Tashkent hosts Online Seminar for International Organizers
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation, under the auspices of the FIDE Events Commission (EVE) and the Asian Chess Federation, held an online seminar for International Organizers from On May 07-10, 2021 concurrently with the Zone 3.4 Open Championships that are taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This event was made possible thanks to financial support from FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation. The main objective was to train and certify Organizers of international chess events in compliance with FIDE regulations. For the first time, the list of topics included FIDE Online Chess Regulations with an emphasis on the practical aspects of organizing hybrid chess competitions. The exam material and format were also updated significantly. The seminar was conducted by Vadim Tsypin (CAN) IA, IO, FIDE EVE Lecturer using Zoom videoconferencing platform. Fifteen participants from five Asian and European federations (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lativa and Ukraine) participated. Attendees who passed the exam will be awarded a FIDE EVE norm necessary for a FIDE IO title application.
Law Academy (Kharkiv) wins Ukrainian Team Championship
The Ukrainian Team Championship, a 7-round Swiss tournament took place in Lviv from May 6-12. The rating favourite, Law Academy (Kharkiv) stepped up to the plate and clinched the title with two rounds to spare. The team headed by Pavel Eljanov and Yuriy Kuzubov bagged a brace winning all the matches in both classical and rapid events. The club was set up within the “Yaroslav the Wise National Law University” in 1998 and has since been the center of attraction for the student players. The local team Bank Lviv beat Youth Ukraine in a critical last round match and leapfrogged the rival to earn silver. Chernivtsi Zubr (Chernivtsi) tied for third with Youth Ukraine and Lviv Chess Academy and took bronze thanks to better tiebreaks (a higher number of game points). Final standings: 1. Law Academy – 142. Bank Lviv – 103. Chernivtsi Zubr – 94. Youth Ukraine – 95. Lviv Chess Academy – 96. Lviv Chess School Debiut – 1 – 87. Lviv Chess School Debiut – 3 – 88. Lviv Chess School Debiut – 2 – 79. Lviv Chess School Debiut – 4 – 710. Youth Ukraine – 2 – 7 Photo: Ukrainian Chess Federation
Montenegro Championship: Luka Draskovic takes his first title
IM Luka Draskovic emerged as the winner of the 73rd Montenegro chess championship. The 9-round Swiss tournament with the prize fund of €4,500 was held in Podgorica and attracted 35 players including two GMs. The champion scored 7 out of 9, with 5 wins and 4 draws, and clinched his first national title. Grandmaster Dragisa Blagojevic came in second just a half-point behind. A group of five players with 6 points each tied for third place. The Buchholz favored FM Aleksandar Tomic who took bronze. The top-seeded eight-time champion GM Nikola Djukic finished eighth. The top four players are going to play knockouts from May 13-16 with the winner representing Montenegro at the World Cup 2021. Semifinal pairings: Draskovic – KalezicBlagojevic – Tomic Final standings: 1. Draskovic, Luka (2464) – 72. Blagojevic, Dragisa (2481) – 6½3. Tomic, Aleksandar (2365) – 64. Kalezic, Blazo (2456) – 65. Vujovic, Savo (2167) – 66. Kisic, Bozidar (2301) – 67. Musovic, Armin (2258) – 68. Djukic, Nikola (2510) – 5½9. Sukovic, Andrej (2254) – 5½10. Pobor, Milo (2124) – 5½
Chess for Freedom Conference and Tournament: Brief recap
The International Chess Federation together with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) held the first event of the Chess for Freedom program. The project, aimed at the introduction of chess as a tool for education and social inclusion in prisons of different countries, is carried out under the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov’s patronage. The project kicked off on May 11 with an online conference featuring FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and other guests who discussed various topics and made presentations. In parallel with the conference, an exhibition online tournament with four participant countries – Armenia, Russia, Spain, and the USA, was held on Chess.com. Both the conference and the tournament were broadcast live on the FIDE YouTube channel. Federation officers, journalists, and members of the penitentiary administration and policymakers had a chance to join the Zoom call and ask questions. In his introductory speech FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich told about the program, its main goals, and objectives: “We are starting this