KCF University Cup goes big
The first Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup has exceeded all expectations with a huge number of participants. The team on-line tournament brought together universities from around the world to compete in a four against four rapid format. The universities were allowed to line up four players and one alternate per team. Each university could participate with more than one team, but only with one team with a rating average of over 2200. GM Naroditsky and FM Giannatos provided commentary during the event Played over two days on the weekend of February 6 and 7, the event accommodated college students from all continents. This proved to be a great success as the following incredible statistics show: 122 teams from 72 universities All continents 24 countries 527 players – 19 GMs, 14 IMs, 1 WGM, 20 FMs, 4 WFMs 2156 games played The tournament was broadcasted live on Twitch to tens of thousands of unique viewers and was widely spread in social media. KCF Young Stars alum GM Daniel Naroditsky was joined by FM Peter Giannatos to cover the action throughout all nine rounds. World Champion Garry Kasparov joined the commentary during the second day and talked about a variety of subjects, from the tournament games to Alireza Firouzja’s meteoric rise! You can find the candid commentary in the following links: Twitch Link Day 1 Twitch Link Day 2 Garry Kasparov’s commentary can be found between rounds six and seven on the second day. Kasparov also welcomed all the participants before the games of the day started. Garry Kasparov eloquently spoke about many things in the chess world, and passionately analyzed some of the games The tournament had some clear rating favorites, and they certainly did not disappoint. The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (USA) was the #1 seed and really put their foot down on the event. Scoring a perfect 9/9, they left no doubt of who the best team in the event was. The clear leader of the team was GM Vladimir Fedoseev who scored an amazing 8.5/9. Second place went to the University of Missouri (USA), a relatively new scholarship program that fielded strong grandmasters. Their second board, GM Mikhail Antipov also scored 8.5/9 and became a cornerstone of the team’s success. Third place was decided on tiebreaks, as Texas Tech University edged out the University of Texas at Dallas (USA), Gunadarma University (Indonesia) and University of Cambridge (England) in the final standings. It was Texas Tech’s FM Alexey Sorokin with another 8.5/9 performance that strengthened their squad. Many other prizes were awarded, but the most valuable ones were certainly the 1st place and top-u2200 prize as they included an exclusive online training session with Garry Kasparov himself! The final prizewinner list is as follows: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley A, USA – 1st Place and Top University of the Americas + special prize of an on-Line training session with Garry Kasparov. University of Missouri A, USA – 2nd Place Texas Tech University A, USA – 3rd Place All top 3 teams from the USA Gunadarma University A, Indonesia – Top University of Asia University of Cambridge, England – Top University of Europe University of Benin, Nigeria – Top University of Africa Ivan Boberskyj Lviv State University of Physical Culture A, Ukraine – Top U2200 + on-line training session with Garry Kasparov Georgia Tech B, USA – Top U2000 Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Mexico – Top U1800 The tournament was successfully hosted on the lichess.org platform. Chacha Nugroho provided the web hosting and pairing system for the event. Kudos to the exceptional group of people that organized this event: • Michael Khodarkovsky, Kasparov Chess Foundation President• GM Alex Onischuk, US Chess College Committee Chair• Grant Oen, Chief Arbiter• GM Zlatko Klaric, KCF Adriatic Director• Graham Jurgensen, KCF Africa Director• Ignatius Leong, International Arbiter, KCF Asia-Pacific Director• GM Darcy Lima, KCF Lusophone Director• Hiquingari Carranza, KCF Ibero-America Director• Charlotte Chess Center for their assistance during the event For more details and results please visit the official website. Text and pictures: https://kasparovchessfoundation.org/
Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So on the brink of final
