European Online Chess Club Cup gets underway
European Online Chess Club Cup will be played from 27th-31st of March 2021, on Tornelo online platform with 91 teams participating. More than 500 players will take part in the event, including 404 titled players and more than 80 GMs rated 2600+, such as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2770), Richard Rapport (HUN, 1763), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2758), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL, 2743), Pentala Harikrishna (IND, 2732), Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND, 2762), Michael Adams (ENG, 2716), Nikita Vitiugov (RUS, 2715), Vladislav Artemiev (RUS, 2709), Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS, 2706), Andrey Esipenko (RUS, 2701), Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 2701), Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL, 2695), David Navara (CZE, 2697), Amin Bassem (EGY, 2695), Markus Ragger (AUT, 2680), Vasyl Ivanchuk (UKR, 2678), Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI, 2676), Luke Mcshane (ENG, 2674), Gawain Jones (ENG, 2670), Ivan Cheparinov (BUL, 2667), Gata Kamsky (USA, 2665), Nils Grandelius (SWE, 2663), David Howell W L (ENG, 2658), Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2654) and many others. The event will be played within three stages: Qualification phase (27th-28th of March) – Groups consisting of 10 teams, each, play the Robin round event of 9 rounds. Two teams of each group qualify for Play-offs. Play-offs (29th of March) – The 18 qualifiers from the 1st phase divided into 3 groups of 6 teams. Best ranked 9 teams (3 from each group) proceed to the Finals. The final group (30th-31st of March) – 10 teams play Robin round tournament of 9 rounds. The 10th team is invited by ECU, the Winner of the European Women’s Online Chess Club Cup – Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo Official Regulations- European Online Chess Club Cup 2021 Lobby to follow – https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/europechess Chess Results Start lists – http://chess-results.com/tnr553959.aspx?lan=1 Online Broadcast will be available through the ECU twitch channel and through the European Chess TV Youtube channel: Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/europeanchessunion YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/europeanchesstv
Kirill Shevchenko and Julia Antolak win individual rapid
The FIDE World University Online Rapid Championship organized by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Tornelo platform saw a huge turnout comparable with the blitz event: 884 university students took part in the qualifying stage (March 20-21, 2021). Six divisions of approximately equal strength played 12-round Swiss preliminary tournaments. One winner and the best female player from each group qualified for the final stage. The time control was 10 minutes for the entire game, plus a 5-second increment starting from the first move. The finals of the FIDE World University Online Rapid Championship were played on March 25 with the six division winners and six best female players battling for the titles in two short round-robins. After three rounds in the open final, the rating-favourite Grigoriy Oparin (University of Missouri) was leading the field followed by his teammate Mikhail Antipov and Kirill Shevchenko (Ivan Boberskyj Lviv State University of Physical Culture). In Round 4 Shevchenko beat Oparin with black pieces and pulled a half point ahead of his opponent together with Antipov who also won his game. Photo: Kirill Shevchenko Facebook As tournament fortune would have it, the leaders locked horns in the final round. Kirill Shevchenko (pictured above) scored a convincing victory and clinched the title. Mikhail Antipov got silver (it is his second medal after bronze in blitz) thanks to better tiebreaks over Grigoriy Oparin. Final standings open: 1. GM Kirill Shevchenko (UKR Ivan Boberskyj Lviv State University of Physical Culture) – 4 2. GM Mikhail Antipov (RUS University of Missouri) – 3 3. GM Grigoriy Oparin (RUS University of Missouri) – 3 4. IM Leon Livaic (CRO University of Zagreb) – 2½ 5. IM Robby Kevlishvili (NED Saint Louis University) – 2 6. GM Cemil Can Ali Marandi (TUR Saint Louis University) – ½ Despite losing the direct encounter to her main competitor Anna Sargsyan (Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture) in the women’s final, Julia Antolak (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) won all her other games and secured the title. The champion of the blitz event Anna Sargsyan finished a half-point behind and took silver. Olga Badelka came in third and earned bronze. WIM Julia Antolak Photo: trojmiasto.pl Final standings women: 1. WIM Julia Antolak (POL University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 4 2. WGM Anna Sargsyan (ARM Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture) – 3½ 3. IM Olga Badelka (BLR University of Missouri) – 2½ 4. WFM Shengxin Zhao (CHN Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) – 1½ 5. WIM Isha Sharma (IND Mangalore University) – 1½ 6. IM Iulija Osmak (UKR University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 0
