Mongolian Chess Federation suspended for one year
From 16 June 2021, the FIDE membership of the Mongolian Chess Federation (MCF) is suspended for a period of one year pursuant to a decision of the FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission (EDC) in EDC case no. 4/2018. In view of this sanction, the FIDE Council has taken measures to protect the interests and rights of players, organizers, arbiters, trainers, clubs, etc. belonging to the Mongolian Chess Federation during the suspension period. You can read the FIDE Council decision on how this suspension will be implemented at the following link. This is the full text of the decision made by the FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission: “From 16 June 2021, the FIDE membership of the Mongolian Chess Federation (MCF) is suspended for a period of one year pursuant to a decision of the FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission (EDC) in EDC case no. 4/2018. The EDC received a complaint by GM Efstratios Grivas of Greece against the MCF as long ago as June 2018. The complaint related to the non-payment of certain monies due to GM Grivas in terms of a written agreement concluded with the MCF for the supply of chess training materials and assignment of rights to use the materials translated into the Mongolian language. The payment was due in four instalments between February and November 2018, but the MCF had already failed, at the date of the complaint, to make payment of the first two instalments. After the EDC had declared the case as provisionally admissible, the MCF made payment in September 2018 of half of the contractual amount. Since then the balance of 50% has remained outstanding and GM Grivas asked the EDC to render a final decision. The case is related to a contractual matter, with the EDC having to decide the boundaries between contract/business law and the disciplinary law enforced by the FIDE Code of Ethics. As a general rule, a breach of a contractual obligation is not per se a violation of the Code of Ethics and would normally be a case for the civil courts. However, the EDC held in its final decision that it may have jurisdiction over a case if there is proof of a dishonourable failure or refusal to meet commercial obligations and the matter is closely enough connected to the sphere of chess governance. In particular: The contract must be relating to chess and closely linked to one of the chess spheres governed by FIDE. Purely commercial contracts remain outside of EDC Jurisdiction; Both parties must belong to the “FIDE Family”; and There must be grounds for misbehaviour or misconduct that can be considered as a breach of the FIDE Code of Ethics. Both parties to a chess contract must act in a loyal way and according to the principle of good faith fulfil their obligations. If unforeseen difficulties intervene in the performance of a contract, the parties should approach each other and also negotiate in good faith to overcome them. The violation of these requirements could be considered as reprehensible behaviour and could constitute a violation of the FIDE Code of Ethics. In the present case, despite the long period of two-and-a-half years since the full payment was due and the MCF’s apparent indifference by lack of response towards Mr. Grivas’ numerous reminders, half of the debt remains outstanding until today which the EDC found was a clear sign of a reluctance to pay and an unjustifiable attitude. The EDC held further that the MCF had failed to rebut the factual presumption that their non-payment of GM Grivas’ monies was without good reason in the absence of any just explanation from their side. The MCF was found guilty of a violation of articles 2.4 (Failure to comply with normally accepted standards of courtesy and chess etiquette; misbehaviour of a personal nature which is generally unacceptable by normal social standards) and 2.2.10 (occurrences which cause the game of chess, FIDE or its federations to appear in an unjustifiable unfavourable light and in this way damage its reputation) of the Code of Ethics. The MCF was sanctioned with a temporary exclusion from membership as a FIDE national federation member, including any participation in FIDE meetings and events, for a period of 1 year. This sanction does not affect the rights of players, arbiters, trainers and clubs belonging to the MCF from participating fully in a sport activity. The MCF was afforded a period of 3 months from the date of the EDC’s decision on 16 March 2021 for it to make full payment of the outstanding amount to Mr. Grivas, failing which the temporary exclusion from membership would take effect. As the MCF has failed to make the outstanding payment within the given 3 month -period, the suspension has indeed taken effect on 16 June 2021.” You can read the FIDE Council decision on how this suspension will be implemented at the following link.
