia, and Morocco. First and foremost, the seminar was designed for teachers from these new partner federations. However, the organizers decided to make it open for everyone to enable all teachers or parents working with children with ASD to benefit from it. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE Managing Director and Anastasia Sorokina, the Infinite Chess Project leader, warmly welcomed the participants from 55 countries. Hosted by the project coordinator Nadia Kravchuk, the seminar brought together teachers and researchers with practical knowledge in the field. Evguenia Charomova, Bachelor of Science, Masters in speech therapy, Speech-Language Therapist (New Zealand), spoke about the strong sides of autism and how to deal with the disorder. Karel van Delft, chess teacher, coach, and Science Project Manager in Chessable science (Netherlands), shared his experience from chess projects for kids with ASD. Ala Mishchanka, a special needs educational assistant with more than 15 years of experience (Canada), spoke about her practical takeaways from teaching kids with ASD. Kanthi Devi Sarjoo, a speech and language therapist at Brown’s School (South Africa), also talked about her experience and the impact of implementing the pilot Infinite Chess project. Natalia Popova, WIM, FIDE Trainer, author of Infinite chess methodology, and the leader of the two-year-long project teaching chess to children with autistic spectrum disorder (FIDE) shared her invaluable experience and knowledge of working with ASD kids and gave a detailed overview of her unique methodological program. This program is suitable for groups of students with ASD, mixed groups, inclusive education, individual lessons, and at-home schooling. It is translated into Russian, English, French and Spanish languages, and we’re proud to share it. Please visit the project website infinitechess.fide.com/ to download the program free of charge. These materials can serve as an excellent practical guide for trainers and parents.
FIDE President visits Paraguay
On October 9, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich, arrived in Paraguay, accompanied by the Executive Director of FIDE, GM Victor Bologan and the Assistant to the President of FIDE, Konstantin Kiselev. After arriving at noon, he went to the Olympic Park, one of the venues for the Asunción 2022 South American Games of the South American Sports Organization (ODESUR), where chess was being played along with other sports. FIDE President watched the games in progress while enjoying the best ODESUR Chess. Between rounds, he mingled with fans, taking photos and signing autographs. Once the official photos with the players, delegates and referees were taken, the President went on to observe the women’s soccer match between Paraguay and Chile, which the local team won 3-1. After making the tour of the facilities – the Velodrome, the field hockey stadium, the BMX Cycling stadium and the Skate stadium – Arkady Dvorkovich had lunch with leaders of the Paraguayan Chess Federation. Later he returned to the Olympic Park for the Chess Olympiads award ceremony and gave the medals to the winners in six categories. They were emotional moments for the local public since the five Paraguay was awarded five medals Paraguay (two gold for Axel Bachmann, one Bronze for Gabriela Vargas and two Bronze for Teams). Once the award ceremony was over, FIDE President had an audience with the President of ODESUR, IOC Member Camilo Pérez. In the said meeting, Mr Dvorkovich thanked the President of ODESUR for the opportunity to be part of Asunción 2022. He praised the rapid development of the game in South America and mentioned that chess would be considered an option to integrate into the official program of the South American Games. The next day the FIDE delegation was received by the President of the Argentine Olympic Committee, Mario Moccia, who is also Vice President of ODESUR. On occasion, they shared views on how to lead the initiative of incorporating chess into the Olympics. Arkady Dvorkovich also visited the CONMEBOL museum, where he got acquainted with the history of South American soccer. During his visit, FIDE President was accompanied by the President of Zone 2.5 of FIDE OI, Ronald Zarza Pelissier and the President of the Paraguayan Chess Federation, Mr Eduardo Benítez.
