Decisions of 2021 3rd FIDE Council Meeting
List of FIDE Council Decisions 2021 3rd meeting 27 October 2021 CM3-2021/01 To note President’s report. CM3-2021/02 To note financial report presented by FIDE Treasurer. CM3-2021/03 To approve in principle the proposal of the FIDE Treasurer for a new format for budget presentations that includes data on income and expenses for the events organised by FIDE. To ask the FIDE Treasurer to provide the final version of the format. CM3-2021/04 To approve that the 2021 FIDE Congress shall be organized at the end of December 2021 in a hybrid format (concurrent with World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, provided it will take place as expected) according to the following schedule (tentative, to be confirmed): – FIDE Commissions meetings: November 20th – December 25th, 2021 – FIDE Council meeting: December 26-27th, 2021 – FIDE Zonal Council meeting: December 26-27th, 2021 – FIDE General Assembly: December 28th, 2021. CM3-2021/05 To note the report on the FIDE Handbook update. CM3-2021/06 To approve the regulations for World Championship Cycle structure. CM3-2021/07 To approve the regulations for Continental Championships and Zonal Championships. CM3-2021/08 To approve the updated Olympiad Pairing Rules. CM3-2021/09 To approve the draft of FIDE Electoral Rules and prepare it for the approval of FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/10 To approve the provisional membership of St. Vincent and Grenadines Chess Federation and recommend its full membership for ratification by FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/11 To approve the provisional membership of Dominica Chess Federation, Niger Chess Federation, Belize Chess Federation pending the submission of the whole set of required documents. To recommend their full membership for ratification by the FIDE General Assembly provided the requested documents would be received. CM3-2021/12 To approve that World Rapid and Blitz Championships (2021) shall be organized in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 25-30 December 2021. CM3-2021/13 To approve the Regulations for FIDE World Team Chess Championship 2022. CM3-2021/14 To authorize FIDE Vice-President Mr. Iashvili together with the Chairman of FIDE Events Commission Mr. Solakoglu to continue consultations with Sri Lanka Chess Federation regarding potential organization of the 2021 World U-21 Online Rapid Chess Championship. CM3-2021/15 To note the Global Strategy Commission’s report. CM3-2021/16 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM3-2021/17 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the FIDE lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM3-2021/18 To approve the Arbiters’ Commission’s proposal for the FIDE Regulations for Appointments of Arbiters at World Events and Arbiters’ Selection Procedural Rules (with a transition period until the end of 2021). CM3-2021/19 To note the Constitutional Commission’s report. CM3-2021/20 To reiterate FIDE’s willingness to help the US Virgin Islands Chess Federation in changing their constitution and election procedures. To propose to the US Virgin Islands Chess Federation to prepare an updated draft in full cooperation with FIDE Constitutional Commission not later than November 17th. To entrust FIDE President to evaluate further steps after this deadline in accordance with the previous FIDE Council’s decision. CM3-2021/21 To note the Events Commission’s report. CM3-2021/22 To approve the recommendations of Events Commission on titles. CM3-2021/23 To approve the updated draft of the Ethics and Disciplinary Code and prepare it for the approval of FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/24 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM3-2021/25 To approve the Fair Play Commission’s Procedural Rules. CM3-2021/26 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report. CM3-2021/27 To note the Rules Commission’s report. CM3-2021/28 To request the Rules Commission to discuss the proposed changes to the Laws of Chess (Article 5.1.2) with the Athletes’, Arbiters’ and other relevant Commissions and come back with the consensus proposal. CM3-2021/29 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. CM3-2021/30 To approve the proposal of the Qualification Commission on the FIDE Rating Regulations and FIDE Titles Regulations effective from January 1st, 2022. CM3-2021/31 To approve the Resolution regarding the procedure for considering applications to move under FIDE flag. CM3-2021/32 To approve the Qualification Commission’s proposal to reject three individual requests to move under FIDE flag. CM3-2021/33 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and FIDE Academies. CM3-2021/34 To approve the proposals of the FIDE Data Protection Committee regarding the enhancement of the FIDE Database. CM3-2021/35 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM3-2021/36 To note Continental reports. CM3-2021/37 To recommend to the FIDE Qualification Commission to revoke the FM title of Mr. O. Prokhorov (UKR). Instruct the Constitutional Commission to submit an opinion on the issue of Mr. Prokhorov’s right to play under the flag of the federation. CM3-2021/38 To approve the main provisions of the contracts aimed at the implementation of a pilot NFT project and to entrust FIDE President to sign the respective contracts. CM3-2021/39 To organize the next FIDE Council meeting in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 26-27th of December 2021.
