Indian Championships: Erigaisi and Deshmukh clinch titles
Arjun Erigaisi and Divya Deshmukh are new champions of India. The Open and Women’s Championships 2022 were held concurrently but in different Indian states. Both events were dominated by young players. The MPL 58th Senior National Chess Championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from 25 February to 3 March 2022 in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh, India). The event attracted 184 players from all over the country. The recent winner of Tata Steel Challengers Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh D were heading to the final round as the joint leaders on 8/10, a half-point ahead of a big group of six people. Both leaders drew their games and made a half-step forward while among their pursuers, only Iniyan P scored a victory over Mithabha Guta to catch up with the duo. As a result, three players tied for the first, with Erigaisi taking gold thanks to better Buchholz. The same variable favoured Gukesh D (silver) over Iniyan P (bronze). Final standings: 1 GM Erigaisi Arjun 2633 8½ 2 GM Gukesh D 2614 8½ 3 GM Iniyan P 2516 8½ 4 GM Aravindh Chithambaram 2611 8 5 GM Aryan Chopra 2585 8 6 IM Koustav Chatterjee 2466 8 7 GM Karthikeyan Murali 2622 8 8 GM Visakh N R 2522 8 9 GM Sethuraman S.P. 2619 8 10 IM Pranav V 2486 8 In a glittering closing ceremony, BCCI Vice President Shri Rajiv Shukla awarded trophies and prize money cheques to the winners – Rs.6,00,000/-, 5,00,000/-, and 4,00,000/- for the top-3 places, respectively (Rs. 10,000/- is approximately $1,316) The MPL 47th Indian Women’s Championship is a 9-round Swiss tournament was held from 25 February to 2 March 2022 in Bhubaneswar, India. 16-year-old Divya Deshmukh becomes the National Champion of India. Divya won the title scoring impressive 8/9, and finishing a full point ahead of three players who shared second place. On her way to the victory, Divya beat such strong players as Vaishali, Bhakti Kulkarni and many others. She became the second teenager after Humpy Koneru to win Women’s National Championship. The champion picked 25 rating points and took home a solid prize of Rs.55000 (US$7250). Three players tied for second place with Chitlange Sakshi and Priyanka Nutakki, claiming silver and bronze respectively by dint of better Buchholz over Srija Seshadri. Final standings: 1 WGM Divya Deshmukh 2301 8 2 WIM Chitlange Sakshi 2205 7 3 WIM Priyanka Nutakki 2301 7 4 WGM Srija Seshadri 2219 7 5 IM Soumya Swaminathan 2360 6½ 6 IM Vaishali R 2403 6½ 7 IM Padmini Rout 2350 6½ 8 WGM Gomes Mary Ann 2361 6½ 9 WIM Priyanka K 2227 6½ 10 WIM Parnali S Dharia 2224 6½ Photo: All India Chess Federation Facebook page
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin: Final goes to tiebreaker
Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So drew their second game in the final match of the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix organised by World Chess. The winner of the event will be determined tomorrow in a tiebreaker. Hikaru Nakamura picked White for the first rapid game against Wesley So during the drawing of lots procedure. It was a short draw in the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez today, where both players deviated from the playable lines and quickly entered a famous drawish variation. After three-fold repetition, the shortest game in the tournament ended after 14 moves. Hikaru explained his decision in a post-game interview: “My main question was if I want to play something like Re1 and try to play some game, but the problem is that I’m also playing the online tournament at the same time today [The tournament was planned to start at 6:30 pm – Ed.]. If you go to the game trying to play something and hoping that I guess you will win the game like in 3 hours, it’s not a good attitude cause later on your choices will be affected”. Wesley So added with a smile that he planned to use all his time on the clock if Hikaru decided to play a long game. He knew Hikaru would like to play online and could try “to torture” his opponent.” I was ready to use every single second on my clock until the checkmate”, said Welsey So and made Hukaru laugh during the interview. Most likely, we are witnessing a new era of chess. It’s hard to imagine just a few years ago that, one of the top grandmasters would prefer playing the online rapid event to trying to use white colour advantage in a classical game. Both players admitted that such a quick draw could be disappointing for the spectators but expressed their hope to have an exciting tiebreak tomorrow. The FIDE Grand Prix Series is brought to you by World Chess. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner. Photo: Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Press kit and Niki Riga