In memory of Vasily Smyslov
Photo: Koen Suyk / Anefo 2021 is a year of remarkable anniversaries. Vasily Smyslov was born on 24 March 1921, precisely 100 years ago. The winner of the famous Zurich 1953 Candidates Tournament, Smyslov played his first match against Mikhail Botvinnik in 1954. It ended in a draw, with seven wins from each side, so the champion retained the title. In the next cycle, Smyslov won the Candidates Tournament (Amsterdam 1956) again, this time to beat the patriarch 12½–9½ in 1957 and become the 7th World Champion. Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky Botvinnik took the title back in a rematch next year, but a short reign did not extinguish Smyslov’s passion for the game. Just like Korchnoi, Smyslov boasted exceptional longevity in competitive chess. To mark the date, the Chess Federation of Russia published an article in which GM Dmitry Kriakvin reflects on longevity and centenarians’ topic. We publish an excerpt dedicated to Smyslov. He was a member of the world chess elite until the 80s and accomplished the impossible – a record that will never be broken. In 1984, at almost 63 years old, Smyslov reached the Candidates Matches’ final to be stopped only by Garry Kasparov, who was soaring to the top. Right before that, Vasily Vasilievich finished second in the Interzonal (Las Palmas 1982), ahead of Jan Timman, Tigran Petrosian, Bent Larsen, Vladimir Tukmakov, Lev Psakhis, and other grandees. In a dramatic quarterfinal against Robert Huebner, he made it to the next round only by drawing lots. When all tiebreak games ended in draws, the qualification spot was decided in a casino. The German grandmaster did not have the nerve to attend the procedure. Smyslov, however, calmly took his place at the playing table and did not even blink when the ball halted on zero at the first attempt. The second spin favored the former world champion. Photo credits: D. Fligelis via chesspro.ru In the semifinals, Vasily Smyslov defeated Hungarian Zoltán Ribli, and although his dream to face Anatoly Karpov did not come true, he remained the most dangerous opponent for players of any level for a long time. For example, in a 1988 USSR Championship with a phenomenal lineup, Vasily Vasilievich finished in the middle of the final standings – he beat Viacheslav Eingorn, Vassily Ivanchuk, and Jaan Ehlvest. In Tilburg (1992), held in experimental at that time knockout format, he went through three rounds, eliminating much younger Boris Gulko and Grigory Serper. In the round of 16, Smyslov scored first against Evgeny Sveshnikov, but his opponent managed to bounce back and then snatched the victory in the match. Your author saw Vasily Smyslov for the first time at the Igor Bondarevsky Memorial in Rostov-on-Don in 1993. The battle for the first place in the main event unfolded between Sergey Tiviakov, Lev Psakhis and Vladimir Epishin, with the latter two finishing half a point behind in the end. Smyslov performed not too well but saved a fantastic endgame against Psakhis, which I did not manage to spectate till the end – it went dark, the hall got empty, and my parents took the young chess fan home. Nowadays, both computer and Lev Psakhis confirm that the veteran defended just amazingly. Photo: Alexander Yakovlev/TASS Vasily Smyslov was active for a very long time. His favourite competition was, without doubt, a then-popular match “Ladies against seniors”. He visited distant and hot India, competed in the Highest League of the Russian Championship and knockout world championships, was a sparring partner for young stars, and scored solid 2 out of 6 in the 1997 match-tournament facing Emil Sutovsky, Judit Polgár, and Loek van Wely. In his last match with the ladies (2001), at 80 years old, he netted 5 out of 10. Later he could not compete anymore because of the eyesight problems – doctors prohibited him from playing. The legendary chess player passed away on March 27, 2010, a few days after his 89th birthday.
