Hou Yifan wins Belt and Road World Women Summit
Photo: Maria Emelianova (chess.com) Women’s # 1 Hou Yifan made a winning return to the virtual board in a 2-day rapid tournament Belt and Road 2020 World Chess Women Summit. This rapid chess (15+5) round-robin event took place on chess.com and brought together ten female players including three GMs from the women’s top-10. Hou Yifan started with a bang scoring four victories in a row right out of the gate. Women’s #1 was in control throughout the tournament distance and despite losing two games to her compatriot Lei Tingjie and Nana Dzagnidze finished clear first a full point ahead of Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Tan Zhongyi who tied for second. Final standings: 1. Hou Yifan – 6½2. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – 5½3. Tan Zhongyi – 5½4. Lei Tingjie – 55. Zhansaya Abdumalik – 4½6. Mariya Muzychuk – 4½7. Zhao Xue – 3½8. Antoaneta Stefanova – 3½9. Nana Dzagnidze – 3½10. Ekaterina Atalik – 3 The games are available on chess.com.
2020 FIDE Online General Assembly Agenda
In the following links, you can find the agenda for the FIDE Online General Assembly taking place today (December 6, 2020), as well as links to all annexes. We would like to remind you that the General Assembly will be broadcast via Youtube. Live BROADCAST (Youtube) FIDE Online General Assembly 6 December 2020 AGENDA 1. FIDE President’s address 2. Obituaries 3. Roll-call 4. Appointment of the 3 Scrutineers (if technically possible) Section 1 – Report of FIDE President Section 2 – Financial matters 2.1 Report of the FIDE Treasurer. Annex 2.1 2.2 Verification Commission report. Annex 2.2 2.3 Discharge of the Treasurer.The General Assembly is requested to discharge the Treasurer from the responsibilities for the financial year 2019. 2.4 Budget 2021. The GA is invited to approve the 2021 Budget. Annex 2.4 2.5 Appointment of External Auditor for annual audit of FIDE accounts for 2020 The GA is invited to re-appoint Ernst&Young as the auditor of FIDE accounts for financial year 2020. 2.6 New Financial Regulations The GA is invited to approve the new Financial Regulations. Annex 2.6 Section 3 – Federation and Membership issues 3.1 Admission of a new affiliated organisation The Isle of Man applied to become an affiliated organisation of FIDE. Annex 3.1 3.2 Federation issues 3.2.1 English Chess Federation’s motion Annex 3.2.1 3.2.1.1 Mr.Kambouzia’s letter Annex 3.2.1.1 3.2.1.2 Letters from Iran Chess Federation Annex 3.2.1.2a and Annex 3.2.1.2b 3.2.1.3 Letter from NOC of the Islamic Republic of Iran Annex 3.2.1.3 3.2 1.4 Letter from Chess Federation of Canada Annex 3.2.1.4 3.2.1.5 Motion of FIDE President of Iran Annex 3.2.1.5 Section 4 – Administrative matters 4.1 Changes in the FIDE Handbook 4.1.1 Laws of Chess (amendment regarding Online chess) Annex 4.1.1 4.1.2 General Assembly Internal RulesThe GA is invited to approve the General Assembly Internal Rules. Annex 4.1.2 4.1.3 Zonal Council RulesThe GA is invited to approve the Zonal Council Rules. Annex 4.1.3 4.1.4 English Chess Federation’s motions. Annex 4.1.4 Section 5 – FIDE Calendar 5.1 World Championship match 2021 5.2 Women’s World Cup 2021 and World Cup 2021 5.3 Chess Olympiads 5.3.1 Chess Olympiad 20215.3.2 Chess Olympiad 20225.3.3 Chess Olympiad 2024 Following the bidding procedure which ended on May 1st, 2020 the following valid bid has been received: – Budapest, Hungary Annex 5.3.3 The General Assembly is invited to vote on the bid. Section 6 – Online Chess 6.1 Online tournament projects and FIDE Laws of Online Chess 6.2 Online FIDE activities Section 7 – Continental Associations 7.1 Report of Continental Association for Europe. Annex 7.17.2 Report of Continental Association for Americas. Annex 7.27.3 Report of Continental Association for Asia. Annex 7.37.4 Report of Continental Association for Africa. Annex 7.4 Section 8 – Miscellaneous 8.1 FIDE Awards 8.2 91st FIDE Congress 2021.The event will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia 8.3 Other matters 8.3.1 Jamaica Chess Federation’s proposal Annex 8.3.1 Closure
Carlsen and Nakamura advance to semifinals