FIDE marks World Autism Awareness Day with panel discussion on Chess and ASD
People across the globe observe April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day – designated by the United Nations to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This year marks the 15th World Autism Awareness Day. In celebration of World Autism Awareness Day, a supervision panel of the Infinite Chess FIDE Project was held online. The Infinite Chess is one of the key social initiatives of FIDE, and it aims to enhance knowledge and awareness about chess for children with ASD, give practical advice to teachers and parents, study the benefits of introducing chess and develop teaching methods. The event was joined by the organizers of the pilot projects for children with ASD that are currently running in Turkey, France, Spain, Gibraltar, Norway and South Africa. FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola opened the discussion: “I already see that the first steps that we have made are very concrete, successful and give a very good basis for further enhancement of the project. I think it is very important to keep the regular communication, to see what progress has been made. Today you will exchange information on what activities have been carried out on the national level in our partner states. It gives ground for a better understanding of how we should proceed with the project. For this kind of initiatives, we work with the key stakeholders outside of the chess world, the international organizations that can come with their experience, with their platforms for the project results dissemination so that it doesn’t remain in the pure chess world. It opens up new opportunities for additional fundraising. I think it is very important for such initiatives because however good our intentions are, we need resources for them.” During the discussion, the Erasmus application, an 18-months cooperation partnership program that launches at the end of 2022/beginning of 2023, was presented. The project made by Alcala University (Spain) and supported by educational institutions and chess organizations in Spain, France, Bulgaria, Norway, Germany and Turkey is devoted to chess training for children with autism spectrum disorder and research on its effectiveness. Another key topic was raised by Franck Droin, President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the French Chess Federation, who presented national chess projects for people with different kinds of disabilities, including ASD. FIDE supported Chess for People with Autism program will be launched in France later this year. Sixteen autistic young people between 6 and 12 years old will participate in an adapted program carried out in four specialized centers in different regions of France. Forty hours of lessons per year will be carried out by the trained facilitators of the centers. By 2024, the number of centers where chess is used to support the development of children with autism spectrum disorders, the DYS (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia) or attention and hyperactivity disorders will reach 80. “In coordination with Anastasia Sorokina, FIDE Vice President and leader of the Infinite Chess, we are very confident about the project’s success. We feel proud to be partners with FIDE, as well as Spain, Greece, South Africa and other countries. This is very important because we need to share results and ideas, especially for the evaluation program,” Franck Droin said. In South Africa, the pilot Chess for children with ASD project started in February 2022 for pupils aged 8-13-year old. Chess lessons were aimed at improving the children’s social skills and creating an awareness of friendship. Positive changes were also noted in their logical thinking and reasoning. Very soon, similar pilot projects will be launched in Turkey and Norway. FIDE Vice President and project leader Anastasia Sorokina emphasized the essential impact of all parties: “Although in the Erasmus application we were limited by the geography of countries, this does not negate the fact that all those present are part of the global Infinite Chess project. We are grateful to all partners and colleagues for their work and professionalism.”
