Brazilian Championship: Fier and Terao win titles
GM Alexandr Fier and FM Juliana Sayumi Terao are the new Brazilian chess champions. It is Alexandr’s fourth national title and sixth victory in a national championship for Juliana Saymi. The 88th Absolute Brazilian Championship and the 61st Brazilian Women’s Championship took place at the Hotel Jangadeiro in the city of Recife, capital of Pernambuco, from December 15-23. Both events were Swiss tournaments with classical time control. Just like last year, the rating favourites Alexandr Fier and the defending champion Luis Paolo Supi started strong, winning four straight games, but the latter fell to Diego Rafael Di Berardino, who grabbed the lead after Round 5. Fier, however, beat Di Berardino in Round 7 and pulled ahead. Coming into the final round a half-point ahead of three players tied for second place, Alexandr defeated Guimaraes Diogo Duarte with black pieces and clinched the title with an excellent score of 9.5/11. GM Yago De Moura Santiago and IM Roberto Junio Brito Molina finished a half-point behind the champion and shared second place. The silver medal goes to Santiago, thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. Final standings: 1 GM Fier Alexandr 2600 9½ 2 GM Santiago Yago De Moura 2458 9 3 IM Molina Roberto Junio Brito 2385 9 4 GM Lima Darcy 2424 8½ 5 IM Di Berardino Diego Rafael 2453 8 6 GM Matsuura Everaldo 2433 8 7 NM Do Nascimento Christian Almeida 2087 8 8 FM Gauche Charles 2221 8 9 NM Da Silva Erick Feitosa 1892 8 10 FM Alboredo Julia 2213 7½ The women’s championship saw the dominance of the rating favourite FM Juliana Sayumi Terao, who steamrolled her opponents, winning all nine games and securing the title with a round to spare. NM Ellen Larissa Bail netted 7/9 and won silver; the second-rated Kathie Goulart Librelato earned bronze. Final standings: 1 FM Terao Juliana Sayumi 2240 9 2 NM Bail Ellen Larissa 1875 7 3 WIM Librelato Kathie Goulart 2194 6½ 4 WFM Cincinato Thalita Ariane C. 1845 6 5 NM Tamarozi Isabelle 2005 5½ 6 Eger Laura Luisa 1791 5½ 7 Correa Lorenna Martins 1654 5½ 8 Miranda Marina Lima 1647 5 9 WCM Da Cunha Gabriela Goes 1687 5 10 WNM Brambilla Renee Blandy T. 1661 5 Official website: cbx.org.br/
FIDE Executive Director visits the Maldives
In mid-December, FIDE Executive Director GM Victor Bologan visited the Republic of Maldives and had several productive meetings with the local authorities. First, the FIDE Executive Director met with the Minister of Youth Sports and Empowerment, Mr Ahmed Mahloof and the President of the Maldives Chess Association, Mr Hussain Shiyan. Victor Bologan thanked Minister Ahmed Maloof for his support for chess in the country and commended the dedication of the local chess executive team. During the meeting, various ways of developing chess in the Maldives were broadly discussed, including the implementation of a proper system for chess training, multiple approaches to taking players to the next level and strengthening chess relations with partners. Minister Ahmed Mahloof highlighted the importance of holding international chess events in the Maldives, which will attract new tourists to the popular archipelagic state. Victor Bologan spoke in detail about the FIDE structure and various social activities and projects FIDE has been carrying out over the recent years, such as Chess in Prison, Chess in School and Chess for Children with Special Needs. Minister Ahmed Mahloof stressed the importance of introducing Chess in Prison and Chess Schools (the projects are expected to be launched in the Maldives in 2023) and detailed the Sports Award in the Maldives, one of the most important local events. He also inquired about a possible visit by the FIDE President to the Maldives. The next stop was the Maldives Olympic Committee, where Victor Bologan met with the Senior Executive Team. Hussain Shiyan President of Maldives Chess Association, Board Member of the Maldives Olympic Committee, President of the Non-Olympic Sports at Maldives Olympic Committee; GM Victor Bologan, FIDE Executive Director; Mr Mohamed Abdul Sattar, President of the Maldives Olympic Committee; Mr Ahmed Ismail, Vice President of Maldives Olympic Committee; Mr. Mohamed Tholal, Vice President of the Maldives Olympic Committee; Thamooh Ahmed Saeed; Secretary General President of the Maldives Olympic Committee Mohamed Abdul Sattar welcomed GM Victor Bologan to the Maldives and underlined the importance of FIDE executives’ visiting small countries. FIDE Executive Director praised the Maldivian sports system and noted that some huge nations like the United Kingdom, the United States, and France had not included chess in Olympic Committee yet, whereas the Maldives already took chess under the Olympics umbrella. The parties also discussed the chess development in the Maldives and the important role the Maldives Olympic Committee has been playing in this process. Lastly, Victor Bologan gave a master class to the young players of the Maldives Chess Association and thanked Maldivians for their warm hospitality.
