FIDE increases Olympiad travel grants
The International Chess Federation, together with the organizers of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, is pleased to announce support for teams and delegates from developing federations for travel to Chennai. Targeting to achieve maximum possible participation, the total amount of travel subsidy was increased and reached 1.5 million euros – the highest ever. This support will be shared among up to 150 member federations. Committed to transparency, FIDE is publishing a transparent and fair policy of allocations of travel subsidy, which you can find below. While general principles will be followed duly, FIDE will examine individual cases and requests with due care. Looking forward to seeing you all in Chennai! Travel Subsidies for Participants of Olympiad and Delegates of FIDE Congress 1) FIDE will subsidize travel to Chennai for eligible federations as follows: Development Level 3, 4 and 5 federations will have their travel to Chennai subsidized up to the following limits: – for federations in Africa – 1,000 euros per person (12,000 euros for a full team*) – for federations in Americas – 1,500 euros per person (18,000 euros for a full team*) – for federations in Asia – 500 euros per person (6,000 euros for a full team*) – for federations in Europe – 750 euros per person (9,000 euros for a full team*) – for federations in Oceania – 1,500 euros per person (18,000 euros for a full team*) FIDE Treasurer may, at her own discretion, increase the amount of travel subsidy for certain federations taking into account their particular circumstances. * Note: Full teams mean 12 persons – Open and Women teams each comprised 5 players and a captain. ** Note: The development levels of the federation are listed here: https://pdc.fide.com/fide-development-levels/ 2) In exceptional circumstances, Development Level 1 and 2 federations may apply for travel subsidies. Valid reasons for such applications may be a remote location (and therefore very expensive tickets), the poor economic situation in a country (as evidenced by per capita GDP significantly lower than the world’s average and other relevant economic indicators), etc. Such applications will be reviewed and decided by FIDE Treasurer on a case-by-case basis. As a general rule, the travel subsidy limits for Development Level 1 and 2 federations are 50% of the limits stipulated in paragraph 1 for the respective continents. FIDE Treasurer, at her own discretion, may decide to provide lower or higher subsidies depending on particular circumstances of the federations in question. 3) Expenses covered by travel subsidy: economy class air tickets and other essential expenses related to international travel (visas, Covid-19 tests if necessary, etc.). Discretionary expenses (incl. meals) will not be reimbursed. 4) National chess federations shall make travel arrangements on their own and send requests for the travel subsidy together with relevant supporting documents (tickets / receipts / invoices / etc.) to FIDE Office. Travel subsidy will be paid within four weeks after the Olympiad completion taking into account the actual number of persons who arrived at the Olympiad. Expenses incurred with respect to persons who did not arrive at the Olympiad will not be reimbursed. For the avoidance of doubt, if actual travel expenses are lower than the above limits, only actual expenses will be reimbursed. 5)In exceptional cases, federations may apply to receive travel subsidy prior to the Olympiad. FIDE Treasurer will review such applications and decide on the amount of prepayment (if any) on a case-by-case basis. 6) Delegates of FIDE Congress are eligible for travel subsidy on the same principles as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above. 7) All communications on this matter (applications for travel subsidies, expense reports, etc.) shall be sent to FIDE emails office@fide.com and accounts@fide.com.
Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022: Registration opens
The Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments, starts on June 05, 2022. The event organized by FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with FIDE Events Commission, is supported by the Asian Chess Federation, the African Chess Confederation, the European Chess Union, and the Confederation of Chess for Americas. Female players from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas will compete in the Continental Online Blitz Qualification Tournaments first, and those who qualify will advance to the Queens’ Online Individual and Team Finals. The inaugural edition of the Queens’ Festival was held in 2021 and brought together over 460 participants from 82 countries. Many thousands more followed the side events featuring female role model guests and presenters on FIDE social media. With the Year of the Woman in Chess being well underway, the organizers expect even more female players to join this time. The festival welcomes all women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups, including unrated chess fans. Each national federation can register four players free of charge; the entry fee for additional players is €10 per person. The competition will run be held in four rating categories: Category A: 2000 and higherCategory B: 1800-1999Category C: 1600-1799Category D: <1600, unrated Regulations for Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022 (pdf) Registrations for the tournaments are made by the National Federations by filling this form and sending it to the organizers’ email 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 Repkova Tournament Director: IM/WGM Ilaha Kadimova Chief Arbiter: IA Tania Karali E-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com
FIDE announces long-term cooperation with the Scheinberg family
The contract for the FIDE Grand Swiss-2023 to take place in the Isle of Man was signed last week. In addition, the Scheinberg family confirms it will sponsor one major FIDE event every year up to 2026. The cooperation that started a few years ago has already resulted in two Grand Swiss events (2019, 2021), Women Grand Swiss (2021), and forthcoming Candidates (2022), and will help the top-level chess as well as the promotion of the game on all the continents. Photo credit: Pokerstars
FIDE Trainer Seminar for Spanish Americas held online
The first of two FIDE Trainer Online Seminars planned for Spanish Americas this year was held from 15-17 April 2022. A total of 27 participants from 14 countries took part, with FIDE Executive Director GM Victor Bologan welcoming the participants. Victor Bologan expressed hope that the seminar would help the trainers attending become better at their work while highlighting the credentials of the lecturer team. He also had little doubt that their feedback would be excellent. The lecturers for this seminar were led by FST & GM Alonso Zapata together with FST & GM Reinaldo Vera, FT & GM Bernal González, with assistance from FI & WIM Carolina Munoz and WIM Adriana Salazar. The main organizers for TRG were FST & GM Alonso Zapata and FI & WIM Carolina Munoz. FIDE Trainer Online Seminars have been organized by TRG since April 2020, first in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but increasingly for accessibility as it more effectively reaches trainers by region and language, lowers costs of participation and allows lecturers from all parts of the world to share their experience and teaching methods.
