Online meetup “Infinite Spectrum: Awareness and Recognition” announced
In the Year of Social Chess, FIDE continues its series of events aimed at promoting and developing chess-related social projects. We are thrilled to invite you to the “Infinite Spectrum: Awareness and Recognition” meetup, a transformative online event focusing on autism awareness. This event is your chance to be part of a movement that champions the development and inclusion of children on the spectrum. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn, share, and make a lasting impact. Date: Sunday, April 6, 2025Time: 12:00 (CEST)Location: Online Platform: Zoom Registration details: Participation is free for everyone interested in the topic, including teachers, coaches, tutors, parents, and more. Event Description: Join us for an inspiring online meetup, “Infinite Spectrum: Awareness and Recognition”, as we shine a spotlight on autism awareness. This event is your chance to be part of a movement that champions the development and inclusion of children on the spectrum. Hear from experts: Engage with teachers, coaches, and tutors who are making a difference in the lives of children with autism. Parents’ stories: Listen to heartfelt stories from parents who have navigated the challenging yet heroic journey of raising children with autism. Their resilience and dedication will leave you inspired and empowered. Connect and share: Build connections with a community of passionate individuals who are committed to fostering a supportive environment for children with autism. Infinite Chess Partners Award: At the end of the meetup, we will honor outstanding individuals and organizations with the Infinite Chess Partners Award by nomination. This recognition celebrates their exceptional contributions to autism awareness and support. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn, share, and make a lasting impact. Register now and be part of a community that believes in the infinite potential of every child! Registration form: https://forms.gle/S3tBkuaziZqNJt6KA
Kashlinskaya and Shuvalova to replace Khademalsharieh and Lagno in FIDE WGP India
IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and GM Kateryna Lagno have withdrawn from the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix India due to personal reasons. In accordance with WGP regulations, they will be replaced by IMs Alina Kashlinskaya and Polina Shuvalova, respectively, who are now set to compete in the fifth leg of the series. Alina Kashlinskaya (pictured below), born on October 28, 1993, is a prominent figure in the world of women’s chess. She has won multiple national and European Women’s Individual Championship medals. Earlier in her career, she won silver at the 2003 Under-10 European Girls Youth Chess Championship and the 2011 Under-18 World Girls Youth Chess Championship before winning the Russian Junior Girls Championship in 2013. Photo: Anna Shtourman In 2022, Alina made the significant decision to switch federations and represent Poland. This move marked a new chapter in her chess career, and she quickly integrated into the Polish chess community. In the same year, she participated in the 44th Chess Olympiad as a member of the Polish women’s team, contributing to their sixth-place finish. In May 2024, she became the National Polish Women’s Champion and played on the first board for the national team at the 45th Chess Olympiad. In August 2024, Alina emerged as the winner of the first leg of WGP 2024–2025 series in Tbilisi, earning 130 points. She currently ranks seventh in the overall standings. Photo: Lennart Ootes Born in Orsk in 2001, Polina Shuvalova (pictured above) was a dominant force at junior events, where she achieved the unprecedented feature of winning three consecutive gold medals in the higher age group categories. After getting Silver and Bronze in the U-16 category in 2016 and 2017, she finally became World Champion in the World Girl’s U18 Championship 2018. The best was yet to come, though: the next year, Polina won the 2019 World Under 18 Girls’ Championship in Mumbai with a score of 8.5/11, and shortly after, she also won the World Girls’ Junior Championship in New Delhi with a score of 9.5/11. This last result granted her the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, at the age of 18. Shuvalova struggled in her WGP series debut, finishing last in Astana (2022). However, just a few months later, she delivered a solid performance in New Delhi (2023), tying for fourth place. She now returns to Indian soil two years later, hoping for an even stronger showing. The fifth leg of the FIDE WGP 2024–25 will take place in Pune, India, from April 13 to 24, with Alina Kashlinskaya and Polina Shuvalova replacing Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Kateryna Lagno in the draw. The full pairings can be found below: FIDE Women’s Grand Prix India 2025 Pairings FIDE WGP official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/