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 10 Recap
Alireza Firouzja is back as the sole leader in the Open Event, as Lei Tingjie wins the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss with a round to spare Open Event Alireza Firouzja has recovered from his loss to Fabiano Caruana on Friday by defeating David Howell in the crucial game of the tenth round of the Grand Swiss. With this victory, Firouzja has 7.5/10 and is entering the final round with a half-point advantage over everyone else. He is followed by Fabiano Caruana and Grigoriy Oparin, who are on 7/10. In the Italian Game, Firouzja spent significantly more time on the opening, presumably having been caught out by Howell’s preparation. It was surprising as Howell is known for getting into time trouble early. However, by move 19, both had similar time on their clocks, and with all the pieces on the board, the pressure on both was mounting. The tension was released in the centre in White’s favour as Firouzja aligned his pieces for an attack on the black king’s fortress. Howell, shorter on time, played 27…Be5 allowing White to sacrifice a knight on h6 (most likely 28.Rxe5 was even better), ending with an extra pawn and breaking through Black’s defences. However, in a better position, Firouzja hastily played 31.Qf3, to which Black responded with 23…Qc6 and the game was wide open again, although White still had an edge. Firouzja was visibly unhappy with the oversight. After reassessing the situation, Alireza went for an exchange of queens simplifying the position and moving towards a four-bishop ending with an extra pawn. Howell had to be precise to keep his hopes alive but was under serious time pressure for the first time control. He slipped on move 35 by playing a tempting but erroneous 35…d4. When the time control was reached, White had a decisive advantage and steered the game to a clean victory. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana drew their game on board two. In the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, both sides played quickly in the opening. The Frenchman ended with isolated pawns on d3 and d5, but was holding the a-file with the queen and rook and had a more active knight. After exchanges in the centre, the players moved to a rook endgame where Caruana was a pawn down, but a draw was the most likely outcome. The Frenchman decided to play on and test Black. The American had to proceed carefully but was essentially safe, and the two called it a draw. This outcome puts pressure on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to win in the final round of the Grand Swiss if he wishes to have chances to get his pass for the 2022 Candidates tournament. In the Russian duel on board three, Nikita Vitiugov and Grigoriy Oparin tested each other in the Sämisch Variation of the Nimzo-Indian. Oparin called it a ‘wild game’. In a blocked position that appeared early in the centre, Black surprised his opponent and the audience with an odd-looking but logical novelty: Nikita Vitiugov – Grigoriy Oparin 11…Kd7!? “Overall, it’s a typical idea to bring the king to c7, and 11…Kd7 is a very nice move. For me, it was the most logical move, because the point is that we don’t really want to move our queen on d8 or bishop on c8 yet,” said Grigory after the game. Having two bishops, White naturally tried to open the position, but Black created a stronghold on e5 and managed to keep it closed. Vitiugov opted for a push on the d-file, but this approach backfired just a few moves later as following the mistake on move 27, he ended down a pawn down and with the key pieces hanging. Black won an exchange only to return it later, releasing a free runner on the c-file and securing victory. Oparin is now on 7/10 and in the race for the top two spots leading to the Candidates. Alexei Shirov’s good run in the Grand Swiss has continued as he managed to save a lost position from Yu Yangyi. In a rare variation in the Sicilian with d4 and a double fianchetto for White, Black launched a push on the b-file and Shirov carefully flanked it. After 14.a4 White seemed to have halted Black’s attack on the queenside, enabling him to safely castle to the left wing. Black, however, managed to deflect White’s attempts on the kingside, realign his pieces and activate the bishops. After several piece exchanges in the centre, Black got rid of his backward d-pawn and created an advanced pawn on the e-file. Later on, Yu made the most of White’s mistakes to advance it to e2 and play for a win. Shirov put up stubborn resistance at the last line of defence, but it wouldn’t have been enough hadn’t Yangyi failed to find the best continuations and allowed Shirov to reactivate. The game ended in a draw after six hours of play and 64 moves. Both are now on 6.5/10. Krishnan Sasikiran, the last of the players with 6/9, lost as Black to Andrey Esipenko. In the Canal Attack of the Sicilian, Black was standing slightly better coming into the middlegame. However, Sasikiran made a mistake when transitioning to a four-rook endgame as his position immediately turned from slightly better to inferior. Being in his element, Esipenko instructively activated his king and created a passer on the a-file supported by his rooks. Several moves down the and he collected a few more of Black’s pawns and advanced his own dangerously close to the last rank. In the face of further material losses, Sasikiran threw in the towel. With this victory, Esipenko is on 6.5 points. Samuel Sevian, Gabriel Sargissian, Alexandr Predke and David Anton – who were also among players with 6/9 – all finished their games in draws and are now further behind in their chances of reaching the top spots. One of the most interesting games of the round was played on one of the lower boards. In a clash of generations, chess veteran Kiril Georgiev (55) lost to 15-year-old Indian star D Gukesh. In the Ragozin Variation of the Nimzo Indian, Gukesh managed to create a so-called Octopus – a strongly
