FIDE Database enhancement
Dear Member Federations, We would like to inform you that FIDE is developing a targeted database enhancement, which consists of a review of the data actually included in FIDE databases related to Arbiters, Organisers, and Trainers. This program has been approved by the FIDE Council and added as an entry to the Handbook, under Chapter B.05. Following this program, every Arbiter, Trainer, and Organizer should confirm its activity status by filling a form that will be available on our website starting from the 1st of March, until the 31st of October, 2021. The link will be sent to you once the form is active. We kindly ask you to forward this email to all arbiters, trainers, and organizers registered under your federation, and help them to comply with the requirements. The FIDE Commissions are working closely with the Data Protection Committee, and they will provide Arbiters, Organisers, and Trainers licensed under their jurisdiction with all the relevant information. The Commissions will assist in ensuring a continuous update of their databases and to secure the collection of the necessary data. Not filling this form before October 2021 will automatically result in the Arbiter, Trainer, or Organizer being marked as “inactive”. This would imply that they will not be eligible to be appointed as Arbiter, Organiser, official coach, or “head of delegations” at any official FIDE event until they correct the situation. Should you need any clarification, please contact us at privacy@fide.com.
Tension mounts at Opera Euro Rapid after 10 rounds of play
Magnus Carlsen won a dramatic final game to stay in the lead after Day 2 of the Opera Euro Rapid online chess event. The World Champion tricked rival Hikaru Nakamura with almost no time left on his clock. Carlsen now heads into the final day of the prelim stage a half-point ahead of the pack. The Norwegian, who’s scored 7/10 after four back-to-back wins yesterday, said beating Nakamura was a “massive relief”. But Carlsen was typically harsh when asked about his own performance. “Obviously, it feels good. I have to say I haven’t played so well today,” he said. “So overall I’m a little bit lucky.” With crunch time fast approaching, today’s round-robin games in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour tournament were noticeably calmer than yesterday’s bloody first five rounds. There were more draws – 26 compared to only 16 on Day 1 – but the lead still changed hands several times. It means anything can happen tomorrow when the field will be cut in half as eight of the 16 progress to the knockout stage. Every competitor is still in with a chance. Wesley So was the first out of the blocks to challenge the top of the table, taking down fellow American Sam Shankland in just 25 moves. Carlsen, the overnight leader, was up against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the man who beat him twice last year and ended a record-breaking 125-game streak. History almost repeated itself after Carlsen uncharacteristically blundered against the dangerous Pole. But the champion quickly recovered to shore up a draw. Another below-par draw followed for Carlsen against Alexander Grischuk as he surrendered the lead to So. But bottom beat top in Round 7 as So lost to the Cuban-American Leinier Dominguez. Teimour Radjabov, the overall Tour leader, was the only player to emerge from Day 1 unbeaten and played it safe again to steer his first four games towards draws. Armenia’s Levon Aronian started promising “Ponchik power” – a reference to his pet dog who has made an appearance in every Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event to date. After a slow beginning, the world number 6 did not disappoint his beloved Ponchik with classy wins over Shankland and Dominguez and a draw against Duda. A quick draw against Grischuk in the final round then left him in a strong position overnight. Aronian’s only loss was a shock first game reverse to Tour debutant Matthias Bluebaum, the German number 1. Bluebaum was ahead again in his second game against Daniil Dubov. However, any hopes the 21-year-old had of shooting up the leaderboard were immediately dashed when he missed a winning chance and had to settle for a draw. A loss to Shankland followed and a draw against Dominguez left the tournament underdog with an uphill battle tomorrow to reach the next stage. Anish Giri, meanwhile, looked super-sharp and also has high hopes of making the quarter-finals after ending the day unbeaten. He is joint-second with So on 6.5/10. Giri scored impressive wins over Chinese number 1 Ding Liren and the tricky Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and secured draws against Carlsen, Radjabov and So. The last day of the prelims starts tomorrow at 17:00 CET. The bottom eight have five rounds to lift themselves into the quarters. Anything can happen. 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 About Play Magnus AS The Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market-leading brands: chess24, Chessable, CoChess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. About Meltwater Meltwater is the title partner of the Tour. Meltwater is a global leading provider of social and media intelligence. By examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs and news sites, and using patented artificial intelligence systems, Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insight from the outside.
