Chess and brain ageing
During the past months, we have brought to our social media channels the story of Manuel Alvarez Escudero, from Madrid. Born in 1921, Manuel is still very much an active player who, at 100 years and six months old, is rated 1627. He just took part in this season’s regional league with his club, where, despite starting off with a victory, he ended up losing a few rating points. To put things in perspective, Manuel was born in the year Jose Raul Capablanca became World Champion, and his life encompasses the greater part of modern chess history. Manuel also recently got some airtime in the Spanish media, which presented him as an example of active ageing. We all could name some other examples of chess personalities who demonstrated remarkable intellectual longevity. The beneficial effect of chess in delaying brain ageing and cognitive impairment (and therefore, Alzheimer and other types of dementia) is supported by relevant scientific studies and statistics. With all this in mind, a group of entrepreneurs and chess promoters from Spain have recently developed a chess-based cognitive training program in the form of a mobile application that they named Gymchess. The founders of this interesting project are Leontxo Garcia, chess journalist and science communicator, Juan Antonio Montero, psychologist and a world-class authority on the topic of therapeutic applications of chess and Asier Rufino, CEO of Tecnalia Ventures, Chairman and Board member in several deep-tech spin-offs, as well as a Professor at the prestigious Deusto Business School. The chess-based cognitive training program is based on the amp experience gathered by Juan Antonio Montero in multiple face-to-face workshops with more than 3,500 users over the last ten years with the support of the regional government of the Extremadura region in Spain. This allowed him to develop a methodology (ECAM) that has been applied to create Gymchess, with the ultimate goal of improving the cognitive system and slowing down the effects of brain ageing, serving as a complement to people conscious of their personal well-being and mental health. Users don’t need to have any prior chess knowledge or even know how the chess pieces move to start using and benefiting from the app. The Gymchess app was presented in the Spanish Pavilion at Expo Dubai last December, during the World Championship Match, with the presence, among others, of its founders and Teresa Riesgo, Secretary-General of Innovation at the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain. The technological start-up is supported by the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. If you are aware of any similar initiative involving chess for seniors and active ageing, please contact FIDE’s Social Commission at socialchess@fide.com.
IPCA World Championship 2022: Andrei Obodchuk clinches title
IM Andrei Obodchuk (FIDE) emerged as the winner of the 21st World IPCA Chess Championship for Disabled Players organized by Israeli Chess Federation and IPCA (International Physically Disabled Chess Association – Affiliated to the International Chess Federation, FIDE). The 9-round Swiss tournament in Ashdod City (Israel) brought together 24 players from eight countries. Obodchuk (pictured above) took a great start, winning four games in a row, but in Round 5, he suffered a painful defeat in the game against IM Andrei Gurbanov (Israel) after mishandling a won position. Unfazed, Obodchuk scored 2½/3 in the next three games and came to the final round a half-point ahead of IM Stanislav Mikheev of Serbia. The leader took matters into his own hands, beat Benny Shapiro with black pieces and clinched the title with an excellent score of 7½/9. Stanislav Mikheev (pictured below) finished just a half-point behind the champion and claimed silver. GM Yaacov Zilberman and Andrei Gurbanov tied for the third place, netting 6½/9 each, but the bronze goes to the former thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. WFM Svetlana Gerasimova (FIDE) netted 4½/9 and became the best woman player. Aleksandra Aleksandrova of Israel scored an equal amount of points but had inferior tiebreaks. Final standings: 1 IM Obodchuk, Andrei FID 2306 7½ 2 IM Mikheev, Stanislav SRB 2333 7 3 GM Zilberman, Yaacov ISR 2323 6½ IM Gurbanov, Andrei ISR 2301 6½ 5 IM Yarmonov, Igor UKR 2394 6 6 IM Campos, Eugenio ANG 2247 5 7 FM Lipilin, Ilia FID 2174 5 8 Srimskov, Elishar ISR 1992 5 9 Shapiro, Benny ISR 1899 5 10 FM Vit Vaclav, Valenta CZE 1999 5 11 Babanov, Aleksandr FID 1918 4½ 12 WFM Gerasimova, Svetlana FID 1906 4½ In addition to cups, medals and diplomas, the top-6 finishers received won prizes from €300 to €1,000. There were also three special money prizes for women. The winners (open, women and players in wheelchairs) gained the spots in the IPCA team at the Chess Olympiad 2022. Official website: ipca.chess.org.il/ Photo: Mark Livshitz
Queens’ Chess Festival: Your chance to see Chennai!