Arbiter’s Commission programme for online and hybrid events
“Dear Member Federations, The FIDE Arbiters’ Commission is proud to release a new programme to support the development of arbiters in online and hybrid events. Two levels of seminars have been designed: A Basic Course (8 hours) to cover roles and duties of Online Arbiters and Local Chief Arbiters in hybrid events. An Advanced Course (8 hours) to cover the roles and duties of Chief Arbiters for online and hybrid events. Official FIDE events will soon require arbiters worldwide to supervise players in hybrid events. The Arbiter’s Commission has proposed that FIDE covers the training of at least 1 or 2 arbiters per federation on the Basic Course and we are very happy that we got strong support from our colleagues from the FIDE Planning and Development Commission and the FIDE Management. With this letter, we are inviting you to select 2 arbiters from your federation to take part in the Basic Course. This way, our objective is to train about 400 arbiters worldwide. The training fees of this first wave of training will be covered by the FIDE Development Fund, which means no cost for federations or selected arbiters. If your federation wishes to send more candidates, additional arbiters are welcome and may be included in the training at the standard cost of 30 €. Please note that in terms of planning we may consider initial trainees from federations as having the priority over the extra trainees so that we cover as many federations as possible in the short term. Please send to the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission (secretary.arbiters@fide.com and chairman.arbiters@fide.com) the names and email addresses of your selected arbiters so that we may plan their registration to the appropriate sessions. Please consider for selection, arbiters of the following profile: FIDE Licensed Arbiters (preferably IA or FA) Level of English strong enough to follow the sessions IT skills strong enough to connect to the sessions and understand/apply online concepts Arbiters likely to be involved for your federation in the local supervision of FIDE hybrid events You will also find attached a 1-page description of the courses for a better understanding of the content. Sessions will usually be 4 times 2 hours of online courses. As we intend to start the first sessions at the beginning of April, please get back to us as soon as you can and before the 4th of April 2021. Looking forward to a fruitful collaboration on this project, we wish you good health in this difficult period and successful online/hybrid chess events. FIDEOnline/HybridArbiter Training (PDF) Laurent Freyd, FIDE Arbiters’ Commission Chairman”
Emil Sutovsky on Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi would have turned 90 yesterday. He is one of those monumental figures one returns to time and again when writing about chess. What would most people know about Korchnoi nowadays? A strong player, an incredible fighter, a cranky guy. These traits can’t be argued, and they are well-known; I would like to give nuances and details on a character that were more hidden from the world. First and foremost, Korchnoi’s attitude towards chess. It was strikingly different from the approach of the majority of his colleagues, even the greatest ones. Arguably, Korchnoi became the first one to make “Fighting to the last bullet” his chess motto. He kept this aggression burning throughout his long career and probably was the best chess player in history when it comes to fighting spirit and resilience. Korchnoi was one of the few (perhaps along with Geller, Polugaevsky, and Fischer) who toiled over chess incessantly. It helped him to permanently stay in shape. Quite funny was to hear the young players lament exhaustion after working with the seventy-year-old Korchnoi at a training camp. Viktor Lvovich (simply Viktor back then) grabbed material in a way that was later to be labelled “computer-like,” but still was ready to fend off his opponent’s attacks (please note, that despite his pawn-grabbing propensity, Korchnoi rarely came under a crushing attack). The word “dangerous” was not in his vocabulary. He neither guessed nor made rough estimations; he just diligently calculated numerous variations. This, incidentally, explains his overwhelming record against Tal. Photo source: http://gahetn.nl It was Korchnoi who, 40-50 years ago, long before Carlsen was born, became a great (probably the best in the