Winners crowned at Children and Youth Festival “ChessYes”
The FIDE Endorsed International Children and Youth Festival «ChessYes», an official side event to the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss 2021, was held online from October 09 to November 07, 2021. The festival «ChessYes» was organized by FIDE, the Public organization “CIS”, and the Latvian Chess Federation. The tournament took place on lichess.org in four age groups: U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14. Each age group event consisted of two stages: the Qualifier stage, two online 9-round Swiss System tournaments, held on October 09-23, 2021, and the Final stage for top players, a 16-player knockout tournament, played from October 24 to November 07, 2021. More than 200 kids from 30 countries – Ukraine, Serbia, India, Latvia, Vietnam, Spain, Poland, Iran, Kazakhstan, Canada, the Philippines, Georgia, Australia, Great Britain, Greece, Luxembourg, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Dominicana, Cuba, Russia, Chili, Ireland, Botswana, Brazil, Mexico, Palestine, Slovakia and France – took part in the event. Final standings: U-8 category Open 1. Minh Hoang Nguyen (Vietnam)2. Huy Quang Bui (Vietnam)3. Maksym Kryshtafor (Ukraine) Girls 1. Tam Anh Nguyen Dinh (Vietnam)2. Mica Claire Clar (Philippines)3-4. Shruthika Anand Kumar (India)3-4. Anna Shmeleva (Russia) U-10 Category Open 1. Piotr Brzezina (Poland)2. Sho Moritani (Japan)3. Nils Vorobjovs (Latvia) Girls 1. Prishita Gupta (India)2. Kristina Sultanova (Russia)3. Anna Velichkina (Russia) U-12 Category Open 1. Marcos Antonio Guach Rodriguez (Cuba)2. Alex Herrera Pedroso (Cuba)3. Dinh Nguyen Hoang Nhat Le (Vietnam) Girls 1. Elizaveta Maltseva (Russia)2. Pratitee Bordoloi (India)3. Mariam Kalandadze (Georgia) U-14 Category Open 1. Dau Khuong Duy (Vietnam)2. Cleon Amadeus Surya (Indonesia)3. Siddhesh Umashankar B U (India) Girls 1. Sawan Eman (Palestine)2. Ekaterina Skuridina (Russia)3. Aliah Diyanah Insyirah Binti Mohd Faizullah (Malaysia) In addition to standard prizes, winners and medalists of the online event in the categories U-8 and U-10 (open & girls) got a free online 90-minute group lecture by GM Dmitry Gordievsky. The top-3 finishers in the categories U-12 and U-14 (open & girls) were awarded an online 90-minute group lecture by GM Boris Gelfand, FIDE World Championship runner-up (2012).
European Team Championship gets underway in Terme Čatež
The European Team Chess Championship 2021 kicks off in Terme Catez, Slovenia. Stretching over twelve days from November 11-22, both open and women’s events are 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control held in Hotel Toplize of Terme Čatež Spa Complex. Thirty-nine teams from 38 European federations participate in the Open event, while the Women’s Championship features 31 teams representing 30 federations. Each team consists of five players (four main and one reserve player). European Team Chess Championship 2021 field is led by the defending champion Russia (average rating 2720), Azerbaijan (average rating 2717), France (average rating 2708), Poland (average rating 2678) and England (average rating 2671). European national teams fielded many strong GMs, including Anish Giri (NED, 2774), Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2770), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2766), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2765), Teimour Radjabov (AZE, 2763), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL, 2756), Sergey Karjakin (RUS, 2743), Michael Adams (ENG, 2714) and others. Playing venue – Hotel Toplize of Terme Čatež Photo: booking.com The reigning champion Russia (average rating 2538) tops the list of rating favourites in the Women’s Championship, followed by Georgia (average rating 2446), Poland (average rating 2410), Ukraine (Average rating of players 2400) and Azerbaijan (average rating 2383). The teams enlisted many top players, such as Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS, 2604), Kateryna Lagno (RUS, 2550), Nana Dzagnidze (GEO, 2524), Polina Shuvalova (RUS, 2515), Elisabeth Paehtz (GER, 2485), Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS, 2482), Valentina Gunina (RUS, 2480), Gunay Mammadzada (AZE, 2459) and many others. The opening ceremony was split into two parts due to health restrictions. The first one took place on November 11, with the attendance of Team captains, delegates and officials. A short second part for all the participants is to be held right before the first round, commencing at 14:30 CEST. The events get underway today, November 12, with Round 1 starting at 15:00 CEST. Official website: euroteamchess2021.eu/
