FIDE WGP Astana: Goryachkina and Paehtz lead the dance
Only two players score the win in the first round of the Astana Women’s Grand Prix The first round of the first leg of the 2022-2023 Women’s Grand Prix kicked off this afternoon in Astana. Undoubtedly, a very special day in the history of the ninth largest country in the world since the name change of the capital – Astana for Nur-Sultan – was legally confirmed. Definitely, a fitting moment for the commencement of an elite chess event. International Arbiter Abd Hamid Bin Abd Majid initiated the clocks punctually at three o’clock in the afternoon, and after the customary handshakes and pre-game smiles, the twelve sat down to battle it out. Only a few minutes earlier, the ceremonial first move was made on the Assaubayeva vs Abdumalik board. Azamat Imashev, Deputy Director of the Republican Sports Development Directorate, advanced the e-pawn to e4; Kazakh’s bright hope quickly returned the pawn to its original square to avoid giving any clues to her opponent and promptly opened with 1.d4. This event features a new security measure: the 15-minute delay. Although the games begin at the official starting time, the move broadcast and video footage are synchronously “delayed” for fifteen minutes. Although this does pose a technical challenge for the organizing team, the measure generates a better sense of security for the players at a time when the chess world is especially sensitive to these unfortunate issues. Another special regulation, much appreciated by chess fans all over the world, is the 30-move rule. Notwithstanding the fact that women’s events are traditionally extremely hard-fought, the regulations of the tournament expressly forbid draw agreements before Black’s 30th has been played on the board, with the exception of draw repetition or statement. Adding to this the 90-minute for 40 moves plus 30 extra minutes time control, exciting games are to be expected. Kateryna Lagno vs Vaishali R (0.5-0.5) The first game to finish ended in a three-fold move repetition after 32 moves. The young Indian played a solid Accelerated Dragon Sicilian with Black and equalised comfortably in the opening. After trading most of the pieces, Lagno tried to take advantage of the open d-file but to no avail. A good result for Vaishali, who kindly joined the Press Officer for a short post-game interview, in which, amongst other things, she explained the reason behind arriving late for the opening ceremony. Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Zhansaya Abdumalik (0.5-0.5) The battle between the two top Kazakh women players also ended in a draw, but play was fast and furious. Assaubayeva, with White, went for a topical pawn sacrifice which allowed her to develop a very dangerous initiative. In fact, if she had gone for the promising piece sacrifice with 17.Nxf7, Abdumalik might have been in serious trouble. “I was lucky” was Abdumalik’s feeling after the game – in her short interview, she also discussed what it’s like to face her compatriot in the first game of the event. Tan Zhongyi vs Zhu Jiner (0.5-0.5) The third game to finish was an uneventful draw between the two Chinese representatives. Zhu Jiner has arrived in Astana with added confidence after her stunning win against Hou Yifan a few days ago in the Chinese Higher League. Her choice of opening this afternoon, the Nimzo-Indian defence, proved a tough nut to crack for her opponent, Tan Zhongyi, who actually played her first official game in many months. The position remained more or less balanced for most of the game, and a draw was agreed on move forty-two. Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Polina Shuvalova (1-0) Seed number one, and winner of the previous Women’s Grand Prix Aleksandra Goryachkina, surprised her opponent in the opening with a sharp variation of the Scotch Gambit with white pieces. Although it seemed that Polina Shuvalova was close to equalising, White’s kingside initiative began to grow, and after 25.f4 was already looking very dangerous. Playing the Black pieces, Shuvalova bailed out into an ending down a pawn and even seemed to be doing well with her d-passer, but the former World Cup finalist evaluated it much deeper. After Goryachkina’s doubling rooks on the seventh rank, Shuvalova was forced to resign: mate on g7 was unavoidable. This fine win allows Goryachkina to grab the lead from the get-go. Dinara Wagner vs Elisabeth Paehtz (0-1) The second win of the afternoon came shortly afterwards. Leading black pieces, Germany’s number one women player for the past twenty years, Elisabeth Paehtz, was fortunate enough to get her opening preparation on the board. In a secondary line of the King’s Indian, Paehtz swapped off her two bishops for Wagner’s two knights in