Rilton Cup announces cooperation with FIDE’s Fair Play Commission
FIDE’s Fair Play Commission (FPL) is helping the Stockholm Chess Federation with implementing fair play measures before and during the 50th edition of the Rilton Cup, Sweden’s biggest open chess tournament. The Secretary of the Fair Play Commission, Bojana Bejatovic, and Ana Srebrnič were appointed as the Fair Play Officers of the tournament. FIDE’s newly elected Fair Play Commission will hold its first commission meeting in Stockholm during the Rilton Cup on January 4 and 5. Also, the first live seminar to obtain Fair Play Expert norms will be held in Stockholm on the day after the Rilton Cup on January 6. “We sought out help from FIDE to assist us with the Fair Play”, said Birger Wenzel, Chairman of the Rilton Committee. “We are grateful that Fair Play Officers from FIDE are helping us to prepare for the tournament and that they will also be present during the event. We are learning so much from our ongoing conversations with Yuri Garrett and his team. We went from the stage of ‘unconsciously incompetent’ to ‘consciously incompetent’, but with the help of FIDE, we can hopefully soon become ‘consciously competent’ and ensure fair play not only at the Rilton Cup but also in all tournaments in Stockholm.” Yuri Garrett, Chairman of the FPL, added: “It was and is a joy to work with the Organizing Committee of the Rilton Cup. This is a team of very dedicated and experienced people who understand that prevention and best practices are vital in the fight for guaranteeing Fair Play at major events. I can’t wait to be in Stockholm with my team to lend a helping hand and contribute to the success of the event. And, if I can take this liberty, I would love to abuse of this space to ask all top organizers from all over the world to follow in the graceful steps of their Swedish colleagues.” The Rilton Cup is the first tournament to be part of FIDE’s new qualification path to the Candidate Tournament. The Deputy Chair of FIDE’s Management Board, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, commented: “The Rilton Cup is actually a unique tournament among the commercial/open events paying so serious attention to fair play measures and cooperating with FIDE FPL. Such an attitude is very important in those tournaments that will want to comply with qualification criteria.” The fair play measures will be in accordance with Swedish law and are going to be both visible and less visible during the Rilton Cup. The 50th edition of the Rilton Cup, Sweden’s biggest open chess tournament will take place from December 27 to January 5 in Stockholm.
Taione Sikivou wins 2022 Vodafone Fiji Chess Championship
CM Taione Sikivou of Narocivo, Rewa, had an unbeaten run of five wins and two draws with siblings Tanvi Prasad and Rudr Prasad to clinch the 2022 Vodafone Fiji National Chess Championship. The champion netted 6/7, the same score as CM Manoj Kumar, who finished second after losing the direct encounter to Sikivou. 20-year-old Yash Maharaj of the University of the South Pacific, CM Goru Arvind and 17-year-old Rudr Prasad of Jai Narayan College finished 3rd, 4th and 5th, respectively, on 5/7. The championship, with a prize pool of $ 1,000, was officiated by FIDE National Arbiter William Bennion. After four days of intense chess, the award ceremony graced by Vodafone Fiji Head of Recharge and Distribution, Mr Nilesh Singh, took place. In addition to the trophies and medals, the winners received several mobile phones. “Fiji Chess Federation and all its players are thankful to Vodafone Fiji for partnering with our team for the 2022 National Chess Championship, which helped us to select our 2023 Oceania Zonal reps in Australia from 23-28 January,” stated General Secretary Goru Arvind. “The Open and Women’s National Champion have qualified to represent Fiji against some of the best chess players from Australia, New Zealand and smaller Pacific Island Countries.” Sixteen-year-old Tanvi Prasad of Jai Narayan College won the Women’s National Chess Championship title thanks to superior tiebreaks over Jacquelyn Masilomani. Both scored 4/7. Anisha Eshal Bari finished 3rd in the Women’s Division with 3.5/7 in her first chess tournament. Newcomer Zayne Elmond Keshwan impressed in his maiden tournament by winning the Secondary School’s Division (4/7) thanks to better tiebreaks over Ayush Chand of Jai Nayaran College and Ryan Kumar, who scored an equal amount of points. As a result, Zayne Elmond Keshwan was given the Best Beginner Award. “With our official playing venue at Fiji Olympic House becoming operational this month, we are eager to host the 2022 National Blitz Chess Championship in January 2023,” said Goru Arvind. “The event is once more sponsored by Vodafone Fiji to support our growing sport,” he added. The Primary School’s Division saw the victory of Arnav Lal of Deenbandhoo Primary School while Anush Shay Chand of Gospel Primary School and 8-year-old Yash Yuvaan Prasad of Deenbandhoo Primary School secured the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. The Vodafone Fiji National Blitz Chess Championship will be held in January 2023.