Travel subsidy for tickets to the Chess Olympiad 2022 in Chennai, India (up to 600 euro per person) and full board accommodation for six nights await the winners of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments. Four players, the winners of the finals in all categories, and one team of four will get a unique opportunity to see the biggest chess event, with over 2000 players from more than 200 countries participating, and to enjoy the scenic beauty of Chennai, a home for the world’s second-longest beach and rock-cut architecture. The lucky winners will also get a chance to see the Queens’ Pavilion at the Chess Olympiad Expo and to attend the FIDE Year of the Woman in Chess Awards, promoting gender equality in chess. Other prizes of the event include training sessions with leading chess trainers. The event, organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with the FIDE Events Commission, and supported by the Asian Chess Federation, the African Chess Confederation, the European Chess Union, and the Confederation of Chess for Americas, starts on June 05, 2022, on Tornelo platform. The competition will be held in four rating categories: Category A: 2000 and higherCategory B: 1800-1999Category C: 1600-1799Category D: <1600, unrated The first edition of the Queens’ Festival, held in 2021, brought together over 460 participants from 82 countries. FIDE welcomes female chess players all over the world and invites them to join again, making this festival the biggest online women’s chess event ever! Regulations for the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022 (pdf) Presentation of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022 (pdf) National Federations register for the tournaments by filling this form and sending it to the organizers’ e-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com. The deadline for registration: Friday, May 27, 2022, for America;Friday, June 03, 2022, for Africa and Asia;Friday, June 09, 2022, for Europe. Contact Information: General Director: IM/WGM Eva RepkovaTournament Director: IM/WGM Ilaha KadimovaChief Arbiter: IA Tania KaraliE-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com
Winners crowned at South African Championship 2022
The South African Championship 2022, held in the open, women’s and seniors sections, took place from May 7-14 in Newland Cricket ground in Cape Town. All three tournaments were played in a round-robin format. The championships served as the qualifying events for the South African national teams that will participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. The open tournament was a close affair, with IM Daniel Cawdery and FM Banele Mhango netting 6/8 each and tying for the first place. Daniel Cawdery claimed the title (the second in his career) as the winner of their direct encounter. GM Kenny Solomon, the only grandmaster in the tournament, scored 5½/8 and took bronze. Final standings Open: 1 IM Cawdery, Daniel 2419 6 2 FM Mhango, Banele 2206 6 3 GM Solomon, Kenny 2356 5½ 4 FM Barrish, Daniel 2281 5 5 IM Kobese, Watu 2324 4 6 FM Klaasen, Calvin John 2245 3½ 7 FM Bhawoodien, Shabir Hussain 2033 3 8 CM Mazibuko, Khanya 1917 2 9 Willenberg, Kenneth Sean 1935 1 The women’s event, an 8-player round-robin, produced a minor sensation – one of the lowest-rated participants 15-year-old Chloe Badenhorst came out on top, scoring 5/7 and picked 117 rating points along the way. WIM Jesse Nikki February did not manage to defend her national title and finished a half-point behind the champion. WIM Charlize Van Zyl finished third with 4 points. Final standings Women: 1 Badenhorst, Chloe 1585 5 2 WIM February, Jesse Nikki 1890 4½ 3 WIM Van Zyl, Charlize 1682 4 4 WIM Laubscher, Anzel 1720 2½ 5 WCM Selkirk, Rebecca 1781 2 6 Grobbelaar, Jacqui 1517 1½ 7 Klaasen Robyn, Julian 1666 1½ Mark Lewis dominated the senior section scoring 7½/9 points. The champion conceded his opponents just three draws and finished a full point ahead of Hans Steyn and Cecil Ohlson, who tied for the second place. The silver goes to Hans Steyn, thanks to better Sonneborn-Berger. Final standings Seniors: 1 Lewis, Mark 1875 7½ 2 Steyn, Hans 1840 6½ 3 Ohlson, Cecil 1620 6½ 4 Southey, Andrew 1756 6 5 Galleid, Stephen 1578 6 6 Van Schaik, Michael 1578 3½ 7 Esau, Omar 1521 3½ 8 Goosen, Pierre 1427 3½ 9 Gabriels, Zaid 1357 1½ 10 Baker, Gregory 1044 0½ Official website: www.chessa.co.za Photo: Lyndon Bouah
2022 1st FIDE Council meeting: List of Decisions