International online conference “Chess in Education” announced
FIDE is delighted to announce the International online conference “Chess in Education” to be held from November 20-21, 2021. The event is organized by FIDE Chess in Education Commission (EDU) and the “Chess” Scientific Research Institute of ASPU (Armenian State Pedagogical University). Attendees will have a chance to participate in vital discussions around teaching chess in preschool facilities, schools and universities. The conference agenda includes the following topics: PRE-SCHOOL CHESS Formation of prior knowledge for chess. Functions of prior knowledge for chess. Socio-pedagogical justifications for that prior knowledge. The problems of developing a preschooler’s thinking. The main manifestations of a preschooler’s development. CHESS IN SCHOOLS School chess models, especially differences between “chess for education” and “education for chess”. In-service training of teachers to teach chess. Problems with the quality of chess teaching in school. Chess in special needs education. School chess research results. Hybrid and online learning. CHESS IN UNIVERSITIES Issues of the training of chess teachers. Models of Chess 101 in Universities around the world. Chess as a means of promoting learning by university students. The working languages of the conference are English and Spanish with simultaneous translation. The conference will take place on the Zoom platform. More information about the event can be found here. Registration is open on the conference website https://edu.fide.com/english-registration/ (English language) or https://edu.fide.com/spanish-registration/ (Spanish language) until November 18. At the moment, there are more than 130 registrations.
Call of Interest for Arbiters in World Events 2022-2023
The FIDE Arbiters’ Commission is proud to release a new process for selecting Arbiters for World Events. Following the approval of the new B06.4 Handbook Chapter on the Selection of Arbiters in World Events by the FIDE Council, we are opening a call of interest to form panels of arbiters who may be selected for the World Championships. Who is eligible? All FIDE Arbiters and International Arbiters with a valid FIDE license. As we anticipate a large number of responses, applications from Arbiters who are not eligible may simply be disregarded without formal acknowledgement. How to apply? The process will consist of two steps: 1. Send an email from your address to secretary.arbiters@fide.com and chairman.arbiters@fide.com with your name, FIDE ID and federation or a link to your FIDE profile, with the subject Call of Interest 2022-2023. 2. A survey will be issued in Chamilo* to collect interest in a structured way. You will receive instructions on how to connect and answer. You may have to give your GDPR consent before completing the survey if you are new to the system. * Chamilo is the ARB Training Portal, which we are using to support the process. We will take advantage of the call of interest to include colleagues who haven’t followed training sessions yet under this new system. When to apply? The call of interest is open from November 10, 2021, to December 10, 2021, 23:59 CET. Any email received after the deadline will be disregarded. Further details will follow soon, with explanations on the new process: panels, selection process with GSC, EVE and organisers etc. In the meantime, you may wish to watch the webinar we hosted in 2020 about the same topic, sharing the overall vision of the commission. Gens una sumus
Fysiolatris’ Nikaia wins Greek Team Championship
The 2021 Greek Team Championships concluded last weekend, 6-7 November, in the Metropol Hotel in Larissa. The team of EOAO “Fysiolatris’ Nikaia winning won the Final 4 stage and their third consecutive title. The champions beat Evoiki ES in the final 6-4, after defeating the major rivals SO Kavalas by the same score in the semi-final. SO Kavalas won third place after besting team SA Sykeon-Neapolis in a rapid playoff. This year’s championship, traditionally held as a 34-team Swiss tournament, was split into two groups (North and South). Evoiki ES won group South, held in Athens in September, ahead of the eventual champions (whom they beat in the first round), while SO Kavalas dominated the North group in Thessaloniki in October. The top two teams of each group advanced to the Final 4. Twenty-nine clubs (out of 34 eligible) participated in the event, competing over ten boards (4 open, a woman, U20, U16, U12, G20, G16). Both preliminary groups were 7-round Swiss tournaments, while the Final 4 was a knock-out with rapid and blitz playoffs if needed. Results, standings and games: North: http://chess-results.com/tnr580755.aspx?lan=1 South: https://chess-results.com/tnr577022.aspx?lan=1 Final 4: http://chess-results.com/tnr587838.aspx?lan=1 Offical website: https:/www.chessfed.gr