Ivan Farago (1946-2022)
FIDE is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of GM Ivan Farago (Hungary) in his 76th year of age. Born in Budapest in 1946, Ivan started to play competitive chess at his age of 12. His first significant success came in 1964 when he scored 70% at the World University Championship in Krakow. He was best individual scorer of all teams three years later. He became IM in 1974 and GM in 1976. He won the 1986 Hungarian Championship and took silver in 1979 and 1981. Ivan Farago delivered some outstanding performances as a member of the Hungarian National team. He won silver medals with the team at the European Team Championships in 1977 and in 1980 and bronze in 1983. Farago’s greatest achievement was the silver medal at the Chess Olympiad in Malta, 1980. He devoted his life to chess playing passionately always investing all his energy. His death is a big loss of the world sports and chess society. The Hungarian Chess Federation lost one of their own. FIDE extends its sincere condolences to Ivan Farago’s family, friends, and loved ones. Photo: Gerhard Hund
Statement by the Fair Play Chair on the Carlsen-Niemann investigation
While the Carlsen-Niemann Investigatory Panel has been working very hard in the past few weeks, the investigation is not yet completed. This is due to the complexity of the matter at hand, which requires the Investigatory Panel to search for and analyze all relevant evidence, and also to consult with external experts where needed. The IP cannot disclose the content and interim outcome of its efforts; however, the Fair Play Commission wants to reassure all interested parties and the chess community that the IP is committed to its work and that constant progress is being made. The final report will be published as soon as technically possible.
Estonian Championship: Volodin and Sinitsina clinch titles
The 2022 Estonian Championship, held in two sections (open and women) took place in the Paul Keres Chess House in Tallin from December 10-18. The competition marked the centenary of the Estonian Chess Championship. The first edition, won by Paul Rinne, was played almost one hundred years ago in Tallinn, from December 26, 1922, to January 6, 1923. The open section, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control, saw a close race among the rating favourites GM Aleksandr Volodin, GM Kaido Kulaots and untitled Andrei Timoshin, who became the revelation of the tournament. Heading into the final round on 6.5/9, a half-point ahead of his main competitors, Volodin faced Timoshin with the black pieces, while Kulaots took on Nikita Rychagov with White. After Volodin drew with accurate defence, all eyes were on the game Kulaots – Rychagov. The tournament’s highest-rated player did not overcome Black’s resistance and had to settle for a draw. As a result, Alexandr Volodin finished clear first on 7/9 and clinched his third national title. Timoshin and Kaido tied for second place, with the former claiming silver thanks to a better Sonneborn-Berger. Timoshin completed an IM norm and picked up 71 rating points. Final standings: 1 GM Volodin, Aleksandr 2440 7 2 Timoshin, Andrei 2179 6½ 3 GM Kulaots, Kaido 2513 6½ 4 IM Seeman, Tarvo 2405 6 5 GM Kanep, Meelis 2412 5 6 IM Kiik, Kalle 2369 4 7 IM Sirosh, Ilja 2386 3½ 8 Rychagov, Nikita 2180 3 9 Medar, Marti 2069 2 10 Soot, Margus 2121 1½ The women’s championship brought together just five players competing in a round-robin format. The rating-favourite Anastassia Sinitsina dominated the field and conceded her opponents just a half-point. Sofia Blokhin finished a full point behind and took silver; Marina Levchenko came third. Final standings: 1 WFM Sinitsina, Anastassia 2175 3½ 2 WFM Blokhin, Sofia 2065 2½ 3 Levchenko, Marina 1625 2 4 Ivanova, Lidia 1482 2 5 Haapsal, Maria Ioanna 1386 0 Photo: ERR Official website: maleliit.ee/et/
Mariano Ortega wins 2022 Cape Verde Championship