Kaspersky becomes an official sponsor of the Lindores Abbey Blitz in Riga
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company. By this agreement, Kaspersky becomes an official sponsor of the Lindores Abbey Blitz, which will take place on 8th November in the historical Hanzas Perons venue in Riga, Latvia. The FIDE endorsed tournament will be held in honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of the 8th World Chess Champion Mikhail Tal. The line-up of the nine-round Swiss System tournament includes top players such as Levon Aronian (Armenia), Yu Yangyi (China), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), David Navara (the Czech Republic), as well as former FIDE World Chess Champion (2002-2004) Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine), former world youth champions Jeffery Xiong (USA) and Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran), and others. Among female players, former Women’s World Champion and this year’s winner of the Women’s Chess World Cup, Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) leads the field, joined by former Women’s World Champions Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) and Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine), as well as top women GMs Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), Harika Dronavali (India), Valentina Gunina (Russia), Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan), and others. “FIDE is happy and proud to continue our long and fruitful partnership with Kaspersky. I am glad that this year the company is an official partner of the World Championship Match in Dubai and, no less important, the Lindores Abbey Blitz, which starts in Riga. Mikhail Tal, the eighth world chess champion and the “Magician from Riga”, was known as a brilliant attacker and a creative genius. With each game that will be played in this Blitz tournament, we will commemorate and celebrate Tal’s sharp, creative, and adventurous personality,” said FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola. “Kaspersky is happy to continue building the partnership with FIDE, being a cybersecurity partner for its World Chess Championship series since 2017. We’re especially honoured to support the Lindores Abbey Blitz tournament in Riga, as we will be paying tribute to Mikhail Tal, the brilliant master of chess, whose creativity and strategic genius is a daily inspiration to many of us,” said Konstantin Tarasenko, Regional Manager Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Lindores Abbey Blitz is organised by “RTU Sports” with the support of the Latvian Chess Federation and FIDE. The line-up of the tournament is comprised of the participants of the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and additional wildcards invited by the organisers. The total number of players would not exceed 164. The time control of the tournament will be 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move, from move one. The total prize fund for the event is 60,000 USD. This includes a 10,000 USD fund provided by FIDE for prizes intended for female players only. Chess fans can keep up with the Lindores Abbey Blitz by watching the live broadcast of the event supplied by Chess.com. Regulations for the FIDE Endorsed Tournament Lindores Abbey Blitz (pdf) About Kaspersky Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise are constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialised security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies, and we help 240,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at kaspersky.com
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 9 Recap
Fabiano Caruana knocked out Alireza Firouzja and, together with David Howell, who also won, the three players now share first place in the Grand Swiss. Lei Tingjie won again and with 8/9 is almost certain to take first place at the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss Open Event The open section of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss turned into a three-man race following the defeat of leader Alireza Firouzja at the hands of the former contender for the title of World Champion, Fabiano Caruana. England’s David Howell was the second player with 5.5/8 who scored a victory in round nine. With 6.5/9, the three are now tied for first place. They are followed by ten players on 6/9. The derby between the top-seeded player Fabiano Caruana and tournament leader Alireza Firouzja ended with a victory for the American. In the Mikhail Tal Variation of the Caro Kann, White played an early 9.b4 move, with the idea of getting compensation on the b-file and achieving better development. Following the exchange of queens, Black entered a position that seemed quite comfortable. Caruana, however, had one important advantage: time. Firouzja had just 20 minutes on the move 19. Caruana used this to put more pressure on Black as Firouzja was forced to move fast. His move 20…c5 seemed to have surprised Caruana. After some thought, the American put his knight on d5, and it was White who now had the upper hand. Three moves down the road, Caruana decided to go after Black’s e6 pawn instead of a more solid 23.Bb4 and snatched