Nur-Sultan to host World Rapid and Blitz 2021
Photo above: Alexey Tarakanov We are pleased to announce that the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz will take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The event will be held on its traditional dates: December 25-30, 2021. As in previous editions, the World Rapid and Blitz will have a total prize fund of 1,000,000 USD: $350,000 for the Open Rapid Championship$350,000 for the Open Blitz Championship$150,000 for the Women’s Rapid Championship$150,000 for the Women’s Blitz Championship The World Rapid and Blitz is one of the most awaited events in the chess calendar for most chess fans. After the force majeure cancellation in 2020, FIDE is happy to bring it back in cooperation with the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Just like in 2019, the Rapid and Blitz Championships will be Swiss tournaments (13 and 11 – rapid and 21 and 17 rounds – blitz respectively) with the time control 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1 (rapid) and 3 minutes + 2 seconds, starting from move 1 (blitz). Open competition eligibility Players rated at least 2550 in any FIDE rating lists (Standard, Rapid or Blitz) from January 1st to December 1st, 2021. The reigning National Champions representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating. The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Women’s competition eligibility Players rated at least 2250 in any FIDE rating lists (Standard, Rapid or Blitz) from January 1st to December 1st, 2021. The reigning National Champions representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Regulations for FIDE Open Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Regulations for FIDE Women’s Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) The last months of the year will be full of challenges for Magnus Carlsen. Will he be able to end the year holding the triple crown, as he did in 2019? For further information, please contact: worldrapidandblitz@fide.com
Kirill Shevchenko snatches victory in Lindores Abbey Blitz
Ukrainian GM has stunned the chess world with a surprise victory in the Lindores Abbey Blitz organized in honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Tal Kirill Shevchenko (19) scored 14 points out of 18 games in a nine-double-round tournament. The former contender for the title of World Champion, American Fabiano Caruana, finished second, and Arjun Erigaisi of India is third, both on 13.5 points. Shevchenko came out on top in a field of 120 leading world Grandmasters, including the likes of Fabiano Caruana (world number three and this year’s runner-up in the Grand Swiss), world number ten Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, David Navara as well as the former contender for the title of World Champion Boris Gelfand and Women’s Chess World Cup winner and former women’s World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk. Another big surprise of the event was 18-year-old Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi (pictured below), who dominated the tournament early on. Playing in the spirit of Mikhail Tal, with lots of combinations and sacrifices, the Indian secured 9.5 points out of 10 games, crushing along the way strong players such as Levon Aronian, David Howell and Rauf Mamedov with 2:0, and convincingly beating Fabiano Caruana in their first game of the match. But in the final rounds of the tournament, it was Shevchenko who took the spotlight, delivering a 2:0 blow to the Indian in their direct duel. In the final round, it was a three-way race between Caruana, Erigaisi and Shevchenko. Caruana drew his game with world heavy-weight Levon Aronian to finish on 13.5 points, hoping to be first on tie-breaks. Erigaisi also scored a victory, meaning that he was on 13.5/18 as well. Shevchenko now had to win to take first place. In a wild game with many ups and downs, he defeated the Armenian GM Martirosyan (who blundered a checkmate in one in a drawn position) and finished half a point ahead of everyone else. “I didn’t believe I could win this tournament with half a point advantage. The last game was a roller coaster… I would like to play much more Blitz tournaments than I do in my country [Ukraine]”, said Shevchenko, who is one of the most promising Ukrainian