GM Magnus Carlsen defeated GM Vladislav Artemiev 13.5-9.5 whereas GM Hikaru Nakamura dispatched GM Vladimir Fedoseev 21.5-5.5 in Thursday’s quarterfinals of the Speed Chess Championship. Carlsen will now face GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the semifinals; Nakamura will now face GM Wesley So. Before this Speed Chess match, Carlsen and Artemiev had played four games at fast time control, with the Norwegian winning two besides two draws. However, the players drew twice in the 2020 Chessable Masters this summer. Carlsen was the favorite and Artemiev a dangerous dark horse. The match started equal, with a win for Artemiev, then one for Carlsen, followed by a draw. In game four, it was Artemiev who took the lead for the second time when he won a model game against his opponent’s Hedgehog setup. Carlsen retaliated and then after another draw won two games in a row and finished the five-minute games 5-3 on the scoreboard in his favor. Artemiev put his opponent under pressure in the first two 3+1 games (both draws) and then won the third, to bring back the margin to a point. Carlsen seemed furious on camera and perhaps that was because he kind of lost to himself in this game: However, every time Carlsen lost, he bounced back immediately with a win—and in this case, two. He was leading by three points, and in hindsight, we had reached the critical moment of the match. Indeed, Artemiev was completely winning in the next two games but lost both! The Russian player finally managed to string together two victories in games 20 and 21, bringing the score to 12-9. But by then, there wasn’t enough time left to make up for those three points. As the match was over, Artemiev reflected: “I think the match was very interesting and uncompromising but also I can say that I have big problems when I am down to my last seconds and probably I missed some great chances. But OK, it’s a fight and it’s only my problem so thank you Magnus, and congratulations.” Carlsen: “I have to say that the match overall was tough. Almost every game was tough. I think over the course of the match there was one game which I won without any hiccups. So if you’re talking about angry that was sort of my constant mood throughout the match. Every game was long. It felt like I was outplayed in almost every game and it was just a massive struggle. I played Vlad before so I knew that he is very strong and I knew that the match was never going to be easy but still, when you’re there, we both really felt the tension very much and in that sense, it was a very interesting and very open match as well.” The Nakamura-Fedoseev match was a repeat of the final of the Super Swiss, an one-day qualifier to the Speed Chess Championship in early October. Nakamura won 7.5-5.5 back then and Fedoseev became the qualifier because the winner was already seeded into the SCC as the reigning champion. In Titled Tuesdays, Nakamura scored 5-3 vs. Fedoseev between May and September of this year. All in all, he was the favorite but not by the huge margin that came on the scoreboard. He was in brilliant shape, while Fedoseev was not having his day. Nakamura started with an incredible 9-0, the second-best opening score in Speed Chess history. The games were not that lopsided actually, but somehow things went wrong for Fedoseev time and time again. The five-minute segment comprised the first eight of those nine wins for Nakamura, who said: “I played well when I had very little time on the clock, I think that was probably the main thing that I did well in the 5+1.” After the first break, Fedoseev wasn’t yet allowed a fresh start as he lost another game in an equally disappointing fashion. 10-0 would have meant “adoption,” but that didn’t happen as Fedoseev held the 10th game to a draw. After another loss and another draw, he finally managed to score his first win in game 13. Fedoseev promptly won another game, but Nakamura then finished the three-minute segment with three more wins. The score before the bullet was a devastating 14-3. However, we should honor where honor is due. The Move of the Match came from Fedoseev, who found a brilliant queen sacrifice in the second bullet game. Sadly for him, he couldn’t convert the game later on. Fedoseev got two wins and a draw in the bullet segment, with seven wins for Nakamura. The latter revealed that before the match he had taken his opponent very seriously: “Not to discredit my previous opponents, but for all the previous matches I didn’t actually