2022 GCT Superbet Chess Classic Romania: Day 8 Recap
Day 8 of the Superbet Chess Classic Romania was another eventful day, despite it only providing one decisive result in the encounter between GM’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Leinier Dominguez, which ended in favor of the latter. The most thrilling game of the round was a rollercoaster played by Ian Nepomniachtchi and Levon Aronian, which stirred up the spectators’ emotions. The game turned out in yet another lucky escape by the Armenian American GM Aronian who saved another lost endgame to maintain his co-lead next to GM Wesley So, going into tomorrow’s final round. Wesley So – Alireza Firouzja The game between one of the co-leaders, GM Wesley So and the top-seed of the event, GM Alireza Firouzja was an uneventful one. Desperate for a win, Firouzja chose the KID (King’s Indian Defense), which, as Wesley said in the post-game interview, was not what he expected as he mostly prepared for the Gruenfeld. Being somewhat surprised by Alireza’s opening choice, Wesley went for the Exchange variation in which all the pieces were traded off gradually and the game ended in a draw on move 38. Pre-game handshake – between GM Wesley So and GM Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Bogdan-Daniel Deac The Romanian Bogdan-Daniel Deac possibly took Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by surprise, choosing the Petroff Defense, which proved to be a topical line of choice against 1. e4 in this event. MVL responded with the Classical Attack employing 8.c4, which is one of his main weapons against the Petroff and followed a rare played in a game between GM’s Peter Leko and Vishy Anand back in 2001. Deac misplayed with 12…Na6 and it seemed that MVL was about to seize the initiative, had he played 14. Bf4. Instead, the Frenchman opted for a dubious 14.Nc3, after which Deac found a set of powerful moves (15….b5 and 16…Nc5) which equalized the position at once. The game continued, but it was balanced throughout and soon the players traded pieces down to a draw on move 56. Maxime Vachier Lagrave giving a “death stare” to his opponent GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Fabiano Caruana – Richard Rapport After blundering a rook in yesterday, GM Richard Rapport seemed off to a rough start in today’s game against GM Fabiano Caruana, despite blitzing through most of the opening. Rapport’s decision to offer the queen trade with 13…Qb5 looked somewhat premature and his move 16…a5 weakened the b5 pawn and square, giving White the chance to undermine Black’s queenside with a4. Surprisingly, Caruana never chose to play it and opted for the slower a3 idea instead. It still seemed that White had considerable advantage, but the entire idea of going for the d7 pawn proved hasty according to the engine. Rapport took on b4 and his passed b-pawn gave him sufficient counter-play. Caruana kept pressing for a long time, but Black kept finding resources to stay afloat. The game eventually ended peacefully in a draw on move 51. Fabiano Caruana with Emma Cretescu, a young Romanian chess player, at the start of Round 8 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Leinier Dominguez The game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Leinier Dominguez had a tragic end for the Azerbaijani GM. In another QGA (Queen’s Gambit Accepted), where things seemed to be heading toward a draw considering that expected exchanges occurred, Mamedyarov decided to take some risks employing an aggressive plan with g3-f4 in order to kick Black’s nicely placed knight from the e5 square. In return, Dominguez rerouted this piece to f4, which proved annoying for White’s king safety. The position remained balanced despite some the extra complexity. Toward the time control Mamedyarov, possibly unhappy with the way the game was heading, looked for a way to repeat. However, he blundered on move 40, playing 40.Qe4 and continued with a series of bad moves. Finally, it was the move 43. Qg8 by Shakhriyar which proved to be fatal, as after Dominguez’ response 43…Qe5, White immediately resigned. Leinier Dominguez cruising through victory with the black pieces in Round 8 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Ian Nepomniachtchi – Levon Aronian The game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Levon Aronian was the most thrilling, but also quite a heartbreaking to watch, as Nepo let Aronian escape once more in this event. The game started as a Classical Variation in the Italian that followed a game between GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and GM Dmitri Jakovenko from 2019 and it was Aronian who deviated with 16…Be7. It seemed that Black would have an equal position coming out of the opening, should he have played 17…Bg6, but instead, Aronian entered some adventurous line where he found himself in a slightly worse ending with a rook and a pawn for White’s bishop and knight. Aronian did not play it accurately and Nepo managed to coordinate his pieces with his king and keep Black’s rook trapped. From that moment on the game had many moments where it could have gone either in the favor of Nepo, or finish with a draw. After consolidating his advantage, Ian