Martin Haubro wins 2022 Danish Championship
IM Martin Haubro is a new champion of Denmark. The 28-year-old IM netted 7/9 (no draws!), won his maiden national title and picked up impressive 61 rating points. With this result, Martin completed his first GM norm. The Danish Championship (Masters), a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control, took place from April 9-17 in Svendborg, a small town that has hosted this event for the last three years. The town Mayor Bo Hansen opened the tournament by making a symbolic first move Lars Schandorff’s – Bjørn Møller Ochsner. Danish championships are known for competitive spirit and close fights, and the 2022 edition was no exception. The future champion suffered a setback in the first-round game against GM Jesper Sondergaard Thybo (pictured below) but stormed back by scoring six straight victories and grabbed the lead. His main competitor Thybo who also had an excellent tournament, kept the pace with Haubro until the decisive final round. With both leaders sitting on 6/8, Haubro was in better a position coming into the final round as he faced Martin Percivaldi with white, whereas Thybo took on Bjorn Moller Ochsner with black pieces. Haubro made a quick work of his namesake Percivaldi and had to wait for the outcome of Ochner – Thybo. Had Jesper Sondergaard won this game, he would have become champion thanks to his first-round victory over Haubro (the first tiebreaker criteria). Thybo obtained a slight edge on the black side of the Berlin System of Ruy Lopez but did not manage to make progress, drew the longest game of the round and fell just a half-point short of the title. The runner-up completed the event unbeaten and became the only player to defeat the champion. The rating-favourite of the event and the only 2600+ player GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (pictured below) turned in a decent performance but lost two games and had to settle for bronze. Final standings: 1 IM Haubro, Martin 2391 7 2 GM Thybo, Jesper Sondergaard 2559 6½ 3 GM Bjerre, Jonas Buhl 2611 6 4 GM Schandorff, Lars 2475 5 5 IM Ochsner, Bjorn Moller 2506 4½ 6 IM Olsen Filip, Boe 2402 4½ 7 IM Percivaldi, Martin 2399 4 8 GM Hoi, Carsten 2359 2½ 9 IM Sylvan, Jacob 2319 2½ 10 IM Borge, Nikolaj 2403 2½ Offical website: skak-dm.dk/2022 Photo: Thomas Vestergård
Trainer Workshop: “How to Teach Calculations” by Artur Jussupow
FIDE Senior Trainer and GM Artur Jussupow, a World Championship Candidate who has been ranked as high as third behind legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov at their peak, will conduct a workshop “How to Teach Calculations” on 14 May 2022. The workshop will be held in online format. This is the second of a series by Jussupow where he shares his experience and methods, and which is part of our Trainer Professional Education and Development workshops where we look to help trainers enhance their skills. Photo: Vladimir Jagr Credits are also awarded towards bonus points at seminars towards future title upgrades. The most important topics that would be discussed in this workshop are: Candidate Moves Method of Elimination Comparison Method Priorities in the calculations Typical mistakes Training methods Held at Central European Time, the workshop will be in two three hour sessions, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eligible are licensed FIDE trainers and the fee is €50. Please download registration form complete it and send by email to trainers@fide.com. The payment options can be found here: https://trg.fide.com/trg-billing-collection-procedures/
Qualification Commission renews its leadership
Nick Faulks, chair of the Qualification Commission (QC), and Alex Holowczak, its Secretary, have decided to step down from their current positions. They both will remain as Councillors and will also keep cooperating with FIDE in other areas, putting their invaluable experience to use. The intention of this change of leadership is to allow for a fresh approach to the work of the Commission. Nick Faulks will pass the baton to Sabrina de San Vicente (pictured above), from Uruguay, who has been one of the most active members of the Qualification Commission. Sabrina is a very experienced IA, a member of the Green Panel of arbiters, and the current Chair of the Arbiters Commission at the Confederation of Chess for Americas. “I would like to thank my colleagues Nick Faulks and Alex Holowczak for their trust and support. Nick has been a member of the Commission for more than ten years. Their contribution to the QC was and will be invaluable. I look forward to keeping working with them,” said Sabrina. Gunther van den Bergh, from South Africa, will take the position of Secretary. Like Sabrina, he has been a member of the qualification Commission during the past years, besides being the Chair of the arbiters Commission of the South African Chess Federation. A programmer