FIDE’s EDU accelerates provision of training for lecturers and teachers
The Preparation of Lecturers course leads to the diploma of Chess in Education Lecturer and is intended primarily for those who will lecture to teachers in order to swell the number of teachers in the world who can teach educational chess. The course hones their existing skills and opens new vistas for those from the chess world without educational background. The second course for lecturers will be held online from 18-20 June. Would-be lecturers are invited to complete and return the registration form. There are limited places, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, but over subscribers are placed on the waiting list for the next course. The Preparation of Teachers course leads to the FIDE title of School Instructor. This course is intended for those at the sharp end of teaching chess in an educational way. The next course, also the second, will be held at the beginning of July (2-4). Those who would like to develop new skills in this area and gain the title are invited to complete and return the registration form. This course is limited to 30 places, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, but over subscribers are placed on the waiting list for withdrawals or the next course. All courses are in English (other languages will be added soon) and currently run Friday-Sunday inclusive 15:00-20:00 CET. Our dedicated Chess in Education website has further details.
Cori and Gunina qualify for Main Event
GM Valentina Gunina (RUS) defeated IM Meri Arabidze (GEO) in Qualifier VIII (3+1) for the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. Valentina’s grit and determination paid off as she secured the last spot in the main event after playing for more than nine hours straight – she lost in the final of Qualifier VII (1+1), which took earlier in the day and saw the victory of WGM Deysi Cori from Peru. “It was fun. I feel really exhausted but it was fun. I could not control my nerves in the first qualifier, and I did not make it then… And now I am going to sleep” said Valentina in a short interview after her marathon playing session. Now the qualifiers will be joined by eight invited players to compete in the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event. The round of 16 starts on June 10. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle 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 2 Recap
Round 2 saw some exciting action in Bucharest as World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana won a clean game against the local GM Constantin Lupulescu, while tournament newcomer GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac managed to score a stunning upset over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, joining Caruana at the top of the leaderboard with 1.5/2. The other three games in the round (So-Aronian, Giri-Radjabov, & Mamedyarov-Grischuk) were all drawn shortly before the first time control. So – Aronian Facing Aronian’s solid Ragozin Defense, So decided to ambitiously castle queenside, but with only one open file on the board, most of the heavy pieces were quickly traded off and the game was drawn by repetition on move 30. Giri – Radjabov Giri utilized the Catalan Opening to create some strategic pressure, but Radjabov was able to keep White’s edge minimal and equalized without too many issues. After the game, Radjabov admitted that he was still getting used to playing over-the-board again, after over a year of playing exclusively online. Mamedyarov – Grischuk This game featured some imbalance, as a somewhat rare line of the Open Sicilian (transposed to from an English Opening) eventually led to a middlegame where Mamedyarov had the advantage of the two bishops but a worse pawn structure. Simplifications in the center led to a completely equal double-rook endgame, which the players quickly drew. Caruana – Lupulescu Despite being a bit surprised by Lupulescu’s choice of the French, Caruana was able to navigate to a sharp middlegame and created some play by attacking his opponent’s kingside on the light-squares. Lupulescu then erred in the complications, going into an endgame with equal material but much worse activity. Caruana was then able to use the power of his more active rook, knight, and king to force resignation on move 28. Black resigned facing White’s eventual queenside expansion Vachier-Lagrave – Deac In what was the sharpest game of the round, it first looked like MVL would be the one to win, after sacrificing a pawn for the initiative and finding the fantastic shot 25.g4, placing Black’s kingside defenses under great stress. With the presence of opposite-colored bishops favoring the attacker, it seemed like MVL was in great shape, but an unfortunate blunder allowed Deac to overtake the initiative and retain an extra pawn in the endgame. From there MVL ended up losing another pawn and found himself in a lost ending, where the opposite-colored bishops offered no real saving chances and Deac ended up scoring the full point. The coverage of the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic continues tomorrow, June 7, at 7:00 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/