He’s been disgusted with his play so far in the Opera Euro Rapid and only just scraped it into the last four. But today Magnus Carlsen returned to the elite online chess event looking determined, smart and ready to wreak havoc. It was a re-focused World Champion who turned up to steamroller his way to a one-set lead over the in-form Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Carlsen, who is still searching for his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title, now has one foot in the final. Just a 2-2 draw in the second set win tomorrow and he is through. The Norwegian started the day by dealing a devastating blow to MVL’s chances in game 1. Carlsen simply overpowered his opponent with a classy win. Carlsen was made to fight harder in the second as the “Tricky Frenchman” showed he still posed a huge threat. But after MVL lost control of the position, Carlsen sensed blood. Only a mistake from Carlsen right at the end saved MVL and the game ended in a draw. Carlsen wasn’t happy, but he still led the set 1.5-0.5. There was no let-up in the third as Carlsen went all out for the win, despite only needing to avoid defeat in the last two games. Carlsen had a forced win in the bag but played it too quickly and made a mistake. MVL was handed a lifeline but then blundered himself to hand it right back to Carlsen who made no mistake a second time. “You’re not really supposed to miss mate-in-twos I think, at this level,” Carlsen said afterward. “So that was really crazy!” Carlsen won the set 2.5-0.5 with a game to spare. The champ is now the hot favourite to reach the final. Carlsen said: “Today was a lot better. Neither of us played perfectly, especially in the second game… In general, I have to be happy.” MVL said: “I certainly didn’t play to my best but Magnus was very close to his best.” The other semi-final saw a clash between the first two Tour event champions, Wesley So and Teimour Radjabov. Skilling Open winner So went into the match on a four-game winning streak while Radjabov, the Airthings Masters winner, was unbeaten so far in the tournament. Something had to give and it was So who inflicted a first defeat on Radjabov to continue his run with a fifth victory in a row. Radjabov, however, was not going to roll over and hit back immediately to end So’s streak and level the tie 1-1. So went back into the lead in the third to go 2-1 up and leave Radjabov needing to win on-demand to take it to tiebreaks. The American World Champion at Fischer-Random then shut up shop and Radjabov couldn’t break through. The draw gives So a one-set lead overnight. Tomorrow’s semi-final climax starts at 17:00 CET with MVL and Radjabov needing wins to level their ties and force a tiebreaker. Opera is the official browser of the Tour and title partner of the event which carries a $100,000 prize pot. The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, organized by the Play Magnus Group, is the first full season of top-level online chess events. It comprises nine Regular and Major tournaments culminating in a $300,000 Final which starts in September. All matches are played in a rapid chess format with blitz and “armageddon” tie-breaks if needed. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Carlsen, So, Vachier-Lagrave and Radjabov through to semis
Magnus Carlsen survived a fierce onslaught from Russian dangerman Daniil Dubov to scrape into the Opera Euro Rapid semi-finals by the skin of his teeth. The World Champion had a nightmare day in which he displayed the full gamut of human emotions on-screen. Carlsen went from inexplicably bursting into hysterics to crushing disappointment as he blundered his queen twice in a row to gift Dubov a way back into the match. Then, after just about surviving the blitz tiebreakers which sent the tie to a nerve-shredding armageddon playoff, Carlsen saw Dubov crumble. Carlsen was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was an extraordinary end to a match that was rammed full of drama and it was very hard on Dubov. Carlsen had been odds-on overnight after winning yesterday’s set but had to weather an almighty storm. Dubov is an opponent who has rattled him in recent months and knocked him out at the same stage of the Airthings Masters event last month. For a time, it looked like the same would happen in a spookily similar way. Several times Dubov had Carlsen on the ropes and the talented Russian dominated the day’s play. But he simply couldn’t get over the line when it mattered most. An exhausted Carlsen said after winning the Armageddon with White: “It’s a relief, the final result, but a thoroughly disgusting performance on my part and I’ve got to be a lot better. “The preliminaries were one step forward and this was two steps back. At least I’m through, it’s better than not being, but overall a very, very disappointing day of chess.” Carlsen admitted by blundering in the second game he was left “completely unnerved” and it was a “massive own-goal”. The champion said he didn’t remember why he burst into laughter and it wasn’t the reason why he lost that game. An intense day of action also saw an astonishing show from US star Wesley So who blasted his way into the semis of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event with two games to spare. On Tuesday, So turned around his first set against 22-year-old Pole Jan Krzysztof Duda with two wins. He carried on that run today with a third win in a row that left him needing just one more point to secure passage into the semis. On the brink of defeat, Duda went all out for the attack and fell apart against the ruthless So. Duda showed his sportsmanship afterward by clapping So’s brilliance as the American progressed to the semis in double-quick time. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was ahead overnight, beat Levon Aronian in the first game to leave the Armenian with his back against the wall. A draw in the second game saw Aronian needing to with both the final games to take it to a tiebreak. Aronian did win the third but was held to a draw in the fourth as French number 1 MVL sailed through. The match between Teimour Radjabov and Anish Giri, meanwhile, had been on a knife-edge right from the start and also went to a tiebreak after four draws today. Radjabov finally broke through in the second blitz game to set up a semi-final clash with So. Carlsen will take on Vachier-Lagrave for a place in the final. The two-day semis start on Thursday from 17:00 CET. Opera is the official browser of the Tour and title partner of the event which carries a $100,000 prize pot. The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, organized by the Play Magnus Group, is the first full season of top-level online chess events. It comprises nine Regular and Major tournaments culminating in a $300,000 Final which starts in September. All matches are played in a rapid chess format with blitz and “armageddon” tie-breaks if needed. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Shehzad Chouhan and Gul Mehak win Kashmir Day Cup Chess Championship
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) continued onboard chess tournaments and kept players’ motivation and morale high. From February 5-7, the CFP held the first National Chess Championship dated to Kashmir Solidarity Day and named “FIDE Rated Kashmir Day Cup Chess Championship 2021”. The participants competed in three categories: Open (more than 90 players), Women (8), and Juniors (22). The total prize fund of the event amounted to 630 USD. Although Shehzad Chouhan was outside of top-3 in the starting rank he turned in an excellent performance conceding his opponents just one draw. Tanveer Gilani finished second, just a half-point behind the champion, whereas Khali Butt took bronze. Final standings Open: 1. Shehzad Chuhan – 7½2. Gillani Tunveer – 73. Butt Khalil Ur Rehman – 6½4. Hazza Tariq – 6½5. Sibt Ali – 66. Rashad Rafique – 67. Muhammad Amin – 68. Yousuf Azeem Makhdoomi – 69. Saad Saeed – 610. Muhammad Saif Ullah – 6 Gul Mehak claimed the title in the women category (4½ points out of 5), followed by Tasneem Ahmed (4 points) and Anum Amjad (3 points). Final standings Women: 1. Gul Mehak – 4½2. Tasneem Ahmed – 43. Anam Amjad – 34. Alina Zahid – 35. Sehrish Rehman – 26. Zoya Azfar – 27. Adan Khalid Shah – 1½8. Inaya Khan – 0 In the junior category, Rehan Khan Nasir came out on top with a perfect score a full point ahead of Hussain Shahid, Abdullah Zubair and Malik Usman. Final standings Juniors: 1. Rehan Khan Nasir – 52. Hissan Shahid – 43. Abdullah Zubair – 44. Malik Usman – 45. Khan Zarafulla – 36. Muhammad Fouzan – 37. Muhammad Abdullah – 38. Qasim Bashir Waleed – 39. Issam Bashir – 310. Muhammad Zaidn Asfar – 3
Update of the FIDE Endorsed Academies Program
The FIDE Trainers Commission (TRG) keeps making progress in developing a comprehensive, meaningful and relevant FIDE Academies Program in 2021. For both FIDE and TRG, it is very important that FIDE Academies don’t simply bear the FIDE name just as a sign of endorsement, but that they are also active and serve as leaders in their area of work, with currently licensed trainers, and can work closely with us for the development of the game. That was not always the case in the past. FIDE now demands Academies to meet the standards established by the TRG and to use an established reporting procedure. Outstanding balances have been cleared since some academies were in arrears for years. The 2020 reports which were to submitted by the 31 January 2021 deadline have been used by TRG to better understand their work and to assist with any financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic. As it was mentioned in a previous newsletter, FIDE Trainer Seminars now adopt a teaching curriculum where the subjects have moved beyond just teaching how to play better chess through the inclusion of topics such as psychological and training issues and the use of the technology. These are skills critically needed by trainers today, and TRG will be looking to offer continuous learning through a series of Trainer Professional Education and Development Workshops to be organized together with FIDE Academies. FIDE and TRG have also developed three significant activity proposals/programs specifically for FIDE Academies in 2021: Inaugural FIDE Academies Annual Conference & Championships Having a Special Trainers Foundation Course for the Teaching of Young Players (FIDE Rated 1200-1700) Co-operation with TRG for the organizing of Seminars, Workshops, and Camps Currently, at the start of 2021, there are 43 academies (14 in Asia, 13 in Europe, 9 in Africa, and 6 in the Americas). In comparison, there were 74 academies at the end of 2018, but 43 of them were either terminated due to long-standing arrears or decided to opt out, while 12 new academies were added in 2019 and 2020.