conference to share the best practices of introducing chess into prisons for prisoners and inmates… We really believe that the game of chess, one of the oldest intellectual games historically is very helpful to improve socialization skills for people who are restricted in their freedom, to help people to think a bit more rationally. People who made mistakes in the past but have all possibilities to improve their lifestyle in the future. Chess is very instrumental in doing that.” The 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov who has been the driving force behind this program also greeted all the participants: “In Russia, we started this program 22 years ago… 10 years ago the program became international, it was adopted in Brasil, Switzerland, Belarus.” In his presentation, “Norway Chess in Society Prison Project”, Geir Nesheim, a member of the FIDE Social Commission stressed the importance of government support for launching chess activity virtually everywhere and cooperation with the Norwegian Correction Service. GM Darcy Lima shared the Brazilian experience of introducing chess to inmates and the positive impact of the game on prisoners in his presentation “Chess that Liberates”: “The repeated infringements rate in Brazil is 72%… For those who stayed in a chess program for less than 1 year, this rate drops to 47%. 1-2 years – 22%. More than 2 years – 17%.” Doctor of Philosophy an Associate Professor at the University of Leithbridge, Alberta, Canada, Grigg Lance told about a program and research project for at-risk youth and prison inmates “Chess for Life”. According to him youth felt accepted and respected at Chess for Life sessions, not judged; many appreciated the calm atmosphere during the sessions and the regularity of the program. The English Chess Federation manager of chess in prisons Carl Portman focused on redemption that chess promise and quoted real-life testimony about the power of the game. All the presentations available for download in PDF format: Norway Chess and Society Prison Project (by Geir Nesheim) Chess that Liberates (by GM Darcy Lima) Chess for Life (by Grigg Lance) Chess and Redemption (by Carl Portman) The former prisoner Hector Guifarro shared his experience in the course of the tournament: “I started playing chess in prison. At the start, it helped to deal with stress and anxiety. The more I kept playing, the better I became, and I just fell in love with it.” The Russian team won all three matches and came in clear first, the USA finished second with two victories, Armenia and Spain scored an equal amount of team points but the former netted one more board point. Final standings: 1. Russia – 32. USA – 23. Armenia – ½4. Spain – ½ Reflecting on the event as a successful start of the “Chess for Freedom” program, Sheriff of Cook County Tom Dart emphasized that “this was just a first step”. The organizing team is focused on autumn when the First Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners will be held on the occasion of International Day of Education in Prison, from 13-14 October 2021.
Announcing winners of FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020-21
The FIDE Trainers Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the 14th FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020-21, which recognize and celebrate the achievements of the chess training community. Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) wins the Mikhail Botvinnik Award for the best achievement in Open Section competitions. Kasimdzhanov was a second for former World Champion Viswanathan Anand, whom he helped in the preparation of his WC matches in 2008 against Kramnik, 2010 against Topalov, and 2012 against Gelfand. He was also the trainer of Sergey Karjakin in the Candidates Tournament of 2014, and then of Fabiano Caruana in the Candidates Tournament 2016 and the 2018 World Chess Championship match against Carlsen. Photo: Austin Fuller Ni Hua (CHN) receives the Vakhtang Karseladze Award for the best achievement by a trainer in women’s and/or girls’ competitions. Ni Hua has been Ju Wenjun‘s only coach since 2016, and during the time the World Championship Match 2020 was being played in Vladivostok, his grandmother passed away. Instead of travelling back to China to assist the funeral, he stayed with Ju Wenjun and kept the sad news from her, in order not to unbalance her in such a crucial moment. That is the level of commitment of a devoted coach! Sergey Zagrebelny (RUS) has been chosen by the judges for the Mark Dvoretsky Award for the best achievement by a trainer in junior events. Originally from Uzbekistan, a country with which he won a medal at the