2021 Superbet Chess Classic – Day 1 Recap
All five games were drawn today as the 2021 Grand Chess Tour kicked off with its first event of the year, the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic, a 10-player classical round-robin taking place in Bucharest, Romania. While three of the games were drawn after just an hour of play, all eyes were on local favourite GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac, who missed a serious chance to upset one of the tournament favourites, GM Anish Giri. Garry Kasparov makes the first move of the game Radjabov – Caruana Grischuk – Vachier-Lagrave A theoretical Grunfeld in which MVL was able to rely on his home preparation to equalize comfortably and draw the game without any particular issues. After the game, Grischuk admitted, “there is nothing to analyze, it’s just a draw”. Lupulescu – Aronian Making his Grand Chess Tour debut, the Romanian No. 1 GM Constantin Lupulescu essayed a solid line (4.Qc2) against Aronian’s Nimzo-Indian defence. Despite facing a somewhat rare move in 18.Qe3, Aronian was able to neutralize White’s pressure and the game soon ended in a repetition. Radjabov – Caruana Another relatively quick draw took place in this match-up, as Radjabov, possibly surprised by Caruana’s use of the Ragozin Defense, opted for an ultra-drawish line, resulting in another repetition to end the game peacefully. Mamedyarov – So World No. 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov chose the solid but testing Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, opting for a queenless middlegame against Wesley So. Despite attempts from both sides, neither player was able to pose any particular problems for the opponent, and the game was drawn shortly after the time control. Deac – Giri In what was undoubtedly the game of the day, local hero GM Deac (who replaced Richard Rapport at the last moment) chose the sharp 5.Bg5 variation against Anish Giri’s Semi-Slav Defense, from where the players quickly reached a complex position with opposite sides castling. After a promising exchange sacrifice, Giri almost immediately faltered, allowing his opponent’s rooks to dominate the center. But at the critical moment, Deac slipped, missing a powerful continuation (29.Re5) and instead allowed his opponent to escape into a drawish endgame. The game was then drawn soon thereafter. The coverage of the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic continues tomorrow, June 6, at 7:00 AM CDT with live comments by GMs Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Maurice Ashley on grandchesstour.org/live. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo: Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/
Gulnar Mammadova wins Qualifier VI
IM Gulnar Mammadova (AZE) defeated WIM Ashritha Eswaran (USA) to win Qualifier VI and move on to the main event of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. The Qualifier VI was a 13-round Swiss tournament (3+1 time control), with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage. In the semifinals, Ashritha Eswaran whitewashed Darya Belenkaya (RUS), whereas Gulnar Mammadova and Monica Socko (POL) exchanged blows and decided the winner in the sudden death game. The newly-minted Azerbaijani Women’s Champion won this critical encounter and advanced to the final. After an eventful draw in the first game of the final Gulnar prevailed in the second encounter with black pieces and deservedly earned her spot in the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. Qualifier VII will start on Sunday, June 6, at 10 a.m. Pacific / 19:00 Central Europe and will be followed by Qualifier VIII. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. There they will be joined by eight invited players: GM Humpy Koneru (IND), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (RUS), GM Lei Tingjie (CHN). 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.