Sensational Anna Muzychuk takes down WGP Cyprus after gripping finale
After nine long and tremendously exciting rounds, the Cyprus Women’s Grand Prix has come to a close. Moreover, this afternoon’s final round was highly entertaining, despite all five games ending in draws. In fact, the final tournament winner, Anna Muzychuk, was only decided at the very end, based on a unique combination of factors. Zhu Jiner failed to convert what seemed like a big advantage against Nana Dzagnidze while, at exactly the same time, Olga Badelka was unable to finish-off a decisive +12 advantage against Stavroula Tsolakidou. Both Anna Muzychuk and China’s young prodigy Zhu Jiner scored solid +2600 performances and tied for first on 6/9, leaving behind Harika Dronavalli, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Mariya Muzychuk at a massive one-point distance in the final standings. Anna will take home the trophy and winner’s recognition, but the prize-money and WGP circuit points will be shared with Zhu Jiner. After the closing ceremony, Anna shared her thoughts with the FIDE Press Officer. “I am very happy that I won the event: the last time I shared first place in a tournament was thirteen years ago, so this win is indeed very special for me. For that, I would like to thank the organization for creating good conditions for the player and of course everyone that helped me to achieve it.” Regarding her chances to win one of the two Candidates spots, Anna was quite down-to-earth: “Obviously a win in this tournament increases my chances to qualify, but everything is still very unclear. I will try to prepare well for Austria and just hope that things will go well for me.” Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s playing session. Mariya Muzychuk – Aleksandra Goryachkina ½-½ The first game to finish exhibited excellent home preparation by both players. Facing her opponent’s Berlin Defence in the Ruy Lopez, Mariya chose a line that’s well-known for being very drawish at the highest level, although every now and then White is able to score a win. However, Goryachkina who has always been exceptionally well-prepared in the opening, side-stepped any potential dangers. Maybe 28.Kh2 instead of 28.Qc3 might have been a way to keep things going for White but after the exchange of queens the position ultimately liquidated into a clearly drawn rook endgame. To top things up, the accuracy score displayed was uncanny: 99%! With this result, both players both players finished with a solid, undefeated +1 score (eight draws and one win). For Goryachkina, she picks up some useful Grand Prix points in her third and last leg of the cycle, giving her excellent chances to qualify for the future Women’s Candidates Tournament. Elisabeth Paehtz – Divya Deshmukh ½-½ The German Grand Master, who has manifested publicly that Cyprus will probably be her last official classical tournament, opened the game with the London system. In response, Divya opted for a lesser-known line, but which has been tried out by some of the best players in the world, including Magnus Carlsen. After fifteen moves the position was totally blocked and there didn’t seem much going on. However, at one point, Divya offered the exchange of queens, which wasn’t accepted by Elizabeth, and the game immediately ended in a draw by move repetition. Understandably, Paehtz just wanted to end the tournament as soon as possible, but the ending suggests that after the exchange of queens she would have had a sizeable advantage. Divya finishes the event very slightly under expectation but takes away a huge learning experience in her journey to the top. Harika Dronavalli – Anna Muzychuk ½-½ Both players have a long playing history together: eighteen games, with 14 draws and three wins for Harika – a slight statistical edge. They have been playing since they were kids – their first official game was in Spain, at the U-10 Oropesa del Mar World Championship in 2000, exactly twenty-five years ago! Ultra-solid, Harika was looking for a risk-free edge in her game today, knowing very well that the pressure was on her opponent: Anna needed at least a draw to remain in contention for first place. Intending to unbalance the game, Anna went for the slightly unusual but playable 5…Nh6 variation in the English Agincourt, an idea tried out by Gukesh’s second Gajewski in 2022. Caught by surprise, Harika played it safe and traded queens, but White had no advantage in the queenless middlegame. After more piece trades, a draw was agreed in a completely equal rook ending on move forty: Harika had an extra pawn but no way to progress. Once again, accuracy levels of 99% indicate the extremely high level of precision in this game. Olga Badelka – Stavroula Tsolakidou ½-½ “I was so lucky,” a happy Stavroula told me immediately after the game. “I was completely lost if she had played 36.Qg5, I think I would have been mated in a few moves.” Badelka missed a golden opportunity