2022 1st FIDE Council meeting 28 April 2022Abu Dhabi, UAE CM1-2022/01 To note President’s report. CM1-2022/02 To note Financial report presented by FIDE Treasurer. CM1-2022/03 To request FIDE President and FIDE Treasurer to reestablish contacts with national chess federations of Bhutan, Central African Republic and Comoros Islands, including with an aim to settle their multi-year arrears. CM1-2022/04 To note the FIDE Congress 2022 Schedule. CM1-2022/05 To note the FIDE Congress 2022 Elections Timeline. CM1-2022/06 To note progress reports on the preparations for the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress 2022 CM1-2022/07 To request the Members of the FIDE Council to propose candidacies for 3 Scrutineers and 3 substitutes for the FIDE Presidential elections. The names of the candidacies are to be submitted to the Office by 25th of May 2022. CM1-2022/08 To approve the Captain and Head of Delegation rules to be effective from 1st of July 2022 and to disseminate them to the National Federations. CM1-2022/09 To approve the Appeals Committee Procedural Rules. CM1-2022/10 To approve the regulations for Non-Elected Commissions. CM1-2022/11 To approve the Development Index Regulations and to plan the discussion of possible changes at the FIDE Congress 2022. To instruct the FIDE Management Board to suggest the improved set of criteria for the Development Index, considering the economic development levels of the countries and other factors such as a need to provide special support for new federations etc. The estimated deadline – 15th of July, 2022. CM1-2022/12 To approve the deletion of C07 Time Control from the FIDE Handbook. CM1-2022/13 To approve the addition of the new point 2 to D02 Continental Championships and Zonal Tournaments. CM1-2022/14 To note the Global Strategy Commission’s report. CM1-2022/15 To approve general principles of the proposed agreement between FIDE and Grand Chess Tour and to instruct the Management Board and Director General Emil Sutovsky to finalize the details, taking into consideration the input from the Council members. CM1-2022/16 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM1-2022/17 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the FIDE Lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM1-2022/18 To approve the Arbiters’ Commission’s proposal to move the date when IA Certification Seminar norms are mandatory for IA title applications to 01/01/2024. CM1-2022/19 To instruct the Arbiters’ Commission to consult with the Continents on the potential list of match arbiters for the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022. CM1-2022/20 To approve the Chess Education Commission’s report. CM1-2022/21 To approve Regulations for the Titles and Certifications of Chess in Education. CM1-2022/22 To approve Chess Education Commission’s description of its missions, vision, objectives and strategy for the FIDE Handbook. CM1-2022/23 To note the Commission’s for Women’s Chess report and encourage the WOM to activate publicity in respect of the Year of Women in Chess activities. CM1-2022/24 To note the Constitutional Commission’s report. CM1-2022/25 To approve the decision of the FIDE Constitutional Commission to hold the elections to fill the vacancies in the Commission membership. CM1-2022/26 To approve the extension of the mandates of the reverse delegates for the South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire Chess Federations as proposed by the Constitutional Commission. CM1-2022/27 To note the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission’s report. CM1-2022/28 To note the update on the EDC case 2/2022. CM1-2022/29 To note the Events Commission’s report. CM1-2022/30 To approve the recommendations of the Events Commission on titles. CM1-2022/31 To send the bid of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation to organise the 2023 World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad to the FIDE Council for an e-vote, pending the inspection of the proposed venue. CM1-2022/32 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM1-2022/33 To approve the amendments of the Anti-Cheating Regulations. CM1-2022/34 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report. CM1-2022/35 To note the Rules Commission’s report. CM1-2022/36 To conceptually support the Rules Commission proposal in respect of the use of gender-pronouns wording in the Laws of Chess. CM1-2022/37 To note the Qualification Commission’s report. CM1-2022/38 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. To postpone the decision on the title application to IM E. Paehtz (GER). To instruct the Qualification Commission to prepare further analysis and suggest policy changes aimed at improving the efficiency of confirming norms and titles. CM1-2022/39 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM1-2022/40 To note the Trainers’ Commission’s report. CM1-2022/41 To approve the Trainers’ Commission’s proposal in respect of having a minimum time frame of 10 years serving as a high-level trainer for the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. CM1-2022/42 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and Academies. CM1-2022/43 To note Continental Reports. CM1-2022/44 To note ACF’s intention to hold its GA in December 2022. The FIDE Council