From 7 to 11 December, the city of Praia hosted the Final Phase of the VI National Individual Absolute Championship of Cape Verde. The “home” of the Cape Verdean Football Federation was the stage for the sixth edition of the national competition, held in the country’s capital for the first time. These days, eight chess players faced each other in the round-robin format to determine the king of Cape Verdean chess in 2022. The reigning champion IM Mariano Ortega did his best and confidently defended his title with a round to spare. Mariano won the national championship for the third time. As Mariano later admitted, the victory in this year’s championship came easier than last year’s tournament, when he secured the title only in the final round. As the other places on the podium, only the final round decided the silver and bronze medal winners. After winning his last game, António David Anes guaranteed the 2nd position, regardless of other outcomes, since he had the best tiebreaks. Gil Teixeira also pulled off a win in the final round and took bronze, relegating the Women’s National Champion, Célia Rodriguez, to 6th place. Final standings: 1. IM Mariano Ortega – 7 points; 2. António David Anes – 5 3. Gil Teixeira – 5 4. José Carlos Vaz – 4 5. António Monteiro – 2½ 6. WCM Célia Rodriguez – 2½ 7. Luís Barros – 1½ 8. Carlos Mőes – ½ The closing ceremony held right after the final round was attended by H.E. the Minister for Sport and Youth, Dr Carlos Monteiro. After a short musical performance, speeches the President of the Cape Verdean Chess Federation, the deputy of the President of the Olympic Committee and the Minister of Sports and Youth gave speeches. Before the final speech, a message by Tshepiso Lopang, President of the African Chess Confederation, was read to the participants. IM Mariano Ortega received the trophy from the hands of Dr Carlos Monteiro. In the end, a small cocktail party was held with everyone socializing. The players and guests agreed that there were no losers, and the big winner was chess and praised the excellent organization of the competition by the Cape Verdean Chess Federation. MEDIA: https://youtu.be/cwZqRkIcslA https://www.rtp.pt/play/p9678/e658297/reporter-africa-1-a-edicao?fbclid=IwAR2Xp3lUyJO5ku0JhwY3F096_2E_XYhYcS31Q0Bk_pfSdzTnjfF3fsQorh0 (after the 30th minute) Photo: Federação Cabo-verdiana de Xadrez Facebook page Official website: fcvx.org
Winners crowned at 2022 European Rapid & Blitz Championship
The 2022 European Rapid and Blitz Championship is in the books. The event was held in Katowice in the Spodek, one of the largest sport arenas in Poland, from December 16-18. Many guests and partners honoured us with their presence at the ceremonial opening of the tournament. ECU Vice-President Gunnar Bjornsson and ECU General Secretary Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou welcomed all players on behalf of the European Chess Union. Maciej Stachura, secretary of the city of Katowice, was also present at the opening. The tournament would not have been held at such a level without the support of the city of Katowice. Łukasz Turlej, the Secretary General of FIDE, also addressed a few words to the participants, who welcomed everyone to one of the largest chess events in the world, once again in Katowice. As many as 830 players from 38 countries participated in the blitz competition, an 11 double rounds Swiss tournament. After several hours of fierce fighting, three contestants, namely David Navara, Maciej Klekowski, and Shant Sargsyan scored 17½/22 and tied for first place. David Navarra took the title thanks to better Buchholz; Maciej Klekowski is the European blitz vice-champion for the second time in a row; the bronze medal goes to Shant Sargsyan. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE) netted 15½/22 and became the best female player. IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (POL) scored 15/22 and earned silver; GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) took bronze with 14/22. Final standings: 1. Navara, David CZE 2676 17½ 2. Klekowski, Maciej POL 2515 17½ 3. Sargsyan, Shant ARM 2602 17½ 4. Alonso Rosell, Alvar ESP 2514 17 5. Kazakovskiy, Valeriy LTU 2516 17 6. Deac, Bogdan-Daniel ROM 2649 17 7. Gavrilescu, David ROM 2453 17 8. Pultinevicius, Paulius LTU 2486 17 9. Hovhannisyan, Robert ARM 2570 16½ 10. Lagarde, Maxime FRA 2594 16½ You can find the complete results on the official website. GM Jaime Santos Latasa from Spain became the European champion in rapid chess. As many as seven participants came into the final 11th round sharing the first place on 8½/10, but the Spaniard was the only one to notch up a win and grab the title. A huge group of eleven players tied for the second place with David Navara and Daniel Fridman taking silver and bronze respectively by dint of superior Buchholz. Aleksandra Malcewskaya (POL) became the best female player after scoring 2½ points in the last three rounds (8½/11). Alexandra Kosteniuk added the silver medal to her rapid chess title. Another home player WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL), earned bronze. Final standings: 1. Santos Latasa, Jaime ESP 2618 9½ 2. Navara, David CZE 2670 9 3. Fridman, Daniel GER 2618 9 4. Azarov, Sergei FIDE 2550 9 5. Yuffa, Daniil ESP 2509 9 6. Lagarde, Maxime FRA 2638 9 7. Drozdowski, Kacper POL 2451 9 8. Grandelius, Nils SWE 2652 9 9. Bartel, Mateusz POL 2519 9 10. Abdrlauf, Elham NOR 2435 9 You can find the complete results on the official website Three players managed to do something very impressive winning medals of the European Championships in both blitz and rapid: Aleksandra Kosteniuk, Aleksandra Malcewska and David Navara. Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz and Michal Walusza Official website: katowice2022.eu/