world) master of a complex endgame. He was particularly strong in rook endings. Striving for a real fight and for opportunities to overtake the initiative over the chessboard throughout his career, Korchnoi frequently used difficult openings (French Defence, Pirc Defence). But he also had a great opening intuition – in a letter, written in 1972 (published in the excellent book “Russians vs. Fischer”), Viktor Lvovich advised Spassky when in preparation for his match with Fischer: “From the play-to-equalize standpoint, I suggest paying attention to the Petroff Defence and 3…Nf6 in the Ruy Lopez”. Nowadays these continuations (along with the Marshall counterattack and the Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defence) are Black’s most solid response to 1.e4 – but back then both the Petroff Defence and the Berlin Variation of Ruy Lopez were in the fringes of opening theory! In fact, Korchnoi was the first and only one for decades to use the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez – currently, the majority of the best players have this line in their opening repertoire. Korchnoi was never an easy man, and, drawing parallels to the present day, was a great master of trash-talking, so popular among the leading young chess players nowadays. On the other hand, “Viktor the Terrible” won over chess fans with his unfailing love of chess, ever-burning fighting spirit, and desire to give it all on the battlefield. Elegantly dressed, distinguished-looking, and always eloquent, but he could be different each time you met him – from prickly and caustic to charming or infectiously laughing. Korchnoi was invariably gallant in female society but often irritable and scathing with his colleagues. Ready to talk endlessly about chess and chess-related topics, he had tenacious memory. Viktor often quoted the classics of literature (Pushkin for example) and chess players of the past (“but Levenfisch said…”). At times Korchnoi was unexpectedly respectful and open with young colleagues outside the tournament hall, but one could see him nervous and at times aggressive during and immediately after a game. From Korchnoi’s personal archive, via ruchess.ru Usually, Viktor showed mercy to his defeated opponents, but once he remarked immediately after the game we played, in which I intuitively sacrificed a piece in a position with a huge advantage, but was unfortunately left high and dry: “Do you think you’re Tal? Even Tal didn’t sacrifice me a piece without calculating variations. And you are not Tal.” He was admired by many, but it was hard to imagine a person who could tolerate the irascible Viktor Lvovich. Frau Petra managed it, although not without difficulty – perhaps because their life together was based on mutual respect. Today you cannot imagine married couples who address each other exclusively as “You”. Another reason might be that she went through a school of hard knocks and became just as tough a fighter herself. Korchnoi as a chess player was treated with fearful respect, but an even greater number of people found his behaviour during/after a game unacceptable, and yet, the Greats are forgiven more sins than mere mortals. He was forgiven not only for his magnificent play but also for his dedication to chess, for that genuine commitment over the board. Karpov once said: “Chess is my life. But my life is not just chess”. Korchnoi could have easily discarded the second half of that quote. Viktor Lvovich pushed every conceivable boundary, surpassing even Lasker. At 70 he won a super-tournament in Biel finishing ahead Gelfand, Grischuk, Svidler, and others, and at 80 he put in a good performance in Gibraltar, defeating, among others, Caruana, who had already begun his meteoric rise… And yet Korchoi’s best period is the 1970s. His epic duels with Karpov are still talked about. But there were so many other remarkable battles: the matches with Spassky, Petrosian, Polugaevsky… Even in the match against Kasparov (1983), for the most part, he was fighting on equal ground. We often talk about the most interesting unplayed matches – one of the most interesting for me would have been the Candidates final between Korchnoi and Fischer (1971). But Korchnoi lost to Petrosian in a very strange semi-final. The duel with the American genius did not take place. It is a pity because Viktor Lvovich was effective against Fischer; he controlled the proceedings in their last game back in 1970. Korchnoi remains a controversial figure.
