Latvia launches Chess in Prisons programme
The number of countries where chess is introduced to prison inmates keeps growing. The initiative expands as those coaches and prison officers who already use chess as an efficient tool for reintegrating incarcerated people share their experience in chess education with the countries joining the program. Earlier in May Mikhail Korenman, Manager of the Chess Programme at Cook County Sheriff’s Organization , Member of the FIDE Social Commission and the driving force of the “Chess in Prisons” initiative, and Thomas Peter Dart, Junior at the University of Illinois, have visited Baltic countries to promote the idea of chess being used for educating and empowering prisoners. Accompanied by FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola, they met with the Latvian prison authorities. Mikhail shared his ten years’ experience with chess in Chicago Cook County Prison, and it was agreed to start the programme in a women’s establishment in Iļģuciema, Latvia. Thomas Peter Dart, Mikhail Korenman and Dana Reizniece-Ozola The first chess lesson for 27 female prisoners was conducted by Dana Reizniece-Ozola just a few weeks after the initial meeting. “They were patiently listening to how chess helps to make smart decisions, understand the link between cause and consequences, respect your opponent and use your resources smartly. I was stressed as if I had to perform in Davos. Why? In such a closed environment, time and space are different. Every word you say and every move you make does not fly away; it stays and works right there,” Dana Reizniece-Ozola said after the lesson. The programme is not only about promoting positive use of leisure time for inmates, improving their behaviour, helping to reduce violence and developing communication skills. In October, the inmates plan to participate in the 2nd International Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, scheduled from 13-14 October 2022, on the International Day of Education in Prison. More info: chessforfreedom.fide.com/tournament/
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Muhammad Hanif Qureshi, new President of Pakistan Chess Federation Global Exchange Forum: How is harassment defined, guidelines and support to report cases Gligoric Trophy 2021: Call for nominations Latvia launches the Chess in Prisons programme Brief news from National Federations READ NEWSLETTER
FIDE announces the beginning of the 2022 Candidates Tournament
At the opening press conference in the Palacio de Santona in Madrid, FIDE announced the beginning of the 2022 Candidates Tournament to determine who will be the next challenger for the title of World Champion The press event was held at the monumental Palacio de Santona and attended by the Deputy Councillor of Sports for the regional government at Comunidad de Madrid, Alberto Tomé González, FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola and Fabiano Caruana. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, who is also acting as the Tournament Director of the 2022 Candidates, pointed out that the forthcoming event “is the most important tournament next to the world chess championship match itself”. “Here, we will be hosting eight of the strongest chess players in the world. Before that, they have already been working all year long, qualifying for this event… They are the top of the top, who have proved to be the strongest at this point”. Attended by Spanish and international journalists, the press conference started with showing a promotional video for the 2022 Candidates, which will be officially presented at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday. Among eight players at the 2022 Candidates, there are three new potential challengers taking part in this event for the first time: Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda (the winner of the World Cup), Richard Rapport (who qualified for the event as a runner-up in the Grand Prix series) and naturalised Frenchman Alireza Firouzja who at 18 (he will turn 19 on 18th June), is the youngest player taking part in the Candidates. “The event which is before us will have 14 rounds and at least 56 exciting games”, said Reizniece-Ozola. Apart from the Candidates Tournament itself, FIDE announced a series of additional events which will be held in Madrid, with the aim of giving more prominence to chess. “We will try to reach out to the public and organise various events, including a tournament for young chess talents at the Palacio de Santona, so they can be close to the stars and feel encouraged to become future champions… We will be organising a chess and education conference, simuls and other street activities so that people in Madrid and Spain are aware of the event”, Reizniece-Ozola said. FIDE Managing Director thanked Chess.com for their support in preparing the tournament and the Scheinberg family, which financially backs the tournament. The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Candidates Tournament will take place on Thursday, 16th June at 7 PM CEST at the Four Seasons Hotel. The tournament will