do any preparation whatsoever whereas for this match I did quite a bit of preparation. Credit to Vladimir who is a very strong player and who did beat Alireza [Firouzja] in the first round.” Fedoseev: “The match started with a huge disconnection from my side and then I tilted. I don’t think that in the world we can name a second player who is so good as Hikaru in the situation when his opponent is tilting and that’s why this match ended how it ended. Also, he was perfectly concentrated till the end of the match. I found many great tactical ideas but he always was better physically and mentally and again and again outplayed me.” The 2020 Speed Chess Championship Main Event is a knockout tournament among 16 of the best grandmasters in the world who will play for a $100,000 prize fund, double the amount of last year. The tournament runs from November 1 to December 13, 2020, on Chess.com. Each match will feature 90 minutes of 5+1 blitz, 60 minutes of 3+1 blitz, and 30 minutes of 1+1 bullet chess. Text: Peter Doggers
FIDE Online General Assembly 2020: Final List of Delegates
FIDE is publishing the final list of the delegates for the FIDE Online General Assembly. FINAL LIST OF DELEGATES (pdf)
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
In conversation with CM Samarth J Rao and his father, Jagadish Rao Basrur Shankar Written by Dora Martinez (dora@lensethics.org)Contributor: Seçkin SerpilPhoto courtesy of Jagadish Rao There is a way. We can plan out our lives as much as we’d like but, life more often than not, alters our path. As a parent of a son with a disability, I know what it means to push against the current, to not conform, to fight against the place society wants to carve out for people with disabilities. How do we create a path that honors us? In this edition, we connect again via Zoom and have a conversation with Samarth and his father Jagadish. When Samarth was a young boy, his mother saw that he was left out from playing on the school’s playground and introduced him to chess. This introduction to chess changed everything for Samarth. Samarth, you’ve had many challenges but, this has not stopped you from setting goals and trying to achieve them. How do you overcome wins and losses on and off the board? If I have a challenge against a player, I want to win. I am not worried about the loss because I see this as a challenge to try to win again. Whether I win, lose or draw, this is not a concern, it is yet another challenge to try to overcome and stay focused on my goals. Samarth is representing India in the Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities. What do you think about playing in this event? This event is a good opportunity for players with physical disabilities because this allows them to play from home, which is more comfortable. Samarth doesn’t require assistance and does not use adaptive devices, just a normal laptop. How did you prepare for this event? He is taking lessons from several chess coaches, Mr. Ajith M P of Mysuru and team coach, Mr. Durgaprasad V. He has improved a lot because of this. Samarth also played in a practice match with WIM Jennitha Anto K from India, a 6-time World Champion in IPCA and he won this practice game against her. This made him very happy. Samarth, you are 21 years old now. How old were you when you played in your first chess tournament? What is it about chess that motivates you to continue? I played in my first chess tournament at 13 years. I want chess to be my career and one of my goals is to become a GM like Anand, this motivates me. I was very happy to be honored by Anand in Chennai and my favorite Anand game is one he played against Kasparov. Anand and Samarth Samarth is also studying in university. How are his studies going? Samarth has been focusing on chess and his university studies. He is very active! He is in his final year and will earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. What has been the most rewarding experience in your chess career? Visiting the USA for the first time for the World Junior Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities and earning a medal made me very happy. How do you pick the tournaments you want to play in? Right now, due to the pandemic, he is playing a lot of online games. Taking this opportunity to expand his knowledge