players. The winner will receive a 10,000 USD prize which he said he would give to his parents and then decide what to do with it. The total prize fund for the event was 6,000 USD. This includes a 10,000 USD fund provided by FIDE for prizes intended for female players only. With nine points, Batkhuyag Munguntuul from Mongolia won the prize for the highest-ranked female player in the tournament and pocketed a special prize of 3,000 USD. Dinara Saduakassova won second place among women, and Alexandra Kosteniuk was third. Final standings: 1 Shevchenko, Kirill UKR 2574 14 2 Caruana, Fabiano USA 2765 13½ 3 Erigaisi, Arjun IND 2616 13½ 4 Martirosyan, Haik M. ARM 2656 12½ 5 Navara, David CZE 2758 12½ 6 Xiong, Jeffery USA 2699 12 7 Dubov, Daniil RUS 2747 12 8 Aronian, Levon ARM 2767 12 9 Svidler, Peter RUS 2709 12 10 Sevian, Samuel USA 2668 12 Remembering “The Magician from Riga” The Blitz tournament was held in memory of the great Latvian chess player and eighth World Champion, Mikhail Tal (1936 – 1992), who would have turned 85 on the 9th of November. FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola reminded the players and guests of Tal’s spirit, echoed in his comment that “life would be very boring if you wait for luck to happen”. Speaking about the Magician from Riga, Reizniece-Ozola said that Tal left a great footprint in the chess world which should serve as inspiration to us all. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich revealed that he had the privilege of meeting Tal as a child, at one of the tournaments in Tallinn, Estonia. “I played chess with his daughter while our fathers were enjoying the evening”, Dvorkoich said. Dvorkovich said that the idea about this Blitz event came from Alexander Bakh, Mikhail Tal’s friend and a prolific chess tournament organizer from Russia, who was the guest in Riga on behalf of Lindores Abbey. The tournament was opened by Alexander Bakh, who said that this event is a part of the cycle of chess events organized by the Scottish company. “In 2019, Lindores Abbey organized its Chess Start tournament, and then we had the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge in 2020. This Blitz event is the next stage in our cycle of chess tournaments and we hope there will be more events to come”. Georgiy Tal, the son of Mikhail Tal, was supposed to be the guest of honour at the closing ceremony of the Blitz event but, at the last moment, was prevented from attending. The tournament took place in the same venue where the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss was held from the 27th of October to the 7th of November. The official page of the tournament: https://lindoresabbeyblitz.fide.com/. Complete final standings can be found here. Discover the Lindores Abbey chess initiative. Official Partners: Lindores AbbeyKaspersky
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Firouzja and Lei triumph in Riga
Alireza Firouzja and Lei Tingjie are the winners of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss After a draw in the final round game with Russia’s Grigoriy Oparin, naturalised Frenchman Alireza Firouzja won the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. With 8/11, he is half a point ahead of everyone else. With this victory, Firouzja also secured a prize of 70,000 USD as well as a pass for the 2022 Candidates tournament, which will determine the challenger for the title of the World Champion in chess. In an interview immediately after the final round, Firouzja said that this was a very tough tournament and that he didn’t see himself as a big contender for the top place. “Chess for me is a game I can never quit. When you learn chess, it’s finished – you go all the way, and even if you’re not a professional, you will be thinking about chess”, said Firouzja. World number three and former contender for the title of World Champion, Fabiano Caruana, is second, with 7.5/11. Caruana took the second ticket for the 2022 Candidates tournament and also pocketed a prize of 50,000 USD. The third place – and 40,000 USD – went to Grigoriy Oparin of Russia, who also has 7.5 points but has a weaker tiebreak. The three are followed by as many as 13 Grandmasters with seven points, in the following order: Yu Yangyi, Vincent Keymer, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexandr Predke, Alexei Shirov, David Howell, Gabriel Sargissian, David Anton, Anton Korobov, Samuel Sevian, Andrey Esipenko, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and Vladislav Artemiev. Those who won the 3rd to 8th place have all qualified for the 2022 Grand Prix series which will be held in Berlin