drifted a couple of times, but so did Aronian, as he missed many chances to keep the game drawn. After winning back Black’s extra pawn, Nepo was completely winning and while his endgame technique was not perfect, he seemed to be on the right path to victory. However, he finally gave up on his advantage by playing 75.Ne5?? instead of the tactically winning 75. Nh4+! Aronian found the right defense and held the game to a draw. After this lucky save, Aronian goes into the last round tied for first with fellow American GM Wesley So. Levon Aronian on his way to saving another lost game | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Superbet Chess Classic Round 9 continues on Saturday, May 14th at 5:50AM CDT with live coverage from Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler and Alejandro Ramirez in studio. Grandmaster Cristian Chirila
Call for interest: Fair Play Experts
The Fair Play Commission calls for an expression of interest in joining the Olympic Fair Play Panel (FPP) at the Chess Olympiads in Chennai (28 July – 10 August 2022) as a Fair Play Expert. We are searching for very diverse profiles: telecommunication experts, grandmasters, international arbiters, international organizers, and law experts. Active membership in the Fair Play Commission will be considered a preferential title, and any combination of the above-listed skills will be held in high respect (but will not constitute a preferential title). Please note that, over and above full board conditions, each Fair Play Expert shall receive a fee in accordance with the existing provisions: “The Organizer shall pay each foreign Fair-Play Expert the fee of 1,500 euros (if from the same continent) or 2,000 euros (if not from the same continent) including travel expenses.” FPP members will finally be selected by the Fair Play Commission in consultation with the FIDE Managing Director and the Chair of the Olympic Fair Play Panel. If interested, please send your resume to fairplay@fide.com by 25 May at the latest.
Arkady Dvorkovich presents his team on the way to FIDE elections
Dear Colleagues and Chess Friends, On the way to FIDE Presidential elections, I am happy to present my team: Arkady Dvorkovich – President Viswanathan Anand- Deputy President Zhu Chen – Treasurer Jøran Aulin-Jansson – Vice President Mahir Mammedov – Vice President The official application and programme will be presented in few days time. I am confident that with support of the chess community and professional work of the management, we shall successfully continue to increase the quantity and improve the quality of professional chess events and social projects, attract sponsors and ensure sustainability of the budget, support federations and raise the public interest for our beautiful game. Yours,Arkady Dvorkovich#SayChess
2022 GCT Superbet Chess Classic Romania: Day 7 Recap
The stakes are heating up for Superbet Chess Classic Romania, as the tournament is quickly coming to an end with only two more rounds left to play. Today’s Round 7 brought once again entertaining encounters with key dramatic moments as three of the five games brought decisive outcomes. GM’s Wesley So and Levon Aronian maintain their co-lead in the event, being trailed by half a point by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who won his game today, taking advantage of a tragic blunder by GM Richard Rapport. GM Mamedyarov and GM Firouzja won their first games in the event, taking down GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi and GM Leinier Dominguez. Levon Aronian – Fabiano Caruana In their recent encounter at The American Cup, last month, Fabiano Caruana almost lost to Levon Aronian with the Italian, so it is very likely that the latter wanted to avoid the Petroff Defense. In order to ensure another Italian game, Aronian chose 2.Bc4, but it seemed that Caruana was prepared for it playing the solid Nf6 and c6 set up. It never appeared that Aronian had any opportunity to play for the advantage and the players traded all of their pieces to a rook endgame that finished in a three-fold repetition in 26 moves. Mr. Andrei Diaconescu, the CEO of One United Properties, one of the tournament sponsors after making the first move in the game Aronian-Caruana | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Bogdan-Daniel Deac – Wesley So The game between GM’s Deac and So started with the Classical Line of the QGA (Queen’s Gambit Accepted). However, this time around, So, was on the Black side of the QGA which he faced in his Round 2 game against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Differently from that game, Wesley tried 13…Bxf3 with the idea to bring his rook into play via a7-c7, instead of MVL’s choice of 13…Qd7. However, this game had the same fate as his Round 2 as it finished in a draw by repetition in just 25 moves. Adrian Mutu, the famous Romanian soccer player, now soccer manager, after he made the first move in the game Deac-So | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Richard Rapport – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave It is hard to write about this game without having sympathy for Richard Rapport. The Hungarian super-GM has been playing his