in chess with high rated players, maximizing his time and focusing on chess only. He studies and plays chess 12-13 hours a day. Do you prefer chess online or in person? In person, over the board. Who is your favorite chessplayer, living or in history? I love Fischer because he is an attacking player. As Samarth’s father, you have always believed in him, always supported him. What words of encouragement and motivation do you tell Samarth right before his games? I tell him to do his best. Don’t worry about your opponent’s rating. You play your game only. Everyone makes mistakes. If they make a mistake, take advantage of that, punish the mistake and then you can win the match. He has taken this advice and I think this is why he is at this level. I am happy and very proud of him. Samarth is unable to stand or walk independently and you assist him in every way you can. Having dedicated and supportive parents is very important. What is the most challenging thing about parenting? Where there’s a will, there’s a way! I have the will to do something about Samarth, so I took this as a challenge for me. I travel with him everywhere and as far as possible. At some point, I won’t be able to carry him because of my age. While I have the strength to hold and carry him, I will try to support him as much as possible in his goal of becoming a GM. He wanted to win the World Junior Championship for Players with Disabilities in New Jersey, USA but, because of a slight mistake in his game against Ilia Lipilin from Russia, he missed this opportunity. You’ve traveled to many countries, which is your favorite? USA and Czech Republic. What do you look forward to the most once this pandemic is over? I want to play online and offline as much as possible and start to play in over the board tournaments so that I can increase my rating to over 2000. I want my rating to be over 2000 because in the next Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, a goal I have set for myself is to be in India Team 1. Also, I would like to go back to the USA so if you organize a World Youth Championship for Under 25, I can take on this challenge and try to win a tournament in the USA. You are a big inspiration Samarth. Anything you’d like to say to people who might have a difficult time achieving their goals? Anybody can achieve anything! Wishing you the very best Samarth! Until next time…play on!
Russian Championships Superfinals kick off in Moscow
The Superfinals of the 73rd Russian championship and the 70th Russian women’s championship are held from the 4th of December (arrival) to the 17th of December (departure) in the Central Chess Club in Moscow. The tournaments are a part of the Chess in Museums program, which has been carried out by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Elena and Gennady Foundation since 2012. The main event of the Russian chess calendar features stellar lineups. Men: Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784), Sergey Karjakin (2752), Peter Svidler (2723), Nikita Vitiugov (2720), Vladislav Artemiev (2711), Daniil Dubov (2702), Maxim Matlakov (2698), Andrey Esipenko (2686), Vladimir Fedoseev (2674), Maksim Chigaev (2619), Mikhail Antipov (2611), and Aleksey Goganov (2594). Ian Nepomniachtchi Photo: Maria Emelianova Women: Aleksandra Goryachkina (2593), Alina Kashlinskaya (2494), Natalija Pogonina (2474), Alexandra Kosteniuk (2471), Olga Girya (2464), Polina Shuvalova (2456), Valentina Gunina (2451), Alisa Galliamova (2438), Marina Guseva (2359), Leya Garifullina (2348), Tatyana Getman (2302), and Yulia Grigorieva (2290). Aleksandra Goryachkina Photo: David Llada The events are 11-round all-play-all tournaments. The playing days are December 5-10 and 12-16. December 11 is a rest day. All rounds begin at 3 PM (Moscow time). In case of a tie for 1st place by two or more participants, an additional rapid tiebreak is played to determine the winner. The total prize fund of the event is 10 million rubles (approximately $133,000). The organizers are the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR)and the Timchenko Foundation. The tournaments are supported by the Russian Ministry of Sports. The general sponsor of the Russian national teams is the Federal Grid Company Unified Energy System (FGC UES). The CFR general partner is PhosAgro.