Manila Olympiad in 1992, he is now one of the main coaches at the “Moscow Youth” chess school since 2012. In that institution, he has had the chance to work with some of the raising Russian stars, like Polina Shuvalova. Sergey took Polina under his wing in 2015, and their collaboration has been very fruitful: she won the World Girls’ U18 Champion in 2018 and 2019, and the 2019 World Girls U-20 Champion title as well. Photo: chessmoscow.ru Jakov Geller (RUS) is the winner of the Samuel Reshevsky Award for the best achievement by a junior prodigy (U-14). Jakov has been one of Russia’s top modern coaches since 2007 and his pupils have included grandmasters Ivan Bukavshin and Alexandr Predke, international masters Darsen Sanzhaev, Alexey Mokshanov and Rudik Makarian, and WGM Dinara Dordzhieva. In 2020, he devoted a biography to the late Ivan Bukavshin, who passed away at the age of 20 (“Ivan Bukavshin – A Chess Prodigy’s Career in 64 Games”, published by Elk and Ruby). Xie Jun (CHN) wins the Yuri Razuvaev Award for her special contribution to grassroots education, and the social impact of her work. Xie Jun was the first Chinese World Chess Champion, and the second player in the country to be awarded the GM title, only after Ye Rongguang. Considered a hero in China, she did a lot to popularize international chess in her country and the rest of Asia. In July 2004, she was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. Ye Jiangchuan (CHN) gets the Tigran Petrosian Award for his special contribution to trainer education. Having learned chess at the relatively late age of 17, he became the Chinese national champion just three years down the road. Ye has played less frequently after becoming the chief coach of the Chinese national teams (men and women) in 2000, and he was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer in 2005. His experience has been very valuable to train new coaches in China. The FIDE Asia Chess Academy in Amman, run by Sami Khader (JOR), gets the Vasily Smyslov Award for the best chess academy. The work done by this academy has not passed unnoticed to anyone, as the academy organized multiple courses, FIDE seminars, and even a program to qualify chess trainers among refugees in Jordan, with the cooperation of FIDE and the UNHCR. Sami is one of the most important dynamizing agents in the Middle East area, and this earned him the recognition of his peers. Melikset Khachiyan (USA) wins the Liu Wenzhe Award, a recognition to the figure of the “first coach”, as endorsed by one or more leading chess players. Melikset got his endorsement from none other than the fourth-highest rated player in history, Levon Aronian. Melik first met Levon in 1991, when he was 9 years old and had just started to play chess. Barely three years later, Levon would win the 1994 World Youth Chess Championship (under-12) in Szeged, Hungary, ahead of some other future stars like Grischuk, Bacrot, and Vallejo. “I am very grateful to destiny that I had a great first coach. Many of the things he taught me I still use today. He is a dedicated professional that also changed and reinvented other talented players like Tigran L Petrosian, Arman Pashikian, and Varuzhan Hakobian, all of whom became grandmasters”, wrote Levon. Nowadays, Khachiyan works mainly with the IM Annie Wang, and with the American Women’s team. Berik Akkozov (KAZ), of the ABChess Academy, is the winner of the Online Chess Training Award, for delivery or innovation in online chess training. In 2019, ABChess launched a web-based platform to learn chess, both for beginners and advanced players. The website was then complemented with Android and iOS apps. The project kept growing, and in 2020 some new features were added, like a Teachers’ Back Office, a built-in gamification system, an Interactive Webinar tool, and an Artificial Intelligence solution with more than 5,000 practical exercises that are constantly reviewed and optimised. These were the seven judges for the Trainers awards 2020-21, except for the Yuri Averbakh/Isaac Boleslavsky Award for best book, the Vasily Smyslov Award for the best academy, and the Online Chess Training Award, which are judged by a separate panel of experts: 1. FST & GM Jacob Aagaard (SCO) – Chairman2. FT & GM Ahmed Adly (EGY) – Africa3. FST & GM Alonso Zapata (COL) – Americas4. FST & GM Yu Shaoteng (CHN) – Asia5. FST & GM Artur Yusupov (GER) – Europe6. FST & GM Maia Chiburdanidze (GEO) – Women7. FST & GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – Women We would like to thank the judges for their commitment, particularly taking into consideration that being a judge obviously prevents them from being nominated.