it but allowed some counterplay. Despite being very short on time since the opening, Firouzja managed to find strong moves that kept him in the game as White’s pawn mass in the centre did not go anywhere. Closer to the time control, Firouzja conducted a raid with his king to White’s camp, but it backfired as Caruana finally managed to advance his central pawns at the cost of a bishop. Firouzja continued to resist, trying every trick and tactic he could find, but it wasn’t meant to be: Fabiano Caruana – Alireza Firouzja Engines initially suggest 38…Re8 with equality, but just a few seconds later realise that it fails to 39.Rxc6! bxc6 40.Bxb4 d2 41.Bxd2 Kxd2 42.g4!! hxg4 43.h5 and White wins Alireza tried 38…Nd4 but after 39.Bxb4 d2 40.Bxd2 Kxd2 41.Rc5 White’s pawns are unstoppable, just like in the line shown above | 1-0, 54 moves. After five and a half hours of play and 54 moves, the naturalised Frenchman had to resign and give up the sole possession of the top place in the tournament rankings. On board two, David Anton split a point with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and both are on 6/9. White opened with 1.d4 but did not develop his queenside knight to avoid a theoretical discussion in the Frenchman’s favourite Gruenfeld Defense. However, after a timely breakthrough in the centre (17…e5), Maxime equalised completely. White ended with two extra pawns, but as both were doubled (on files f and d), Black was never in danger of losing. The most senior player among the top boards, Alexei Shirov made a very quick draw as White with Nikita Vitiugov. After just 20 minutes of play and 16 moves, a draw was agreed upon repetition. Both players are now on six points. Englishman David Howell scored a victory against Anton Korobov of Ukraine on board four. Most of Howell’s games in the previous eight rounds have been long and tense, but this one was shorter. In an interview after Round Eight, Howell said that his main problem is “surviving the openings” as he “isn’t really prepared”. Probably due to the lack of opening preparation, Howell again spent a lot of time on his first moves in the game against Korobov. After some interesting complications in the centre, the Englishman ruined Black’s pawn structure and obtained a long-lasting advantage but was still short on time. Korobov seems to have played more against his opponent’s clock than on the position, but that didn’t phase Howell, who made all the right moves to force the Ukrainian to resign. With 6.5/9 and in a tie for first place, Howell’s performance so far is proving that innovation can sometimes defeat preparation. The Russian derby between Grigoriy Oparin and Alexandr Predke ended in a draw. In the Ruy Lopez with 5.d3 White got a slight edge. However, after a questionable manoeuvre Nh4 and Black’s centre push, Oparin assumed the defensive. After exchanges in the centre where both sides had major pieces hanging, the game transitioned to an even rook endgame and a draw was agreed. Both Oparin and Predke are on 6/9. Samuel Sevian was the last of the second-tiered players who started the round on 5.5 points. He was Black against Harikrishna Pentala. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, White managed to get a slightly better endgame following the opening, but it was hard to make progress. Eventually, Sevian traded his knight for the bishop and the two called it a draw after playing a few moves in a rook endgame. Sevian is now on 6/9. Gabriel Sargissian scored a quick win against Alexey Sarana after Black blundered some nice tactics resulting in a lost position: Gabriel Sargissian – Alexey Sarana Black has just imprudently played 19…Be7? and got crushed after 20.Rxc8! Qxc8 21.Qxd5+ Qe6 22.Nc6! Qxd5 23.Nxe7+ Kf7 24.Nxd5 Re6 25.Rxe6 Kxe6 26.Nb6 1-0 With 6/9 the Armenian has joined the second tear of players ahead of Round 10. Evgeniy Najer’s good run in this tournament seems to have ended as he suffered a defeat at the hands of Yu Yangyi. The Chinese player’s attack on the queenside unfolded much faster than the Russian’s counterplay on the kingside, which resulted in Evgeniy’s demise. Yu Yangyi is now on 6/9. In the other boards in the open tournament, the former contender for the title of World Champion, Boris Gelfand, played a wild game against Sergei Movsesian. In a well-rehearsed line of the Slav Defence, the game saw four queens on the board as early as move ten. A piece down, Gelfand pinned all of his hopes on an advanced h-pawn which he eventually promoted, leading him to his first victory in the tournament. Gelfand
FIDE World Championship for People with Disabilities kicks off on Tornelo
The 1st round of the 4th FIDE World Chess Championship for People with Disabilities started on November 05. This year the championship, organized by Dresdner Schachfestival e.V. under the auspices of FIDE, is held online due to continuous Covid-19 restrictions across the world. Despite the change of the format, 255 players from 46 countries decided to participate in the 9-round Swiss tournament with 45 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1, and contest for the titles of “World Chess Champion among Disabled 2021” in the individual ranking and “World Chess Team Champion among Disabled 2021” in the team competition. Participants from Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, England, Spain, France, Georgia, Germany, Guyana, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Morocco, Malaysia, Mongolia, Macedonia, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe, who belong to any of the three disability categories (visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically disabled) will play on the Tornelo platform from 5-13 November. There were 123 games played today in Round 1. The majority of the encounters ended in a victory by one of the opponents, and only eight were drawn. The first day did not bring many surprises; the top-seeded players such as GM Marcin Tazbir (2508, Poland), IM Igor Yarmonov (2394, Ukraine), FM Marcin Molenda (2365, Poland), FM Sander Severino (2364, Czech Republic) and FM Stanislav Babarykin (2364, Russia) celebrated victories today. They are joined by other 110 players who also won their games. During the pandemic, chess has been a consistent escape for many participants of the tournament. Among them is Jessica Lauser of USA, who defeated Russian player Vladimir Pronin today. Lauser has been blind for almost her entire life. “When I play chess, it’s as close as I’ve ever come to a sense of equality,” she said in her recent interview. “When you start the game, no matter who you are, no matter what your physical condition is or where you come from or whether you have money, both sides start with the same thing.” Tilegen Rakhatbekov from Kyrgyzstan also scored a full point today in a game against Martin Willms of Germany. Tilegen is only 16, but despite his young age, he has been playing chess for 7 years. “I like chess; I don’t need to talk and move; I just think. Online chess is good; you can play with the whole world from home. During the last two years that I’ve played online, I participated in many tournaments, even the Online Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities. But still, I prefer offline. I like to travel, visit new cities, and get new friends!” he said. Manuela Mekus from Germany defeated Mongolian player Mandakhbayar Byambasuren and also scored a full point today. “When I was a kid, I played a lot of tournaments. At the age of about 25, I played in the 2nd women’s chess Bundesliga. But due to the pain caused by my illness, I withdrew more and more from chess. But in November 2020, I played in the online Chess Olympiad for Germany. Since this online tournament, I have been training regularly with GM Sasa Martinovic from Croatia. 1-2 times a week. And I practice on Lichess and Chess.com. I just want to know whether I can still do it, whether I can still significantly improve my performance in chess, despite the very severe pain that I have every day without interruption,” she said. Round 2 of the 4th FIDE World Chess Championship for People with Disabilities starts at 12:00 UTC on November 06. For more information about pairings and standings, please visit the page of the event on Tornelo: https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/fide/events/4th-world-championship-for-people-with-disabilities
Luis Paolo Supi and Julia Alboredo win Brazilian Championship
Luis Paolo Supi and Julia Alboredo are new Brazilian champions. Both won their maiden national titles. The 87th Brazilian Chess Championship (Open) and 60th Women’s Championship took place in the hall of Hotel Fazenda Mato Grosso, in the city of Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso, from October 28th to November 4th, 2021. Both events, organized by the Brazilian Chess Confederation (CBX) and Contaud, one of the largest accounting companies in Cuiabá, were 11-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control. The open event turned into a close race among the rating favourites, the GMs rated 2500+, who occupied the entire podium. Luis Paulo Supi, Alexandr Fier and Darcy Lima drew their direct encounters but steamrolled lower-rated opponents and scored 9/11 each. The Buchholz tiebreaks favoured Supi, who narrowly edged out the 2019 Brazilian champion Alexandr Fier by just a half-point. Darcy Lima earned bronze. Final standings Open: 1 GM Supi, Luis Paulo 2572 9 2 GM Fier, Alexandr 2563 9 3 GM Lima, Darcy 2508 9 4 GM Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag 2560 8½ 5 GM Santiago, Yago De Moura 2478 8 6 FM Gauche, Charles 2155 8 7 IM Di, Berardino Diego Rafael 2471 8 8 FM Cunha, Lucas Aguiar 2290 8 9 FM Labussiere, Victor 2291 8 10 NM Oliveira, Silvio Eduardo 2321 8 The women’s event also saw a very tense fight for the title, with Julia Alboredo and Juliana Sayumi Terao conceding their rivals just 1½ each to finish on 9½/11. Just like in the open competition, Buchholz determined the champion, and again just a half-point separated gold from silver. Kathie Goulart Librelato also put in an excellent performance but came in third. Final standings Women: 1 WFM Alboredo, Julia 2183 9½ 2 FM Terao, Juliana Sayumi 2252 9½ 3 WIM Librelato, Kathie Goulart 2165 9 4 Bail Ellen, Larissa 1833 7½ 5 WIM Ichimura, G. Barbosa Larissa 2007 7 6 WCM Frattini, Beatriz Maria 1880 7 7 NM Tamarozi, Isabelle 1981 6½ 8 NM De Freitas, Isabella Ribeiro 1863 6½ 9 NM Medeiros, Thauane Ferreira 1896 6½ 10 WCM Heinrichs, Vivian 1974 6½ Photo: official website Official website: https://campeonatobrasileiroxadrez.blogspot.com/
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 8 Recap