Call for submissions: FIDE Veterans Support Program 2021
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of its support to chess veterans. A number of grants will be awarded next month to distinguished players, coaches and organizers aged 65+. Anyone over this age, who has contributed to the development of chess and who is in an unstable financial situation, is eligible to submit an application. We invite federations, clubs, and players themselves to send their applications, including a CV of the nominee, to the FIDE Secretariat: office@fide.com. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2021. The total amount to be distributed this year will largely depend on the donations received through the fundraising that we are holding alongside the first World Corporate Chess Championship, to be held February 19-21. In 2020, we allocated to this program an initial amount of €35.000, which was later expanded with an additional €21.000. Combined, this amounted to a total of €56.000, a record since FIDE launched this program in 2012.
Carlsen in control: Magnus dominates first quarter-final set
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen took control of his Opera Euro Rapid quarter-final with a dominating display today. The Norwegian’s form has been patchy of late but he turned it up a notch against Russian dangerman Daniil Dubov on Day 1 of the first knockout stage. Carlsen won the opener then, after a draw in the second, turned the screw on Dubov again to win today’s set 2.5-0.5 with a game to spare. Dubov has troubled Carlsen several times in the last few months and knocked out the champ at the same stage of the Airthings Masters. But the world number 1 was too strong today. Speaking about being drawn against Dubov, Carlsen said: “Certainly this was not an ideal pairing for me considering what happened last time. But every tournament is a new one so I thought I just need to focus on playing well.” Carlsen now goes into tomorrow’s final set with a one-set advantage and hot-favorite to make it to the $100,000 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event semis. “I’m playing well,” Carlsen said. “But this is only a job half done and it is a big day tomorrow as well and I don’t take anything for granted.” He added: “It’s not going to be easy tomorrow, regardless of what happened today tomorrow will be tough.” A downcast Dubov said: “I cannot say I played way below my standards. I think I was just outplayed so it was sort of well deserved.” While Carlsen won his first game, the other three quarter-final ties started with cagey draws. However, in the second round, the results came in. Wesley So suffered a devastating blunder and fell behind against Polish hope Jan-Krzysztof Duda. So’s mistake turned a winning position around and the Skilling Open champ resigned soon after leaving 22-year-old Duda 1.5-0.5 ahead. Duda’s lead didn’t last long as World Fischer-Random Champion So hit back immediately to level the tie. The American then struck again in the final game to take a 1-0 lead into tomorrow. The Frenchman Maxime-Vachier-Lagrave also scored a sparkling win in the second game to take the lead against Levon Aronian. It sent the set to a critical final game. Aronian seemed in control but with his clock running down the Armenian made a mistake and MVL steered the game to safety. It was the draw MVL needed to win Day 1. In the match between Teimour Radjabov and Anish Giri, the tournament’s form horses, it took until the third game for the fireworks to start. Radjabov – who was unbeaten with 15 consecutive draws – took the lead leaving Giri in a must-win situation going into the final game. Giri dug deep and pulled the set back from the brink by winning the fourth to finish the day 2-2. The quarters reach their climax tomorrow from 17:00 CET. Dubov, Duda, and Aronian must launch comebacks to progress to the semis. Opera is the official browser of the Tour and title partner of the event which carries a $100,000 prize pot. The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, organized by the Play Magnus Group, is the first full season of top-level online chess events. It comprises nine Regular and Major tournaments culminating in a $300,000 Final which starts in September. All matches are played in a rapid chess format with blitz and “armageddon” tie-breaks if needed. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Quarterfinals set, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi eliminated