Adly and Mezioud claim Africa Online Championship titles
GM Ahmed Adly has won the Open Section at the maiden edition of the Africa Online Individual Chess Championship 2021. With this win, he stands to walk away with the $3,000 first-place prize. In the ladies section, WGM Amina Mezioud stole the show and claimed the crown of African Chess Queen for 2021. The event was held on the Tornelo platform in five categories (9-round Swiss tournaments) with the prize money distributed as follows: Main Open Women Seniors U20 Open U20 Girls 1st Prize USD $3000 USD $2000 USD $1000 USD $400 USD $300 2nd Prize $2000 $1000 $750 $300 $200 3rd Prize $1500 $750 $500 $200 $100 4th Prize $750 $500 5th Prize $500 $250 Open Very little was separating the players in the Open section, where all games were tightly contested affairs. It was GM Ahmed Adly (Egypt), who snatched the gold in the end. His countryman and Africa’s number 1 Amin Bassem had to settle for the silver, just half a point behind. GM Bilel Bellahcene of Algeria notched the third-place position on tiebreak (tied for third with IM Fy Rakotomaharo and CM Donaldo Paiva) to take bronze. GM Ahmed Adly playing from home Final standings: Women WGM Amina Mezioud of Algeria (pictured below), won gold at the Women’s section. She scored two important victories in Rounds 8 and 9 to finish strong, surpassing Sabrina Latreche, who took the silver, just half a point behind Amina. Khadidja Latreche had secured her top 3 finish but lost her last game to Linda Dalitso Shaba of Zimbabwe. Photo: David Llada Final standings: Seniors As many predicted, 7-time South African champion, FM Charles De Villiers (RSA) clinched gold in the ‘madalas’ section of players over 50 with an unbeaten 8.5/9 score. Zoheir Slami (Morocco) and CM John Mukabi (Kenya) settled for second and third spots respectively. Charles De Villiers (right) podium finish in 2018 Photo: Cross Road Chess Club Facebook page Final standings: U20 Open FM Lamine Brahami of Algeria (pictured below) won the U20 Open gold with a beautiful win in the 8th round, and a draw with Banele Mhango in the last round. He ended the tournament joint first on 7.5/9 points, along with FM Domingoes Junior of Angola, however, having the better Bucholz points. Taking bronze on joint third place with Banele Mhango (both on 7 points), is Mauritania’s Mohamed Abderrahim Taleb Mohamed, also with the better Bucholz points. Photo: Adnane Nesla Final standings: U20 Girls WIM Lina Nassir of Algeria (pictured below) came out on top in the U20 Girls section scoring 8 points. She secured the title by defeating Egypt’s Yara Allam in Round 8 and drawing her last round game against Natalie Katlo Banda of Botswana on move 31. WFM Besa Masaiti, also of Botswana, “went home” with silver, finishing a point behind the leader. The untitled Davida Strong from South Africa finished in third place and took the bronze with 6.5/9 points. Photo: www.express-dz.com Final standings: Text: https://africachessmedia.com/
Alexei Shirov wins 2021 University of Salamanca Masters
Alexei Shirov came as the winner of the University of Salamanca Masters 2021. The eight-player round-robin with the time control of 40 min + 5 sec was a part of the third edition of the Salamanca Chess Festival running from February 2-6. The Masters brought together eight players from four counties including the last edition winner Eduardo Iturrizaga, FIDE World ex-champion Veselin Topalov, Alexei Shirov, the reigning Spanish Champion David Anton, and four female players. The winner delivered an excellent result 6 out of 7 making just two draws and finished a half-point ahead of Eduardo Iturrizaga and David Anton who tied for second place. Elisabeth Paehtz scored 3 points out of 7 and became the best female player in the event. Final standings: 1. Alexei Shirov (2662) – 6 2. Eduardo Iturrizaga (2607) – 5½ 3. David Anton Guijarro (2679) – 5½ 4. Veselin Topalov (2735) – 3½ 5. Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – 3 6. Nurgyul Salimova (2397) – 2½ 7. Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (2392) – 1½ 8. Almira Skripchenko (2418) – 1 Official website: www.salamancachessfestival.com Photo: Ajedrez Salamanca