Alireza Firouzja and Lei Tingjie both scored victories in the eighth round of the Grand Swiss, as they continue to lead alone Open Event Tournament leader Alireza Firouzja won as White against Krishnan Sasikiran on the first board of the Open event, securing that he alone is at the top before Round Nine, a full point ahead of the rest. In the Italian Game, the opponents followed the footsteps of Nepomniachtchi – Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave – Swiercz games (White won in both), but on the move 13 the Indian GM Sasikiran introduced a novelty of questionable quality (13…f5?). Black sacrificed an exchange pinning his hopes on some counterplay on the kingside, but Firouzja responded coolly by trading his queen for a rook and two lighter pieces and obtained an overwhelming advantage. Black’s desperate attempts to fight back were thwarted with relative ease, and the leader comfortably scored a full point. In an interview following the game, Firouzja said that he feels very comfortable with his performance and that, apart from himself, he would like to see Maxime Vachier-Lagrave take the second spot at the Grand Swiss and qualify for the Candidates. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played on board two against Alexei Shirov, who is having a very good tournament in his native city. One of Shirov’s pet lines was played – the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez. White sacrificed a pawn and got sufficient compensation, but Black returned the gift a few moves later, simplifying the position. The game quickly transpired into an endgame in which Shirov was perfectly solid. After 48 moves, the opponents agreed to a draw. Both players are now on 5.5/8 and with solid chances for the two top places. There were as many as 28 players in the Open event who started Round Eight with 4.5 points. Swedish Grandmaster Nils Grandelius was up against top-seed Fabiano Caruana. In the Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian, White achieved a slight edge but tried to avoid any complications, steering the game towards a calmer endgame. However, Caruana managed to gradually realign his pieces and advance his kingside pawns to keep the position playable. Ultimately, Caruana broke through on the queenside and, after more than six hours of play, pulled off a very important victory. The American is now sharing second place, with 5.5 points. Nikita Vitiugov notched up a smooth win against Pavel Ponkratov. In a rare line of the English Opening played by Pavel a couple of times before, Vitiugov achieved a strategically better position with a strong pawn on d5 and gradually exerted pressure on his opponent. Facing numerous problems, Black blundered a piece and had to resign. Vitiugov is now on 5.5/7 and is in a solid position ahead of the final three rounds. Grigoriy Oparin (pictured below), Anton Korobov, Samuel Sevian, David Anton Guijarro, Alexandr Predke and David Howell are also among the players who started the round with 4.5 points and scored a victory. Evgeniy Najer, who had a good start to the tournament but lost to Firouzja in the previous round, drew with Pentala Harikrishna, and both are now on five points. Things continued to go downhill for the world’s fourth top-rated player. Following a loss in Round 7, Levon Aronian drew his game against Mustafa Yilmaz. From early on, Aronian achieved a more comfortable position in the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian. White developed and secured a castle on the queenside, while Black had an exposed king in the centre. Combine that with a significant difference in clock times in favour of White, it looked like Aronian had everything going for him. However, following a pawn sacrifice with the ambition to organise an attack on Black, White made a severe mistake with 23.Qg3. This gave Black an opportunity to exchange his queen for a rook and two lighter pieces, turning the tables and making the position difficult for White. After this slip, Levon had to work hard but, eventually, he secured a draw. Aronian is now on only 50% (4/8). Among the world heavyweights, Peter Svidler made his seventh draw in the tournament. With one loss and no victories, Svidler is just on 3.5 points out of eight. Women’s Event Chinese player Lei Tingjie continues her great performance at the inaugural Grand Swiss, having secured another victory in Round 8. She now has 7/8. Lei is followed by Elisabeth Paehtz with six points, while Alexandra Kosteniuk and Natalija Pogonina share 3-4th place with 5.5/8. Lei Tingjie, who was leading everyone by half a point before Round Eight, won as White against Alina Kashlinskaya. In the Exchange Variation of the French, White made the best of the opponent’s inaccuracy to transpose into a better endgame. Black had some drawing chances, but after another mistake (22…Re8?) White won a pawn and quickly converted her advantage. With this victory, Lei Tingjie extended her lead over other players – with 7/8 she is a full point ahead of everyone else in Round Nine. Elisabeth Paehtz (who started the round in second place, with 5/7) drew her game on board two with the former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk (who had five points before this round). In the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, the position was mostly even. White tried to organise an attack on the black king’s castle, but Kosteniuk’s defences were solid. A draw was agreed on move 25, following repetition. On board three, Zhu Jiner played against former women’s world champion, Mariya Muzychuk. In the Sveshnikov Variant of the Sicilian, Black sacrificed an exchange on move 23 and got sufficient compensation in the form of a pair of bishops and an attack on White’s king that stuck in the centre. Jiner came up with the right idea of returning an exchange to relieve the pressure, but her execution was simply bad. Black had a great chance to punish White, but luckily for Zhu, Muzychuk returned the favour, and when the dust settled, an even endgame emerged on the board, in which the two sides agreed to a draw. Natalija Pogonina won her game against Jolanta Zawadzka in the Closed variation of the Catalan. Black was holding her ground throughout the game, but a couple of mistakes in the endgame cost her dearly as White