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Final: Game 1 Recap
After a long theoretical debate, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura drew the first game in the final of the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series organized by World Chess. Hikaru Nakamura will have white pieces in the second game of the mini-match. The opponents arrived at the empty playing hall today for the final match. All other players were eliminated in the previous rounds, and both finalists felt a bit lonely playing in the venue despite the presence of many spectators who visited the tournament on Saturday. The first game of the final saw a classical variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence where both players had lots of experience with White and Black. The same long theoretical line had even happened in their previous games a few times before, and all of the encounters ended in a draw. Despite having lots of knowledge of this opening, it was still important to remember some sharp lines, where every mistake can lead to a quick loss. With a slightly different move order, the opponents reached the position from the game Xiong – So played in 2021, but this time around, Wesley had White pieces. Surprisingly, he could not recall the exact position from that game while analyzing it during the post-game interview. Hikaru opted for 23…Qh6, following the game Xiong – So and gave his opponent a chance to improve the variation by trying 27. Qe4, recommended by Stockfish. However, Hikaru was not worried about this line, feeling confident about his position. “Maybe he will press somehow after Qe4, but it is hard to believe,” said Hikaru. After 27.Qb7 met by precise 27…Rc2, the game ended up in a draw just three moves later. The FIDE Grand Prix Series is brought to you by World Chess. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner. Photo: Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Press kit and Niki Riga
Richard Rapport reaches career-high in April rating list
The first month of spring was marked by the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series in Belgrade, a few national championships and several round-robin and Swiss tournaments in Italy, the USA, India and Serbia. Those who stood out in these events became the main beneficiaries in the April rating list. The only noticeable change in the top-10 Open and top-10 Women is the rise of Richard Rapport, who turned in a remarkable performance in Belgrade. The Hungarian GM not only won the second leg of FIDE Grand Prix and qualified for the Candidates 2022, but also reached his peak career rating of 2762 and the highest position in the rating list ever. Photo: Mark Livshitz Biggest gains in top-100 (Open and Women): Kamalidenova, Meruert 2427 (+65) Sjugirov, Sanan 2696 (+16) Erigaisi, Arjun 2675 (+15) Rapport, Richard 2776 (+14) Nyzhnyk, Illya 2685 (+11) Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 2661 (+10) Sevian, Samuel 2693 (+9) Saric, Ivan 2695 (+8) Swiercz, Dariusz 2664 (+8) Santos Latasa, Jaime 2656 (+8) Meruert Kamalidenova (pictured below) picked up impressive 65 points and deservedly won this monthly nomination. First, the youngster from Kazakhstan earned 19 points in the FE Mix Grand Master – B (the event in Cattolica, Italy, won by Lucas Van Foreest) and then netted whopping 46 points in another Italian tournament Grandiscacchi Kursaal. These achievements helped Meruert to make a huge jump from 95th to 35th position in the top-100 Women. Photo: Niki Riga Sanan Sjugirov, the winner of a GM tournament in Belgrade, earned 16 rating points, whereas Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who tied for second place in this event, improved his rating by 10 points. Coincidentally, both grandmasters ascended 18 steps in the top-100 Open. Arjun Erigaisi of India continues his climbing in the rankings after clinching a national title in Kanpur and then winning the 19 Delhi International Open. These excellent results translate into 20 rating points, and although Arjun dropped 5 points in the Golden Jubilee of Independence League, he moved eleven positions up in the top-100 Open. Photo: St-Louis Chess Club Facebook page Illya Nyzhnyk and Sam Sevian (pictured above) came out on top at the 2022 Spring Chess Classics in Saint Louis and became the main rating beneficiaries of this event, picking up 11 and 10 points, respectively. Another participant of this tournament, Dariusz Swiercz, who tied for third place, also has nothing to complain about as he gained eight rating points. Again when it comes to absolute numbers of rating gains, youngsters are beyond competition. Here are some impressive achievements by young players: Sahithi Varshini M (+124), Miruna-Daria Lehaci (+82), Katharina Ricken (+62), Candela Francisco Guecamburu (+46), the winner of Romania Women’s Championship Alessia-Mihaela Ciolacu (+40), Martyna Wikar (+37), Vignir Vatnar Stefansson (+24) Gukesh D (+23).