WSCC 2021: Stefanova eases into quarterfinals
Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria beat Deysi Cori (Peru) 16 ½:6½ in the Round of 16 and become the fourth player to progress into the quarters of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. The Bulgarian GM was a much better player in all three segments of the match, winning them 6:2 (5+1), 6:1 (3+1) and 4½:3½. Member of the Bulgarian National Assembly since 2021, Stefanova is currently right in the middle of her campaign for the parliamentary elections that will be held in Bulgaria on July 11, 2021. “I am very happy that I am going to the quarterfinals, but I really have a lot of things to do for the campaign, travelling around Bulgaria, attending various events,” she told at the post-match interview. “I organized a youth festival last Sunday in Plovdiv. We’re going to have another one in Sofia. Tomorrow I am going to another chess activity in another town. It’s a bit hectic.” The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players are battling for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series Announced
Two tickets to the FIDE Candidates Tournament will be decided in a tightly-packed series organized by World Chess FIDE and World Chess are pleased to announce the 2022 Grand Prix Series that will take place in February — April of 2022 and will consist of three tournaments. The events will take place in one city — a deviation from the typical system where Grand Prix events are hosted in different cities around the world, but a move that will make it easier for the chess players to plan their travel schedule amid the pandemic-related travel and visa restrictions. The Series will feature 24 players who will compete in two out of three events. Each event will consist of a group stage and then a knock-out. In the group stage, each group will play a round-robin six-round tournament. The system has been improved to reflect the chess community’s feedback regarding the number of classic games: now there are six classic games in the first stage of each event. This further decreases random results and ensures that the players who consistently perform well move to the next stage. The prize fund for each event is EUR150,000 — a EUR20,000 increase from 2019. The qualification criteria to the Series has also been revamped to increase the number of players who are selected by events results — 16 out of 24 players qualify for their performance in the World Cup and Grand Swiss. The rest is selected by rating, and two are nominated by FIDE and World Chess respectively. The events are packed tightly into the first half of 2022 to allow ample time for the Candidates Tournament which is expected to be held in 2022 and a possibility to hold the FIDE Championship Match at the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023, restoring the FIDE Calendar that shifted due to the pandemic. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, says: “While we are anxiously waiting for the outcome of the 2021 Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, we are looking forward to the next cycle and new players qualifying to beat the World Champion, whoever he might be”. The Series is organized by World Chess, FIDE commercial partner and official broadcaster. Ilya Merenzon, World Chess CEO, says: “We are currently on the lookout for the best possible city to hold the Series and are so excited to work with the chess fans and ask their opinion of the next chess capital. In the next week, we’ll issue a global call for suggestions and will talk to the chess luminaries and fans around the world to choose this special city”. About World Chess: World Chess is a London-based chess gaming and entertainment group and FIDE’ official broadcaster and commercial partner. World Chess organized the FIDE Championship Matches in Russia, the USA, and the UK, and revolutionized the sport by signing the biggest media partnerships in history. World Chess develops Armageddon, the chess league for prime-time television. World Chess also runs FIDE Online Arena, the exclusive official chess gaming platform. More at worldchess.com.
Harika brings down Kosteniuk to reach quarterfinals
Harika Dronavalli (India) won a very close match over Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship main event. Alexandra started right out of the gate dominating the 5+1 portion of the match 5½:2½. Harika proved herself a real fighter – she staged an impressive comeback in the 3+1 stage and took a one-point lead 8:7. Kosteniuk got an upper hand in the 1+1 segment of their duel and came very close to getting home but Dronavalli pulled off so much-needed victory in the last game to send the match into a best-out-of-four tiebreaker. After two hard-fought draws, Harika won two games in a row and made her way into the quarterfinals where she takes on the winner of Anna Muzychuk – Iulija Osmak match. “It was very good for me and bad luck for my opponent. I think it could have gone either way” said the gracious winner in a short interview after the match. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players are battling for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins Superbet Classic