2021 FIDE Online General Assembly: List of Delegates
FIDE is publishing the list of delegates of the FIDE Online General Assembly LIST OF DELEGATES (pdf) According to FIDE Electoral Regulations At the latest five weeks before the opening session of the General Assembly, the President of each member federation shall inform the FIDE office in writing of any changes to be made to this list. If there has been no such notification by this deadline, and there is no delegate on the list that was published on the FIDE website pursuant to Section (1) above, the delegate shall be the President of the federation. FIDE recommends that the following wording be used for informing the FIDE office, until 23 November (CET 17.00), of any change to be made to the list of delegates in accordance with this paragraph. “I, the President of the federation of _____________________ hereby inform FIDE that the Delegate of my federation at the FIDE 2021 Online General Assembly will be _____________________. Date : _____________________ Signature: _____________________”
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 7 Recap
After seven rounds of play at the Grand Swiss, Alireza Firouzja and Lei Tingjie are the sole leaders. Round seven was a day of draws in the Open section and a day of decisive outcomes in the Women’s tournament Open event Naturalised Frenchman Alireza Firouzja is the victor of the seventh round of the Open section at the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. As the only player among the top ten boards who has secured a victory, he is now firmly in the first place, half a point ahead of everyone else. Firouzja is followed by a trio on five points: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Krishnan Sasikiran and Alexei Shirov. Firouzja played on board one against Russian GM Evgeniy Najer. Seeded only 38th, Najer gradually moved up, despite letting winning positions slip to draws in rounds four and six. In the Petrov Defence, Firouzja gained the initiative and transitioned to a better endgame with a free runner on the a-file. However, Black positioned his rook behind the passer and was holding his ground. Alireza made his last attempt and sent his king to the queenside at the cost of the g-pawn. The game saw a dramatic finale on the 50th move: Alireza Firouzja – Evgeniy Najer Evgeniy prematurely gave up his f-pawn 50…f1=Q? and had to resign after 51.Rxf1 Rb2+ 52.Ka8 Rb3 53.Rc1 Kg6 54.Rc7 h5 55.Rb7 Rxh3 56.Rb6+ Kg5 57.Kb7 Ra3 58.Ra6 Rb7 59.Kc7 1-0 By moving his king forward instead 50…Kg6 (h6 or f6) Black would have been right on time to create a sufficient counterplay and reach a draw: 51.a8=Q Rxa8 52.Kxa8 Kg5 53.Rf1 Kh4 54.Rxf3 Kxh3, and so on. Former Indian champion Krishnan Sasikiran drew as White against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In a topical line of the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian, both sides castled on opposite flanks and entered uncharted territory on the move 19. After the game, both players said they couldn’t find a way to improve their position, so a draw was a logical conclusion. Both are now on five points out of seven games. Andrey Esipenko, a promising 19-year-old Russian GM, who was knocked out by Magnus Carlsen in the fifth round of the 2021 World Cup, was up against the experienced local Alexei Shirov. In a highly complicated position that arose from the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, Esipenko got the upper hand, but Shirov managed to engineer some counterplay. The critical moment of the game came on move 33: White could have posed much more serious problems with 33.e4-e5. Esipenko grabbed a pawn instead, but that gave Shirov a respite that he used to consolidate his position, managing to hold his opponent to a draw. The highest-ranked player in the Grand Swiss, American Fabiano Caruana, was on board four, playing as White against compatriot Samuel Sevian. The opponents tested a sharp line of the Nimzo-Indian in which Black was up to the challenge. Moreover, despite being three pawns up at some point, Fabiano was under pressure and had to find the correct answers. Eventually, White managed to trade most of the pieces and steer the game into an equal endgame leading to a draw. The last game to finish on the top ten boards of the open event was between David Navara and one of the young Russian stars Alexei Sarana. In the Sicilian Defennce and the opponents went to a seemingly even endgame with a rook and a knight each. White had a slight advantage and declined Black’s draw offer. After the knights were traded, David still had the upper hand, but Alexei put up a stubborn resistance. After nearly six and a half hours of play, the two sides agreed to a draw. One of the leading world players Levon Aronian is not having a good tournament in Riga. In Round 7, he was defeated as Black by Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin. With just one victory and five draws (four of which were in a row), Aronian is on 3.5/7, and with slim chances of reaching the top spots. Women’s event Chinese player Lei Tingjie is alone in the lead at the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss, half a point ahead of everyone else. Elisabeth Paehtz is in second place with 5.5/7, followed by Alexandra Kosteniuk and Alina Kashlinskaya, who are on five points. Lei Tingjie, the only player in the tournament with 5/6, won as Black against