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin: Nakamura and So face off in final
Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So won their matches and will meet in the final of the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin organised by World Chess. Both Americans defeated their opponents, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Amin Tabatabaei, by a 2:0 score. Wesley So will have White pieces in the first game of the final match on the 2nd of April. Hikaru Nakamura – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2:0 Hikaru Nakamura chose to play one of his favourite openings in the fast chess Nimzovich-Larsen attack. He uses this system pretty often in bullet chess and knows the positions quite well. However, Shakhriyar got a very strong initiative on the kingside and refused to repeat the moves, feeling he had good winning chances. Hikaru managed to complicate the position by creating a strong counterplay on the queenside. The Azeri GM didn’t find the precise way to continue his attack and made a few inaccurate moves in time trouble. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov lost the first game and had to win on demand to stay in the match. “I think the first game was a match, basically. It was too complicated; I tried to be too creative… I think Shakh had good chances to win that game, but we were low on time. After Rh4 and Rg4, which was probably not a mistake, his rook is suddenly got trapped, and there were no easy moves, and it was just too hard to play. I was a little bit lucky,” said Hikaru after the match. In the second game the English Opening was played. The match situation required Shakhriyar to go for a kill, and he decided to go for the line that he would not choose in different circumstances. He exchanged two pieces for a rook and two pawns, hoping to get some chances. According to Hikaru, he was expecting Shakhriyar to play that line but felt confident about his position. After a couple of exchanges, Black managed to keep the pair of bishops on the board, which weaved a checkmating net around White’s king. Hikaru scored another victory and eliminated Shakhriyar from the Grand Prix Berlin. Wesley So – Amin Tabatabaei 2:0 In the first game of the match, Amin Tabatabaei got a sharp position against Wesley So right in the opening, using a fresh idea suggested by one of his seconds American Grandmaster Hans Niemann. GM Anish Giri, who was commenting on the tiebreaks today, remembered Amin playing 2.Nc3 regularly online but was surprised to see him choosing this line today in the official competition. It was a surprise to Wesley too, who admitted he was in huge trouble after the opening. The Iranian Grandmaster didn’t find the best plan in the position, and Wesley So managed to gradually activate his pieces and advance central pawns. In an equal position, White lost his d6-pawn after missing a tactical trick and Wesley confidently converted his advantage into a full point. The second game had a similar scenario as Amin was well-prepared in the opening again and got an advantage with Black. He got a strong attack on the kingside, and when the dust settled, the Iranian GM emerged with three pawns and a bishop for a rook and decisive advantage. Wesley So was defending actively and managed to create a dangerous passer on the a-file that decided the game. Thus, the American GM punched his ticked to the final. After the game, Wesley So spoke about his opponent in the final, Hikaru Nakamura: “He is very determined and it seems like he is getting back to this old 2800 level form, so it’s going to be a very tough match. Also, the way that he beat Shakhriyar today was very convincing, I must say.” The FIDE Grand Prix Series is brought to you by World Chess. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner. Photo: Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Press kit and Niki Riga
FIDE signs contract with AICF for the 2022 Chess Olympiad
A FIDE delegation headed by its President Arkady Dvorkovich has paid a three-day visit to India. The purpose of the trip was to inspect the proposed venue for the 44th Chess Olympiad, discuss the road map for the event, and sign the contract with the All India Chess Federation (AICF). The FIDE President also held a round of meetings with all the relevant authorities whose support has made this event possible. AICF President Sanjay Kapoor and Tournament Director and AICF Secretary Bharat Chauhan, along with District Collector, AR Rahul Nadh, escorted the FIDE delegation to the venue for the upcoming Olympiad in Chennai on March 31. All the operational aspects of the Olympiad were discussed in detail between the FIDE representatives and the local organizing committee. Later that day, Dvorkovich met with Siva. V. Meyyanathan, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Government of Tamil Nadu, and Dr R Anandakumar IAS, Member Secretary Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Today, April 1, during a public act hosted in Delhi, the FIDE President officially signed the