to score her second win in the event. The game began with the ceremonial move performed by Mr. Evros Stylianou, General Manager of the magnificent Hilton Nicosia, the perfect venue for an elite round-robin chess tournament. The former Belarus player, now representing Austria, played a great attacking game, and totally outplayed Tsolakidou in a fashionable line of the King’s Indian Defence. But just when she was probably expecting Stavroula to resign, Olga missed her chance to score. Moment of the day Badelka would have taken the point home had played here 36.Qg5! with decisive checks on e5 or f6. Instead, she went 36.Qe4 and after 36…Qe7! realized that things were not so simple as 37.fxe5 runs into 37…Qxa3 and it’s a mess. Even after the miss, the engine still gives her a decisive advantage, but it’s always tricky to bring it home after realizing you let go of a winning opportunity. Stavroula started to defend perfectly and after trading queens transitioned into a rook ending, down a pawn. And as the saying goes, “All rook endings are drawn!” Zhu Jiner – Nana Dzagnidze ½-½
WGP Cyprus: Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner to battle for the title in the final round
It couldn’t get more exciting! With this afternoon’s victory over Elisabeth Paehtz, Anna Muzychuk bounced back from her seventh-round loss to tie with Zhu Jiner at 5.5/8, setting up a thrilling final round at the Cyprus Women’s Grand Prix. Muzychuk will play Black against Harika Dronavalli, while Zhu Jiner will enjoy the white pieces against Nana Dzagnidze. Another happy contender was Divya Deshmukh, who scored her first win of the tournament by defeating Olga Badelka. Interestingly, this was the game chosen for the ceremonial first move, performed by five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President Vishy Anand. Anand played 1.Nf3, and as fate would have it, this very piece delivered the final blow with the maneuver 63.Ne5-d7! Let’s take a closer look at the five games. Aleksandra Goryachkina – Harika Dronavalli 0.5-0.5 Goryachkina’s quick draw against Paehtz yesterday gave her plenty of time to prepare for today’s game against Harika. Also, their head-to-head record favoured Goryachkina heavily – three wins and six draws, with no victories for Harika. However, Aleksandra’s Grand Prix situation is very special. Having won an event and tied for first in another, a decent result here more or less guarantees her a Candidates. With this in mind, it makes sense for her to avoid major risks. Her preparation for the game was top-notch. First, she sacrificed a pawn for piece compensation in a well-known position of the French Tarrasch. Then she followed it up with the “engine” novelty 15.Ng5, a very dangerous attacking idea. But Harika was on her game today and quickly found the way to neutralize her opponent’s initiative. After the exchange of queens, Harika still retained her extra pawn, but a draw was quickly agreed upon due to the opposite-coloured bishops. Anna Muzychuk – Elisabeth Paehtz 1-0 Anna and Elisabeth are good friends and colleagues. But when it comes to chess, it’s no-holds-barred. “It’s not so easy because Elisabeth is my best friend in the chess community, and we have spent a lot of time together,” said Anna after the game. In twenty official classical games, Anna has pulled ahead with four wins and only one loss, while the rest of the games were draws. “Anna is playing with White and after yesterday’s loss she will try very hard to score the full point today,” dared GM Gershon on the live stream. “Exactly, as you can imagine she didn’t look happy this morning, as she was struggling to get herself together for today’s game,” confirmed WGM co-commentator Karlovich. However, Karlovich also mentioned that she had lunched with Paehtz, “I spoke to Elisabeth during lunch and I think she is ready for a fight today and try to surprise her opponent in the opening.” And indeed, she did! Elisabeth opted for the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, a defence that she has used very sparingly in her career (although one of the games was against Anna’s younger sister!). “In fact, I played 1.d4 as the first move, which I do very rarely. I thought I was going to surprise her!” said Anna, reflecting on her opening choice. Anna did her best to find a way to make progress to no avail. To make things even worse, she quickly fell behind on the clock: at one point she was down to six minutes for seventeen moves. However, fortune favours the brave and, with Anna under severe time pressure, Elisabeth blundered 24…Qc5? instead of 24…Rxd4 with equal play, and then more importantly, 28…Qd8? instead of the superior 28…Qd7, which seems to be holding. After that, Anna had no trouble picking up a couple of pawns and bringing the point home, ensuring an exciting finale to the tournament. In her postgame interview, she instructively explained how Elisabeth’s position started to go downhill after 