Giri hits top gear to win Magnus Carlsen Invitational
Anish Giri catapulted himself up the Meltwater Champions Chess leaderboard with a dramatic win in the Magnus Carlsen Invitational today. The Dutch No.1 found his killer instinct to overpower Russian champ Ian Nepomniachtchi in an intensely-tight final that went to tiebreaks. It was 26-year-old Giri’s first tournament victory in the $1.5 million Tour organised by Play Magnus Group. He takes home the top prize of $60,000 and a ticket to the final in September. The match finally exploded after five consecutive draws – four in Set 1 yesterday and the opening game in the decider. Game 1 saw Giri launch a fearsome attack on Nepo but the Russian weathered the storm to steer towards a fifth peaceful resolution by repetition. It looked like something special was needed to separate the pair – and that’s exactly what happened in Game 2. Giri is a player who has in the past been unfairly maligned for racking up too many draws. But in this event, the Dutchman played with a new-found speed and confidence. Giri was relentless as he piled on the pressure and eventually forced Nepo to resign. Finally, a decisive game. With the two-day final resting on this final set, it left the Dutchman just one win away from taking the title while Ian needed a win. Yet the third followed the previous pattern of draws – an exciting game, but neither player able to get a breakthrough. Nepomniachtichi had just one shot to level the score and take the final to tiebreaks. Only needing his alleged speciality – the draw – to seal the match, something happened to Giri. The Dutchman gave his opponent exactly what he needed – a series of small mistakes. The Russian turned the screw and breached Giri’s defences. Giri, so close to the tournament victory, was forced to resign and the set finished 2-2. That meant tiebreaks to decide the tournament. It got worse for Giri as what seemed like a moment of madness in the first blitz tiebreaker saw him give up a knight for a pawn – and little else. But Nepomniachtchi lost his cool and inexplicably blundered for the first time in the match (25…Rh7? instead of winning 25…Rg8). The Russian gave a rueful smile as Giri won the first blitz game, a real rollercoaster. After getting out of jail, Giri also got himself back on track as he refocused to dominate the second blitz game. Giri, a player so often the bridesmaid but rarely the bride, had taken the Magnus Carlsen Invitational title. Both Giri and Nepomniachtchi, wearing his lucky Mickey Mouse throughout, were in red-hot form and playing the best chess of their lives during this event. And in the final perhaps they were inspired by chess legends Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik who joined the broadcast to announce the new Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour. Meanwhile, in the third-place play-off, World Champion Magnus Carlsen brushed off the challenge of Wesley So – who had beaten him in two finals previously this season – to pick up the valuable Tour points. Having won the first set yesterday, Carlsen took the opening game of the second and then followed it up with two draws to make a comeback for So impossible. Carlsen said: “Third is better than fourth. It’s good to get one over Wesley, that’s for sure. Clearly, he was not 100 percent motivated, and not in his best shape. It’s a lot better than to have lost the last match.” The Norwegian added: “I think overall I played much better in this tournament than in the last one, so it’s a small step forwards, though I would have loved not to have my worst two days in the semis.” The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour returns on April 24 with leg five of 10. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Tense final is left on a knife-edge
The final of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational was touched by Hollywood stardust today as it got off to a tense start. Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi were left level-pegging overnight as the two form horses of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event shared the first set. But in between rounds the tournament was visited by Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., The Jerry Maguire star played the Play Magnus app for charity and lost in 16 moves to Magnus Carlsen aged 10. Meanwhile back in the main event, everything now hangs on tomorrow’s second set – and if that also ends all-square then the final will go to tiebreaks. Today saw four consecutive draws between the two who were both rock-solid and played near error-free chess. And despite no decisive results, there was no shortage of action. Game 1 was dramatic as Giri went three pawns up in the endgame, but Nepomniachtchi pulled off a stunning escape right at the death. “What a save by Ian Nepomniachtchi!” said GM