exchange for some devious pressure on White’s e-pawn. The practical gambit paid off. Wagner spent a huge amount of time trying to consolidate her space advantage and very soon was down to her last few minutes. In deep time trouble, Wagner was unable to defend a direct attack on her castled king and had to resign shortly after reaching the 40-move time control. Visibly pleased with her performance, Paehtz kindly shared her views in her post-game interview, in which she also revealed how she deals with the pressure of playing with her Olympiad teammates and the status of her pending GM title. Alina Kashlinskaya vs Alexandra Kosteniuk (0.5-0.5) The last game to finish was a testament to the fighting spirit of the participants. Nursing a small positional advantage from the middlegame with White, Poland’s number one female player Kashlinskaya pressed all the way in an attempt to prove that the bishop pair would be able to defeat her opponent’s bishop plus knight in an ending with an equal number of pawns. Although Kosteniuk expressed the feeling that at some point she might have been losing, she certainly defended her slightly worse position skilfully, notching up a well-deserved draw on the move 89. Tomorrow’s round two pairings feature some very interesting match-ups. Special attention should be focused on the top two seed’s face-off between Goryachkina and Lagno. Round 2 | Nur-Sultan | 19.09.2022 Shuvalova, Polina — Paehtz, ElisabethZhu, Jiner —
Women’s Grand Prix 2022-2023 officially opened
The opening ceremony of the 2022-2023 Kazakhstan leg of the Women’s Grand Prix was held this evening at the Astana International Financial Centre. Pending the President’s discretion, the capital Nur-Sultan will very soon be renamed back to Astana after yesterday’s Parliament session endorsed the draft law on the constitutional amendment. Side by side in the front row with the authorities, arbiters and other officials, eleven of the twelve players – India’s Vaishali hadn’t arrived at the time – enjoyed a series of traditional dances and musical performances that enlivened the 30-minute evening ceremony. The Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan, Dauren Abayev, welcomed all the participants to the Nur-Sultan Gran Prix and thanked FIDE for the opportunity to organize the tournament with the two best Kazakh players. Berik Balgabayev, an adviser to the FIDE president, read a welcoming letter from Arkady Dvorkovich himself. “It’s not the first time that Kazakhstan has become the host of top chess tournaments, and I am fully confident that the Grand Prix will be held at the highest level and will be the force of continuation of chess traditions in the region”. The President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, Galim Khusainov, expressed his gratitude to all the members of the event, with special thanks to the Ministry of Culture and Sports for their ongoing support. He also manifested that one of the aims was to showcase their national traditions and customs. Finally, the chief arbiter of the event, IA Hamid Bin Abd Majid, took the stage with one of the most applauded sentences of the night. “It’s a great honour for me to be here. It seems quite appropriate for Nur-Sultan to be the host – Minister, you have a really beautiful city!” After the inauguration, the organizing team met up with the players to go over the rules and regulations and answer any relevant questions in preparation for the first round, which will start on September 18th at 3 pm. As per rules, players of the same federation will face each. There is no doubt that the clash between the two Kazakh players, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Zhansaya Abdumalik, will be one of the highlights of the day. Another very interesting game will be the encounter between the two Chinese players: Zhu Jiner defeated the world’s number one women player Hou Yifan a few days ago in the Chinese League. Round 1 pairings: Goryachkina Aleksandra 2579 (FID) – Shuvalova Polina 2510 (FID)Lagno Kateryna 2547 (FID) – Vaishali R 2449 (IND)Kashlinskaya Alina 2491 (POL) – Kosteniuk Alexandra 2521 (FID)Assaubayeva Bibisara 2443 (KAZ) – Abdumalik Zhansaya 2503 (KAZ)Tan Zhongyi 2525 (CHN) – Zhu Jiner 2464 (CHN)Wagner Dinara 2358 (GER) – Paehtz Elisabeth 2477 (GER) Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Astana Photo: Anna Shtourman
Champions Showdown Chess 9LX: Day 2 Recap