Vachier-Lagrave beats Aronian in close quarterfinal match
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (@Lyonbeast) defeated GM Levon Aronian (@LevonAronian) 14.5-12.5 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal of the Speed Chess Championship. The next match is Magnus Carlsen vs. Vladislav Artemiev on December 3 at 5 a.m. Pacific / 14:00 CET. Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave had played many times before but never in a Speed Chess Championship. In faster time controls, the Frenchman had a 20-9 plus score with 21 draws in over-the-board chess. He was the slight favorite and lived up to the expectations, but the match was really close. The match started with a draw, but not without one big moment that must have woken up both players if they weren’t fully awake just yet. Somewhere in the endgame, Vachier-Lagrave dropped his rook on a forbidden square but both players noticed it too late. Aronian, after the match: “The first game was of course a highlight. Maxime played a move that I would play, 30.Rc7, and then I didn’t take it through!” It was the French GM who took the early lead in game two after Aronian had surprisingly started the game with 1.b3. “It was not a good idea but I thought it was good to mix it up in blitz,” Aronian would later say. While he was piling up his pieces towards the black king, Maxime defended everything and let his c-pawn become the hero of the game. After three draws, Aronian leveled the score with a fine, positional game against Vachier-Lagrave’s Sicilian. The Frenchman did win the five-minute segment as he won the last game in that time control as Black. Vachier-Lagrave increased his lead to three points early in the three-minute portion. His 29.Nxe5+ in the third game (game 11 of the match) was impressive. However, before the bullet, the score was equal again as Aronian had a great comeback. He won his last three white games at the 3+1 time control. Vachier-Lagrave took a two-point lead straight away early in the bullet session and Aronian never managed to tie anymore. In the penultimate game, Aronian missed a huge chance to decrease the margin to just one point, thereby keeping hopes for a playoff. Instead, he lost the game and the match as the match clock allowed for just one more game. Aronian said afterward: “Generally I thought that I was playing slowly out of the gates and that proved to be a decisive factor in the bullet. But I thought it was a close match, it was fun.” “I thought I should be the favorite in bullet, clearly, but at the same time, I saw that Levon played extremely well in the bullet portion against Ian [Nepomniachtchi], said Vachier-Lagrave. The 2020 Speed Chess Championship Main Event is a knockout tournament among 16 of the best grandmasters in the world who will play for a $100,000 prize fund, double the amount of last year. The tournament runs from November 1 to December 13, 2020 on Chess.com. Each individual match will feature 90 minutes of 5+1 blitz, 60 minutes of 3+1 blitz, and 30 minutes of 1+1 bullet chess. Text: Peter Doggers (chess.com)
Poland wins the first Chess Olympiad for the Disabled
As the world celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the first-ever Online Chess Olympiad for players with disabilities came to an end with the victory of Poland, over a field of 61 teams from 45 different countries. The final between Poland and Russia was a thrilling affair, since the Russian squad won the first round by 2½:1½ (two victories, one draw, and one defeat). However, the Polish players bounced back and, on the second day of play, they pulled off a brilliant victory by 3-1 (three victories, one loss) that turned the tables in their favor. GM Marcin Tazbir (pictured below) set the right tone by defeating Stanislav Babarykin on the first board after the Russian FM made a grave mistake in a roughly equal position. Marcin Molenda did his part on board 2 by gradually outplaying Marina Kaydanovich. Photo: Robert Pawlikowski Russia retaliated on board 3 as Alexey Smirnov crushed FM Lukasz Nowak after his opponent snatched a poisoned rook and scored a very important point. A real drama unfolded on board 4 where Denis Palin obtained an overwhelming position in his game Anna Stolarczyk. A victory would have secured Russia 1 the champion title but it was not meant to be. After missing several winning opportunities the Russian player pushed too far in a roughly equal position and suffered a debacle. “We knew that we had already secured the silver medal by reaching the final, so I believe that allowed us to shake off the pressure a little bit, and focus on fighting for the gold”, explains Marcin Tazbir, who defends the first board for Poland. “After losing the first match, we knew that we would need to win the second for at least 3-1. Achieving such a result against a very strong team like Russia is really difficult, but we managed to do it. Luck was on our side, to a certain extent, but I believe it was a deserved victory. I am really proud of our team and