Nana Dzagnidze wins Qualifier V
GM Nana Dzagnidze, fresh from FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Gibraltar, became the fifth player to qualify for the main event of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship after defeating IM Lilit Mkrtchian in the playoffs final. The Qualifier V was a 9-round Swiss tournament (5+1 time control), with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage. In the semifinals, Nana Dzagnidze took on Alicija Sliwicka whereas Lilit Mkrtchian squared off with another participant of the event in Gibraltar Elisabeth Paehtz. Nana played her match with great confidence and advanced to the final after beating Alicija in both games. In the second extremely tense semifinal Lilit won on-demand with black pieces after losing the first game and then prevailed in the Armageddon when Elisabeth mouse-slipped in a drawn position. The final was a close affair. The opponents the first game after exhausting all the resources. Mkrtchian obtained a promising position in the second encounter end even won a pawn but then the unthinkable happened – she made a terrible blinder and capitulated immediately. The next qualifier will be on Saturday, June 5 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time/18:00 Central European Time. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. There they will be joined by eight invited players: GM Humpy Koneru (IND), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (RUS), GM Lei Tingjie (CHN). 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 and Tech Mahindra announce landmark partnership marking a key milestone in the creation of the Global Chess League
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with Tech Mahindra Ltd., a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the parties focuses on creating together the Global Chess League, a project first proposed by Tech Mahindra Ltd. earlier this year. Now, with the support of FIDE, the Global Chess League will be provided with an accredited and exclusive status as the only world league officially recognised by the governing body of the sport of chess. The competition will be established as a first-of-its-kind “phygital” (physical and digital) league, engaging players from all levels – professional or otherwise. In principle, it will have several franchise-owned teams from across the globe, which will comprise a mix of titled players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format. FIDE and Tech Mahindra will join their forces and expertise to ensure that the spirit of the game and the highest sporting and organization standards are maintained. FIDE will help structure the technical regulations and promote the league through its media channels, providing the global audience with an engaging platform. The collaboration between Tech Mahindra and FIDE will also promote playing of chess in new and innovative formats, create opportunities for youth, and foster many champions globally. The partnership aims to leverage new-age technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, among others, and explore innovative ways of promoting the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms. A new holding company will be created to operate the functioning of the Global Chess League, in which the FIDE president will be part of the board of Directors. The project will also count on the five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand as mentor and partner, who will not just advise but will also help shape the league. Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “From tweeting about the game to forming a league under Viswanathan Anand’s mentorship, and now on-boarding FIDE – the entire journey has been very gratifying. With the coming together of all the forces in the field of chess and technology, we hope the ‘Global Chess League’ will take the game to new heights and create vibrant opportunities for the entire chess community across the world.” The collaboration will support several of FIDE’s grassroots initiatives and make chess an attractive career choice and game of global reckoning. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, said, “The motto of Chess is ‘Gens una sumus,’ meaning “We are one people”, and we at FIDE take this unique opportunity to popularize the game which bears the motto of uniting the world. We are endeavouring to dramatically enhance its visibility through a global league powered by technology and are honoured to have partnered with Tech Mahindra. I am certain that Tech Mahindra’s expertise will further aid in elevating The Global Chess League to the next level, accelerate its popularity and lay out the most riveting tournament for chess fans.” As part of its NXT.NOW framework, which aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’, Tech Mahindra has a deep focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver an enhanced experience and enable digital transformation to meet the evolving needs of the customer. CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “Chess and the business ecosystem are reflections of the same ‘game’, which hold people, strategy and adaptations at their core. The partnership with FIDE marks the coming together of two organizations to promote, revolutionize and drive fan engagement of a historical game, like Chess. We see great potential in this partnership which aims to raise the profile of the game, discover next generations of Chess champions – including women and children, enhance the fan base across the globe and take it to new commercial heights.” Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the mentor and partner of the Global Chess League, said, “With FIDE coming on board along with Tech Mahindra, I am sure the Global Chess League will help in catalyzing the popularity of the game while keeping the spirit of the game intact and create opportunities for young talent across the world” About Global Chess League: In February 2021, Tech Mahindra launched the first-of-its-kind Global Chess league. The Global Chess League will engage players from all levels – professional or otherwise and will have several franchise-owned teams from across the world. The teams will comprise of a mix of titled women and men players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format. The teams qualifying for the semifinals will enter the knockout stage of the championship. Tech Mahindra will act as the architect behind this concept and will provide the necessary operational and technological support to execute the vision. Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the Global Chess Leagues official mentor, partner, and advisor will help catalyse the growth of chess. About Tech Mahindra: Tech Mahindra offers innovative and customer-centric digital experiences, enabling enterprises, associates and society to rise. We are a USD 5.1 billion organization with 121,000+ professionals across 90 countries helping 1007 global customers, including Fortune 500 companies. We are focused on leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and more, to enable end-to-end digital transformation for global customers. Tech Mahindra is one of the fastest-growing brands and amongst the top 15 IT service providers globally. Tech Mahindra has consistently emerged as a leader in sustainability and is recognized amongst the ‘2021 Global 100 Most sustainable corporations in the World’ by Corporate Knights. With the NXT.NOW framework, Tech Mahindra aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’ for our ecosystem and drive collaborative disruption with synergies arising from a robust portfolio of companies. We aim at delivering tomorrow’s experiences today, and believe that the ‘Future is Now’. We are part of the Mahindra Group, a USD 19.4 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information
2021 1st FIDE Online Council Agenda and Commissions reports/proposals
FIDE publishes the Agenda of the 1st FIDE Online Council Meeting which was held on April 19, 2021. Download Agenda (pdf) Annex 7.1.1a, Annex 7.1.1b Arbiters’ Commission’s proposals Annex 7.2.1 Events Commission’s report Annex 7.2.2 Events Commission’s proposal regarding FIDE EVE World Championships in 2021 Annex 7.2.3 Events Commission’s proposal to postpone the FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships 2021 to 2022 Annex 7.2.4a, Annex 7.2.4b Events Commission’s proposal regarding the Bidding Procedure for FIDE Events Commission (EVE) Online Tournaments Annex 7.3 Planning and Development Commission’s report Annex 7.4.1 Qualification Commission’s report Annex 7.4.3 Proposal to reinstate the Qualification Commission’s control of the Regulations on Registration & Licensing of Player Annex 7.5 Technical Commission’s report Annex 7.6.1 Trainers’ Commission’s report Annex 7.6.2a Trainers’ Commission’s proposal Annex 7.7 Athletes Commission’s report Annex 7.8 Fair Play Commission’s report
Iulija Osmak wins Qualifier IV
IM Iulija Osmak (UKR) qualified for the main event of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship after defeating IM Nataliya Buksa (UKR) in an all Ukrainian final of the Qualifier IV playoff. The Qualifier IV was a 13-round Swiss tournament (3+1 time control), with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage. In semifinals, Osmak whitewashed Maka Purtseladze of Georgia, whereas Nataliya Buksa bested Deysi Cori from Peru after scoring a victory in the second game (the first one was drawn). In the final Iulija won the first game in an excellent positional style and took the lead in the mini-match. In the second encounter, Nataliya misplayed a slightly better position with White, lost a piece and threw in the towel shortly afterwards. The next qualifier will be on Friday, June 4 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific/19:00 CEST. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. There they will be joined by eight invited players: GM Humpy Koneru (IND), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (RUS), GM Lei Tingjie (CHN). 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.
Sitges will host the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship
The city of Sitges has been designated to host the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship 2021, to be held from September 26 to October 3. This coastal town in Spain’s Catalonia region, southwest of Barcelona, has earned its place in the chess calendar, having host already held 8 editions of an important chess open, “Sunway Chess”. Now, for the first time, Sitges will organize an official FIDE event. Twelve participating teams of the Event shall be determined according to the following criteria: a) Best team by rating from each of the four Continents (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe): federations with the highest average rating of the best four female players in the FIDE Rapid June 2021 Rating List from each Continent. If two or more federations of the same Continent have equal average ratings, the rating of the fifth best player of each federation shall be taken into account. If the average ratings are still equal, the rating of the sixth player shall be taken into account etc. b) Five teams representing federations with the highest average ratings of the best four female players in the FIDE Rapid June 2021 Rating List, not qualified by path 2.1.a. If two or more federations have qual average ratings, rating of the fifth best player of each federation shall be taken into account. If the average ratings are still equal, the rating of the sixth player shall be taken into account etc. c) HF team. If this team is qualified by path 2.1.a or 2.1.b, the qualification spot goes to the next non-qualified team by rating as described in Article 2.1.b. d) Two teams nominated by the FIDE President. You can read the whole regulations on the FIDE handbook: https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WWTCregulations2021.pdf