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov surged ahead today in the Champions Showdown, winning all three of his games to finish tied for first with Alireza Firouzja, both on 4.5/6. Yesterday’s leader Ian Nepomniachtchi slipped to third place with 4.0/6, while former World Champion Garry Kasparov was unfortunately once again shut out from scoring any points. ROUND 4 Round 4 – Starting Position Continuing his run from yesterday, Nepomniachtchi managed to trick Caruana in a drawn knight endgame to move to 4/4, while Nakamura outplayed Dominguez to reach a winning rook and knight against rook and bishop ending. Final position of Nepomniachtchi – Caruana, Black resigned as White’s a-pawn is simply unstoppable. In the ‘clash of generations’, Kasparov sacrificed an exchange and established a strong knight on e6, but patient play by Firouzja allowed him to first trade off White’s rook, and then the knight, before overtaking the initiative and winning the game. And in another turnaround, the game between So and Mamedyarov ended abruptly as in a winning position So blundered into a brutal tactical counter: After 32.Rd3 it looked like Black’s queen was trapped, but the powerful response 32…Ne3!-+ forced resignation from White, who was now losing at least an exchange. Firouzja & Kasparov discuss their game after the fact. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ROUND 5 Round 5 – Starting Position The crucial match-up of the round took place between Firouzja and Nepomniachtchi, who quickly exchanged everything, resulting in an equal double-rook endgame. Things looked quite drawish until Nepomniachtchi suddenly got his king stuck on the back rank, and Firouzja used his active king to win the endgame. After 44.Re6, Black resigned as the king is completely cut off, with no way to stop the c-pawn. Mamedyarov and Nakamura also picked up their second straight wins, defeating Kasparov and Svidler respectively. In Mamedyarov’s case, the task was simpler, as Kasparov spent too much time in the opening phase and ended up flagging in a difficult middlegame. In the meantime Nakamura out-developed Svidler and used a textbook rook sacrifice to decimate the enemy king: After 24.Rxh6! it was all over–in case of 24…gxh6 25.Rxh6 Black can’t avoid heavy material losses. A nice comeback for Nakamura, who scored 2.5/3 in today’s games. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller ROUND 6 Round 6 – Starting Position Nepomniachtchi’s run came to a full halt in his Round 6 game against Mamedyarov, after the latter found a nice zwischenzug to strand White’s king in the center of the board. Nepo tried to survive as long as he could, but the result was never in doubt, and the game finished with a nice underpromotion by Mamedyarov, as he scored his third straight win. 25…e1=N+! was the stylish finale in Nepomniachtchi – Mamedyarov. The players had a lot of fun analyzing today’s positions. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Meanwhile, Firouzja had excellent chances to win against Dominguez and take the sole lead, but missed a narrow path to win in the rook endgame, and Dominguez managed to hold the draw. Firouzja is tied for the lead heading into tomorrow’s final rounds. Will he be able to win his third straight super-tournament? | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX continues Friday, September 16, starting at 1:50 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. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy 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#ChampionsShowdown #Chess9LX #STLChessClub Press Contact:Rebecca Buffingtonrbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)
FIDE World Cadet Chess Championships kick off in Batumi, Georgia
The FIDE World Cadet Chess Championships U8, U10 and U12 open and girls (six tournaments in total) kicked off in Georgia, in a popular black sea resort city of Batumi. The Championships, 11-round Swiss tournaments, stretch from September 15th to September 28th. 752 participants from 70 federations are ready to battle for the titles in this prestigious competition. The beautiful playing venues are ready to host the participants. The Open section is held in Hotel Euphoria while the girls are competing in hotel Legend. The highest rated players in the event are Artem Uskov (U12 open section), rated 2377, and Diana Preobrazhenskaya (U12 Girls section), with the rating of 1994. The U12 Open section boasts the highest number of participants – 157 players registered in this tournament. Before the start of the tournaments, the arbiter’s meeting was held in hotel Euphoria, with the technical meeting scheduled right before the first round. The solving compositions championships are set for a free day, September 22nd. All the rounds start at 15:00 except for the final one which will begin at 11:00. Regulations for the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championships 2022 You can find all the information related to the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championships 2022 on the official website of the tournament wccc2022.fide.com.