by profession, he is one of the most experienced arbiters in the African continent. Besides his work at the QC, Gunther’s predecessor Alex Holowczak has been heavily involved in renewing and improving its most important documents, like its Handbook and tournament regulations. Leaving his post as Secretary of the QC will allow him to focus completely on this area of work. “After more than ten years on QC, as Secretary and then Chairman, I believe this is a good moment to pass control to a new group,” said Nick. “I hope that I have helped to maintain the long tradition of the Commission’s work and am particularly pleased that we have recently finalised a fully revised set of Title and Rating Regulations. I look forward to working closely with Sabrina and Gunther in the coming months. I know they can rely, as I have, on full support from their Commission and also, most crucially, from the professional staff at the FIDE office.” Photo: Lourdes Porta
Ten years of Chicago chess in jail
Ten years ago, a very fortunate connection happened in Chicago when Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart approached his children’s chess coach, Mikhail Korenman. Apart from being a seasoned teacher, Mikhail had already been engaged in all kinds of chess activities, from founding chess clubs and schools, to organizing events. Sheriff Dart thought that the game could also play a very important role in jail. Dart’s vision appealed to Mikhail, and the two agreed to start a ‘chess in jail’ program. “Chess is more than an entertaining pastime. The game teaches its players valuable life lessons,” Sheriff Dart said in a statement. “It requires critical thinking and to consider the risks and rewards of their decisions, which are valuable skills that help foster a reduction in violent behavior.” The program has grown with about 3,000 individuals in custody participating in the last 10 years. “About 50% are completely new to chess, and they learn the game from scratch,” Dr. Korenman said. In 2020, the Sheriff’s Office and FIDE agreed to host online, international chess competitions with detained individuals around the world. Cook County Department of Corrections, where “Chess for Freedom” meets “The Year of the Woman in Chess” The program’s tenth anniversary was celebrated on April 1st, and FIDE was represented by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, who travelled all the way to Chicago to have the opportunity to meet some of the people she had been working with, “closely but remotely”, during the last year through the program “Chess for Freedom.” Along with Dana, representatives of the consulates of Mongolia, Bulgaria and Australia — countries that participated in the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners — also joined the celebration. “The Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiative has now grown into a great movement which we call “Chess for Freedom”. Last year we organized the First Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. 40 teams from 31 countries, including 5 female teams were participating. And this year we aim to expand the event to at least 64 teams,” explained Dana. “Such flagship events give a great deal of motivation to inmates. However, the most important part is the everyday work behind them. It is about passionate people like Mikhail Korenman who work with inmates on a regular basis and become role models for them. Chess teaches patience, respect for the opponent and the relationship between the cause and the consequences. It also stresses guiding to little victories and greater success through discipline and lots of work. Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart with some of the organizers and representatives of the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. It is also about leaders like Sheriff Thomas Dart who support such programs and understand how important it is to provide skills and support to those who have made mistakes in their lives. That way there is a chance they can get back to normal lives with less inclination for repeating infringement of law.” Apart from its proven effect in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in human groups under difficult circumstances, research in other countries also demonstrates the efficiency of chess as a tool for insertion. A study presented by GM Darcy Lima (“Chess that Liberates”) analyzing the experience in Brazil shows that with inmates participating in a chess program for longer than two years, their repeated infringements rate reduces from 72% to 12%. That is why we at FIDE are so enthusiastic about expanding the program in those countries that have not yet started their chess in prisons activities. If you need any advice or assistance with reaching out to authorities, or sharing methodologies/best practices, please contact us at socialchess@fide.com, and we will try to assist.