Peter Leko. Game 2 saw a rare stalemate on the board and then in the third and fourth both players pushed but both were also immovable. In the third-place play-off match, World Champion Magnus Carlsen was back to his blistering best as he demolished Wesley So in the first game. The exciting encounter included a rare opening idea and was named “Murder on a Chessboard” on Norwegian TV. The game can be seen here. With the pressure now off, Carlsen smiled when he delivered the final blow. “It was okay,” he said afterward. Carlsen added: “I wasn’t particularly motivated before today, but the 1st game helped immensely!” The Norwegian, who was dramatically dumped out of the event yesterday by Nepomniachtichi, went on to win 3-1 and pick up the valuable points for the Tour leaderboard for finishing third overall. Both matches start again for the final set at 17:00 CET tomorrow. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Haik Martirosyan and Anna Sargsyan win individual blitz
Haik Martirosyan and Anna Sargsyan became the first champions of the First FIDE World University Online Blitz Championship after winning the individual titles in blitz. The biggest university chess event that brought together over a thousand participants from all around the world kicked off not the way it was planned. Due to some technical problems the organizers had to nullify the results of the first four rounds played on Saturday, March 13, and restart the blitz championship on Sunday after slightly changing the format. Four groups of 272 participants each of approximately equal strength played 10-round Swiss preliminary tournaments. Two winners and two female winners from each group qualified for the final stage. There were two final stages, one for the overall winners of each group and one for women. All the games were played with the time control 3+2. The finals of the First FIDE World University Online Blitz Championship were played on March 18 with the eight best players from the group stage – GM Mikhail Antipov and GM Iniyan P from group A, GM Grigoriy Oparin and IM Irakli Beradze from group B, GM Haik Martirosyan and GM Xu Yinglun from group C and GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan and IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher from group D – fighting for the title in the open section. Haik Martirosyan, representing the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture got off to a running start with four straight victories and sealed the title by drawing three subsequent games. The champion had a couple of tough positions along the way but his quickness and resourcefulness bailed him out of trouble. Haik Martirosyan Photo: Maria Emelianova (chess.com) On the contrary, Iniyan P from Bharathiar University slipped in the first round but picked up steam and caught up with Martirosyan at the finish line. Despite his valiant effort he had to settle for silver due to inferior tiebreaks. Mikhail Antipov representing the University of Missouri took bronze despite losing to both top-finishers. Final standings: 1. Haik Martirosyan (ARM Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture) – 5½ 2. Iniyan P (IND Bharathiar University) – 5½3. Mikhail Antipov (RUS University of Missouri) – 4½4. Xu Yinglun (CHN Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) – 45. Hovhannes Gabuzyan (ARM University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 3½6. Yoseph Taher (INA Gunadarma University) – 27. Grigoriy Oparin (RUS University of Missouri) – 28. Irakli Beradze (GEO University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 1 IM Polina Shuvalova, WIM Julia Antolak, WIM Alicja Sliwicka, IM Iulija Osmak, IM Olga Badelka, WIM Nur Abidah Shanti, IM Stavroula Tsolakidou, WGM Anna Sargsyan qualified for the women’s final. Anna Sargsyan (Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture) lost the direct encounter to Olga Badelka (University of Missouri) but reeled off five straight wins and finished a full point ahead of her main competitor. Three players tied for second place with Olga Badelka and Alicija Sliwicka earning silver and bronze respectively according to Sonneborn-Berger. Anna Sargsayn Photo: David Llada Final standings: 1. Anna Sargsyan (ARM Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture) – 62. Olga Badelka (BLR University of Missouri) – 53. Alicja Sliwicka (POL University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 44. Polina Shuvalova (RUS Ural State Mining University) – 45. Iulija Osmak (UKR University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 46. Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE Saint Louis University) – 27. Shanti Nur Abidah (INA Gunadarma University) – 1½8. Julia Antolak (POL University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) – 1½ The following four teams have qualified for the FIDE World University Team Online Blitz Cup, which will be held on 27 March on Chess24: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (USA) University of Missouri (USA) Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport (ARM) Saint Louis University (USA)