Second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners: Registration deadline approaches
58 teams representing 32 countries have already registered for the second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, scheduled for October 13-14, 2022, on the International Day of Education in Prison. Correctional facilities for male, female and youth inmates from Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, India, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and the USA field their teams made of amateur chess players for whom the game became not just a hobby but strong motivation to change for the better. In some prisons teaching inmates to play chess has been done for many years, in others, the first Intercontinental tournament for prisoners held by FIDE, jointly with Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office in October 2021, gave an impetus to bring chess classes to correctional facilities. The Argentina chess federation (FADA) started its cooperation with SENAF (National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family) in 2021, bringing chess classes to prisons and correctional institutions for children under 18 years of age. Currently, the initiative is implemented in 20 schools for troubled youth throughout the country. “We have noticed that the behaviour of prisoners changed. Sometimes instead of solving their problems and conflicts through violence, they decide to have a game of chess to resolve a dispute,” says Hector Flori, General Coordinator of the project, FADA Secretary. “With a view to this tournament, a national qualifying event was held on September 14, and the winners will receive, in addition to the weekly formal classes of the project, a special training by the teachers of the school of high performance of FADA. It is a great challenge for us to play in this event again.” In addition to the tournament itself, the live broadcast of the championship will include many guests – ambassadors of Chess in Prisons initiatives from different countries, chess teachers for inmates and at-risk communities, ex-convicts whose lives changed after being introduced to chess. One of them is Simosakhe Ngwane from South Africa, an ex-prisoner who learned to play chess while in jail. He came back to normal life and became a role model for many at-risk children in his country. “I hope the program expands into schools as well because that’s where our kids start making mistakes. Even myself. If I’ve learned how to play chess in school, I wouldn’t have made some mistakes in my life,” he says. To make his dream to help youngsters come true, Ngwane organized chess classes for kids in his hometown Molweni. Even though sometimes there are not enough chess boards, clocks and tables for students, the number of kind who want to start playing chess keeps growing. “Crime is easy when you are young. That’s the reality. You don’t think of consequences until it’s too late. Playing chess develops a positive attitude. The simple rule of chess “Touch is a move” brings discipline and calmness. It teaches you to wait, to think, and to prepare before you make a decision,” Ngwane adds. The registration for the second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners is open until September 21, 2022. Participation is free of charge. Tournament regulations (pdf) Registration form
FIDE World Junior Championship: Deadline extended
The deadline to register players for the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship 2022 (Sardinia, October 11-23) has been extended until September 25. The Championship is organized by UniChess in collaboration with Emmedi Sport ASD, under the auspices of the Italian Chess Federation and FIDE. Each National Federation can enter one (1) player born on or after 1 st January 2002 in each of the open and girl categories, totalling a maximum of two (2) invited players. Players with a personal right, according to FIDE rules, will also be accepted as invited players. The registration should be sent to: fideworldjunior2022@gmail.com Below you can find the complete schedule and regulations: Schedule: Regulations for FIDE World Junior Championship 2022 (pdf) Official website: fideworldjunior2022.com/
Champions Showdown Chess 9LX: Day 1 Recap
The 2022 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX kicked off today with an elite 10-player rapid round-robin featuring Chess960 (Fischer Random), a rich variant where the starting arrangement of the pieces is shuffled on the back rank. After the first day of action, 2022 FIDE Candidates winner Ian Nepomniachtchi leads the field with a perfect 3/3 score, while 2018 World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana is currently in clear second with 2.5/3. Also taking part in the event is legendary 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov, who along with 8-time Russian Champion Peter Svidler had a difficult start, failing to score any points on the first day. ROUND 1 Round 1 – Starting Position The first round saw three decisive outcomes as Nepomniachtchi took advantage of a blunder by Svidler to win an exchange, while Aronian found a small trick in the endgame to defeat Kasparov. The best game of the round was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov’s win over Hikaru Nakamura, where ‘Shakh’ sacrificed an exchange for long term control over the light squares, eventually culminating with a direct mating attack. After 22.Nd4, Mamedyarov found the powerful 22…Rxd4! 23.cxd4 a4-+ and soon tore apart White’s queenside. | 0-1, 28 moves Mamedyarov scored an even 1.5/3 on the first day. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ROUND 2 Round 2 – Starting Position The second round was even bloodier than the first, with all five games ending decisively. Nepomniachtchi continued his run when Aronian grabbed a risky pawn and ended up blundering into a queen trap shortly thereafter. After 18.Qf6!, threatening both Ng4-h6 and Reb1, with no defense for Black. | 1-0, 35 moves Kasparov was ‘playing for two results’ against Nakamura, with an extra pawn in a queen and opposite-coloured bishop endgame, but in severe time trouble hung his bishop to a fork, losing the game. Meanwhile, Firouzja, Caruana, and last year’s Chess 9LX champion Leinier Dominguez all scored their first wins of the event. The 13th World Champion had chances in every game but ultimately struggled under time pressure. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ROUND 3 Round 3 – Starting Position The final round of the day started out with a bang, as Nepomniachtchi won his third straight game in style, beating Nakamura in 19 moves thanks to his huge lead in development. After 13…Ra6!, Black’s initiative became overwhelming. | 0-1, 19 moves Ian was simply on fire today. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes In the meantime, Caruana managed to break into second place with a time scramble win over Kasparov, and Aronian earned his second point of the day as he successfully prevented Dominguez from getting his pieces out. Lastly, Wesley So collected his first win, after correctly simplifying into a winning king and pawn endgame against Svidler. Using 46 seconds out of his remaining 1:06, So found a clean path with 35…Bxb6! 36.Qxb6 Bxd3 37.cxd3 Qc6+ 38.Qxc6 bxc6-+, with a completely winning king & pawn endgame. | 0-1, 44 moves Despite beating Kasparov, Nakamura had a tough first day, finishing on 1.0/3. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ULTIMATE MOVES Taking place in between the Sinquefield Cup and the Champions Showdown was the yearly Ultimate Moves exhibition, a fun rapid event filled with banter that featured Saint Louis Chess Club founder Rex Sinquefield taking on John Beckstead of Edward Jones, as they teamed up with five world-class players each. Svidler makes a move against Nepomniachtchi. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Team Rex consisted of Aronian, Caruana, Mamedyarov, Dominguez, and Svidler, while Team John included Kasparov, Nepomniachtchi, Firouzja, So, and Nakamura, as the players took turns playing five moves each in a four-game rapid match. Team John won Rounds 1 and 3 playing Black, while Team Rex won Round 2. But in the final game, Team John managed to draw by repetition to clinch the match 2.5-1.5 in their favour. Rex vs. John had a particularly exciting finish. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX continues Thursday, September 15, starting at 1:50 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. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy 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#ChampionsShowdown #Chess9LX #STLChessClub Press Contact:Rebecca Buffingtonrbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)
FIDE and WR Group announce World Open Teams Championship
We are pleased to announce that FIDE has entered into a partnership with the German company WR Group Holding GmbH to launch together a new major competition: the World Open Teams Championship. The first tournament is planned to take place in Düsseldorf in May-June 2023, played over three days under rapid time control. It will be open to clubs from all over the world, with the prize fund expected to reach 250,000€ already for the first event. The regulations are undergoing an approval procedure by the different stakeholders and will be published by FIDE in the coming weeks. Teams will be expected to involve club-level players, tentatively reserving one board for a player rated under 2000. WR Group is a global provider of complex project logistics. WR also provides a range of services like certification, expediting, customs clearance, engineering and construction services. It currently has 12 offices in 8 countries. According to The Financial Times ranking, WR is the second fastest growing logistics company in Europe in 2022. Apart from being the main sponsor for at least the 2023 and 2024 tournaments of this new event, WR Group Holding GmbH will become a commercial partner of FIDE in the organization of this championship, cooperating with FIDE in seeking and exploiting commercial opportunities connected with the event. Wadim Rosenstein, CEO of WR Group, said: “The World Open Teams Championship has as its central aim the delivery of chess opportunities to people who may not ordinarily get a chance to play the “king’s game” in the world arena. Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Our approach is unique in that no matter what your gender and federation if you want to play chess there will be an opportunity to do so.” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich expressed his satisfaction with excitement about this new event: “Team and rapid chess competitions are two of the most popular formats among players and chess fans. We strongly feel that an event like this would be an important addition to our portfolio of events. These teams are backed by their own sponsors and have their own fan base, so the championship is certain to increase fan engagement and, from the commercial standpoint, will be very appealing. We are excited to join forces with WR Group to make this happen.” Emil Sutovsky, FIDE’s Director General, added: “Chess is changing rapidly as does the world. I see it important for FIDE not only to align with the processes, but to generate new ideas and formats. I am sure it’s going to be an exciting event. The unusual blend of top-notch professionals and club players foreseen by the format, will allow for a unique atmosphere and create a lifetime experience for many.” FIDE intends to announce the exact dates as soon as possible, after a round of consultations with the organizers who could potentially be affected by overlapping dates. But we encourage all chess clubs to take this new event into account when planning their 2023 season, provisionally keeping late May and early June as tentative dates.
