FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2022: Registration deadline extended
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The registration deadline is extended to December 12, 2022 12:00 CET. The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from December 25-31 at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace, the arena that has hosted many international sports competitions as well as live concerts and various shows. Eligible players, accompanying persons, FIDE Principals and arbiters are invited to register via the following link. Please select from the menu the event you are going to participate in. If you want to participate in both Rapid and Blitz, please tick both boxes. When applying for press accreditation, please fill out the following form. The accreditations will be issued in accordance with the FIDE Media accreditation policy. Tournament schedule: December 25 — Opening Ceremony December 26-28 — Rapid competitions December 29-30 — Blitz competitions and Closing Ceremony Upon completing the registration process, each player will receive an invoice to be paid by 12:00 PM Lausanne time on December 12, 2022. Baluan Sholak Sports Palace | Photo: Baluan Sholak Sports Palace Facebook page Registration will automatically be validated upon receiving the payment. Players are expected to read the tournament regulations before starting the registration process. Regulations for FIDE Open Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Regulations for FIDE Women’s Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Open tournaments eligibility: – Players rated at least 2550 in any of the twelve FIDE rating lists 2022 (Standard, Rapid or Blitz); – Reigning National Champions (in Standard, Rapid, Blitz) representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating; – Ten players nominated by FIDE President; – The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Women’s tournaments eligibility: – Players rated at least 2250 in any of the twelve FIDE rating lists 2022 (Standard, Rapid or Blitz); – Reigning National Champions (in Standard, Rapid, Blitz) representing Member Federations regardless of their title or rating; – Ten players nominated by FIDE President; – The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 10 additional players of his/her own choice. The Reigning National Champions should send proof of their titles via their National Federations to worldrapidandblitz@fide.com in order to be accepted. Official hotels Participants can stay in the following official hotels: 1) Double Tree by Hilton 4*. Address: 115 Dosmukhamedov Street, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan (1,3 km from the playing venue) – for invited players only Photo: booking.com 2) Rixos 5*. Address: Seifullina Street 506/99, 050012 Almaty, Kazakhstan (3,6 km from the playing venue) – for invited players + other players Hotel rates: Single accommodation (One person per room) – KZT 55,000 Double accommodation (Two persons per room) – KZT 62,000 Photo: booking.com Lunch – KZT 14,000 Dinner – KZT 19,000 3) Holiday Inn Express 3*. Address: Seyfullin Avenue 050067 Almaty, Kazakhstan (1,5 km from the playing venue) – for all players Hotel rates: Single accommodation (One person per room) – KZT 22,400 Double accommodation (Two persons per room) – KZT 29,120 Photo: ihg.com/ Lunch – KZT 8,000 Dinner – KZT 8,000 If you have any questions regarding the registration process, feel free to contact the Organiser via email: worldrapidandblitz@fide.com About the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship The World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships and the Women’s World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships have been held annually since 2012. In rapid chess, each player begins the game with 15 minutes, and 10 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move. In blitz chess, each player begins the game with 3 minutes, and 2 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move. The reigning world champions of the event are: Rapid: Open – Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) Women – Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE) Blitz: Open – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Women – Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) The total prize fund is 1 million USD dollars, with 700,000 USD going to the open championships and 300,000 USD to the women’s championships. The event is made possible thanks to the agreement with Freedom Finance, which becomes a General Sponsor of the event. Freedom Finance Investment Company is an investment company that is a part of Freedom Holdings (Nevada, USA), trading symbol FRHC. The company is engaged in investment banking, asset management, and capital markets services. Freedom Holdings owns the Kazakh bank Freedom Finance, the online store Freedom24 and the Kazakhstani broker Freedom Finance JSC, among other assets.
FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships: Preliminary lists of participants
The preliminary lists of participants of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship and the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship have been published. The events will be held from December 25-31 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 149 players will compete in the open tournaments, and there will be 93 participants in the women’s event. The rating favourites of the open event are the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (representing Norway, rated 2859 in the December list), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2768), Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2766), Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2793), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2764), Alexander Grischuk (FIDE, 2745), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland, 2729), Yu Yangyi (China, 2728), the defendings champions Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2737 – Blitz) alongside many other well-known chess players from all over the world. The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will feature Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2584), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, 2563), Humpy Koneru (India, 2572), Tan Zhongyi (China, 2518), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia, 2517), Harika Dronavalli (India, 2507), Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan, 2496), Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iran, 2490), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria, 2442), the reigning champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE, 2520 – Rapid) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, 2440) as well as many other chess stars. The final lists of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship and the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will be published after the end of the registration process (December 12, 12:00 CET). Preliminary players lists: Rapid Open: https://chess-results.com/tnr706381.aspx Rapid Women: https://chess-results.com/tnr706382.aspx Blitz Open: https://chess-results.com/tnr706383.aspx Blitz Women: https://chess-results.com/tnr706384.aspx Registration link: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com/registration/ The event is made possible thanks to the agreement with Freedom Finance, which becomes a General Sponsor of the event. Freedom Broker is an investment company and a stockbroker. Provides access to NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, HKEX and other largest stock exchanges on the planet. On global scale, it is a part of the Freedom Holding Corp. group of companies. The Holding’s shares are traded in New York at Nasdaq Capital Market under FRHC ticker. Freedom Holding Corp. operates in 15 countries: USA, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Spain, France, Germany, UAE and Turkey. More information about the championships, including schedule and tickets, can be found on the official website of the event: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com
Women’s Candidates semifinal: Winless draught continues
At least from the outside, it looks like each day that goes by brings the tiebreak forward. Both players seem to be in a “no risk” control mode: solid openings, symmetrical pawn structures, and, above all, the avoidance of mistakes. With only one classical game to go, it will be very difficult to recover from a loss. The third game of the 2022 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Pool B, ended again in a draw after forty-five moves, although after the exchange of queen’s on move twenty-eight, it could already be seen coming. Playing with White, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina opened once again with 1.d4, but this time GM Tan Zhongyi shelved her beloved Queen’s Gambit Declined and resorted to the solid Bogo-Indian defence, intelligently sidestepping team Goyrachkina’s opening preparation. I couldn’t find that many top-level games with the Bogo-Indian in her broad repertoire, but I did happen to notice that she recently drew a game against non-other than former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, in the Crocus City Stars Blitz, in Krasnogorsk Moscow 2022. In that game, Goryachkina went for the main line 4.Bd2, whereas today, after a brief moment of thought, she preferred 4.Nbd2. After 4…d5, the main line is 5.Qa4+, which scores quite well for White, according to the database. Goryachkina thought for five minutes before playing the uneventful 5.e3, a solid move that unfortunately doesn’t pack the same punch. Tan Zhongyi finished her development quite easily and played 11…c5 equalizing pawn lever without any trouble at all. It’s quite challenging to find a moment where Goryachkina could have tried something more incisive: the position is just too symmetrical and equal. After a few well-timed piece exchanges, the position petered out into a completely drawn double-bishop ending. Visibly disappointed, Goryachkina was sparing with her words in the post-game interview with Press Officer Anna Kantane. “I don’t have much to say. Indeed, she played very quickly, but if I am unable to cause any problems, there is not much to think about”. When asked about her plans for the future, Tan Zhongyi mentioned that she might stay a few more days in Khiva after the event: “This is my first time in Uzbekistan. I think I will have a chance to enjoy the scenery here after I finish the tournament, because I may not return home actually. I will go to Kazakhstan for the World Blitz and Rapid Championship, so I’ll stay around until then!” The players will return to the venue for the fourth and final classical game tomorrow Saturday, December 10th at 3 pm. It can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on the FIDE YouTube channel. FIDE Women’s Cadidates format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Tan Zhongyi and Goryachkina 1-1 with two games to go