does not object and regards such schedule as an exemption from the general rules. The elections have to comply with general principles and applicable norms of the FIDE Electoral Rules. Due to special circumstances, in 2022 FIDE Council approves holding the Continental elections before or after the FIDE Congress if such request is made by the Continental Body. CM1-2022/45 To note the report on Chess in Olympic Games. CM1-2022/46 To reject the use of artificial pairings in the upcoming FIDE individual events. CM1-2022/47 To reapprove signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Shenzhen Nanshan District. CM1-2022/48 To note the reports of reverse delegates of Morocco, Pakistan, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa Chess Federations and to ask FIDE Constitutional Commission to analyze the corresponding practices and provide relevant recommendations. CM1-2022/49 To approve the proposal of Mr. Iclicki to endorse fund-raising for the first step of the FIDE anniversary 2024 film project. CM1-2022/50 To note the fact that the RCF has expressed their intention to join the ACF. Before taking any other action, to consider the decisions of ACF and ECU and analyze all the legal and practical implications. To request the Constitutional Commission to present an official opinion in respect of an application of the RCF to change continents. CM1-2022/51 To note the report of Deputy President on the geopolitical situation. CM1-2022/52 To hold the next FIDE Council meeting in person in Chennai, India, during the FIDE Congress, on 4th of August 2022.
Gligoric Trophy 2021: Call for nominations
FIDE is pleased to announce the Gligoric Trophy 2021, an award established to give recognition to an individual who, in that year, had displayed exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in chess. Candidates to win the Svetozar Gligoric Trophy shall have demonstrated during the period January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, the following accomplishments: – Outstanding gesture or action of sportsmanship during the sports event. – Outstanding contribution to the popularization of the values and principles of Fair Play. – Outstanding support towards initiatives on enforcement of ethical values. – Promotion of integrity and high ethical standards. The Svetozar Gligoric Trophy is a recognition of sportsmen who exercise the fundamental values of Fair Play both during and beyond the game. It’s a way of thinking rather than a mere behaviour and includes the concepts of: FairnessTo enjoy the victory is not enough. Triumph must include fairness and honesty RespectWritten rules are mandatory. Unwritten rules of respect for all are obligatory FriendshipRivalry in sports does not exclude friendship Team SpiritA genuine consideration for others EqualityCompeting on equal terms is essential ToleranceThe ability or willingness to accept what you may not agree with CareTrue champions care about each other Nomination Procedure The winner of the Gligoric Trophy is selected annually by the Award Commission chaired by Mr Mahir Mammedov and its two members, the Grandmasters Mrs Judit Polgar (FIDE Honorary Vice-President) and Mr Eugenio Torre. Proposals for Nominations (Nomination Letter) shall be submitted by Continental Federations, National Federations, and FIDE Commissions to the Gligoric Trophy Award Commission (gligorictrophy@fide.com) no later than June 15, 2022. Nominations coming from individuals, including self-nominations, are also allowed, but they should be channelled through the Federation associated with the nominee. We would like to stress again that this is an award for the nominee’s accomplishments during the previous year and NOT a recognition of a lifelong career. Please note that Commission’s decision is final and not open to discussion, nor shall the members of the Commission be requested to give any justification beyond what they wish to, with their final announcement. The Award Ceremony will take place in August 2022, during the 44th FIDE Olympiad in Chennai. About the award The fair play award, named after Svetozar Gligoric, was established by FIDE in 2019. In the 1950s and 1960s, Svetozar Gligoric was one of the top players in the world and one of the most prominent, owing to his particularly engaging personality. At the chessboard, Gligoric was an uncompromising fighter and, at the same time, a symbol of gentlemanhood and correctness. His impeccable reputation has been a deserved result of his success in chess games and fair-play manners. Gligoric’s trademark was high respect for his chess opponents: his main principle was – It’s chess pieces, not a man I play against! It is no coincidence that the book of Gligoric’s selected games is called “I play against pieces!” The first recipient of this award was Magnus Carlsen, who was awarded his Trophy during the FIDE World Cup in Sochi, 2021.