World No. 5 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov finished with 6.0/9 points to win 1st place in the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic, clinching victory after a draw with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final round. Tying for second place were Levon Aronian, Wesley So, and Alexander Grischuk, who each drew their last-round games to finish with 5.0/9. The win earns Mamedyarov a first-place prize of $90,000 and a total of 13 Grand Chess Tour points. Vachier-Lagrave – Mamedyarov ½-½ The French No. 1 chose the ultra-solid Four Knights Scotch and promptly took the game into a drawish endgame. Needing only a draw to secure 1st place, Mamedyarov decided to trade off one of his bishops to enter a worse position but with opposite-colored bishops. The players soon repeated moves, though according to the engines MVL certainly could have played on, holding a big advantage at the end of the game. Aronian – Radjabov ½-½ Another quick draw as the players repeated moves in a known line of the Berlin Defense. A solid but somewhat unfortunate result for Radjabov, who finished the event with nine draws, many occurring from theoretical lines in the opening. Lupulescu – So ½-½ A solid line of the 4.Qc2 Nimzo gave Lupulescu a small structural advantage, but So had plenty of activity to compensate for his slightly weakened king. Neither player was able to generate any chance and the game finished in a repetition shortly before the first time control. Giri – Grischuk ½-½ The game saw an interesting variant of the Italian Game left Giri with a bit of pressure in the middlegame. Things stayed relatively balanced, with the exception of one moment where Giri could have secured a nice strategic advantage. After missing this chance the game soon saw massive trades, petering out into an equal endgame. Caruana – Deac ½-½ In the longest game of the day, Caruana chose the King’s Indian Attack, an opening where White typically tries to build up a slow but deadly attack on the kingside. While Deac successfully defended against the kingside pressure, he allowed Fabiano some chances in the endgame. Unfortunately, for World No. 2 it wasn’t enough, and after 74 moves of play the game finished with just bare kings on the board. The next leg in the GCT will be the Paris Grand Chess Tour, a 10-player round-robin rapid and blitz tournament. The Paris Grand Chess Tour will be held at Mobilier National from June 18-22. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes and Bryan Adams Official website: grandchesstour.org/
2021 Superbet Chess Classic – Day 8 Recap
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov maintained his full-point lead in the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic, forcing a quick draw against Giri while neither of his closest rivals was able to make progress in the standings. The only decisive victory went to Levon Aronian, who won his second game in a row to give himself an outside chance of catching up to the leader. With just one round left to play, Mamedyarov can clinch clear first place in Bucharest tomorrow with another draw. But a loss will mean that either Aronian, So, or Grischuk will be able to catch up with a win. Mamedyarov – Giri ½-½ With a full-point lead going into the final two rounds, Mamedyarov opted for a trendy forced draw in the Grunfeld Defense, used by Radjabov earlier in the event and by several top players in recent online events. Giri, playing Black, did not object and the game was drawn soon after the round started. Playing it safe after three wins in a row, Mamedyarov forced a draw today with the White pieces. | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes So – Vachier-Lagrave ½-½ A quite unusual variation in the Symmetrical English saw Vachier-Lagrave making eight moves with the same knight out of the first ten, in exchange for White having to move his king and weaken his structure in the center. A sharp battle ensued, with So sacrificing a pawn on the kingside in order to generate a dangerous attack. MVL defended well though and was able to force a series of trades, leading to a drawn opposite-colored bishops endgame. Radjabov – Lupulescu ½-½ For the first time in the event, Radjabov opted for 1.e4 and did not force a theoretical draw with White, opting to play a fighting game against Lupulescu, who went for the Classical Sicilian which he previously used against Grischuk. While Black’s position looked suspect on the light-squares, Radjabov was not able to secure an advantage, and Lupulescu slowly started to take over the initiative. Soon the minor pieces got traded off, leaving both players with a queen and pair of rooks, and neither player able to make progress without exposing their own king. The game was then drawn by repetition after the first time control. Deac – Aronian 0-1 A surprising choice of the Sicilian Defense backfired for Aronian, as he ended up in a slightly worse endgame coming out of the Moscow Variation (3.Bb5+). But he was soon able to outplay the Romanian Junior and 10 moves later Black was already playing for two results. Despite putting up stiff resistance, Deac made a crucial error in a pure bishop vs. knight