Montenegro Chess Festival goes big
Montenegro Chess Festival organized by Montenegro Chess Federation, in cooperation with the chess club „Elektroprivreda“ stretches from February 26 to March 25 and includes four tournaments held in Nikšić and Podgorica. IM and GM competitions were 10-player round-robin while the mixed tournament attracted 18 participants. The festival brought together twenty-nine players from ten federations (Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Northern Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Montenegro) including six GMs, eight IMs, five FMs, and one WIM. Two IM and a GM tournament have already been completed, while the mixed tournament is still underway. Montenegro Chess Festival IM 2021/01, February 26th – March 4th 1. Dario Alivodic (MNE) – 6½2. Predrag Nikac (MNE) – 5½3. Nebojsa Nikcevic (MNE) – 5½ Montenegro Chess Festival IM 2021/02, March 5-11th 1. Milos Pecurica (MNE) – 72. Nebojsa Nikcevic (MNE) – 6½3. Predrag Nikac (MNE) – 5 Montenegro Chess Festival GM 2021/01, March 12-18th 1. Nikola Djukic (MNE) – 72. Aleksander Delchev (BUL) – 5½3. Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) – 5½ Milos Pecurica (MNE) earned the IM norm in one of the IM-tournaments, while Gleb Dudin (RUS) completed the GM norm in the Grandmaster event. The pool of participants was a good mix of experienced players and aspiring youngsters: Sanal Vahap (TUR), Aleksandar Delchev (BUL), Thybo Jesper Sondergaard (DEN), Suleymanli Aydin (AZE) just to name a few. It is worth mentioning the participation of the two world champions: Predrag Nikac (IBCA World Champion for Blind 2019) and Vladimir Klasan (ICCD World Chess Champion for Deaf 2012; pictured below). The tournaments were held in strict accordance with all the public health measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thirsty for over-the-board chess all the participants of all the tournaments demonstrated a great fighting spirit and most importantly, every player left Montenegro in good health and with great impressions. The organizers are calling everyone interested in future participation to contact them, emphasizing that these tournaments are going to become traditional. The dates of the forthcoming tournaments are 16-22 April and 23-29 April. Official website: http://sahcg.me/montenegro-chess-festival-mix-2021-1/
Nepomniachtchi and Giri make final
World Champion Magnus Carlsen is out of his namesake tournament after two of his biggest rivals sprung surprises to make the final. On a day of high drama, Dutch No.1 Anish Giri booked his place by beating Meltwater Champions Chess Tour leader Wesley So. But it was Russian star Ian Nepomniachtchi’s nerve-shredding win over Carlsen that sent shockwaves through the $220,000 Magnus Carlsen Invitational event. Carlsen started the day behind and fell further back after losing the second game. Levelling the tie looked like an impossible task as the world number 1 needed to win both remaining games. Yet Carlsen is the master of bouncing back and after throwing everything at his opponent with some risky attacking play, he got back on terms to take the semi to a tiebreaker. At that stage, Carlsen could partly thank Nepomniachtchi who suffered an attack of nerves at the crucial moment to blunder away the final rapid game. Later that would be reversed. With the momentum seemingly with Carlsen, Ian then managed to compose himself again for the blitz play-offs. And after a first-game draw, he took control of the second to book his final place. “Clearly today was a lottery, and I was the one who got the winning ticket,” Nepomniachtchi said afterward. Carlsen added: “Ultimately, what decided the match was that he managed to keep his head in the blitz, and I most certainly did not.” Nepomniachtchi is the only player in world chess to have a positive score against Carlsen in classical games and will face Giri, another big rival of Carlsen. In Giri’s semi, the first three games ended in cagey draws with the Dutchman looking super-solid and showing no weaknesses. It meant So, the US champ, was left needing a win in the last game to take the match to tiebreaks. The pressure got to him, however, and out of nowhere So made a dramatic blunder. It was game, set and match to Giri and the Dutchman was through to his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour final. “It’s really, really great. I am happy to be in the final!” he said afterward. The two-day final starts tomorrow at 17:00 CET with Carlsen and So also playing in a third-place play-off. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770