usual creative style, but in this tournament he has made two blunders which cost him dearly. The first one was in Round 3 against Bogdan-Daniel Deac and the second occured in today’s game against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In a popular line of QGA (Queen’s Gambit Accepted) which transposed into a well-known variation of the Meran Defense, the players reached a balanced position and it seemed that a draw would be the most likely result. However, on move 28, Rapport left his undefended rook with 28.Nd5?? after which he immediately resigned. It is not clear whether he missed the fact that his rook was hanging or if he forgot about the existence of Black’s bishop on a5 while he was thinking. In case it was the latter, he probably thought that 28…Bxe5 wasn’t possible because of 29.Nxe7+ Rxe7 30. Rd8+ Kf7 31.Rf8#, missing of course 30…Bxd8!. This was an important point in the tournament for MVL which came in the most unexpected fashion. A tough loss for GM Richard Rapport in the most tragic way | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Ian Nepomniachtchi – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov The game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov started as a heavily theoretical line of the Italian Giuoco Piano. Shakh played energetically and it seemed that Nepo had misplayed the opening at some point. Things turned in favor of Ian when Shakhriyar made the dubious choice of 28…Rd3?! trying to go for the material and allowing Nepo to consolidate his position while focusing on some attacking ideas on the king’s side. With a blunder toward time pressure, 35…h6?? Mamedyarov gave Nepo a clear path to victory with 36. Qf2! – an easy choice for the computer, commentators and spectators, but not as logical considering that White would be taking the queen from the long diagonal. However, should the queen have been on f2, it would have helped to actually infiltrate into Black’s territory and have unstoppable mating ideas. This was most certainly the turning point of the game. Nepo’s miss on move 36, prompted a series of blunders which gave Mamedyarov a winning position. The Azeri super GM did not let go of it this time and scored his victory to move up from the bottom of the standings. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on his way to winning his first game in the event | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Alireza Firouzja – Leinier Dominguez The game between GMs Alireza Firouzja and Leinier Dominguez started with a developing theoretical idea of the Nimzo-Indian Defense, on move 12, Firouzja tried an interesting aggressive plan with 12. g4!?, after which a fierce battle ensued. Firouzja developed an attack on the kingside, while Dominguez expanded on the queenside. The position seemed to be more comfortable for Black. However, close to the time control and at a critical moment, Domínguez missed the beautiful and typical 36.Rh7! tactic winning material for Firouzja. The youngster handily converted his advantage after the time control to score his first victory in the event. A smiling GM Alireza Firouzja at the beginning of Round 7 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Please note that Round 9 will take place on Saturday, May 14th at 2:00pm local time, one hour earlier to allow for a potential play-off. The commentary for the final Round 9 will start at 5:50AM CDT. The 2022 Superbet Chess Classic Round 8 continues on Friday, May 13th at 6:50AM CDT with live coverage from Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler and Alejandro Ramirez in studio. Grandmaster Cristian Chirila with Woman Grandmaster Anastasia Karlovich on location. Watch all the action live on GrandChessTour.org Text: WGM Sabina Foisor Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Superbet Chess Classic Romania Sponsors Further
FIDE Trainer Online Seminar for North and Central America announced
FIDE Trainer’s Commission is pleased to announce an Online Seminar for North and Central America that will run from May 20-22. The seminar is a joint effort of FIDE Trainer’s Commission, FTS & GM Melikset Khachian. Seminar program and schedule (all times PST) Organizers and contacts FTS & GM Melikset Khachian: melikset@hotmail.com Dr. Judit Sztaray: Judit.sztaray@gmail.com Venue Virtual via Zoom – zoom meeting ID and password will be distributed among the registered Seminar participation fee & payment information Registration deadline is May 18, 2022 The fee is $285 (course and exam fees) with payment collected at the time of registration . All major credit and debit cards are accepted. Registration platform: kingregistration.com Please, note, that a fee for the title awarded will be separate and paid directly to FIDE. For more details, please visit trg.fide.com/trg-billing-collection-procedures/ Lecturers FST & GM Melikset Khachian WIM Dr Alexey Root FST & GM John Donaldson Seminar language English closed captioning is available upon prior request Regulations handbook.fide.com/chapter/B07 trg.fide.com/trg-online-seminars/ Please download a copy of the prospectus here Please download the registration form complete it and email to the organisers together with proof of payment.