Carlsen wins 4 in a row to set early pace
World Champion recovers from ‘funk’ 24 of 40 games end with a win Round-robin stage resumes tomorrow The Opera Euro Rapid online chess event got off to an explosive start as World Champion Magnus Carlsen won four in a row to end the day out on top. The Norwegian went into the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour tournament on the back of a poor run of form he described as a “funk”. But after an early wobble that stoked fears, he wasn’t out of it, Carlsen roared back to post a quadruple of back-to-back wins. Carlsen said afterward: “I wouldn’t say the funk is over but what I would say is that this was a very enjoyable day of chess and I tried to win every game.” The result, Carlsen said, was “awesome”. He added: “Overall I’m very happy with my play – the spirit I had to always try for the maximum!” After losing to Wesley So in Round 1, Carlsen’s victims were Airthings Masters finalist Levon Aronian, German number 1 Matthias Bluebaum, 2018 US champ Sam Shankland and finally Cuban-American Leinier Dominguez. The champion wasn’t alone in hunting down wins. All 16 stars in action appeared to throw caution to the wind as an impressive 24 of the first 40 round-robin games finished decisively. In fact, the drama kicked off only seconds after the start of play as the Russian Alexander Grischuk made a horrible mouse-slip just four moves in. With the odds stacked against him, Grischuk then went on to save a draw against Anish Giri. The prelim stage taking place now is the first act of the $100,000 Opera Euro Rapid as the players battle it out to make it into the last eight knockout. Carlsen finished Day 1 of the nine-day tournament on 4/5, half a point ahead of Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, and Teimour Radjabov are tied for fourth place. 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. The logo chosen for the event represents Daniil Dubov’s sensational win over World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the last Tour event, the Airthings Masters. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Champions Chess Tourleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770 About Play Magnus AS The Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market-leading brands: chess24, Chessable, CoChess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. About Meltwater Meltwater is the title partner of the Tour. Meltwater is a global leading provider of social and media intelligence. By examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs and news sites, and using patented artificial intelligence systems, Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insight from the outside.
Modifications to Transfer Regulations
During the last General Congress, some important changes were introduced to the Transfer Regulations and Rules of Eligibility for Players, which apply to all those who are in the process of changing federations. These changes are effective from December 01, 2020, which means they are applied retrospectively. The first main change is that the notification fee, paid for every transfer, is reduced fivefold, from 250€ to 50€. No notification fee is required for FIDE flag players who have never been registered with a National Federation. Second, some changes have been introduced to speed up the process and reduce the time a player has to wait to represent his/her new federation in an official FIDE event and became eligible for a fee-exempted transfer. Under the previous regulations, a player should wait for two years after initiating the transfer. Now, this 2-year period starts counting from the moment the player has competed in his/her last official FIDE event representing his previous federation, regardless of when he initiates the transfer. This modification can effectively shorten the duration of the transition period and allow the player to represent his new country much earlier. A transfer is considered to be completed when either the old Federation has written a letter of non-objection or 90 days have passed since the old Federation was informed.