All set for the first leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix
The first event of the 2022-2023 Women’s Grand Prix Series will kick-off in a few days (September 17th) in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. Formerly known as Astana, Nur-Sultan is a futuristic city in the middle of the vast steppe. With an estimated population of 1,136,008, it is the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. Nowadays, it’s one of the most modern cities in Central Asia. Рhoto: astanatimes.com The event will be held at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) while the players, accompanying persons and officials will stay at the Hilton Astana hotel, perched on the edge of the 2017 Exhibition Centre. Fielding 16 of the world’s top female players, the Grand Prix will spread out between four different events (Kazakhstan, Germany, India and Poland will be the organizing countries) and each player must participate in three out of the four tournaments. Photo: David Llada The stakes are extremely high: the top two finishers of the series will qualify directly for the 2023-2024 FIDE Women’s Candidates. THE PARTICIPANTS The twelve Nur-Sultan participants, with their starting numbers, are: 1. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2579 – FIDE)2. GM Kateryna Lagno (2547 – FIDE)3. IM/WGM Alina Kashlinskaya (2491 – Poland)4. IM/WGM Bibisara Assaubayeva (2443 – Kazakhstan)5. GM Tan Zhongyi (2525 – China)6. WGM Dinara Wagner (2358 – Germany)7. WGM/IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2477 – Germany)8. WGM Zhu Jiner (2464 – China)9. GM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2503 – Kazakhstan)10. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2521 – FIDE)11. IM/WGM Vaishali R (2449 – India)12. IM/WGM Polina Shuvalova (2510 – FIDE) Top Indian player GM Humpy Koneru withdrew from the first event a few weeks prior due to medical reasons and, according to regulations, has been replaced by IM Vaishali R, who also plays for India, only for this first event. Vaishali R Photo: Steve Bonhage THE FIELD The two top seeds, Goryachkina and Lagno, playing under the FIDE flag, seem to have a slight rating edge over the rest of their colleagues, especially two-time World Junior U-20 champion Aleksandra Goryachkina. In addition to being the overall winner of the previous edition of the Women’s Grand Prix, Goryachkina is the only player in the field to have overpassed the elite 2600 rating barrier. However, perhaps it’s too early to speculate if the lack of recent rated games may be a drag on any of them: Goryachkina, has only played 15 official classical rating games so far this year. As for two-time European women’s champion and three-time World Blitz/Rapid champion Kateryna Lagno, seeded number two, she has only played 8 official games this year. Nonetheless, in online events Kateryna Lagno (pictured below) did achieve success very recently. She took down the 2022 FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, defeating Hou Yifan in the final round; many of the Nursultan participants also participated in this event. Photo: Niki Riga With regard to the other two participants playing under the FIDE flag, Polina Shuvalova has kept herself very busy – 45 official FIDE rated games this year, including Tata Steel in January and two top-level local events in August. Finally, former Women’s classical World Champion and current World Cup Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk has only tallied 11 classical rated games but has successfully played recently in the French Chess League and other online events. Possibly in an even worse situation are the two Chinese players. Former 2018 Women’s World Chess Champion Tan Zhongyi and 2016 U-14 World Youth Chess Champion Zhu Jiner have hardly played this year. For several reasons, including the fact that China did not participate in the Olympiad this year, they have practically not played official classical games, although both of them have been active online and in rapid and blitz modalities. Notwithstanding, while writing this report, I happened to notice that