Argentinean Women’s Championship: Fernandez clinches fifth title
Maria Florencia Fernandez is a new Argentinian Women’s champion. WIM representing UNTREF FAOGBA won the fifth national title in her career, scoring 7½/9. The 73rd edition of the Argentinean Women’s Superior Chess Championship took place at the University of La Punta San Luis from May 1-8. The 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control brought together 44 players from different parts of the country. Maria Florencia Fernandez started off with five straight victories but suffered defeat in Round 6 at the hands of her main competitor, the top-rated Candela Francisco Guecamburu, who grabbed the lead. Still, it came down to the wire in the end with three players coming into the final round as joint leaders on 6½/8. Fernandez scored a very important victory over Florencia Semprevivo and clinched the title after her main rivals Anapaola Borda Rodas and Candela Francisco Guecamburu drew their last-round game and tied for second place. The Buchholz variable favoured Francisco Guecamburu, who took silver, while Borda Rodas had to settle for bronze. Final standings: 1 WIM FERNANDEZ, Maria Florencia 2195 7½ 2 WFM FRANCISCO GUECAMBURU, Candela 2231 7 3 WFM BORDA RODAS, Anapaola 2141 7 4 WIM ZURIEL, Marisa 2151 6½ 5 WFM CAMPOS, Maria Jose 2174 6½ 6 SEMPREVIVO, Florencia 1946 6 7 WFM NEJANKY, Maisa 1929 6 8 WCM BOSCO, Giuliana 1803 6 9 MAYEREGGER, Guadalupe Milagros 1731 6 10 RAMIREZ, Marysol 1714 5½ Photo credit: federacionargentinadeajedrez.org
Timur Gareyev wins XV Americas Individual Championship
GM Timur Gareyev emerged as the winner of the XV Americas Individual Championship, which took place from May 1-11, 2022, at the Best Western Hotel Terraza, San Salvador, El Salvador. The 11-round Swiss tournament organized by the Chess Confederation of the Americas, the Salvadoran Chess Federation and the National Institute of Sports of El Salvador brought together 11 players from 10 countries battling out for four qualification spots in the 2023 FIDE World Cup. The Uzbekistan-born American GM Timur Gareyev completed the event undefeated, scored a whopping 9½/11 (+26 rating points) and won the event with a round to spare. As many as seven players tied for the second place, finishing 1½ points behind the champion. The tie-breaks (average rating of the opponents) favoured IM Christopher Woojin Yoo of the USA (second place), Yasser Quesada Perez of Cuba (third place) and Gregory Kaidanov, also from the USA (fourth place). The top-4 finishers qualified for the 2023 FIDE World Cup. Final standings: 1 GM Gareyev, Timur USA 2565 9½ 2 IM Yoo, Christopher Woojin USA 2535 8 3 GM Quesada Perez, Yasser CUB 2560 8 4 GM Kaidanov, Gregory USA 2556 8 5 FM Proudian, Armen BRA 2418 8 6 IM Figueredo Losada, Leonel MEX 2337 8 7 IM Sarkar, Justin USA 2325 8 8 GM Salinas Herrera, Pablo CHI 2534 8 9 GM Pichot, Alan ARG 2652 7½ 10 GM Hungaski, Robert USA 2521 7½ 11 IM Thavandiran, Shiyam CAN 2399 7½
Jimma and Mongeli win 2022 Zone 4.4 Championship
The 2022 Zone 4.4 Championship has ended in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event running from May 2-9 and attracted 65 players from six African federation (46 in the open section and 19 n the women’s section). However, notable absentees include Madagascar and Uganda, probably the strongest chess nations in the zone. WFM Sasha Mongeli of Kenya (pictured below) dominated the women’s event and secured the gold medal with a round to spare. She bulldozed her way by winning all nine games and walked away with a cash prize of USD 750. She will also receive are a conditional WIM title and a fully paid trip for the 2022 Sharjah Challengers Chess Championships. Abate Lidet Haile of Ethiopia won the silver medal scoring 7½ points, while her compatriot Aster Melake Batiwalu claimed bronze with 6 points. Essayas Berhane Elshalom of Eritrea deserves a special mention. Despite being unrated and aged just 14, she delivered a good performance to chalk up impressive 5 points tying for the fourth place. Final standings Women: 1 Mongeli Sasha KEN 1634 9 2 Haile Lidet Abate ETH 1611 7½ 3 Bantiwalu Aster Melake ETH 1387 6 4 Elshalom Essayas Berhane ERI 0 5 5 Abera Mekdes Demssie ETH 1272 5 6 Sara Gadalla Karar SUD 1422 5 7 Ayele Hana Mulugeta