US blitz king Hikaru Nakamura was the highest-profile victim as the bottom eight were dumped out of the Opera Euro Rapid today. Nakamura, one of the pre-tournament favorites, appeared to be cruising through to the quarter-finals of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event. But a last-gasp meltdown against fellow American Sam Shankland at the end of the prelim stage saw Nakamura finish level on points with mercurial Russian Daniil Dubov. Given that Dubov had clocked up more wins over the first 15 rounds, he squeezed through on a tiebreak. Nakamura reacted angrily by throwing his hands up in frustration. The climax of the 16-player round-robin stage was a brutal fight for quarter-final places as a string of big names scrambled to survive. Dubov, known for his unorthodox style, was right in the thick of the action fighting for his life in a series of spectacular games. In the end, he was a deserved qualifier. After raising his hopes of making it through with two early wins, Dubov lost a Round 13 thriller against the dangerous Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda. In the penultimate round, Dubov then spurned several golden opportunities to down World Champion Magnus Carlsen. The game eventually ended in a 122-move draw. In the final round, Dubov went all out for a win against fellow Russian Alexander Grischuk but had to settle for a draw. It meant Grischuk was eliminated, yet after Nakamura could only draw with Duda – who also made it through – the Russian unexpectedly survived. Meanwhile, Russia’s top player Ian Nepomniachtchi had been looking good to qualify but a loss in the final-round sunk him. As others battled, World Champion Magnus Carlsen had a low-key day. It started with a win after which Carlsen appeared to take his foot off the gas. The overnight leader then lost against the out-of-form Chinese number 1 Ding Liren and narrowly escaped a second reverse against Dubov. Yet despite his patchy performances, Carlsen still cruised into the quarters and finished joint-top of the leaderboard on 9.5/15 with Anish Giri. Carlsen said afterward: “I was on the back foot for most of the day but what happened didn’t matter much since I was already through and it was maybe a little harder to be motivated today.” Carlsen added that he felt confident and “ready for the new challenges” in the knockout stage. Anish Giri, so sharp on Day 2, had another solid day picking up a win against Matthias Bluebaum and four draws to ease into the quarters level with Carlsen. Meanwhile, France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made up the final eight with a draw against Carlsen. The quarters start tomorrow from 17:00 CET with Carlsen taking on Dubov the pick of the ties. The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, organized by the Play Magnus Group, is the first full season of top-level online chess events. All matches are played in a rapid chess format with blitz and “armageddon” tie-breaks if needed. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
POSTPONEMENT: 4th FIDE World Junior Championship for People with Disabilities
Dear Member Federations: We are sorry to inform you that the Management Board, together with the FIDE Commission for People with Disabilities and the Events Commission, has decided to postpone the FIDE World Junior Championship for People with Disabilities (decision MB-2021-008 – 2021-02-03). As you can imagine, the reason for this postponement is the COVID-19 pandemic. At the present time, it is not possible to determine new dates for this event. You will be notified as soon as we deem it safe to go ahead and new dates are fixed.
Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage wins 8th Sri Lanka Grand Prix
Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage of Ananda College, the reigning National Chess Champion, proved to be the strongest by winning the rapid chess tie-breaker after classical games with Minul Sanjula Doluweera of Royal College were drawn. It is generally accepted that Ranindu is better at faster time controls and the tiebreak just reinforced this point. After scoring a victory in the first rapid game and giving a draw in a winning position in the second one Ranindu Dilshan Liynage became the Champion of the 8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix 2021 and walked home with Rs 50,000 with the Trophy and the Gold Medal. Minul had to settle for the silver medal and Rs. 30,000. He was also awarded the winner trophy for the preliminary round-robin event. In the consolation finals, Theekshana Denuwan of Ananda College beat S Sivathanujan of Kokavil Hindu College in the first game and drew the second one to earn Rs. 20,000 and the Bronze medal. The top twelve national players participated in the 8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix 2021 which was held by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka from 28th January to 7th February 2021 with strict health guidelines applied. The total prize fund set by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka amounted to Rs. 110,000. The award ceremony took place on the 7th of February 2021, just after the finals with Mr. Luxman Wijesuriya, the President of the Chess Federation as the chief guest. The games can be seen via the following links: Consolation Finals (8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix – 2021):https://view.livechesscloud.com#fca060b0-f721-4f8b-a327-deff353e135e Finals (8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix – 2021): https://view.livechesscloud.com#09a04af5-b700-4985-a48b-5b2deec7bf30 Live coverage was arranged at the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka YOUTUBE Channel with commentaries provided by Dulan Edirisinghe, a former National Chess Champion, and KA Akhila Kavinda, a National Team Player.