and Belgrade in 2022. The inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss ended with a Chinese victory as Lei Tingjie claimed first place with nine points out of eleven games. The Chinese already knew she won the tournament the day before, having secured a 1.5 point advantage over everyone else in Round Ten. In the final round, she played a longer game and drew with compatriot Zhu Jiner. With this victory in the Grand Swiss, Lei has qualified for the 2022 Women’s Candidates tournament and has pocketed 20,000 USD in prize money. The second and third places in the women’s tournament were shared by Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany (who also secured her final GM norm) and Zhu Jiner of China, who both have 7.5/11. The German came in second because of a better tiebreak. With 7/11, four players share fourth to seventh place in the women’s section (in the following order): Mariya Muzychuk (the top seed in this tournament), Harika Dronavalli, Lela Javakhishvili and Olga Badelka. The top-4 in the final standings – Lei Tingjie, Elisabeth Paehtz, Zhu Jiner, and Mariya Muzychuk – have qualified for the next women’s Grand Prix cycle. Open Event Alireza Firouzja started the final day with half a point ahead of the field. He needed a draw to punch his ticket to the Candidates. His opponent Grigoriy Oparin was leading the white pieces and playing what was probably the most important game of his life so far. In order to qualify for the Candidates, Oparin had to win, given that he had one of the lowest tiebreak scores among the top players. Oparin and Firouzja played only twice before: two online Blitz games, in 2018 and 2020, and the result is 1:1. This was, therefore, the first time they met in a propper, classical game. In Ruy Lopez, Oparin played the anti-Berlin, which suggested he was looking for a more complex game. Firouzja’s basic goal was to exchange all the pieces on the board and steer the position to calm waters. To that end, he forced an exchange of several pieces on the board, and the middlegame was largely even. It was Oparin who decided not to overplay the position and opted for a repetition leading to a draw. On board two, Fabiano Caruana was White against Alexandr Predke. With no losses, Caruana had a very solid tournament. Aside from Firouzja, Caruana was in the most comfortable position to secure the ticket for the Candidates. Following Firouzja’s draw, Caruana’s second place seemed closer, but it was still unclear – if Yu Yangyi won in his game, and the rest of the top boards ended in a draw, it would have been the Chinese and not the American who would have clinched the second place with the ticket for the Candidates. The players blitzed the Ruy Lopez, rattling off 20 moves in the first 20 minutes. White emerged slightly better, but after the queen exchange the position became equal. With a timely pawn thrust, e5-e4 Predke exchanged his e-pawn to the opponent’s c-pawn and created a free-runner on the a-file. That, however, did not change the evaluation of the position. Since neither side had clear chances, a draw was agreed on move 46. In the post-game interview, Fabiano Caruana said he was slightly weaker against Predke, adding that the Russian was ‘super well prepared’. Caruana said he thought a draw secured his qualification to the Candidates, noting that the most dangerous game for him was the duel between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Yu Yangyi. “I was very worried for both of them at some point. I was hoping for a draw, but Maxime’s position looked extremely suspicious, and near the end, I thought Yu Yangyi’s position was very dangerous”, said Caruana. On board three, Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played his favourite Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian against Yu Yangyi of China. As often happens in this system, the opponents castled to the opposite wings and started pushing their pawns. Black was first to open files for a potential attack, but White got a strong footing in the centre and snatched a weak d6-pawn. At this point, Maxim’s position looked dangerous, but Yu decided to part with one of his bishops and let his advantage slip away. On the move 30, Yu exchanged his queen for two rooks, but the position was still even. Neither side could find real chances on the board, and on move 39, the two agreed to a draw. With 7/11, this left
Liudmila Belavenets passes away