contract for India to organize the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022. The President of All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the Organizing Committee Dr. Sanjay Kapoor, Tournament Director Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Principal Secretary Youth Welfare & Sports Development Department Government of Tamil Nadu, IAS Ms. Apoorva, Five-time World Chess Champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, Chairman of Gujarat State Co-operative Banks Mr. Ajay Patel and Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, IAS Dr. R Anandakumar were in attendance to receive the official hosting rights on behalf of India. The Government of Tamil Nadu and Honourable Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin along with the team at AICF carried out tremendous efforts to bring the FIDE 44th World Chess Olympiad 2022 to India. The prestigious competition, which has been organized since 1927, will be held in India for the first time and in Asia after 30 years. Speaking at the occasion, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said, “It’s an honour and privilege to be here and this is a historic moment as India will host the FIDE World Chess Olympiad for the first time. The place which produces more Grandmasters than any other country truly deserves to host the FIDE World Chess Olympiad. I can see a clear interest to host the best-ever FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Chennai.” Indian chess grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who was also present at the event in New Delhi, said, “I am delighted that the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place in Chennai. I would like to thank the Tamil Nadu Government and especially Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin and everyone else who has played a part in bringing the competition to India. I would also like to thank FIDE and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. And also credit must be given to All India Chess Federation (AICF) for moving very fast and I am confident that the competition will be a great success.” The President of All India Chess Federation Dr. Sanjay Kapoor said, “Today I am overjoyed and as the President of AICF, I would like to share this joy with the people of India. The FIDE World Chess Olympiad has never been hosted in India, but in 2022, the long wait is finally over. It’s a matter of pride for the entire country to host this event. Going by the number of countries participating in the tournament, it will be the biggest sporting competition ever hosted in India.” The Tournament Director Bharat Singh Chauhan added, “This is a historic moment for the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and all of us. This is going to be the biggest sporting event hosted by India. We are expecting participants from 160-190 countries to take part in the competition. We are going to host this event with the support of all chess players.” After the public act, the AICF representatives and the FIDE President were invited to a private reception with the Honourable Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu Government Thiru M.K. Stalin. Mr Stalin, who was the mayor of Chennai in the period from 2009 to 2011, and had previously been 1st Deputy Chief Minister from 2009 to 2011, has backed the project from the very beginning. Without his decisive support, bringing the Olympiad to Chennai wouldn’t have been possible. The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place from 28 July 2022 to 10 August 2022 in Chennai. This is the complete schedule: Day 1, July 28, 2022 – Technical meeting, Opening ceremony Day 2, July 29, 2022 – Round 1 Day 3, July 30, 2022 – Round 2 Day 4, July 31, 2022 – Round 3 Day 5, August 1, 2022 – Round 4 Day 6, August 2, 2022 – Round 5 Day 7, August 3, 2022 – Round 6 Day 8, August 4, 2022 – Free day Day 9, August 5, 2022 – Round 7 Day 10, August 6, 2022 – Round 8 Day 11, August 7, 2022 – Round 9 Day 12, August 8, 2022 – Round 10 Day 13, August 9, 2022 – Round 11, closing ceremony Day 14, August 10, 2022 – Departures Chennai will also host the FIDE Congress 2022. According to the FIDE Charter, the elections of the FIDE leadership should take place there. July 31, 2022 – Arrivals August 1, 2022 – FIDE Management Board meeting & FIDE Commissions’ meetingsAugust 2, 2022 – FIDE Commissions’ meetingsAugust 3, 2022 – FIDE Zonal Council meeting & FIDE Commissions’ meetings August 4, 2022 – Elections of Zonal Presidents & FIDE Commissions’ meetingsAugust 5, 2022 – FIDE Council meeting & Elected Zonal Council meetingAugust 6, 2022 – Continental electionsAugust 7, 2022 – FIDE General Assembly & ElectionsAugust 8, 2022 – FIDE General Assembly August 9, 2022 – Departures During the press conference that followed the signature of the contract, Arkady Dvorkovich announced his decision to run for a second term. He also announced that five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand will join his team. You can read a separate announcement here.