Russian Team Championships: Favorites shine in Sochi
The Russian Team Championships took place May 1-10 at the Hotel Zhemchuzhina in Sochi. The open competition (Premier League) was a 9-team round-robin, whereas the women’s event was held in a different format – a 9-round Swiss tournament. Both competitions saw the triumph of the rating favourites. Mednyi Vsadnik headed by Nikita Vitiugov (with Maxim Matlakov, Kirill Alekseenko and Andrey Esipenko on second, third and fourth boards respectively) simply crushed the competition, winning all the matches and sealing the title with a round to spare. The team from St-Petersburg survived just one tense moment in the encounter with KPRF in Round 4 but eventually prevailed thanks to the victory of Vladimir Fedoseev over Sergey Rublevsky. Moscow Chess Team turned in a very solid performance but after losing to Mednyi Vsadnik had no realistic chances for gold and finished second. Gogolevsky, 14 took bronze. Final standings: 1. Mednyi Vsadnik – 16 (team points)2. Moscow Chess Team – 133. Gogolevsky, 14 – 124. KPRF – 95. Wildberries Molodezhka – 76. Mikhail Botvinnik School – 57. Ladya – 58. SShOR – 39. Kimmeria – 2 The women’s competition was pretty much a carbon copy of the open tournament as the Moscow Chess Team that boasts of Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Polina Shuvalova in its lineup cruised through the tournament also scoring nine victories. Southern Ural-1 and Ugra earned silver and bronze respectively. Final standings: 1. Moscow Chess Team – 18 (team points)2. Southern Ural-1 – 153. Ugra – 134. SShOR-1 – 115. Moscow Region – 116. Kimmeria – 107. Southern Ural-2 – 108. Youth of Moscow – 99. SShOR-2 – 910. Amazonki ADDA – 9 Photo: Vladimir Barsky
“Chess Behind Bars”
This piece was originally published on the FIDE Newsletter #31 (May 10, 2021). If you want to receive this biweekly publication directly in your inbox, please subscribe here. One of the experts to take part in the “Chess for Freedom” online conference that was held on May 11, is our colleague Carl Portman, from Birmingham. Carl lived what we could describe as a rough childhood, and he often says that chess changed his life. He goes as far as to say that he could well have found himself in a prison, had chess not helped him to deviate from the wrong path. “It diverted my attention from any nefarious activities and made me use my time more productively (…). Truly, chess opened a happy world for me”. Thanks to chess, he received something that he had never experienced before, encouragement from the adults around him. After serving for 30 years in the Ministry of Defense (he represented the UK in the NATO Championships in France 2012), he co-founded, with his wife Susan, the limited company Caissa Consulting. He plays, organizes events, and teaches chess in schools. When the ECF announced a vacancy for the position of “Manager of Chess in Prisons”, he took it without hesitating. The famous book “The Grass Arena”, written by an ex-convict, had made a profound impact on him, and he “wanted to give something back” after chess had done so much for him. The first prison he visited was HMP Coldingley in Surrey, in the South East of England. In some of the initial visits, he was accompanied by IM Malcolm Pein. “Prison staff were amazed at how the inmates were so completely focused for three hours non-stop. No one wanted us to leave,” recalls Malcolm. Shortly afterwards, in 2015, Carl was awarded the ECF President’s award for services to chess. In 2018, after four years in which he had voluntarily visited 25 prisons up and down the country, he published “Chess Behind Bars” (Quality Chess, 2018), a book that charts his experiences. “Chess Behind Bars” is a beautiful tribute to chess, and it goes well beyond the topic of chess in prisons, bringing us many other examples of the transformative power of the game. Carl brings many examples of what he calls “the joys and redemptive qualities of chess”. “The game makes a difference because it is a fantastic metaphor for life. We must think before making our move, and accept that our decisions have consequences. It also teaches us to learn from our mistakes and to develop a more disciplined approach to problem-solving. Perhaps most importantly of all, it is a constructive use of time and helps to forge friendships. Chess makes us consider the other person’s point of view”, reads the book. “Learning how to channel aggression and lose gracefully are key benefits of the game”, he adds. “To me, Chess Behind Bars is saying that every time a prisoner pushes a pawn, they are doing much more than playing a chess game. They are taking part in a rehearsal for life,” said John Healy, a former prisoner and the author of the book “The Grass Arena”, which inspired Carl. “Portman has enlightened the society of criminals with the best of humanity,” wrote Dominic Lawson of the Daily Mail. You can listen to Carl, and all the other speakers participating in the “Chess for Freedom” online conference on the FIDE YouTube channel.