commence on June 17th in Palacio de Santona. Built in 1730, the historic palace currently houses the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. For the next two weeks, this will be the venue where the next challenger for the title of World Champion in chess will be determined. As Reizniece-Ozola noted,#nbsp;”if you have the chess kings, you need a palace”. Fabiano Caruana on what it means to play at the Candidates, the best strategy for victory and Alireza Firouzja The only player participating in the Candidates to take part in the opening press conference was Fabiano Caruana (29), for whom this will be the fourth time to play in this event. Caruana – who won the 2018 Candidates – was asked what it means to play a tournament like this. “The tension of this tournament is only surpassed by the world championship match. For me, that was the highest tension I had ever felt in my life. Chess is a game, but it feels massively important when you’re in the midst of it,” said the American. “The most important thing to understand is that all of the players here, from their childhood – they had one dream, which is to become world champion.” In the opinion of the former challenger, the final games of the tournament will be key. “I think the final games of this tournament are usually where the differences are made. It shows who can handle the stress and tension best.” Given that he has appeared in the three previous Candidates tournaments (his first appearance was in 2016 when he lost the final-round game to Sergey Karjakin that decided the winner), Fabiano Caruana was asked about the best strategy for winning a tournament like this. “You can’t will wins into existence,” said the former challenger who lost in the tie-breaks to Magnus Carlsen in the 2018 match. “The best strategy is to be patient and not panic if you don’t start winning from the start… Starting well doesn’t guarantee victory, nor that you have to push for wins from the start. Patience and waiting for your chances is usually the strategy that paid off for the past winners.” Speaking about the role financial rewards play in motivating the players, Caruana revealed that he hadn’t even looked at the prize fund for the event (which is 500,000 euros) and that he didn’t know the amount until it was mentioned by Dana Reizniece-Ozola at the conference. “I didn’t know what it was until you mentioned it. Because anything which isn’t the first place to me would be considered a disappointment.” Caruana was also asked about the chances the youngest participant Alireza Firouzja has in Madrid. “He is not a very experienced player. He is super gifted and super strong, but he hasn’t played in this event before, and it is a different event from the ones he’s played in.” Caruana said that the first time he played the Candidates – in 2016 – he wasn’t very experienced but “got close to winning it”. “So, I don’t think it’s impossible for a first-timer to potentially win a [Candidates] tournament. I think he is also quite smart in his approach to chess and how he prepares. He has chances for sure. His ascent to World No 2 position was a little bit of momentum. I don’t think it fully conveyed his level compared to other top players in the world, but momentum carries you far, and I’ve experienced this myself”, said Caruana. You can find the full video of the press conference on our Youtube channel. Text: Milan Dinic Photos:
FIDE and ChessKid GIRLS ONLY tournament announced
FIDE is excited to announce the first-ever FIDE and ChessKid Unrated Girls Only Tournament, which will take place on July 10, 2022, as a part of the FIDE Queens’ Festival. This free-to-attend event will consist of Eastern Edition and Western Edition. Both editions will be played in two different age groups – Ages 9 and under and Ages 10-16. All players will have the opportunity to play in a warm-up event taking place on July 2 and participate in a special FIDE Queens’ Festival workshop on July 9. Tournament details: Eastern Edition Schedule: July 10th, 3am PT / 5am ET / 10am UK / 11am CEST / 2:30pm India / 7pm Sydney Western Edition Schedule: July 10th, 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK / 7pm CEST Entry Fee: The event is free to attend but is only open to FIDE unrated players (National ratings are allowed). Format: All sections will feature a 7-round Swiss tournament. The time control will be 5 min + a 5-second increment per move Platform: All games will be played on ChessKid.com’s live server. No account is needed to play. Special one-time-use tournament accounts will be created for all players. Regulations (pdf) Registration for the Eastern Edition Registration for the Western Edition Free mini-camps with WGMs will be given to all participants of the event. In addition to electronic diplomas and certificates of participation, top-3 players in each category will be awarded a free year of ChessKid Gold membership. More than that, all festival participants will receive a 3-month ChessKid Gold membership and invitations to a weekly mini-camp with WGMs. The weekly mini-camps will take place on Sundays, starting