23…e5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2nVPmBBKTs Stavroula Tsolakidou – Zhu Jiner 0.5-0.5 Leading the event with 5/7, Zhu Jiner decided to go all-in with an aggressive approach in this important game against Stavroula. Instead of the solid Ruy Lopez or Italian game, she went for her favourite Sicilian, the Najdorf variation. Tsolakidou’s response was unsurprising – the aggressive 6.Bg5 followed by 7.Qf3 and 8.0-0-0, echoing her 2017 victory over Zhu Jiner at the World Junior Girls Championship. Her opening strategy was successful: her opponent was caught off-guard with 9.g4 and spent quite a lot of time figuring out the best response. Zhu Jiner took up the gauntlet, captured the “poisoned pawn”, and the game was on! The position remained balanced, according to the engines, but it was very double-edged, and anything could happen. But the exchange of queens on move twenty-two cooled things down. In the queenless middlegame, Zhu Jiner had the two bishops but a slightly worse pawn structure: the game was heading for a draw and indeed a draw was agreed on move forty-nine, both players clocking a 98% accuracy score with no mistakes whatsoever. Nana Dzagnidze – Mariya Muzychuk 0.5-0.5 The head-to-head between Nana and Mariya is quite extensive. In eighteen classical games, twelve games have ended in a draw, with two wins for Nana and four wins for Mariya. In addition, as GM Gershon most astutely pointed out, both Nana and Mariya have only played one leg of the cycle and this is their second event: if one of them were able to score two consecutive game wins, they might have a chance to fight for one of the two candidate spots. Indeed, a very important game for both of them. The opening was the Three Knights variation in the Grunfeld, with a well-deserved reputation of being very solid. Neither of the two players wanted to risk today, and each time a piece could be traded they would go for it. Around move twenty-five, Mariya enjoyed a slight initiative on the board and also quite a bit of extra time con the clock (twenty minutes for Nana’s six minutes, with fifteen moves to the time control). However, Nana kept her cool, played solidly and without much trouble was able to liquidate into an equal ending.
World School Championship 2025: Extended “working hours” before the rest day
The schedule of the FIDE World School Championship 2025 in Vrnjačka Banja featured only one day with two rounds of play. Young chess players tackled this demanding challenge on the third day with determination, despite the difficulty of preparing for two different opponents and playing two important games back-to-back. It was also a great opportunity for photographers to capture memorable moments from the tournament hall. After four exciting rounds, the competition remains wide open, with only two sole leaders—Madinabonu Asadova (Girls U9) and Malika Japparbekova (Girls U15)—emerging across twelve tournaments. Sunday is a rest day, with an excursion planned for the participants. The competition will resume with Round 5 on Monday, March 24. Photos: Chess Federation of Serbia Official website: worldschool2025.fide.com
WGP Cyprus: Shake-up at the top! Badelka defeats Muzychuk, Zhu Jiner leads
The shortest round of the tournament featured three decisive results and the emergence of a new leader. In a surprising turn of events, Olga Badelka defeated Anna Muzychuk in a spectacular attacking game, allowing Zhu Jiner to claim the top spot with her victory over Divya Deshmukh. Nana Dzagnidze also returned to a positive score, taking down Stavroula Tsolakidou with the black pieces. The ceremonial first move was made in the game between Zhu Jiner and Divya Deshmukh. Former Women’s World Champion and current FIDE Treasurer, Zhu Chen, played the first move for Zhu Jiner, while FIDE Vice-President Joran Aulin Jansson did the honors for Divya. Let’s take a closer look at the five games. Elisabeth Paehtz – Aleksandra Goryachkina (0.5-0.5) Although players cannot agree to a draw before move forty, they can bypass this rule in the case of a threefold repetition—exactly what happened in the first game to finish this afternoon. Both Elisabeth and Aleksandra ended the game with more time than they had at the start, indicating they were content with an eleven-move draw. Harika Dronavalli – Mariya Muzychuk (0.5-0.5) The second game to finish also ended in a draw but in this case it was hard-fought. Muzychuk brought a rather new move (7…c4) in the London opening to the table, achieving a very solid position. After he exchange of queens there was not much to play for in the ending, and a threefold repetition on move twenty-eight sealed the result. Both players achieved a 99% accuracy score – a testament to the high-level displayed in the encounter. Olga Badelka – Anna Muzychuk (1-0) The upset of the day! Refreshed from the village outing on the free day, Olga Badelka seems to be having the time of her life. After holding Goryachkina