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Announcing the winners of the FIDE Trainer Awards “Chess Behind Bars” FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship First Preparation of Teachers course Brief news from National Federations READ NEWSLETTER
Dante Beukes and Lishen Mentile win Namibia Championship 2021
IM Dante Beukes cemented his position as one of his country’s top players when he won the 2021 Namibian Closed Chess Championship with a perfect score of 9/9. It is his third national title. He won his first Namibian Championship at the age of 14 in 2017, and his second in 2019. Khoa Goodwill who was the 2013 Champion finished a distant second with 6 points. CM Charles Eichab, the seven-time Namibia Chess Champion ended up in third place with 5½ points. WCM Lishen Mentile, on the other hand, emerged as the winner of the Ladies section of the 2021 Namibian Closed Chess Championship. She won the event with a score of 6 points out of 7 rounds. Lishen Mentile is one of Namibia’s top lady players. She has represented her country in 3 Olympiads (2012, 2016 and 2018). In addition, she has won the Namibian Chess Championship in 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017. WFM Rauha Shipindo was second with 5½ points; Van Wyk Keisha came in third with 4.5 points. The charming Windhoek Country Club Resort was one of the sponsors and the venue for the hotly contested competition. Three Dimension Printing CC and MNE Accounting Services were the other sponsors of the event. Text: Kenya Chess Masala Photo: Namibia Chess Federation
Wojtaszek and Kulon clinch Polish Championship 2021
Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Klaudia Kulon are Polish Champions 2021. The 78th Lotto Polish Championship took place from April 28 to May 05 in Bydgoszcz. The open and women’s sections and were played over the board in two different formats. The open section brought together the best Polish players except for Jan-Krzysztof Duda, battling in a knockout tournament. The rating favourite Radoslaw Wojtaszek was up to the task and reached the final where he faced Wojciech Moranda. Wojciech Moranda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek With his back against the wall after losing the first game, Radoslaw managed to level the score in the second one and then prevailed on tiebreak. It is his fourth national title. In the match for the bronze medal, Bartosz Socko defeated the revelation of the tournament 17-year old Pawel Teclaf. The women’s tournament was an old good 10-player round-robin. IM Klaudia Kulon won the last four blitz championships (the 2020 one also in Bydgoszcz), and finally, the time has come for the classic time control. Klaudia leapfrogged Jolanta Zawadzka in the final round by a half-point after beating Joanna Dworakowska, whereas her main rival fell to Iweta Rajlich and had to settle for silver. Karina Cyfka took bronze thanks to better tiebreaks over Joanna Majdan. Julia Antolak and Klaudia Kulon Final standings: 1. IM Klaudia Kulon (2347) – 62. WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (2399) – 5½3. IM Karina Cyfka (2415) – 5½4. WGM Joanna Majdan (2325) – 5½5. IM Iweta Rajlich (2394) – 56. GM Monika Soćko (2421) – 4½7. IM Joanna Dworakowska (2322) – 48. WIM Julia Antolak (2306) – 49. WFM Michalina Rudzińska (2251) – 2½10. WIM Alicja Śliwicka (2346) – 2½ Photo: Weronika Poczwardowska Official website: mp2021.pzszach.pl/