Zhu Jiner is currently participating in the highest category of the Chinese League in Fuling, Chongqing. Meanwhile, some of their main opponents have been much more active. Elite players Alina Kashlinskaya, Elisabeth Paehtz, Vaishali R and Dinara Wagner all played at the Chennai Olympiad recently, notching up important top-level games. In particular, Vaishali shared the third-board individual bronze medal with her brother, elite Indian Grand Master Praggnanandhaa, R. THE LOCALS For the home crowd, it will be a joy to see the progress of Kazakhstan’s two strongest young players, Zhansaya Abdumalik (pictured below) and Bibisara Assaubayeva. Born in 2000, Abdumalik is a two-time girls’ World Youth Champion as well as a girls’ World Junior Champion and has represented Kazakhstan at the Chess Olympiad and World Team Chess Championship. Photo: Lennart Ootes A few years younger, Bibisara Assaubayeva (pictured below), winner of several youth world and continental titles, is also the current Women’s World Blitz champion. Both were part of the Olympic team that finished fifth in Chennai, where Abdumalik also won the individual bronze medal on the first board. Photo: Lennart Ootes The first round, scheduled for next Sunday, September 18th, already features some very cool match-ups. Goryachkina Aleksandra 2579 (FID) – Shuvalova Polina 2510 (FID)Lagno Kateryna 2547 (FID) – Vaishali R 2449 (IND)Kashlinskaya Alina 2491 (POL) – Kosteniuk Alexandra 2521 (FID)Assaubayeva Bibisara 2443 (KAZ) – Abdumalik Zhansaya 2503 (KAZ)Tan Zhongyi 2525 (CHN) – Zhu Jiner 2464 (CHN)Wagner Dinara 2358 (GER) – Paehtz Elisabeth 2477 (GER) PRIZE FUND AND GP PLAYER ALLOCATION The total prize fund for each leg will be €80,000, with another €80,000 being distributed among the top 8 finishers in the global Women’s Grand Prix Series standings, according to the cumulative points they score across the four events. Players tournament allocation (IM Vaishali R replaces GM Humpy Koneru): Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Nur-Sultan Official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/
World Youth Chess Championships cross halfway
The World Youth Chess Championships U14, U16, and U18 in Mamaia, Romania, crossed a midpoint mark. With five more rounds to go, it is still wide open in all six categories. As many predicted, the favourites are facing a serious challenge from their lower-rated opponents. After six rounds in the U14 Open category, Ilamparthi A R and Savva Vetochkin (rated 9th and 5th, respectively) are leading the field with 5.5/6, a half point ahead of a large group of four players. The leaders’ clash in Round 7 promises an exciting battle. Photo: David Llada The 8th-rated Maia Arzur (pictured above) from France tops the standings in the U14 Girls sitting on 5.5/6. A group of four players are hard on her heels, trailing just a half-point. Meanwhile, the rating favourites Alexandra Shvedova and Zarina Nurgaliyeva are a full point behind. Photo: Mark Livshitz It has been a very close affair in the U16 Open category, with Timothe Razafindratsima and Ohanyan Emin sharing the top spot on 5.5/6. The leaders are pitted against each other in Round 7, and this encounter will be of paramount importance for both. The highest-rated players have been flying under the radar in the U16 Girls, with Munkhzul Davaakhuu and Francisco Guecamburu Candela pulling ahead with 5.5/6 each. The top-rated Eline Roeberts is a full point behind. Photo: David Llada Unlike all other categories, the joint leaders in U18 Open, Kazybek Nogerbek and Mamikon Gharibyan (pictured above), already conceded a full point to their opponents, sitting on 5/6. As many as 13(!) players are sharing third place, which makes this group probably the most exciting to watch. Photo: David Llada Mariam Mkrtchyan (pictured above) is the only player in the entire competition to win all six games. Still, the leader in the U18 Girls can’t feel safe as her main competitors, Maria Eizaguerri Floris and Ayan Allahverdiyeva, are not far behind. Photo: Mark Livshitz and David Llada Official website of the World Youth Championships: worldyouth2022.com/