The second game of the 2022 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Pool B, played this afternoon in the magnificent Farovon Hotel venue in Khiva, Uzbekistan, ended in a draw after forty moves. After a very equal encounter, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Tan Zhongyi are now tied 1-1 in the match: two classical games are left to decide the winner before resorting to the tiebreak. In her quarter-final match against Kosteniuk, Goryachkina faced 1.e4 in both of her games with Black; today, we got to see her preparation against 1.d4. Her choice was the Semi-Slav Defense, deviating from the pure Slav Defense, which she used to defeat Tan Zhongyi very recently in the Astana leg of the 2022 Women’s Gran Prix. Tan Zhongyi seems to have a preference for the Carlsbad pawn structures, so it was hardly a surprise to see her exchange pawns on d5 following a game that she had played back in 2017 against GM Wei Yi, one of China’s best 2700+ players. By move transposition, they left the realms of the Slav to return to the kingdom of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, exchange variation. Most surely, Goryachkina had prepared this line very well: Tan Zhongyi went for the same structure in her second quarter-final classical game against Lagno. On the move eleven, after thinking for about four minutes, Goryachkina essayed a very rare move 11…Bd6!?, which had only been seen once before, in an old 1946 game between Steiner and Denker. Alternatively, 11…Bf5 is by far the most popular move in this position, featured in many games between top-level players. Tan Zhongyi went into the tank for nearly ten minutes and eventually declined the pawn sacrifice, probably fearing home preparation – there is some positional compensation for the pawn. However, her proposal wasn’t as testing, and after several solid moves and exchanges, Goryachkina more or less equalized going into the middlegame. Maybe at some point, Tan Zhongyi did enjoy a very tiny edge – the engine oscillates between 0.0 and +0.5 – but at no stage did Goryachkina seem to be in any kind of real danger. After more exchanges and precise play, they arrived at a theoretically drawn rook ending which both players agreed not to play out to the inevitable draw. “I think in the opening stage, it should be within the scope of Goryachkina’s preparation. She seems to have played a similar game before, but I did not focus on it too much or analyze it deeply. Indeed, it may also be because of the long game played yesterday. It was very complicated today, to be honest. I spent a lot of time, in general, also thinking about the strategy and approach for today. The situation was not balanced, but, in the end, I chose to play more stable. Her defence today was very good, and she didn’t give me any chance. Then we ended the game smoothly,” said Tan Zhongyi in short in a short interview after the game. The players will enjoy a free rest day tomorrow and return to the venue for game three on Friday, December 9th, at 3 pm. It can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on the FIDE YouTube channel. On another note entirely, the 1st International Al-Beruniy Chess Tournament, also played in the venue as a parallel event to the Candidates, was won by IM Abdimalik Abdisalimov edging out GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov on a tiebreak. Both of the Uzbekistan players scored 7/9. Twelve-year-old Uzbekistan prodigy FM Khumoyun Begmuratov scored an IM norm with a 2525 performance, qualifying in 4th place. FIDE Women’s Cadidates format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion Conference held in Paris
“Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion & INFINITE CHESS Evolution” conference, organized by FIDE Social Commission, FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and French Chess Federation with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), took place on December 01, 2022, in Paris, France. Dedicated to the current and new social chess projects, the conference was held in a hybrid format and brought together 118 people from 58 countries. The panel of speakers included Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, Eloi Relange, President of the French Chess Federation, Franck Droin, ECU Social Commission Chairman, President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE; Anastasia Sorokina, Chairperson of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, Infinite Chess Project Leader, Abhijit Kunte, 4th grandmaster of India, Coordinator of the Chess Social Projects in the Indian Oil Corporation and coach of the Indian National women team. The speakers exchanged experiences and showcased how chess helps people to improve their well-being and mental health. You can watch the video from the conference on the FIDE Youtube channel. “This is already the second social initiative we’ve launched together with French Chess Federation. They say, you need to touch hearts in order to move the brain. I think this is true. Every institution, including International Chess Federation, needs to understand that. There are several very practical reasons. We are in a better position to attract supporters and sponsors to our projects if we can touch their hearts. We can use the same principle to increase the authority and credibility of our organization. But the most important reason is the fact that any international organization or leader who has mandate and power needs to use the time to deliver so that the world becomes a better place,” said Dana Reizniece-Ozola in her welcoming speech. She was followed by Eloi Relange, President of the French Chess Federation: “I am very happy that this meeting is held in France. FIDE’s values and visions are very similar to the ones of the European Chess Union and of our national chess federation. It is very important to have visions, the team, the projects and the perfect execution. I am sure that this will be the case with the team we have.” During the event, the preliminary results and the evolution of the pilot FIDE INFINITE CHESS Project (chess for kids with autism spectrum disorder) were announced. According to the survey, chess is a viable medium to improve the social skills of children with autistism spectrum disorder and the quality of their lives. Among other topics discussed at the conference were other FIDE social initiatives, ICAR Project (International Chess Benefits Assessment Resources) led by Franck Droin, ECU Social Commission Chairman and President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE; Prison to Pride program for Prisoners run by the Indian Oil Corporation; Chess like a tool for social responsibility for Coloured Girls presented by Geraldine Engelman, and others. On December 05, FIDE Social Commission, FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and ECU Social Commission, headed by their chairpersons Geir Nesheim, Anastasia Sorokina and Franck Droin, held a meeting where commission members discussed their future joint efforts in promoting social and women chess projects. It was decided to organize one more Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion Conference, a European chess tournament with refugees, and a contest among national federations for the best social initiative.