on September 18 until October 30. Each mini-camp will last 90 minutes. WGMs Irene Sukandar and Anastasia Karlovich will host the 9 and Under section, while WGMs Elisabeth Paehtz and Salome Melia will lead the Ages 10-16 section. All tournament participants from Ukraine will get a 1-year free gold membership on ChessKid. All players will also be invited for a Zoom workshop with FIDE women representatives and Queens’ Festival organizers. The workshop will take place on July 9 and will feature the following guests: Dana Reizniece-Ozola – WGM, FIDE Managing DirectorAnastasia Karlovich – WGM, Chess Journalist, PhotographerEva Repková – WGM, Head of FIDE Women CommissionKeti Tsatsalashvili – WGM, Chess Blogger Contacts: For any additional questions, please reach out to either of the event organizers: Tournament Coordinator: Nadezhda Kravchuk: nadezhda@chesskid.comTournament Director: Anastasia Sorokina: a.sorokina@fide.com
WSCC 2022: Vaishali advances to quarterfinals
WGM Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) became the first quarterfinalist of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2022 after defeating the reigning World Women’s Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) in a very close Round of 16 match. Vaishali started right out of the gate, grabbed the lead and won the first 5+1 segment by a score of 5-3. She stretched her lead to three points in the next 3+1 portion of the match, but Bibisara stormed back in bullet, scoring three straight victories and narrowing the gap to just one point with the last game to play. It all came down to the final game in which Assaubayeva blundered Vaishali’s rook penetration to the seventh rank and capitulated soon afterwards. The next Round of 16 match will be played on Tuesday, June 14, at 6:30 a.m. PT/15:30 CET. The last-year finalist GM Harika Dronavalli will take on WGM Deysi Cori. To follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, watch a live broadcast of the event with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com Twitch Channel. More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Mwale and Nkhoma win Malawi Open Championship 2022
George Mwale and Desiderata Nkhoma emerged victorious at their home event, Malawi Chess Open Championship 2022. The competition, financially supported by FIDE Aid Package, took place in Lilongwe from June 9-12. The open section brought together 26 players competing in a 9-round Swiss tournament. It turned into a close race between George Mwale and Geoffrey Luanja from Zambia, who scored 7/9 each and tied for the first place. Mwale, who used the event as part of his preparation for the FIDE Chess Olympiad, came out on top thanks to a greater number of victories. The highest-rated participant William Mwape netted 6½/9 and took third place. Final standings Open: 1 Mwale, George MAW 2025 7 2 Luanja, Geoffrey ZAM 2150 7 3 Mwape, William ZAM 2177 6½ 4 Kamwendo, Precious MAW 1934 6 5 Mwale, Joseph MAW 2154 6 6 Chimthere, Alfred Charles MAW 2047 5½ 7 Mwape, Dennis ZAM 2013 5½ 8 Chiona, Richard MAW 1896 5 9 Sharra, Leonard MAW 1803 5 10 Mawango, Davie MAW 1888 5 In the women’s section, a 7-round Swiss tournament, the rating-favourite Desiderata Nkhoma got off to a poor start losing her first-round game but then picked up steam and finished clear first. Aaliya Patel and Susan Namangale were a half-point behind and tied for second place. The second position on the podium goes to unrated Patel, who beat Namangale in the direct encounter. Final standings Women: 1 Nkhoma, Desiderata MAW 1465 5½ 2 Patel, Aaliya MAW 0 5 3 Namangale, Susan MAW 1247 5 4 Mpinganjira, Ellen MAW 1346 4 5 Msukwa, Tupokiwe MAW 1362 3½ 6 Banda, Tapiwa MAW 1213 3½ 7 Kapende, Sharom MAW 1318 3 8 Khanyera, Dalitso MAW 0 2½ 9 Tadeyo, Charity MAW 1134 2 10 Msiska, Royce MAW 1250 1 Photo: Gilton Mkumbwa
FIDE PDC launches inaugural Orientation Programme
The FIDE Planning and Development Commission launched its inaugural Orientation Programme targeting new federations and new federation administrations on 11 June 2022 during the World School Individual Chess Championship at the Bristol Hotel in Panama. The meeting was the first of its kind to bring together the FIDE President, FIDE Vice Presidents, FIDE Executive Director, Commission Chairpersons, council members, federation presidents and delegates to share insights into FIDE’s operations and to identify the various areas and opportunities for engagement of national federations. The host of the event, Jose Carillo, President of the Panama Chess Federation, welcomed the guests. The Chair of the PDC Sonja Johnson, chaired the day’s proceedings. The Continental President, Jorge Vega, brought opening remarks for the Orientation Programme. FIDE President Arkady Dvokrovich welcomed the delegates and opened the floor for the delegates to share ideas on how FIDE can better engage and support federations. Several federations used the opportunity to publicly provide suggestions, including ways to onboard government officials, e.g. education ministries, to help implement the federations’ mandates.