Nguyen and Citra win gold at the Southeast Asian Games
GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, and WIM Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia Citra of Indonesia won the gold medals (in the open and women’s sections, respectively) at the Southeast Asian Games held from May 10-15, 2022, in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The open event was a 9-round Swiss tournament, while women competed in a 10-player round-robin. Truong Son beat FM Lye Lik Zang of Malaysia in the final round to score 7/9 and secure the title. IM Ervan Mohamad of Indonesia settled for a draw with GM Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam, finished a half-point behind the champion and tied for the second place with IM Tin Jingyao of Singapore. The silver medal goes to Ervan Mohamad, who defeated Tin Jingyao in the direct encounter (first tiebreak variable). Final standings open: 1 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2641 7 2 IM Ervan Mohamad INA 2367 6½ 3 IM Tin Jingyao SGP 2499 6½ 4 IM Yeoh Li Tian MAS 2523 6 5 GM Gomez John Paul PHI 2442 5½ 6 GM Priasmoro Novendra INA 2501 4½ 7 IM Quizon Daniel PHI 2384 4½ 8 GM Tran Tuan Minh VIE 2533 4 9 IM Wynn Zaw Htun MYA 2508 3 10 CM Laohawirapap Prin THA 2210 3 WIM Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia Citra of Indonesia (pictured below), her compatriot IM Irine Kharisma Sukandar and Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam scored 7/9 each and tied for the first place in the women’s tournament. Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia Citra deservedly claimed gold as she defeated both competitors in the direct encounters. Irine Kharisma Sukandar took silver thanks to slightly better Sonneborn-Berger (second tiebreak variable) over Hoang Thi Bao Tram, who had to settle for bronze. Final standings women: 1 WIM Citra Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia INA 2211 7 2 IM Sukandar Irine Kharisma INA 2392 7 3 WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram VIE 2272 7 4 WGM Vo Thi Kim Phung VIE 2340 5½ 5 WIM Fronda Jan Jodilyn PHI 2141 5 6 WGM Frayna Janelle Mae PHI 2221 4½ 7 WGM Gong Qianyun SGP 2348 3½ 8 WFM Tan Li Ting MAS 2087 3 9 WCM Prommuang Araya THA 1628 1½ 10 WIM Azhar Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa MAS 2059 1 Watch games live at vietnamchess.vn/index.php/vi/livegame-seagames31 Official website: asianchess.com/ Photo: official website
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Superbet Classic Bucharest
After an intense and final day of the Superbet Chess Classic Bucharest, three players tied for first with 5.5/9. However, it was the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the “Dark Knight”, winning his last round game, catching up with the two former leaders Wesley So and Levon Aronian, and in the end taking them both down in an exciting playoff round-robin. The French grandmaster was ultimately declared the winner of the event, winning 10 GCT points and pocketing over $77,000. Wesley So and Levon Aronian each got 10 GCT points as well, and a check for $67,667. Tying for the fourth place with 4.5/9 were GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Leinier Dominguez and Romanian star GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac who was the only wild card in this event and has had a brilliant tournament. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after an eventful final day that brought him the win of the Bucharest Chess Classic | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Levon Aronian – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ½-½ Although he had the white pieces, GM Levon Aronian chose not to take many risks in today’s game. The players followed the well-known opening path in the Four Knights Game, where Black was pretty much safe throughout the entire game. The pieces were traded to a rook endgame where a draw was agreed by threefold repetition on move 36. Levon Aronian playing it safe in Round 9 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi ½-½ Richard Rapport and Ian Nepomnichtchi followed the Classical Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Somewhere along the way and most likely disheartened by losing from two winning positions in this event, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi found himself in a worse position and could have lost in only 23 moves, should Richard had played 23. b4! Rapport was not in his best form either and returned the favor immediately with 23.Nb5 and, although he kept the pressure, Nepo proved strong enough and held the position to a draw. Ian Nepomniachtchi, pre-game smile | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Bryan Adams Leinier Dominguez – Wesley So ½-½ Leinier Dominguez tried to outplay Wesley So in a slow Italian by doubling So’s pawns on the e-file, but his advantage was only symbolic. As the game progressed, So managed to gradually infiltrate into White’s queenside. He could continue pushing in the final position, but instead chose to play it safe and take his chance in the playoffs. Had he known the result of the playoffs, he may have kept the pressure on Dominguez a little longer. Pre-game handshake between Leinier Dominguez and Wesley So | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Bogdan-Daniel Deac – Fabiano Caruana ½-½ The wild card of the event, Romanian sensation GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac had an impressive performance in this event scoring fifty percent in such a strong field. In his last round against GM Fabiano Caruana, Deac chose a safe line of the Czech