Turkey triumphs at FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022
FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022 finished in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, on October 10. The 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control brought together 34 teams from 22 countries. The fifth-rated Turkiye-Red swept the field, winning the event with one round to spare. The FM Eray Kilic (2428, board 1) won all the matches. Both FM Hasan Huseyin Celik (2323) and FM Taha Ozkan (2299) had a fantastic event, scoring 8 and 7,5 points, respectively, and showing the best result on Boards 2 and 3. WFM Gulenay Aydin (2109) and Hatice Asli Mustu (1896), on boards four and five, also contributed to the overall success. Uzbekistan-1 claimed silver medals. Led by IM Mukhiddin Madaminov, they won 7 matches, including important victories over India and Kazakhstan, and made one draw with eventual bronze-medalists Azerbaijan-1. Board 2 of the Uzbekistan team, FM Khumoyun Begmuratov, scored an impressive 8 out of 9. Azerbaijan-1 lost two matches and thus could only settle for third place. Apart from losing to Turkey-Red (like any other team), the host nation’s teenagers were also defeated by Kazakhstan. All team members showed balanced performance, while Narmin Abdinova (1810, board 6) stood out with 7 out of 8 – the best performance on board 6. Initially among top-3 rated teams, Iran and India did not have the best event, finishing 6th and 5th, respectively. Nevertheless, the leader of the Indian team, IM Pranav V, showed the best performance on board 1, with a performance rating of 2615. Iran’s board 4, FM Sina Movahed, also won his board’s competition, but this was not enough for the overall team’s success. Kazakhstan, which narrowly missed the podium, can boast of the best Board 5 performance accomplished by CM Sauat Nurgaliyev. Final Standings, top 10 teams: Turkiye-Red – 18 Uzbekistan-1 – 15 Azerbaijan-1 – 13 Kazakhstan – 12 India – 11 Iran – 11 Uzbekistan-2 – 11 Mongolia – 10 Georgia-1 – 10 Azerbaijan-2 – 10 Photos: Turkish Chess Federation (Twitter @TurkishChess), and Youth Olympiad Instagram @wyco2022nakhchivan Official website: youtholympiad.fide.com
Novy Bor and ASVÖ Pamhagen win European Club Cup
Novy Bor (Czech Republic) emerged as the winner of the European Club Cup, a seven-round team event held in Mayrhofen, Austria, from October 3-9, 2022. The open and women’s competitions ran concurrently. After beating Asnieres Le Grand Echiquier 3½:2½ in the final round, the Czech team secured the long-awaited second title after a nine-year break. Novy Bor put in a dominating performance winning all seven matches. The team leader Pentala Harikrishna laid the foundation for success by defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with white pieces in a popular line of Gruenfeld Defence. On the second board, Vidit stumbled and lost to Esipenko after scoring phenomenal six wins in a row in the previous rounds; boards three to five ended in draws. David Anton Guijarro playing on the sixth board, secured the match victory and title for Novy Bor by beating Matthieu Cornette. Silver and bronze go to Clichy-Echecs-92 (12/14) and Schachclub Viernheim 1934e.V. (11/14). Ironically, the champions and the runner-up team did not face each other in the competition. As many as nine teams tied for third place. Somewhat surprisingly, the rating favourite Romanian team CSU ASE Superbet with Anand and Rapport in the roaster, came only sixth behind Asnieres Le Grand Echiquier and Beer Sheva Chess Club due to inferior Sonneborn-Berger. For this very reason, Offerspill Chess Club, headed by Magnus Carlsen, finished behind them. Final standings: 1 CZE Novy Bor Chess club 14 2 FRA Clichy-Echecs-92 12 3 GER Schachclub Viernheim 1934e.V. 11 4 FRA Asnieres Le Grand Echiquier 10 5 ISR Beer Sheva Chess Club 10 6 ROU CSU ASE Superbet 10 7 NOR Offerspill Chess Club 10 8 SLO TAJFUN – SK Ljubljana 10 9 ISR Kfar Saba Chess Club 10 10 AZE Vugar Gashimov 10 Heading into the final round of the European Women’s Club Cup, the local team ASVÖ Pamhagen was two points ahead of CSU ASE Superbet and Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo. The team from Burgenland made a 2:2 draw against the Polish team BGK KS Gwiazda Bydgoszcz and secured the title (first ever for an Austrian club), scoring 12/14. On the top board, Elina Danielian suffered defeat at the hands of Alina Kashlinskaya, but Yuliia Osmak retaliated on the third board and equalized for Pamhagen. The game on boards two and four were drawn. The Austrian team owes its success to a very strong showing by Anna Ushenina, Yuliia Osmak (contributing 5/5 each) and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (5.5/7). CSU ASE Superbet and Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo won their last-round matches and tied for second place, with the Romanian team taking silver by dint of better tiebreaks. Final standings: 1 AUT ASVOe Pamhagen 12 2 ROU CSU ASE Superbet 11 3 MNC Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo 11 4 POL BGK KS Gwiazda Bydgoszcz 8 5 AUT SK Erste Bank Baden 8 6 AZE Odlar Yurdu 8 7 SLO TAJFUN – SK Ljubljana 7 8 ENG Wood Green 7 9 UKR Blue & Yellow 7 10 FRA Philidor Mulhouse 7 Photo: Walter Kastner and Fiona Steil-Antoni Official website: eccc2022.at