to a draw yesterday, today Olga played a game for the ages, defeating leader Anna Muzychuk with a ferocious attack in the Colle-Zukertort. “It’s better to win late than never,” were her first words in the postgame interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZwaeu7n0sE I had a very well-needed rest on the free day with the mountain excursion to the village, and I am still trying to find my focus,” continued Olga. The key moment of the game occurred on move fifteen. Moment of the day Muzychuk has just played 14…Ne4 intending to exchange the knights after 15.cxd5 Nxd2. However, Badelka is not forced to recapture, and instead she spotted a nice intermezzo 16.dxe6! with a massive attack that ultimately proved decisive. When asked about Muzychuk’s blunder 14…Ne4, Badelka responded: “Maybe she wasn’t happy with the outcome of the opening: she had already spent half an hour and maybe she wanted to simplify things quickly, but it wasn’t to be.” Zhu Jiner – Divya Deshmukh (1-0) Shortly after Badelka had won her game, Zhu Jiner confirmed her excellent moment of form in the tournament by defeating Divya Deshmukh in great style. Divya opted for her signature French defence against which Zhu Jiner chose the Steinitz variation with an early 10.dxc5. Divya took some time to respond and soon ended up in a difficult position. However, according to the engine, she could have turned the tables with the tricky 21…e5 instead of 21…b3? after which Zhu Jiner didn’t give her a second chance. “I just tried to focus on myself and try my best to play. I didn’t see too much about the other results” explained Zhu Jiner in her post-game interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJTbi_qLQr0 During the interview, Zhu Jiner showed us how she would have been forced to use an underpromotion to a knight to win the game if Divya hadn’t resigned. Stavroula Tsolakidou – Nana Dzagnidze (0-1) The final game to finish saw a completely recovered Nana Dzagnidze defeate Stavroula Tsolakidou with the black pieces. Stavroula essayed a secondary line against Dzagnidze’s trusted Sicilian Taimanov which promises a very chaotic position with attacking chances for both sides. However, it seemed that Dzagnidze was very comfortable in the complications – an unlucky choice for Stavroula who never found her moment in the game. According to the engine, sacrificing the exchange with 18.Bf2 didn’t offer enough compensation and the follow-up was just not enough to trouble Dzagnidze’s relatively safe king. The Georgian GM wrapped up the game with ease, happy to have left behind yesterday’s blunder against Harika. Round 8 dates and pairings: The eighth round of the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series will be played on Sunday, March 23rd at 15:00 CET local time in Nicosia, Cyprus. These are the pairings of the round: Nana Dzagnidze – Mariya MuzychukAleksandra Goryachkina – Harika DronavalliAnna Muzychuk – Elisabeth PaehtzDivya Deshmukh – Olga BadelkaStavroula Tsolakidou – Zhu Jiner More information about the event, including the regulations and details of the pairings, as well as live games can be found on the official website: womengrandprix.fide.com 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
Four contenders chase Anna Muzychuk’s lead in WGP Cyprus
With her game ending in a draw, Anna Muzychuk remains at the top of the Cyprus WGP cross table after six rounds, with a total of 4.5 points. Anna’s opponent today, Zhu Jiner, trails her by half a point (4/6), maintaining the same gap with three other players just behind on 3.5/6—Aleksandra Goryachkina, Mariya Muzychuk, and Harika Dronavalli. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich performed the ceremonial first move at the game between Divya Deshmukh and Stavroula Tsolakidou while Clea Hadjistephanou Papaellina, from the Department of Education of the University of Cyprus in Physical Education played the first move for Anna Muzychuk in her game against Zhu Jiner. After the round begun, Dvorkovich joined the commentator’s booth, expressing his satisfaction on how the WGP cycle is developing. “The Grand Prix cycle has expanded: there are six events now instead of four, prizes are higher, more players participate. It shows are focus on the development of women chess and are dedication to the whole World Championship cycle for women players,” he said. Dvorkovich is in Cyprus attending the FIDE Council, which meets in person once or twice a year to discuss many strategic subjects – for example the structure of the World Championship cycle. Among many other issues, this afternoon they attended the presentation of the virtual FIDE Online Museum, which will be officially inaugurated next week. Let’s take a closer look at the five games of Round 6. Anna Muzychuk – Zhu Jiner (0.5-0.5) The most important game of the day paired together the leader of the tournament, Anna Muzychuk (4/5), with Zhu Jiner, trailing Anna by half a point. They had