With the most profound sadness, we learned about the passing of Liudmila Belavenets. A well-known Russian player and coach, Liudmila Belavenets, died on the 7th of November due to a serious illness. Liudmila Belavenets was the winner of the USSR women’s championship (1975), the world women’s champion in correspondence chess (1990), and the three-time winner of the World Olympiads in correspondence chess as a member of the Soviet team. In 1973, Liudmila Belavenets began to work with young chess players at the Stadium of Young Pioneers in Moscow. She was invited to work there by Vladimir Yurkov, a renowned coach. Very soon, Liudmila Belavenets became one of the best trainers for juniors in Russia. She also became one of the most famous trainers after becoming a presentor in the Chess School TV show back in 1974. Hundreds of thousands of chess fans were among her distant students. Some of the most famous players trained by her directly are Alexey Vyzmanavin, Andrei Sokolov, and Alexander Morozevich. Liudmila Belavenets was famous for her ability to connect with any student. A teacher by nature, she was a talented and wise mentor who fostered many generations of young chess players. She trained several world champions, champions of Russia and Europe, masters and grandmasters, professionals, trainers, and journalists. She brought up even more chess fans, who have remembered her lessons for the rest of their lives. To the last days of her life, Liudmila Belavenets worked as a coach in the Youth of Moscow Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve in the T. Petrosian chess club and took part in the sessions of the Grandmasters school in Kostroma. She was awarded the CFR Golden Badge in April 2021. FIDE and the Chess Federation of Russia extend sincere condolences to Liudmila Belavenets’ relatives, friends, colleagues, and pupils.
Lindores Abbey Blitz in honour of Mikhail Tal’s 85th birthday
In honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of the 8th World Chess Champion Mikhail Tal, FIDE is delighted to endorse The Lindores Abbey Blitz, which will take place on 8th November in the historical Hanzas Perons venue in Riga, Latvia A number of leading world Grandmasters – many of whom are taking part in the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss – have confirmed they will be playing in the Blitz tournament. The line-up includes leading world players such as the third-rated player in the world Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Yu Yangyi, Levon Aronian, David Navara, David Howell, the former contender for the title of World Champion Boris Gelfand, former world youth champions Jeffery Xiong and Parham Maghsoodloo, and others. Among female players, former Women’s World Champion and this year’s winner of the Women’s Chess World Cup, Alexandra Kosteniuk as well as top women GMs Nana Dzagnidze, Harika Dronavalli, Polina Shuvalova, and others will be playing. Altogether 120 players will be taking part in the tournament. The FIDE endorsed event is a part of a series of Lindores Abbey chess tournaments involving top-world Grandmasters following Lindores Abbey Chess Stars (2019) and Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge (2020). Georgiy Tal, the son of Mikhail Tal, will be the guest of honour at the Blitz event. In 2019 he visited Lindores Abbey and, together with the company’s General Manager Andrew McKenzie Smith, presented the World Champion Magnus Carlsen with a chess set made of amber. This amber chess set was presented by the Latvian Government to Mikhail Tal in 1960, following his victory in the World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik. Tournament rules and details: The tournament is organised by “RTU Sports” with the support of the Latvian Chess Federation and FIDE. The Swiss System tournament will have nine rounds. Each round will consist of two games played against the same opponent, one game with each colour. Players will be seeded based on their FIDE Blitz rating. In the absence of such a rating, the player’s FIDE standard rating will be used. The time control will be 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move, from move one. If the two or more players score the same points, the tie is decided by the following criteria, in order of priority: a) Buchholz; b) Most games won; c) Direct encounter between the players in tie. The total prize fund is 60,000 USD. This includes a 10,000 USD fund provided by FIDE for prizes intended for female players only. Regulations for the FIDE Endorsed Tournament Lindores Abbey Blitz (pdf) The official page of the tournament: https://lindoresabbeyblitz.fide.com/ The list of participants can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr588607.aspx?lan=1&art=0&flag=30 Discover the Lindores Abbey chess initiative.