Judit Polgar: “It is possible for a woman to beat the world champion”
The FIDE Podcast is one of the major initiatives born under the umbrella of the Year of the Woman in Chess, as cooperation between FIDE’s Commission for Women’s Chess, Michael Busse of Schachgeflüster podcast and Lilli Hahn of Chess Sports Association. During 2022 its monthly episodes presented a series of interviews with remarkable women in the chess world – players, officials, influencers, scientists and other outstanding female role models. The guest of the final episode is Judit Polgar, one of the most inspiring persons in chess, the strongest female chess player of all time, the only woman to have surpassed 2700 Elo and to be ranked in the top ten of all chess players. Nowadays, she is a commentator at some of the world’s top tournaments as well as an ambassador to have more females into chess and to use chess as a tool for education. In the podcast, Judit Polgar talked about her childhood and an educational experiment carried out by her father, Laszlo Polgar, proving that children could make exceptional achievements if trained in a specialist subject from a very early age. “We had many difficulties during our upbringing. Hungarian federation was absolutely not supportive of the idea that girls are able to reach the same level as boys and should be playing in the open section. And also, we have quite big challenges with the government because, at the time, it was absolutely uncommon that you decide to have your kids home-schooled. These two things gave so much opposition to my parents’ ideas that we were really for each other. We were extremely supportive.” Polgar doesn’t think she would have reached the heights she did, had it not been for the environment her parents created. “I was raised completely differently from other female chess players. My parents never limited me; they were always encouraging me and my sisters that we should be as good as possible in chess. Meanwhile, most of the girls have a very classical approach from their coaches and parents. If you are a girl, you play in the girls’ section. We are looking for a girl champion. We want you to win a girls’ tournament. Basically, it means you’re limiting girls and putting the bar on the lower level for them. I would be very happy if this could change. I believe that having girls’ and women’s tournaments can be quite ok even these days, but I would prefer the approach when a coach would be saying: You’re talented, so why not become the best you can?” According to Judit, the approach that chess is a purely mental competition and that performance on the board is independent of gender was the key to her success in the future. “I think there were two points in my life clearly when the whole world was taking up this news. The first one was when I broke Bobby Fischer’s record, becoming the youngest grandmaster at the age of 15. And then later on, when I won against Garry Kasparov. It was special for the world, I guess. Suddenly, it was clear it is possible for a woman to beat the world champion.” Talking about the Year of the Woman in Chess, Judit Polgar said that there are a lot of ways to support it. “Of course, it’s great when there is a bigger prize fund for women’s competitions. I also think there could be some seminars for teachers and parents for mindset questions, appreciating women in chess, not only as professional players but also being around in other roles. We need to have more events which are inspiring for girls to become a chess player. To create a safe environment where girls can feel comfortable among boys and men. Also, it’s important to acknowledge the results of girls and women. I was happy that FIDE created the awards for women because it means a lot for ladies and is very encouraging for them to be recognized.” she said. You can listen to the December episode of the FIDE podcast on the following platforms: Podbean Amazon Music Google Podcasts Youtube