faced each other previously in classical chess a couple of times in the past – both of those games ended in a draw. The commentators were slightly taken aback by Muzychuk’s choice in the opening, the 3.Bb5+ Moscow variation in the Sicilian. “An interesting choice, although not without its own dangers. I think that Anna wants to play for a win today but without risking too much,” explained GM Alik Gershon in the booth. The Chinese GM opted for the solid 3…Bd7 and, facing Muzychyk’s Maroczy bind, chose the interesting side-line 7…Qg4 instead of the much more common 7…cxd4, which basically forces the trade of queens. Interestingly, the elite Chinese GM Li Chao has played this line a few times in the past. It soon became clear that Zhu Jiner had analysed the endgame extensively and, in fact, Muzychuk soon realised that she had no advantage and proposed a draw by means of a three-fold repetition. Slightly ahead on the clock, Zhu decided to play on, exerted some pressure but after accurate play by the leader a draw was eventually agreed on move forty-two. Mariya Muzychuk – Elisabeth Paehtz 1-0 Apart from being good friends, Mariya and Elisabeth have faced each on nine occasions, with a good record for the younger of the two Muzychuk sisters: two wins and seven draws. Playing today with White, and considering Elisabeth’s shaky start, Mariya pushed from the get-go for an open and aggressive game, choosing the Open Sicilian. “The 6.h3 line against the Najdorf is one of the more fashionable lines, preventing …Ng4 in certain situations. In some lines it’s more useful whereas in others it’s less useful,” explained GM Alik Gershon on the live stream. “In other lines White can play the concrete g4, asking some questions to the f6-knight”. Soon the fight for the d5-square became the game’s focal point: by exchanging her dark-squared bishop for the knight on b6, Mariya managed to transfer her knight from b3 to d5 and secured a huge positional advantage along with excellent attacking chances on her opponent’s kingside. It’s not totally clear where Paehtz made her fatal mistake – it just seemed that she was positionally outplayed. Mariya was very happy with her first win in the event. In her postgame interview, she considered a couple of ideas that didn’t appear on the board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An59NxTPzlw Divya Deshmukh – Stavroula Tsolakidou 0.5 – 0.5 Belonging to the younger generation, Divya and Stavroula haven’t had enough time yet to string many classical games against each other. In fact, they have only played twice before, with two draws. For today’s game, Stavroula had prepared the 6…Be7 secondary line in the Open Ruy Lopez, a variation that Magnus Carlsen has used quite often in the past. Maybe she was hoping to surprise Divya but the Indian came very well-prepared to the game, even finding the 11.b3 / 12.Ba3 manoeuvre quite fast. The game quickly transitioned into a queen+rook+minor piece equal middlegame. In the commentary booth, WGM Anastasiya Kharlovich provided some insights: “Anand suggested that as Divya is an aggressive player, everyone wants to take her to the ending.” Although Stavroula’s pawn structure was slightly damaged, she had a good compensation in the form of piece activity. Divya decided to call it a day and force a perpetual draw on move forty-one, just after the time control. Nana Dzagnidze – Harika Dronavalli 0-1 Nana and Harika have a lot of history together, having played a total of twenty-one classical games in the past, with a totally equal score of thirteen draws and four wins each. With regard to Dzagnidze’s unpretentious opening choice – the rare Agincourt defence – GM Gershon put forward his theory: “Nana just wants to get a game, with as little theory as possible and then let the better player win.” In any case, she definitely caught her opponent of balance: the move 7…c5 cost Harika twenty minutes while on move 8…d4 – which is actually an inaccuracy – she spent another twenty-eight minutes. It has to be said though, that Dzagnidze was also in unfamiliar territory, spending a lot of time as well. Ultimately, faced with an unfamiliar position, Harika decided to sacrifice a pawn, hoping to get some form of compensation. Both players entered time trouble, leading to mistakes. Dzagnidze’s 19.Nf5? (instead of the much better 19.Nxf7!) allowed the counter 19…e4! which
FACI Project: From five to eight countries