First FIDE World University Online Championships announced
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the First FIDE World University Online Chess Championships. The event is open to students born in 1995 or later, who have their secondary education completed, and are currently officially registered as proceeding towards a degree or diploma at a university. The championships will be organized by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (www.utrgv.edu) and will consist of four different competitions that will take place over three consecutive weekends: FIDE World University Individual Online Blitz Championship (13-14 March) FIDE World University Individual Online Rapid Championship (20-21 March) FIDE World University Team Online Rapid Cup (27 March) FIDE World University Team Online Blitz Cup (28 March) Please note that the championships will be played on two different platforms: the individual events will take place on Tornelo, while the team events will be hosted by Chess24. Players who are banned by the hosting internet platform are not eligible to take part in the tournament. FIDE World University Individual Online Blitz Championship (March 13-14, Tornelo) The Individual Blitz Championship will be a 20-round Swiss tournament, with a time control of 3+2. Students from the same university shall not be paired against each other. The winner will be announced the World University Online Blitz Champion 2021, and the highest placed woman will be announced as the World University Online Blitz Women’s Champion 2021. During the registration (see Article 2.A.9 of the regulations), each university can designate up to seven students to form a team that represents it. The top four team members’ scores, (including at least one man’s score and one woman’s score) will count for the team standings that will be used as a qualifier for the FIDE World University Team Online Blitz Cup. The registration deadline is March 5, 2021 (11:59 UTC), and there is no entry fee. However, bear in mind that there is a limit of 1000 participants for this championship, by order of registration. Registration link: https://worlduniversity.fide.com/registration_blitz.phtml Schedule:FIDE World University Individual Online Rapid Championship (March 20-21, Tornelo) The Individual Rapid Championship will be a 12-round Swiss tournament, with a time control of 10+5. Again, students from the same university shall not be paired against each other, and the individual results of the top performers from each university will be used as a qualifier for the World University Team Rapid Cup. Likewise, the event will be played on Tornelo, with a limit of 1000 participants, and March 5 as a deadline (11:59 UTC). Registration link: https://worlduniversity.fide.com/registration_rapid.phtml Schedule:FIDE World University Team Online Rapid Cup (March 27, Chess24) The four best teams according to the final team’s standings of the World University Individual Online Rapid Championship will qualify for the Team Online Rapid Cup. This competition will be played as Knockout duels of two matches each, with each match played on four boards, with a time control of 10+5. The playing schedule of each duel will be decided taking into consideration the time zones of the qualified teams, and it will be announced by March 23. The winning team will be announced the World University Team Online Rapid Cup Winner 2021 and will be awarded a trophy. FIDE World University Team Online Blitz Cup (March 28, Chess24) The blitz competition will follow a similar format to the rapid, with four teams playing a knockout. The only differences are obviously the time control, which in this case will be 3+2, and the fact that the duels will consist of four matches between the teams, instead of two. The Tournament Director will be GM Bartlomiej Macieja, with GM Aleksander Mista as his deputy, and IA Tomasz Delega as Chief Arbiter. Technical meetings are scheduled for March 7 (individual championships) and March 26 (teams championships). For more information, please check the complete regulations. About the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Chess Program The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) won the last two US National Collegiate Chess Championships (Final Four Tournaments), in 2018 and 2019. Both years, the UTRGV was named “The Chess College of the Year” by the US Chess Federation. In recognition of the success, the team was invited to the Texas Capitol in Austin, and honored by the State Governor, Senate, and the House of Representatives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6FvTj9rsnUIn January 2021, the UTRGV played an intercontinental match vs. the current university champions of Russia. The UTRGV won that Clash of University Champions 13.5 vs. 10.5, proving it belongs to the very elite of world university chess. More information: https://www.utrgv.edu/chess https://www.facebook.com/UTRGVChessTeam
FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020-2021
The International Chess Federation, together with the FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG), is pleased to announce the 14th FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020 & 2021, which will recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the chess training community. Achievements in 2019 and 2020 will be the basis of the trainers award while for books it will be those published in 2020. The categories have now been expanded to 10 so that every licensed trainer now has the opportunity to win an award and be recognized by their peers. Trainers Mikhail Botvinnik Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in Open Section competitionsVakhtang Karseladze Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in women’s and/or girl’s competitionsMark Dvoretsky Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in junior competitionsSamuel Reshevsky for the best achievement by a junior prodigy (U-14) in competitionsYuri Razuvaev Award for special contribution to grassroots education, and social impactTigran Petrosian Award for special contribution to trainer education Vasily Smyslov for the best academy or chess school, to be voted on by the current FIDE endorsed academiesLiu Wenzhe to recognize the first coach, as endorsed by one or more leading chess playersOnline chess training, for delivery or innovation in online chess training Book Authors · Yuri Averbakh/Isaac Boleslavsky Award for best book FIDE and the Trainers’ Commission invites nominations for the awards, under the following regulations: Trainer Nominations 1. The awards must be for achievement in the years of the award 2019 and 2020 2. Achievements from before the licensed period initiated are not eligible. 