Muhammad Hanif Qureshi elected the president of Chess Federation of Pakistan
The elections of the Chess Federation of Pakistan took place last week, on June 4, at the Serena Hotel in Khayaban-e-Suharwardy. Mr Muhammad Hanif Qureshi was elected as the new president after receiving the trust of 82% of the electoral census, and 100% of the total votes issued. This convincing result puts an end to a period of internal conflict within the federation that was seriously affecting chess activities in Pakistan, to the point that in all of 2020, only 4 rated tournaments had been organized in this country of 221 million inhabitants. The last IM norm by a Pakistani player was obtained 36 years ago. The elections were held under the supervision of the International Chess Federation. To break the deadlock in situations like this, FIDE has established a new figure, the “Reserve Delegate”, with the aim to facilitate solving conflicts and organizing fair and legitimate elections. “The first step to facilitate cooperation among various parties and provide the platform for elections was made in December 2021 when under the leadership of the Reverse Delegate, a Memorandum was signed in Dubai on 11-12 December 2021. This document has become a framework for our further actions”, explains Dana Reizniece-Ozola, who was appointed as Reverse Delegate for Pakistan. After consultations with the interested parties and receiving the approval from the Pakistan Sports Board to proceed with elections, on May 23 2022 the Reverse Delegate has announced the electoral process with the elections scheduled for June 4 2022. The following Election Commission was formed, composed of representatives of FIDE, the Asian Chess Federation, and the Sports Board of Pakistan: 1. Election Commissioner: Dana Reizniece–Ozola – FIDE Managing Director, Reverse Delegate;2. Member – Aleksandr Martynov – FIDE Legal Advisor;3. Member Khalil Ahmed Khan – Legal Advisor, Asian Chess Federation; Observer: Dr Rashid Alazni, Asian Chess Federation;Observer: Mohammad Shahid, Deputy DG Technical, Pakistan Sports Board. FIDE would like to thank the support received from the Asian Chess Federation, that not only acted as supervisors during the elections but also assisted during the whole process. “I congratulate the new President Hanif Qureshi, and I truly hope that the new leadership will use their mandate and time for the benefit of chess. Pakistan deserves it. Being the birthplace of the game and also the youngest population in the world, it has great potential that has clearly been underused. (…) I hope that our experience with Pakistan can serve as a good benchmark of how a complex situation may be solved in cooperation with FIDE partners and local authorities”, concludes Dana. The results are already noticeable. Since August 8, when FIDE appointed a Reverse delegate, Pakistan resumed the organization of chess activities, holding 93 new tournaments, 71 of them FIDE-rated. 576 new players were registered, and FIDE is studying ways to support this influx of new players, so they can have access to training, participation in international events, and opportunities to increase their ratings and acquire titles. Only one week after the elections, the 32nd Pakistan Chess Championship and the 7th Women’s National Chess Championship kicked off in Gilgit Baltistan, an important step in determining the composition of the Olympic Team. After four rounds, two players with a perfect score, Junaid Sohail and Amer Karim, are leading the event. In the Women’s Championship, Sehrish Rehman temporarily tops the standings table, ahead of 31 more players. The Minister of Sports attended the opening of the Championship and expressed his intention to support the development of chess in the country. “We are offering 50 chess sets to schools through the ministries of education and sports to create ten chess clubs in schools here. We will provide technical support to them, as well as training too. The first of these clubs was inaugurated on Friday, with the presence of ministry officials. The chess for school program of FIDE will reach even the far remote area of the world close to K-2 and Rakaposhi mountains!” explained the enthusiastic new president, Mr Hanif Qureshi. https://chess-results.com/fed.aspx?lan=1&fed=PAK