ETH 1408 5 8 Mekonen Selemawit Kidanemaryam ETH 1127 4½ 9 Weldegebriel Israel Tekeste ETH 1443 4½ 10 Melebo Yenenesh Lukas ETH 1417 4½ CM Desalegn Fekadu Jimma (pictured above) and CM Gezachew Abera Aydagnuhem of Ethiopia scored 7½ points each to tie for first place in the open section. They shared the top two cash prizes of USD 2,100. However, Jimma emerged the winner as his opponent’s average rating (the first tiebreaker variable) was higher. FM Samir Nadir of Sudan came out third with 6½ points. Final standings Open: 1 CM Jimma Desalegn Fekadu ETH 2057 7½ 2 CM Abera Aydagnuhem Gezachew ETH 2097 7½ 3 FM Nadir Samir SUD 2177 6½ 4 Hamed Mohamed SUD 2063 6½ 5 FM Tagelsir Abubaker SUD 2202 6 6 Njoroge Martin KEN 1932 6 7 Omar Abdulrahman SOM 2005 6 8 Gole Habtamu Ashenafi ETH 2054 6 9 Tsige Addisalem Temesgen ETH 2069 5½ 10 FM Abdelazeez Mohamed Abdalla SUD 2180 5½ The event was co-financed by FIDE Development Fund in Africa. The annual allocation for the continental events & projects is €100,000, and it allows the organizers to offer higher prizes and invite foreign players. Text and photos: Kenya Chess Masala
Southeast Asian Games kick off in Ha Long, Vietnam
The Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) 31 officially commenced their chess games on May 10, 2022, in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. This year’s event features 55 top chess players from seven Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The players will compete in individual and team tournaments in standard, rapid, and blitz time controls for both open and women categories. Joining the opening ceremony were Madame Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice President of Quang Ninh province; Mr Nguyen Dong Tien, President of Vietnam Chess Federation; Mr Victor Bologan, Executive Director at FIDE; and Ms Zhu Chen, former Women’s World Chess Champion and FIDE Treasurer.
FIDE elections: Call to Candidates
Dear Candidates, FIDE is pleased to announce that the FIDE Congress will be held in Chennai, India between 31 July 2022 (arrivals) and 09 August 2022 (departures). The Meeting of the General Assembly will take place on 07-08 August 2022, when the elections will be completed. You are welcome to save the dates in your calendar. You can find detailed information on the dedicated website for the FIDE Congress, at https://congress.fide.com. The Elections will take place for the following positions and in accordance with the following timelines in which applications can be submitted: • The positions of President and Deputy President (on a joint ticket)– no later than 07 June 2022, 6.00 PM, CET time inclusive• The position of Vice President – no later than 07 July 2022, 6.00 PM, CET time inclusive• The position of Zonal President – no later than 07 July 2022, 6.00 PM, CET time inclusive• The position of a member of Ethics and Disciplinary commission – no later than 07 July 2022, 6.00 PM, CET time inclusive• The position of a member of Constitutional commission – no later than 07 July 2022, 6.00 PM, CET time inclusive FIDE invites all interested persons to submit Candidate Application Forms to office@fide.com. Please note that electronic signatures or even scanned signature on a pdf document can be considered valid if there are no doubts about the origin and the attribution of the document. FIDE also informs that the Candidate Application Forms must be endorsed by letters of support from Member Federations (recommended form attached hereto) under the following rules: • Each candidacy for the Presidential ticket must be endorsed by nominations from at least five (5) Member Federations, among them at least one (1) from each of the four (4) FIDE Continents, but by no more than eight (8) Member Federations in total; • Each candidacy for the position of elected Vice President must be endorsed by nominations from at least three (3) Member Federations; • Each candidacy for the positions of members of commissions must be endorsed by nominations from at least three (3) Member Federations. Please consider that each Member Federation is entitled to endorse only one (1) Presidential ticket, as well as one (1) candidacy for one of the positions listed above. If you have any questions, please email them to FIDE Office at office@fide.com.