3. Nominations can be made by FIDE Council members, FIDE Continental & Affiliated Organisations, National Chess Federations, TRG Commission members, Principals of FIDE Endorsed Academies, FIDE Senior Trainers and past winners. 4. No nominator can nominate the same nominee in more than one category. 5. Special nomination forms for each award will be prepared to ensure all pertinent information is provided. 6. All nominations must be sent to the TRG Secretary by 30th April. The Secretary will acknowledge receipt, compile and forward them to the TRG Awards Nomination Judges, as well as announce the list of nominations in May to ensure transparency. 7. There will be a panel of seven judges to be appointed by TRG in consultation with the FIDE Managing Board. 8. At least two judges will be women and all four continents will be represented. 9. The nomination and judging process will be subject to verification by a representative appointed by the FIDE Management Board. Book Nominations 1. For the Yuri Averbakh/Isaac Boleslavsky Award, book publishers may make up to three nominations each. TRG will invite leading publishers to nominate a maximum of three books. One nominee from each publisher can be exempt from the requirement of a FIDE training license. Other publishers are welcome to request permission to submit and in most cases, we will approve. 2. National Federations can also nominate one book by a licensed trainer. 3. A copy of nominated books has to be sent to TRG according to instructions by a given date in April. 4. This Award will be judged by a panel comprising three experts selected by TRG in consultation with the FIDE Management Board. The judges have the right to reject a nomination. 5. The nominations will be announced after the 31st March deadline, a shortlist will be announced by the 1st of July and the winner decided by public vote to be determined by the 21st of July. All nominations are to be sent to trainers@fide.com and the forms can be downloaded as follows: Trainers Nominations: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e11fq1nsobt3wtl/Nomination%20Form.xlsx?dl=0 Books nominations: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4qo7rzhz4lh3di/Books%20Nomination%20Form.xlsx?dl=0
Bangladesh returns to over-the-board chess
Many live chess events were canceled last year all around the world, including the Youth Word Championship 2020 that was supposed to take place in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. In January of 2021, the Bangladesh Chess Federation adopted a plan to organize over-the-board chess competitions in compliance with the health rules of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. To this end, the Mujib Year Invitational International Rating Chess tournament was held from 9 to 16 January 2021 under the auspices of Abul Khair Group. The list of participants included 44 invited players (one Grand Master, three International Masters, and one Woman International Master). The competition was inaugurated on January 9 by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md. Shafiqul Islam, as the chief guest. Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation and President of FIDE Zone 3.2 spoke on the occasion presided over by K. M. Shahidullah, the Vice President of Bangladesh Chess Federation. GM Ziaur Rahman scored 7½ points out of 9 and came out on top in a 9-round Swiss-League event. Anata Choudhury was a runner-up with 7 points and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag finished third with 6½. Among the women, Rani Hamid netted 4½ points became the best female player. Ahmed Walija, Nazrana Khan Eva, Kazi Jarin Tasnim, and Noshin Anjum received special women’s awards. The awarding ceremony was held at the Utsab Hall, Ground Floor, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, a five-star hotel in Dhaka city. Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Youth & Sports, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was present as the Chief Guest and presented the prizes to the winners. Mr. K. M. Shahidullah, the Vice President of the Bangladesh Chess Federation presided over the ceremony. The winners of the competition were awarded a total of four thousand three hundred US dollars. Following the Invitational International Rating Chess, the Mujib Borso Marcel 2nd Division Chess League 2021 was held from January 20-28, 2021 under the auspices of the Bangladesh Chess Federation and sponsored by Walton Group. The 9-round Swiss event brought together a record number of 42 teams. Shahnoor Khan Smiriti Sangsad scored 16 points and clinched the title. A runner-up, Sports Bangla finished one point behind. Grassroots Sports Academy tied for third with BD Chess in School with the former taking bronze thanks to better tiebreaks. The closing ceremony was held on January 30, 2021, in the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room. F.M. Iqbal Bin Anowar (Dawn), Executive Director and Head of Games & Welfare of WALTON Group awarded the prizes as a chief guest. IO Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation and President, FIDE Zone 3.2 was present as a special guest. K. M. Shahidullah, the Vice President of the Bangladesh Chess Federation presided over the ceremony. Bangladesh Chess Federation is determined to continue on the course of running over-the-board chess events. The next on the list is the WALTON 1st Division Chess League 2021 scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 7, 2021. Text and photo: Md Haroon Or Rashid, International Arbiter
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