Arkady Dvorkovich will run for reelection
Today, on April 1, 2022, at a press conference held in Delhi, Arkady Dvorkovich announced his intentions to run for reelection as FIDE President for a second term. He also announced that five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand would join his team. “I am willing and determined to work with this team. It is a wonderful group led by Dvorkovich, and they have done a lot for the sport,” said the Indian legend. This is the President’s statement: “The past four years have been challenging for all of us, but I am proud to acknowledge that I personally, and the entire FIDE leadership team, have worked with full dedication for the benefit of chess all over the world. A lot has been done. The largest broadcasting contracts with the main platforms have been concluded, thus providing a stable basis for FIDE activities. With dedicated work, we have managed to create a stable financial basis, not being dependent on a sole narrow source of resources. New formats of work during the pandemics have been found, including the FIDE Online Olympiad. The World Championship Cycle tournaments have been successfully carried out. A new major cycle tournament Grand Swiss was established, thus making the qualification process much more democratic. I am happy that important steps have been taken to promote women’s chess. The World Championship cycle has been fine-tuned, and the prize fund notably increased. A tournament of Women Candidates has been approved, the Women’s Grand Prix series revived, and the Women’s Grand Swiss tournament established. The principle of gender equality has been encoded in our policies and electoral rules, and I am dedicated to continuing to close the gender gap in our sport. Extensive work is being done in the social sphere – major tournaments for people with disabilities are organized, and various chess programs for vulnerable groups like refugees, children with ASD, veterans and inmates are carried out. A motivational talent development program FIDE Chessable Academy has been launched, as well as training and Olympiad travelling support will be provided to the national teams of the less developed countries. Chess in education remains our priority with new training programmes and a certification system being developed. We continue consistent and transparent FIDE Development Fund’s support to important initiatives of Federations, Continents and Associated organizations. Chess development programs are being actively implemented around the world. However, there are even more important tasks ahead. In this situation, I consider it is my moral duty to confirm that I intend to run for the second Presidential term. I count on the support of the General Assembly and the chess society. Gens Una Sumus.” The President also confirmed that the campaign would start in May as per Electoral Regulations, but he highly appreciates that the team will be strengthened by the participation of the five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand. “We have discussed that Viswanathan will be a huge part of our team,” stated Mr Dvorkovich, emphasizing that “whoever wins, we will support chess, we will be involved in chess, that doesn’t depend on politics. It depends only on our will, our commitment and our love of chess.”
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin: Semifinals go to tiebreaks
In the second round of the semifinals of the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin organised by World Chess, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Hikaru Nakamura made a second draw and will continue fighting for a spot in the final on the tiebreak tomorrow. After a huge blunder by Wesley So, Amin Tabatabaei bounced back in the second game of the semifinal and took their match to the tiebreaker. With today’s half-point, Hikaru Nakamura has secured his overall victory in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series. Even if he loses the tiebreak tomorrow, he still edges out Richard Rapport in the total number of points scored in classical games. Both matches will be decided on the tiebreaks tomorrow, with Hikaru Nakamura and Amin Tabatabaei starting their matches with white pieces. On the 1st of April, we will know the names of the finalists. Amin Tabatabaei tried to surprise Welsey So in the opening, and after an interesting move order, the Romanishin Variation in Nimzo-Indian Defense appeared on the board. Wesley, playing with Black, managed to exchange his side-pawn b5 for the central pawn on d5 and not only solved his opening problems but got a quite comfortable position. The critical moment of the game came on move 23. After spending only one minute on his clock, the American suddenly went for a piece sacrifice and completely missed a very strong reply 24.Rd1-d3! which effectively parried all Black’s threats and created his own ones. Amin Tabatabaei – Welsey So The key variation in the position is 24…Nf3 25.Rxf3 Bxf3 26.Qc3 with a double attack. “That’s basically a one-move blunder from Wesley So, which is very uncharacteristic of him,” said the commentator of the tournament GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko. “What happened was just crazy. I played 23.Rd1 and I completely blundered 23…Nh4 – I thought everything falls apart. And after 24.Rd3 it is so strange that White is completely winning,” shared Amin Tabatabaei after the game. “I was incredibly lucky at that moment.” “My opponent is a great player, fighting, very aggressive, very tactical. And yeah, I just blundered Rd3 – that’s all I can say about the game. Blunders happen,” said Wesley So. The game went into an ending with an extra pawn and the bishop pair advantage for White. Wesley decided not to check Amin’s technique and resigned on move 30. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was quite satisfied with his position in one of the Queen’s Gambit Declined variations with 5. Bf4. By advancing his pawns on the queenside, White created certain threats, but Hikaru Nakamura found an interesting way to regroup his pieces and took control over the c-file. After White’s 25.a4, Hikaru probably could have put more pressure on his opponent by keeping the pawns on a-file on the board but went for a forced line, leading to massive exchanges. None of the opponents had real chances in the drawish ending, but they kept playing until the peace was finally signed on move 51. The FIDE Grand Prix Series is brought to you by World Chess. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner. Photo: Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Press kit and Niki Riga
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Semis: Round 1 Recap
Wesley So takes the lead in the match against Amin Tabatabaei, while Hikaru Nakamura and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew their game. In the first round of the semifinals of the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin organised by World Chess, Wesley So managed to convert his advantage into a full point against Amin Tabatabaei. Hikaru Nakamura and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played an uneventful game that finished in a draw. On Thursday, March 31, Amin Tabatabaei will play with white pieces needing to level the score in the mini-match to go to tiebreaks. Hikaru Nakamura has Black in the second game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Hikaru decided to play one of the calmest systems in Petroff Defense with an early queen exchange, which is considered to be unambitious for White. In a post-game interview, Hikaru explained why he didn’t have an intention to go fpr the main lines today: “It’s quite nice to qualify but also very tricky because, for the last 24-48 hours, my thoughts are on that event and preparation. And then in today’s game, it’s an opening that many people at the Candidates might play, so I did not want to do anything too exciting.” With the queens leaving the board very early, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had no problems keeping the balance in a symmetrical position. After massive exchanges, the game liquidated into the ending with rooks and opposite-coloured bishops and finished in a draw once the players reached the 30th move. “It was one of this Grandmaster’s draws”, said Shakhriyar, smiling. He congratulated Hikaru on qualifying for the Candidates tournament and added: “For chess, it is very important that players like Hikaru are in the Candidates. He is very popular, famous online and in the chess world in general.” It seems Hikaru Nakamura doesn’t spend any day without chess! He won the Titled Tuesday tournament yesterday on his free day and was in a hurry to get back to his hotel to participate in the Arena Kings after today’s round. Wesley So and Amin Tabatabaei went for a very complicated line in the Queen’s Gambit Declined. After blitzing out 18 moves, Wesley So spent lots of time figuring out the right plan. The line was new for him, and he was not really happy with what he got out of the opening. Both players came to the conclusion that Amin should have placed the knight on c4 right away no matter what, but the Iranian player hesitated and played Rf7 instead. After trading the knights on a4, Black was left with a passive knight on f6 versus White’s strong bishop. After losing the b7 pawn, Black found himself in a tough, most likely lost position, but Wesley wisely took his time making the precise moves and not giving his opponent any chances. Remembering the miraculous escape of Amin in the game against Yu Yangyi, the American made sure no perpetual checks would be on the board today. Amin Tabatabaei: “It’s great to play against such strong opponents. I am getting more and more experienced. If somebody can punish me in these positions, it’s top players like Wesley. I am a bit disappointed how the game went, but I need these losses to be a better player.” The semifinals continue on March 31 with the pairings as follows: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Hikaru NakamuraAmin Tabatabaei – Wesley So The FIDE Grand Prix Series is brought to you by World Chess. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner. Photo: Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Berlin Press kit and Niki Riga