FIDE Chessable Academy Camp gets underway in Sitges
FIDE Chessable Academy’s year-end camp started yesterday in Sitges, Spain, with eleven most dedicated young talents out of more than 400 students from all over the world participating. It is a part of the FIDE Chessable Academy program, aiming to support young talents worldwide and attended by boys and girls between 8 and 16 years of age. Among the FIDE Chessable Academy students, there are top-five rated young talents in their age groups and the World Youth and Cadets Championships winners. The children, divided into groups, have two hours of training in English, Spanish, and Russian every weekend. Eleven of them were selected to come to Sitges for an offline training camp. On the first day of studies, they were greeted by the FIDE officials and those organizing the camp. “The camp brings together young talents representing all four continents, both boys and girls, who have shown through the course of the year-long program an extraordinary commitment to excel in chess,” said the Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board Dana Reizniece-Ozola. The five-day programme of the event includes ten training sessions with legendary Artur Jussupow and Alexei Shirov, young PRO’s media portfolios devised by Chessable, and a simultaneous game exhibition by Vasyl Ivanchuk and other activities. After a fulfilling and exhausting first day, the participants of the camp representing India, Ireland, Turkey, Spain, Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Canada and Argentina visited the Chessable headquarters in nearby Barcelona. They attended a special workshop jointly conducted by Chessable CEO Geert Van der Welde and Dana Reizniece-Ozola on what it takes to be a successful chess professional. A day’s highlight at Chessable was individual photo shoots of the young talents to jump-start their professional media kits and chess brands.
Women’s Candidates semi-final: Tan Zhongyi came close, but no cigar
After nearly 100 hard-fought moves, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Tan Zhongyi agreed to a draw by move repetition in the first of their four scheduled games. The semifinal of the 2002 FIDE Women’s Candidates (Pool B) is taking place in Khiva, Uzbekistan, and the winner will face Pool A winner, GM Lei Tingjie, in the final. Goryachkina arrived at the venue just under 15 minutes before the start of the game, while Tan Zhongyi also made it in time with only a few minutes to spare. Chief arbiter Husan Turdialiev was already prepared for the ceremonial opening moves, which were performed by the Mayor of Khiva, Timur Davletov, and Lola Mirzaeva, General Manager of the Farovon Hotel. Playing with White, Goryachkina opened the game with 1.d4, her usual choice. Tan Zhongyi repeated the Queen’s Gambit declined defence, with which she was quite successful in her quarter-final match against Kateryna Lagno. After an early exchange of queenside pawns, a balanced, symmetrical position was reached. According to my database, two Chinese masters, Xu Zhihang and Zhou Weiqi had already played the same variation in this year’s Fuling tournament. Additionally, their game was strikingly similar to today’s encounter! On the move 22, Tan Zhongyi could have captured a pawn on a3. She thought about it for nearly eight minutes but decided not to go down that road. The game remained approximately equal until around move 30: Goryachkina had a slightly worse pawn structure, but Tan Zhongyi was straddled with a passive bishop. Just when the game seemed to be heading for a draw, Goryachkina exchanged knights on c4, giving her opponent a passed pawn and a very nice diagonal for the bishop. Very low on time, it was understandably a difficult decision to make. The tables had turned: now it was Tan Zhongyi pressing for the win. The opponents manoeuvered around for nearly sixty-five more moves – Goryachkina kept trying to set up an impenetrable fortress. According to the engine, it seems that Tan Zhongyi was very close to winning. However, in practical terms, she was unable to make progress, and a draw was finally agreed upon on the move 98. “All in all, I didn’t think that my position was that challenging. We were just moving back and forth, and I don’t recall having any major problems,” were Aleksandra Goryachkina’s first impressions after the game in a short interview. “Maybe my opponent was able to play stronger at some moments, but she didn’t”. Game two of the semi-final is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7th at 3 pm and can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on FIDE YouTube channel. Tournament format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Kenya tops medal standings in 2022 Africa Amateur Championship