In 2025, the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) project, which supports chess federations in Asian countries where chess is still underdeveloped, will expand from five participating countries to eight. Since 2024, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess/KCF), with financial support from Freedom Holding Corp. and in partnership with FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), has been implementing the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) program. This initiative provides assistance to chess federations in Asian countries where chess is not yet sufficiently developed. The first beneficiary countries were Cambodia, Nepal, Oman, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka. Starting in April 2024, Kazakhstani coaches have been conducting training sessions in these countries: Kirill Kuderinov – Sri Lanka Dmitry Stativkin – Oman Murtas Kazhgaleyev – Nepal Evgeniy Vladimirov – Tajikistan Bakhtiyar Askarov – Cambodia The program includes training sessions for youth and adult national teams, as well as educational seminars for local coaches. After the in-person sessions, training continues online. Overall, the program structure ensures that each coach spends approximately one month on-site, followed by eight weeks of online training, and then one final month in the country, making it a four-month intensive training cycle. Given the positive feedback from all five federations, a working group consisting of Victor Bologan (FIDE), Hisham Al-Taher (ACF), Darmen Sadvakasov, and Gulmira Dauletova (KazChess/KCF) reviewed applications for FACI 2025 in February. They decided to expand the program to include three more countries, bringing the total to eight (listed alphabetically):Bhutan, Jordan, Cambodia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka. At the 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, the three newly added countries achieved the following results: The men’s teams of Pakistan, Jordan, and Bhutan ranked 97th, 130th, and 141st out of 188 teams, respectively. The women’s teams of Jordan and Pakistan finished 92nd and 122nd out of 169 teams. Bhutan did not compete in the women’s tournament. The list of coaches for each of the eight countries will be finalized soon. Additionally, the FACI official website has been launched, where key updates and news about the project will be regularly published.
European Championship 2025: Daniil Yuffa leads at the half-way mark
European Individual Chess Championship 2025 in Eforie Nord, Romania has crossed its midpoint. After six intense rounds, the participants are enjoying a well-deserved rest day. The sixth round of the competition was opened by Consul General of Turkey in Romania Ozan Cakir, Vice President of the Romanian Chess Federation Alin-Mile Berescu and Secretary General of the Romanian Chess Federation Gabriel Grecescu. GM Daniil Yuffa (ESP, 2654; pictured below, left) retained the sole lead with 5.5/6, after drawing with GM Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM, 2630) in Round 6. Daniil achieved a highly promising position on the white side of the Reversed Benoni but was unable to capitalize and conceded his first half-point of the event. A large group of eleven GMs trails by just a half-point sharing the second place with 5/6: Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM, 2630), Baadur Jobava (GEo, 2578), Benjamin Gledura (HUN, 2658), Aryan Tari (NOR, 2621), Gabriel Sargissian (ARM, 2628), Lorenzo Lodici (ITA, 2559), Matthias Bluebaum (GER, 2643), Gleb Dudin (HUN, 2544), Maxime Lagarde (FRA, 2615), Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR, 2603) and Paul Velten (FRA, 2515). With five rounds to play, the competition remains wide open. Standings after Round 6 Round 7 pairings You can follow live games and video broadcasts on the ECU TV platform and the ECU YouTube channel. Photos: Federația Română de Șah and David Llada
FIDE World School Chess Championship 2025 begins in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
The FIDE World School Chess Championship 2024 has officially begun in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, often referred to as the capital of chess and tourism. The event runs from March 19 to March 29, 2025. During the opening ceremony, which featured a performance by the children’s choir “Vrnjačke Iskrice,” President Andrija Jorgić welcomed all participants and guests on behalf of the Chess Federation of Serbia. FIDE delegate Özgür Solakoğlu also addressed the audience, especially praising the Chess Federation of Serbia and President Jorgić for their efforts in integrating chess into school curricula across the country. The Mayor of Vrnjačka Banja, Boban Đurović, reminded attendees that the city was hosting a major sports event for the third consecutive year and expressed hope that this trend would continue. The Minister of Sports of the Republic of Serbia, Zoran Gajić, delivered an inspiring speech, highlighting Serbia’s rich chess heritage. To conclude the ceremony, Mr. Gajić and Mr. Đurović made the symbolic first move, after which Chief Arbiter Nenad Dorić officially declared the competition open. According to the final figures provided by the organizers, 461 participants from 43 national federations are competing across six age categories: U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, and U17, with separate Open and Girls events. Photos: Chess Federation of Serbia Official website: worldschool2025.fide.com