Nino Batsiashvili, securing that she is still alone in the lead even after Round 7. In the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Batsiashvili sacrificed a central pawn but mishandled the opening and got no compensation whatsoever. The rest of the game was a smooth sail for the leader, who forced White’s resignation on the move 28. When asked to comment on her good run, Lei Tingjie said: “I just play chess and am relaxed for this tournament”. Elisabeth Paehtz, in her own words, is “playing the tournament of her life”, as she defeated Natalija Pogonina on board two and has 5.5/7. In the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, Paehtz gave up a pawn early on to gain the initiative. After exchanges in the centre, White managed to plant her knight on c6, disturbing Black’s pieces and ultimately regaining the sacrificed pawn. On the move 39, Black missed her last chance for counterplay and ended up in a hopeless position with a rook vs a knight and a bishop. Former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk secured a quick victory against Zhu Jiner of China, who was half a point up against the Russian before this round. Kosteniuk opened the game with 1.d4, which is not her usual first move. In the Nimzo-Indian Defence, White opted for a very aggressive setup, but Black’s reaction was far from best as by move 19 Kosteniuk already got a crushing attack on the kingside, which ultimately led to Black’s demise. Kostneniuk is now on 5/7 and in the run for one of the top places. Top seed Mariya Muzychuk drew her game against Lela Javakhishvili. The Ukrainian obtained a very promising position on the white side of the Modern Defence but made a couple of natural but not optimal moves allowing Javakhishvili to equalise. The opponents agreed on a draw after a threefold repetition on the move 25. Both players
FIDE partners with TON Labs to Launch Global NFT Marketplace ChessNFT.com
Marketplace to launch on the Free TON Network ahead of the upcoming FIDE World Championship in Dubai this November Lausanne, Switzerland — Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021 — FIDE, the International Chess Federation, has partnered with TON Labs, the core developer of the Free TON Network, to launch ChessNFT.com – a new, holistic chess non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem. This launch will position FIDE as the first-ever global sports federation to launch its own NFT marketplace. With complete marketplace functionality due later this month, ChessNFT will welcome new crypto demographic, bringing utility to both chess players and fans through the digitalization and gamification of iconic match moments, unique collectables, chess-related art and many more exciting opportunities. The platform’s interface will accommodate the bid on and purchase of chess NFTs that live on-chain through the use of both fiat and cryptocurrencies. Alexander Filatov, Co-Founder and CEO of TON Labs, commented, “Pairing the classic and universally loved sport of chess with the world of blockchain and crypto has the capability of bringing chess to the forefront of the minds of an entirely new cohort of fans across the globe. Free TON’s unique technology will allow us to deliver a seamless experience to millions of users monthly. By creating this platform, we are giving the wider chess community the opportunity to explore their passion in a unique, fully decentralized, digital capacity as well as experiencing true NFTs.” This partnership comes as FIDE chose the Free TON Network due to its ability to process transactions on a global scale. This feat is made possible through Free TON’s multi-threading features with several workchains which dynamically scale to meet user demand. User security is ensured thanks to full decentralization and unmatched throughput of transactions per second. Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE, concluded, “FIDE has started an exciting and ambitious journey of digitalization to bring new experiences and opportunities to the chess enthusiasts around the world. We are excited for one of the first steps to be a comprehensive NFT marketplace, coming right in time for the world championship match in Dubai this November.” About TON Labs Founded in May 2018, TON Labs is a global collective of experts in decentralized application development, and the core developer of the Free TON network — a decentralized, community-driven blockchain and its major component TON OS. As the core developer of Free TON, TON Labs is committed to optimizing the development of applications easily accessible to global communities and enterprises. True end-to-end decentralization is enabled by the TON Operating System (OS), a technology stack that expedites blockchain development and lives on the community-driven Free TON blockchain. With absolute trust and legitimate data ownership, developers are furnished with the tools to foster mass adoption of liberating and integrous tech. For more information, please visit https://tonlabs.io/ About FIDE The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess regulating all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999. It was one of the very first International Sports Federations, alongside the governing bodies of the sports of football, cricket, swimming, and auto racing. It is now one of the largest sports federations, encompassing 196 countries as affiliate members, in the form of National Chess Federations. For more information, please visit https://www.fide.com. For Media Enquiries: WachsmanTonlabs@wachsman.com FIDE: David Lladapress@fide.com