Norway Chess 2022: Carlsen clinches fifth title
Magnus Carlsen emerged as the winner of the Norway Chess 2022, the competition celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It is the World Champion’s fourth straight title at his home tournament and the fifth overall. The 10-player round-robin took place at Finansparken in Stavanger, Norway, from May 30 to June 10. Each round consisted of a classical game with a win worth 3 points and a loss – 0. In case of a draw, the players played an Armageddon game, where the winner scored 1½ points, and the loser got just 1 point with a draw favouring Black. The World Champion hit a skit at the beginning after losing his Round 2 Armageddon game to Wesley So, while Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand started with two wins in classical games and grabbed the lead. Photo: © Norway Chess Magnus caught up with Vishy soon, and the leaders clashed in Round 5. After drawing the classical game, Anand prevailed in a topsy-turvy Armageddon duel and regained the lead but not for long. In Round 6, Carlsen beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a classical game and leapfrogged Anand, who bested Anish Giri but only in Armageddon. Not many considered Mamedyarov a real contender for the top position at that point, but the Azerbaijani GM proved otherwise. Shakhriyar scored two crucial victories in classical games over Giri and Anand in Rounds 7 and 8 and came into the final round just a half-point behind Carlsen, who miraculously escaped against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in both classical and Armageddon games in Round 8. Photo: © Norway Chess After the leaders drew both classical and Armageddon games in the final round Magnus (who had black pieces) finished a full point ahead of Shakhriyar and took the title. 52-year-old Viswanathan Anand, who was in the race for the first place for most of the tournament, delivered an excellent performance and came out third. Final standings: 1 Carlsen, Magnus 2864 16½ 2 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2770 15½ 3 Anand, Viswanathan 2751 14½ 4 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2750 14 5 So, Wesley 2766 12½ 6 Giri, Anish 2761 12 7 Topalov, Veselin 2730 9½ 8 Tari, Aryan 2654 9½ 9 Radjabov, Teimour 2753 8 10 Wang, Hao 2744 7½ Photo: © Norway Chess Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (pictured above) won the Open Tournament netting 7½/9. The rising Indian star finished a point ahead Marsel Efroimski and Jung Min Seo, who tied for second place. Photo: © Norway Chess
Presidential Ticket Candidacies Announced
The 2022 FIDE Presidential election will be held on August 7, 2022, at the FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, India. Each Member Federation represented in the General Assembly and in the assemblies of FIDE Continents has one vote. List of FIDE Member Federations having Voting Powers (June 7, 2022) According to the 2022 FIDE Elections Timeline, by 6 pm CET on June 7, Presidential candidacies had to reach the FIDE Office. Following the deadline, the FIDE Electoral Commission consisting of Roberto Rivello (chairman), Francois Strydom and Lakhdar Mazouz held an online meeting. Electoral Commission Report (June 7, 2022, Part 1) In accordance with art. 21.8 of the Electoral Rules, FIDE Offices announce that the Electoral Commission, after a preliminary exam, approved the following list of valid Presidential ticket candidacies: Mr. Andrii Baryshpolets and Mr. Peter-Heine Nielsen; Mr. Inalbek Cheripov and Mr. Lewis Ncube; Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich and Mr. Anand Viswanathan; Mr. Bachar Kouatly and Mr. Ian Wilkinson. The full version of the Electoral Commission report that includes its second part: Electoral Commission Report Please note that all the official documentation on the elections is being published on a dedicated FIDE Congress page: https://congress.fide.com/. You can also find the summary and updates on the dedicated page on the FIDE website: https://fide.com/elections