Variation of the Slav Defense against the American. The line chosen led to a position where White was up a pawn, but to Black’s bishop pair, which was a sufficient compensation. The players played a good technical game which ended in a draw in an opposite color bishop ending. “The ‘Old’ meets the ‘New’” – Florin Gheorghiu, the strongest Romanian chess player of all time, shaking hands with Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Alireza Firouzja – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0-1 The game between the two French players, GM Alireza Firouzja and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the longest and the only game that brought a decisive outcome. The players went for a classical variation in the Neo-Grünfeld Defense. The game was balanced for the most part, until the players entered the ending and some inaccurate play by Alireza close to move 40, allowed MVL to take his chance and create the b-passed pawn, which he pushed to win Alireza’s knight. The endgame might not have been immediately winning, but with accurate play, MVL kept his calm and cruised through to victory. It seems that MVL was inspired to return to his petline – the Grünfeld Defense – which brought him the important victory to share the first place and the chance to win the Playoff to be declared the winner of the Superbet Chess Classic Romania. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after the brutally excruciating win against fellow French compatriot Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes The Playoffs With three players sharing first place, it is only normal to give the spectators some extra excitement and more games to enjoy, in the detriment of the players who have to continue fighting for the title, more GCT points and a bigger paycheck. The players played a round-robin tournament among themselves, where the time control was 10min +5 seconds increment per move. Wesley So – Levon Aronian 1-0 The first game was between GM Wesley So and GM Levon Aronian. The players chose the Central Variation of the QGA (Queen’s Gambit Accepted). After some inaccuracies by Aronian, once the opening was over, So took control of the game and kept expanding his advantage. He didn’t give it up and converted a nice knight endgame to win the first game of the playoffs. Wesley So after a brilliant victory in the playoff against Levon Aronian | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wesley So 1-0 The next game to be played in the playoffs was between GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and GM Wesley So. If So had won this game he would have clinched the event. The game started as an English Opening and it was balanced for the first part. As soon as the players started burning more and more time, things kept turning in each of their favor on a number of occasions. In the end it was MVL that grabbed advantage, but he didn’t need to find a way to convert, as Wes lost on time. The tragic moment when Wesley So realized he lost on time | Photo: Grand Chess Tour,
FIDE delegation pays visit to Montenegro
Today, May 13, the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović, Minister of Sports and Youth Vasilije Lalošević, and President of Montenegro Chess Federation Jovan Milović, held a reception with the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the European Chess Union (ECU) Zurab Azmaiparashvili, and Managing Director of the International Chess Federation Dana Reizniece-Ozola. It was Arkady Dvorkovich’s first visit to Montenegro. The main points of the agenda concerned the organization of FIDE and European events, FIDE’s support for the Mediterranean countries championship, chess in education, and other social initiatives. The Montenegro Federation is very active when it comes to Chess In Schools initiatives, with over 70 schools already involved in chess in school programs for which the Federation has provided methodology, materials and teacher’s training. The results of this work are already noticeable, and the participation in school competitions has gone up from 45 kids to almost 500 in the last edition. Prime Minister Dritan Abazović expressed his will to support both the sporting and social initiatives. The President of Montenegro Chess Federation Jovan Milović said that the visit of FIDE and ECU representatives is a great honour and recognition of the efforts of the Montenegro Chess Federation. He added that the support of the Prime Minister and the Government of Montenegro, as well as the Ministry of Sports and Youth, is an additional motive for them to continue their work, focusing on youth and children, but also the project “Chess in Schools”. Milović emphasized that Montenegro will host two European championships next year. Representatives of Montenegro Chess Federation Veselin Drašković and Mitar Đukanović were also present at the meeting.
FIDE extends simplified procedure for playing under FIDE flag
On March 6, 2022, the FIDE Council approved a simplified procedure for Russian/Belarussian players to perform under the FIDE flag. This procedure was initially planned to stay in place until May 31, 2022. The FIDE Council has now approved extending this measure as follows: 1. The right to play under the FIDE flag is granted until 31 December 2022. After this period, in the absence of other requests, the player will automatically be returned to the previous federation. 2. All players who have previously been transferred to play under the FIDE flag according to the resolution, will continue to perform under the FIDE flag unless they send a request to return to the flag of Russia/Belarus.