FIDE Executive Director attends symposium in Corsica
On April 12, 2022, the Island of Corsica, France, hosted a symposium, “The multiple contributions of chess to support success of studies”, that took place in the Palazzu Naziunale, in the city of Corte. The President of the University of Corsica, Dominique Federici, and the Director of the Fundazione Università di Corsica, Graziella Luisi, welcomed the participants of this event. The President of the Lega Corsa di Scacchi, Akkha Vilaisarn, then introduced the speakers: the Executive Director of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Doctor of Education GM Victor Bologan, Guillaume Gerandi, Doctor of Physical Sciences, as well as Léo Battesti, the first president and founder of the Corsican Chess League (Ligue Corse des Echecs). Two elected officials, Congressman of Haute-Corse, Jean-Felix Acquaviva, and the Mayor of Corte, Dr Xavier Poli and executive adviser Lauda Guidicelli also attended the conference. The latter confirmed that the CDC strongly supported the League, which continues its productive work with different audiences: young people, girls and schoolchildren. The first speaker, Dr Guillaume Gerandi, a teacher at the University of Mulhouse (East of France), emphasized qualities developed by practising chess from an early age: concentration, calculation, structuring of thought, objectivity, imagination, etc. All these qualities can be transposed to his field of competence, scientific research. He also shared his experience as an arbiter, which proved useful in human management. FIDE Executive Director GM Bologan first told about his teaching experience at the Northwestern University of Qatar. His classes focus on Chess and Strategic Thinking. Currently, he is working on more intense training aimed at the students of business schools. This part sparked the interest of the President of the Associu di i Scacchi di U Centru, Dr Sauveur Giannoni, a professor of economics. Secondly, the FIDE Executive Director presented a “Chess ID” project for all chess players from amateurs to professionals. The idea is to create an ecosystem that brings together all the chess world players. In relation to Corsica, we are talking about 50,000 players in schools or chess clubs on this Mediterranean Island. One can imagine the scope of such a network if it is extended over the planet! Finally, Léo Battesti recounted the history of the Corsica League, which he has chaired for more than 20 years. When he arrived in Corsica twenty years ago, the Island had a strong connection with the Côte d’Azur and active chess life but was not very open to the world. The League turned to young people to involve as many people as possible. The League focused on schools in the city and rural areas to bring up the elite on the grass-root level. Victor Bologan confirmed that the image of the pyramid with a wide base perfectly illustrated the growth of the Corsica League. Akkha Vilaisarn stressed out very strong support for school teachers who are very keen on specific training in the game of chess. The President of the League and the Director of the Fundazione discussed future plans for joint projects between the two entities. At the end of the day, the FIDE Executive Director showed his chess skills over the board. Victor Bologan gave a simul to 20 professors and students learning chess at the University of Corsica. Despite the high level of the opponents, the grandmaster managed to win all the games.
Pragganandhaa wins 2022 Reykjavik Open
Rameshbabu Pragganandhaa emerged as the winner of 2022 Reykjavik Open after dramatic turn of events in the final round. The Indian youngster scored 7½/9 and finished a half-point ahead of Max Warmerdam, Mads Andersen, Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson and Abhimanyu Mishra. The 2022 Reykjavik Open, a nine-round Swiss tournament with classical time control (90 min for 40 moves followed by 30 min to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one), took place in Harpa Music and Conference from April 6-12 with a double-round day on April 10. The sponsors of the event with a total prize fund of €15,000 were Kvika, Reykjavik City, and FIDE, which supported the tournament via the FIDE Aid package. Max Warmerdam, Mads Andersen, and Rameshbabu Pragganandhaa were heading into the final, ninth round as joint leaders on 6½ each, with a large group of players trailing them by half-point. After Mads and Max (pictured below) made a quick draw, it looked like the door was wide open for several players to join them. Indeed, Gukesh had a considerable advantage in the game against his compatriot Pragganandhaa, while young Abhimanyu Mishra and local favourite GM Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson grabbed the initiative with black pieces against Pouya Idani and Lukasz Jarmula, respectively. Things changed drastically in time trouble as Gukesh ruined his overwhelming position in just two moves and missed not only a win but also a draw. Gukesh D – Pragganandhaa R 35.Qe5? (35.h3! parrying Black’s main threat, 35…Qxa5 36.Qd2! Qa3 37.Qc2! and White wins) Qg4 36.Rg1?? (36.Be4=) Nd1! and Gukesh capitulated as the only way to avoid checkmate is to give up his queen 0-1 This unexpected outcome helped Pragganandhaa to take clear first and pocket the first prize of €5,000. Max Warmerdam, Mads Andersen, Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson, and Abhimanyu Mishra finished a half-point behind and tied for the second place. Final standings: 1 Praggnanandhaa R IND 2624 7½ 2 Warmerdam, Max NED 2599 7 3 Andersen, Mads DEN 2582 7 4 Gretarsson, Hjorvar ISL 2542 7 5 Mishra, Abhimanyu USA 2524 7 6 Fier, Alexandr BRA 2573 6½ 7 Niemann, Hans Moke USA 2637 6½ 8 Gupta, Abhijeet IND 2616 6½ 9 Larkin, Vladyslav UKR 2424 6½ 10 Korley, Kassa DEN 2400 6½ Photo: Thorsteinn Magnusson and Hallfríður Sigurðardóttir Official website: reykjavikopen.com/