endgame, and Aronian found a brilliant breakthrough to win his second game in a row. After 60…e5! with the point 61.Nxe5 Kc2!, and White would have no way to stop the plan of bringing Black’s king to f1 to escort the g-pawn, winning. Grischuk – Caruana ½-½ Looking to win to stay in the range of Mamedyarov, Grischuk chose an aggressive approach against Caruana’s Neo-Moller (5…Bc5) Variation of the Ruy Lopez, pushing his kingside early to take lots of space. White’s kingside quickly became overextended, however, and Caruana was the one to seize the initiative in the middlegame, forcing Grischuk to give up a pawn. After a tense time scramble leading up to the first time control, it was Grischuk who managed to come out on top with an extra pawn and seemingly excellent winning chances in the endgame. But a later slip allowed Caruana a nice resource to liquidate most of the material and end up in a drawn rook endgame. The final round of the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic will take place on June 14, starting at 6:50 AM CDT with live coverage from GMs Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Maurice Ashley on grandchesstour.org/live. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes and Bryan Adams Official website: grandchesstour.org/
Lagno defeats Gunina to advance into quarters
Katerina Lagno prevailed over Valentina Gunina in a dramatic Round of 16 Russian derby to secure her spot in the quarterfinals. Katerina won the longest stage of the match (5+1) by a minimal margin of 4½:3½, but Valentina stormed back in the 3+1 portion to level the score. The opponents exchanged heavy blows in the final 1+1 part of the duel and it came down to the final winner-takes-it-all game. Lagno pulled it off with black pieces and punched her ticket into the quarterfinals. Next up: Round of 16, Match 3 on June 16 at 15:30 CEST – GM Alexandra Kosteniuk vs. GM Harika Dronavalli. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players are battling for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
2021 Superbet Chess Classic – Day 7 Recap
Things couldn’t have gone better today for World No. 5 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov as he defeated Fabiano Caruana in an explosive fashion to win his third game in a row in the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic. Meanwhile, the previous co-leader Alexander Grischuk lost a difficult game to Levon Aronian, leaving Mamedyarov with a full-point lead ahead of the field. With two rounds left to play, Mamedyarov is now a strong favourite to win the event, which would earn him a first-place prize of $90,000 and 13 Grand Chess Tour Points in the overall circuit. Radjabov – So ½-½ A theoretical Ragozin Defense saw Teimour Radjabov offer a piece sacrifice in order to open up his opponent’s king, but Wesley So promptly declined (accepting would be far too dangerous) and instead found a clever way to simplify into an equal endgame. With even material and opposite-colored bishops, the result was never in doubt and the players drew shortly before move 40. Aronian – Grischuk 1-0 Despite a quiet variation of the Tarrasch Defense, Grischuk found himself in a particularly grueling version of his usual time-trouble, going down to just 13 minutes with 26 moves left to play in the first time control. Although his position wasn’t objectively bad, Grischuk quickly misplayed things, allowing Aronian to weaken Black’s king and soon take advantage with a vicious attack. After 29 moves it was all over, with Aronian’s pieces ready to soon deliver mate. Caruana – Mamedyarov 0-1 The game of the round saw Mamedyarov take his chances with an early and extremely aggressive g7-g5 push in the typically-solid Berlin Defense, looking to attack White’s king from the very start. Although the engine disapproved of Black’s play, Caruana could not refute the line over the board and quickly found himself in trouble, opting to trade queens into a difficult endgame. Despite resistance from Fabiano, sacrificing two pawns in hopes of activity, Mamedyarov accepted the material and accurately converted his advantage, eventually ending in a trivial rook endgame. Giri – Vachier-Lagrave 1-0 Anish Giri was somewhat fortunate today as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave didn’t seem to have many issues equalizing against his anti-Grunfeld with 1.Nf3. Things, however, were not too simple as Giri ended up with an extra pawn in an endgame with rooks and opposite-colored bishops. Despite the drawish tendency of these kinds of endgames, Giri managed to cause problems for MVL; and an untimely trade of rooks left White with decent winning chances in the pure opposite-colored bishops endgame. MVL then made one more mistake and it was all over, as Giri found a nice way to sacrifice his bishop for multiple passed pawns and a decisive advantage. Lupulescu – Deac ½-½ The battle of the two Romanian locals also proved to be an exciting one, with both players fighting for chances in a complicated ‘isolated queen pawn’ middlegame. As the pieces came off the board, it was Deac who had the upper hand in the endgame, thanks to his slightly better structure and more active pieces, but Lupulescu defended well and managed to eventually hold the draw. The coverage of the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic continues Sunday, June 12, at 6:50 AM CDT with live coverage from GMs Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Maurice Ashley on grandchesstour.org/live. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/