Missing FIDE President: Investigation by FIDE Historical Committee
In 1939, the FIDE GA met in Buenos Aire during the Olympiad. Because of the uncertainty regarding a possible World War, Paraguay’s delegate came up with a motion to replace the FIDE President, Dr Rueb, with the President of the Argentina Chess Federation. The motion was accepted by a huge majority of the delegates but never implemented. Eighty-two years later, the President of the Argentina Chess Federation asked FIDE to rewrite history and list Mr De Muro as the second FIDE President. An investigation has been made by the FIDE Historical Committee, which has concluded that according to FIDE Statutes from that time, the FIDE GA had the power to take the decision to replace Dr Rueb. Before taking the final decision, the FIDE Council has asked the FIDE Office to publish all documents concerning the above-mentioned case. If anyone has unpublished documents or has a justified counter-opinion, please contact the FIDE Office at at office@fide.com by January 10, 2023. Here is a full list of related documents: Letter to the FC by Willy Iclicki (docx) Investigation by Sergio Ernesto Negri and Juan Sebastián Morgado (docx) Letter by Herman Hamers (docx) FIDE Statutes 1925 (pdf) General Assembly Agenda 1939 (jpg) Letter to Federations 1939 (jpg) Mario Petrucci FADA President Letter to the FIDE President (pdf) Text Francais (jpg) Torneo Naciones Poster (jpg) XVI Congress Report (jpg) Chapter 34 – September 1939 (jpg) Augusto De Muro – President (jpg) First Session GA 1939 – Spanish (jpg) Olympiad 1939 – Final Stanings (jpg)
FIDE President makes a tour of Latin America
The FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich is making an official visit to Latin America. Tomorrow, he will attend the closing ceremony of the XII South American Games in Paraguay, where chess has been part of the official program. His first stop was Sao Paulo, where he met the Brazilian delegate Darcy Lima. Even if brief, this was an important meeting: Darcy is one of the most active persons in the region, and this has been the first visit of a FIDE President to Brazil since 1995. The second stop was in Montevideo, where Arkady Dvorkovich met Robert Silva, President of ANEP, the national institution in charge of education in Uruguay. Together they discussed how to strengthen chess in schools program in the country. After the South American Games, the President will set off for Buenos Aires to attend the Pro-Am International Chess Tournament held as part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Argentinean Chess Federation.
French Championship: Jules Moussard and Almira Skripchenko win titles
GM Jules Moussard and IM Almira Sripchenko are new champions of France. The 27-year-old Moussard claimed his first national title, while Skripchenko won the women’s event for the seventh time (first time since 2015). The French Championship, a 16-player knockout tournament held in open and women’s sections, took place from 12-21 August 2022 in Albi, France. In case of a tie after two classical games, a 2-game Rapid (15+10) was played, followed by a 2-game Blitz (5+3) and an Armageddon (5 vs 4) if needed. Held for the first time since 2019, but in the absence of the two best French players, Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the open section brought together five players who represented France at the Chess Olympics in July in India. On his way to the final, Moussard consequently defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi (2-0) and two former national champions, Christian Bauer (2.5-1.5) and Matthieu Cornette (3.5-2.5), while in another half of the draw Etienne Bacrot eliminated Adrien Demuth (1.5-0.5), Tigran Gharamian (2.5-1.5) and Laurent Fressinet (4-3). The final match was an exhilarating battle that came down to the wire. After two draws in classical games, Bacrot made a horrible mistake in the first rapid game, lost a piece and resigned soon afterwards. To his credit, Etienne roared back in the second game and levelled the score, sending the final to blitz. The opponents exchanged blows in blitz, both winning with black, and it boiled down to an Armageddon game. Playing with white and needing a victory, Moussard prevailed in a topsy-turvy encounter and clinched the title. In the match for third place, Laurent Fressinet defeated Matthieu Cornette by a score of 2.5-1.5 In the women’s draw, Almira Skripchenko beat Natacha Benmesbah in the final match (2-0) and won her seventh title. Almira became the most successful female French player ahead of Sophie Milliet (six titles). In the match for bronze WIM Andreea Navrotescu bested WFM Sarah Djidjeli (2-0) Draw – Open Section Draw – Women’s Section Official website: nationaux-albi-2022.ffechecs.org/ Photo: © FFE
FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022 crosses halfway
FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022 is in full swing in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. The 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control brought together 34 teams from 22 countries. After five rounds of play, the fifth-rated Turkey-Red (Turkey-1) is leading the field with a perfect score of 10/10. The Turkish teenagers won all five matches, including hard-fought victories over higher-rated Uzbekistan-1 and Azerbaijan-1. Trailing the leader by two match points, Kazakhstan (the team lost to Turkey-1 in their fifth-round clash) and Cuba are sharing second place. As many as seven teams, including the rating favourites Iran, India and Azerbaijan-1, are tied for third position sitting on 7/10. With four rounds to go, it is still wide open as Turkey-Red has not faced Iran and India yet. Most likely, these matches will be crucial in deciding the champions. Top 10 after Round 5: 1 Turkiye-Red 10 15 2 Kazakhstan 8 12½ 3 Cuba 8 12 4 India 7 14½ 5 Uzbekistan-1 7 13 6 Azerbaijan-1 7 11 7 Mongolia 7 14½ 8 Iran 7 12 9 Turkiye-Anatolia 7 12 10 Azerbaijan-4 7 12½ Photos: official website Official website: youtholympiad.fide.com
Teams from 46 countries to take part in Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners
Over 85 teams from 46 countries will participate in the second Intercontinental Online Championship for Prisoners, a two-day event that starts on October 13, 2022 – the International Day of Education in Prisons. The Championship is a part of the “Chess for Freedom” Programme, launched back in May 2021. The project has become a vital part of FIDE’s social initiatives, where chess is used for educating and empowering various groups of society. The inaugural Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners took place in October 2021, with 41 teams representing 30 countries. This time the number of teams doubled: 85+ teams, including 12 female and 14 youth squads comprised of four players with an unlimited number of substitutes, will be playing in the group stage. Prisoners are divided into eight groups and will first compete in round-robin tournaments. Two top teams from each group will advance to the Championship round held on October 14. For the first time, separate tournaments will be organized for women’s and youth teams. In the run-up to the Championship, in some countries, national and regional chess tournaments for prisoners were held to determine the strongest players that would represent their countries on the international level. Others have chess training for inmates to improve their online and offline chess skills. The Championship, organized by FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, IL, USA) and hosted by Chess.com, will be played online and live-streamed on FIDE’s Youtube channel. The broadcast will include professional commentary and interviews with special guests – FIDE officials, government officers, members of the penitentiary administration and policymakers sharing the best practices of introducing chess to inmates, as well as former convicts proving from their own experience the positive impact of the game on prisoners. More info: chessforfreedom.fide.com/
2022 U.S. Championships kick off in St. Louis
Text: NM Vanessa West America’s strongest chess players enter to find fish swimming through a giant mechanical clock. Sharks loom above grandmasters. Chess celebrities are photographed before colossal projections of octopuses and jellyfish. Where are we? The opening ceremony for the 2022 U.S. Chess Championships held at the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, a space of wonder and imagination, fitting to celebrate the ultimate game of the mind. A swarm of chess strength at the St. Louis Aquarium. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller In Round 1, young grandmasters Sam Sevian and Hans Niemann took the lead as the only winners in the U.S. Championship. In the U.S. Women’s Championship, many of the players were out for glory, kicking off the tournament with four decisive games. Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony began with a speech from Rex Sinquefield, co-founder of the Saint Louis Chess Club, welcoming US Chess to the city for their new headquarters. Rex went on to announce an ongoing expansion of the chess club, which parallels the current state of growth of American chess overall with GM Levon Aronian making his first appearance at the U.S. Championships, four players who’ve ranked within the world top ten competing, and a host of talented up-and-comers fighting for the crown. Eugene Torre and James Tarjan | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Three notable chess figures were inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame: Daniel Willard Fiske, GM James Tarjan, and GM John Watson. Additionally, grandmasters Miguel Najdorf and Eugene Torre were inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. Tarjan and Torre gave sincere speeches offering insight into the history of chess. Lastly, to commence the U.S. Championships, the players drew lots by choosing from rows of stuffed otters and sharks. 2022 U.S. Championship GM Sam Sevian vs GM Elshan Moradiabadi 1-0 Sevian refused a repetition draw offer vs. GM Elshan Moradiabadi and pressed on for a win, eventually finding a way to break through on the kingside. Although Moradiabadi came close to holding the balance, Sevian’s 50.Ra7 was a turning point. After 50…gxf5 51.g6, Black has to give up material to prevent Rh7#. | 1-0, 61 moves Sevian begins the tournament tied for the lead with Niemann | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller GM Hans Niemann vs GM Christopher Yoo 1-0 Niemann got the better of GM Christopher Yoo in a highly dynamic and chaotic middlegame. With 40…Re8, Niemann consolidates his material advantage, and his active rooks take over. | 0-1, 55 moves In his interview after the round, Niemann’s only comment on the game was, “It was such a beautiful game I don’t need to describe it.” All of the other games ended peacefully. 2022 U.S. Women’s Championship FM Alice Lee vs FM Ashritha Eswaran 1-0 Newcomer and youngest competitor, FM Alice Lee, gained the very first victory of the event in a thrilling game vs. FM Ashritha Eswaran. In the opening, Eswaran delayed development to push her kingside pawns up the board toward Lee’s castled king. Lee responded by running her king back towards the center, allowing Eswaran to break into her kingside and gain a rook on the seventh. With both kings in the center, the game spun into chaos with both sides attacking each other when Lee discovered a beautiful tactical sequence. With 25…d4! Black indirectly defends the b7-bishop (if 26.Rxb7? Qh1+) while opening its diagonal to enhance the king attack. After 26.exd4 Qh1+ 27.Ke2 Bf3+ 28.Kd3 Be4+ Lee won decisive material. | 0-1, 37 moves A powerful first game for twelve-year-old Lee at her U.S. Women’s Championship debut | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes WGM Begim Tokhirjonov vs WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki 1-0 WGM Begim Tokhirjonov trapped WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki’s bishop in the middlegame and then capped off her victory with a picturesque mating combination. Tokhirjonova checkmated with 36.Qxg7+! Qxg7 37. Re8# | 1-0, 37 moves Tokhirjonova starts her second appearance at the U.S. Women’s with a victory | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes WGM Jennifer Yu vs IM Anna Zatonskih 1-0 The last game to finish was well worth the wait. Jennifer Yu displayed stunning endgame technique with just seconds left on her clock to defeat second seed IM Anna Zatonskih after over five hours of battle. Just as it looked like Zatonskih might escape with a draw, Yu played the subtle yet decisive 78…Rg5! (if 78…Rxg6 79.hxg6 h5 80.Kf7 h4 81. Kxg7 both sides promote). And after 79.Rxg5 hxg5 80.Kf5 g4 Yu’s passed g-pawn quickly promoted. | 0-1, 84 moves Yu fought for hours to convert her extra pawn into the full point | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes WIM Megan Lee vs FM Rochelle Wu 1-0 WIM Megan Lee scored an upset victory against FM Rochelle Wu while the rest of the games ended in draws. The 2022 U.S. Chess & U.S. Women’s Chess Championships continue Thursday, October 6, starting at 1:20 PM CT. Tune in to watch WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, GM Yasser Seirawan, & GM Cristian Chirila provide live commentary on uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Dates & Location:September 14 – September 16, 2022Saint Louis Chess Club Livestream:USChessChamps.ComYouTube: @STLChessClub | Twitch.tv: @STLChessClub Web: uschesschamps.com | Twitter: @STLChessClubInstagram: @STLChessClub | Facebook: @STLChessClub#USChessChamps #STLChessClub Press Contact:Rebecca Buffingtonrbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)