The African Amateur championship came to an end at Mombasa Continental Resort, Kenya. This year’s edition with the highest-ever attendance attracted 93 players (including 25 women) from 15 federations. All sections were 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control. From a total of 18 possible podium finishes, Kenya made seven – six in women’s sections and one in the open section – to convincingly top the medal tally. Medal standings Federation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Kenya 3 2 2 7 2 Uganda 1 2 1 4 3 South Sudan 1 1 0 2 4 Zimbabwe 1 0 0 1 5 Somalia 0 1 1 2 6 Sudan 0 0 1 1 7 Zambia 0 0 1 1 In the U2300 Women section, Kenya occupied the entire podium with 2021 World Woman Amateur U1700 gold medalist Madelta Glenda taking top, reigning Kenya National Chess champion Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Sasha Mongeli finishing second and reigning Kenya Open woman champion Triza Mwendwa coming third to complete a clean sweep. In the U1700 Women category, the top seed Olympian and pre-tournament favourite, Jully Mutisya of Kenya led throughout the tournament distance and triumphed with a perfect score of 9/9. In the U2000 Women section, the 2021 World Woman Amateur U1700 silver medalist WCM Joyce Ndirangu was second with 5 points behind the winner Linda Shaba of Zimbabwe, who was unbeaten with eighth points. Linda missed the first round due to flight challenges. In the open section, FM Haruna Nsubuga dominated the U2300 category and won Uganda’s only gold medal in the tournament. Panchol Madol swept the competition aside in the U2000 section, winning the tournament with a round to spare and completing the event undefeated. CM Aguda Lwanga won the U1700 open section scoring 7/9 to bring the third gold medal to host Kenya. U1700 Women 1. Mutisya Jully (1460, KEN) – 92. Mugide Safinah (1398, UGA) – 83. Elizabeth Cassidy Maina (1209, KEN) – 6 U1700 Open 1. Lwanga Aguda (1575, KEN) – 72. Mayen Deng Ador (SSD) – 73. Mahad Dahir Muhumad (1695, SOM) – 6½ U2000 Women 1. Shaba Linda Dalitso (1711, ZIM) – 8 0 2. Ndirangu Joyce Nyaruai (1679, KEN) – 5 3. Mwale Naomi (1559, ZAM) – 5 U2000 Open 1. Panchol James Madol (1937, SSD) – 7½ 2. Islam Sh.Nour Kassim (1878, SOM) – 6½ 3. Kizza Faruk Fauza Karim (1906, UGA) – 6½ U2300 Women 1. Madelta, Glenda (1565, KEN) – 7 0 2. WFM Mongeli Sasha (1726, KEN) – 5½ 3. Mwendwa Triza (1466, KEN) – 5 U2300 Open 1. FM Nsubuga Haruna (2146, UGA) – 7½2. Musasizi Emmanuel (1985, UGA) – 6½3. Tagelsir Abubaker (2231, SUD) – 6 The winners in each category qualified for the 2023 World Amateur Chess Championships with full board accommodation. Full tournament details and complete results in all categories can be found here. Text: Benard Wanjala Photo: Chess Kenya
2022 4th FIDE Council meeting: List of Decisions
FIDE publishes the list of decisions of the 2022 4th FIDE Council meeting, which was held on November 25 in Jerusalem, Israel. Download List of Decisions (PDF)
FIDE Council approves resolution on performing under FIDE flag
FIDE Council approved the below-mentioned changes to the simplified procedure for performing under the FIDE flag for players representing Russia/Belarus: The right to play under the FIDE flag is granted until January 1 2024, unless decided otherwise. After this period, in the absence of other requests, the player will automatically be returned to the previous federation. For the avoidance of doubt, Art. 2.10 of the Regulations for Registration & Licensing of Players shall not apply to players from Russia/Belarus willing to perform under the FIDE flag insofar this Resolution is in force. For the purposes of applying Article 1.4.2 of the FIDE Title Regulations, players under the FIDE flag who temporarily replaced it in a simplified procedure according to the following Council resolution are considered to be a foreign player with a status of the original federation for the purpose of titles calculations and all related matters. All players who previously have been transferred to the FIDE flag, according to the resolution continue to perform under the FIDE flag unless they send a request to return to the flag of Russia/Belarus or to another federation. Applications for transfer to the new federation are considered within 1 month from the date of submission of the relevant documents by the new federation. In case of transfer, the right to the established transfer payments remains. During the period from the moment of adoption of this resolution and until January 1, 2024, inclusive, each player can only use the right to switch to the FIDE flag once. This resolution enters into force on December 15, 2022.