Assaubayeva beats Koneru to advance into quarters
Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) turned in a dominating performance in the first Round of 16 match against Humpy Koneru (IND) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WSCC 2021 Main Event. The youngest participant in the field (Bibisara is just 17), who had qualified for the main event, won all three segments (5+1, 3+1 and 1+1) of the duel against the top-rated opponent. Bibisara was particularly strong in the fastest 1+1 stage to finish the match comfortably 14½ : 7 ½ . In the second Round of 16 match scheduled for June 13 – Katerina Lagno takes on Valentina Gunina. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players are battling for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
FIDE World Cup 2021: Accommodation guide
The Organizing Committee secured a limited number of rooms at discount prices at the following five hotels (“Official Hotels”) in Sochi (Krasnaya Polyana District) for the accommodation of players during the FIDE World Cup. The rooms will be allocated on a “first come first served” basis. The rates include all applicable taxes and charges except Resort Fee 10 RUR (approximately equal to USD 0.14) per person per night, which according to local laws must be paid to hotels directly by hotel guests. Transportation from Official Hotels to/from the Adler / Sochi International Airport (AER) and to/from the playing venue will be provided free of charge. Accommodation costs for players staying at Official Hotels booked via the Organizing Committee will be paid to hotels by the Organizing Committee and deducted from the players’ prize money. All extra costs (room service, early check-in/late check-out, mini bar, laundry, etc.) shall be settled with hotels by players during check-out. In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, all payments to hotels shall be made in Russian Rubles (all major payment cards are accepted). PARK INN ROZA KHUTOR 4*Distance to the competition venue – 2.6 km.Accommodation will be guaranteed by Organizing Committee only for the period from July 10th until July 18th Room rates: Rate for single accommodation (One person per room): Standard Breakfast only – 7 500 RUR per room per night, Full Board – 11 100 RUR Rate for double accommodation (Two persons per room, 2 twin beds): Standard Breakfast only – 8 300 RUR per room per night, Full Board – 15 500 RUR All taxes except Resort Fee (10 RUR per person per night) are included. There are no rooms left in this hotel at our special rates GRAND HOTEL POLYANA 5*Distance to the competition venue – 950 mAccommodation will be guaranteed by Organizing Committee from July 10th Room rates: Rate for single accommodation (One person per room): Deluxe (with a balcony) Breakfast only – 16 400 RUR per room per night, Full Board – 20 400 RUR Extra costs for additional person: Breakfast only – 1 650 RUR per night, Full Board – 5 650 RUR All taxes except Resort Fee (10 RUR per person per night) are included. There are no rooms left in this hotel at our special rates SOCHI MARRIOTT KRASNAYA POLYANA HOTEL 5*Distance to the competition venue – 2.4 kmAccommodation will be guaranteed by Organizing Committee from July 14th Room rates: Rate for single accommodation (One person per room): Deluxe (one bed) Breakfast only – 16 900 RUR per room per night, Full board – 20 900 RUR. Executive Deluxe (one bed) Breakfast only – 20 200 RUR per room per night, Full board – 24 200 RUR. Suite (one bed) Breakfast only – 21 900 RUR per room per night, Full board – 25 900 RUR.Extra costs for additional person: Breakfast only – 1 650 RUR per night, Full board – 5 650 RUR per night. Rate for double accommodation in Deluxe (Two persons per room, 2 twin beds): Breakfast only – 18 200 RUR per room per night. Full Board – 26 200 RUR per room per night. All taxes except Resort Fee (10 RUR per person per night) are included. COURTYARD SOCHI KRASNAYA POLYANA 4*Distance to the competition venue – 1.7 km.Accommodation will be guaranteed by Organizing Committee from July 10th There are no rooms left in this hotel at our special rates MERCURE ROZA KHUTOR 4*Distance to the competition venue – 2.4 km.Accommodation will be guaranteed by Organizing Committee from July 10th There are no rooms left in this hotel at our special rates Dear participants: you should choose the accommodation via the registration system: https://wc2021registration.fide.com/. Please indicate your check-in date as the date of your arrival in Sochi. Indicate your check-out date as the 7th of August. Once you have completed your participation in the tournament, visit the registration system and update your check-out date. Information about Tournament Hall: Gazprom mountain resort, Galaktika center (Achipsinskaya street, 12). Official FIDE World Cup 2021 website: https://worldcup.fide.com