would also like to thank all participants, and especially, our team captain Michał Bartel, who was really supportive during the whole event.” “I really appreciate that FIDE has managed to organize this event for disabled players even despite the added difficulties caused by the pandemic. This Olympiad allowed many people with disabilities to feel and enjoy the atmosphere of a big sporting event”, added Marcin. There were two interesting guests in the virtual studio on the final day of the competition. European snowboard Champion Alena Alekhina recounted how she went through a difficult period of her life caused by a terrible injury back in 2013. FIDE Executive Director Victor Bologan told how FIDE had adjusted to challenging times and elaborated on the prospect of chess to be included in the Olympic program. In a duel for third place, Ukraine 3 beat Poland 3 again this time by a score of 3-1 and took bronze. Final standings: 1. Poland 12. Russia 13. Ukraine 3
The Color of Darkness is White
In conversation with Dr. Kerim Altinok and Dr. Selim Altinok Written by Dora Martinez (dora@lensethics.org)Contributor: Seçkin SerpilPhotos courtesy of Kerim and Selim Altinok Where would the color of darkness fall on Sir Isaac Newton’s color wheel? Color does not exist outside of our minds and our perception of color is certainly personal and subjective, usually shaped by our experience and even culture. But, what if — we lost our sight? I spent most of my childhood seeing from the perspective of a child whose mother had lost her vision, interpreting my world through light, shadows, whites, greys, hues, and contrasts. The loss of vision was not my own but, that didn’t matter — in my young mind, even smells were assigned a color. Creative people like to challenge the status quo, we don’t accept the hand we are dealt. Instead, we carve a path for ourselves, shaping the world around us, one move at a time. Meet Dr. Kerim Altinok and Dr. Selim Altinok, they are identical twins, doctors, musicians, writers, lawyers, and yes…chessplayers. Kerim and Selim are both participating in the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities as part of a team from Turkey. We sat down for a chat, much in the same way we are all communicating during the pandemic — with a Zoom call. When did you both start to play chess? We started playing chess when we were 14 years old. During a visit to our grandparents’ home, we saw a wooden chess set and we were drawn to it. Our grandfather taught us how to play and gave us a chess book. After learning and playing for 6 months, we won against our grandfather and after that, he never won again. What do you think about playing in the first Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities? We are excited to participate in this tournament. Especially because there are many strong young players. We have been playing online for a very long time and have even created a guide for players with visual impairments on how to use the accessibility features on LiChess which is on YouTube. Playing independently is very important for us but, for this tournament, we have to play with the help of an assistant. This is not so ideal because we have to say our move, wait for the assistant and this is not so good for concentration. We hope that for the next online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, Tornelo’s platform will be accessible for people with a total loss of vision. Other than that, we are very happy to be participating in the event. You lost your vision completely at the age of 18. At that time, you had already been playing chess for 4 years. Having lost your vision gradually, did this in a way give you some time to figure out how to adapt to the changes that were coming? What were the challenges you faced in securing chess equipment as players with a visual impairment? At 14, we started to play chess on a normal board. As our vision worsened, we tried to play chess near the window to use the natural light. Before we lost our vision completely, there was no internet, so we found a carpenter that could make a chessboard and pieces the way we wanted. This board was not so practical because it was so big. Now, we have boards that are more practical and easier to travel with. The carpenter that made the chessboard for us was blind. He has since passed away but, we have the board he made for us and he lives in our mind. How has chess impacted your life? Like art and mathematics, chess is like a mirror of life. In life and chess, you might have a hopeless position but, it can be changed. With chess, you can change the situation because in another game, with a good fight, you might change the result. If chess is like life, how do you overcome wins and losses on and off the board? After a long chess game, losing the game is not easy. But, we know that our worst games teach us a lot of things, much more than our wins. If I lose a game, I feel happy if there is a good position because I played my best. Art can be therapeutic when dealing with the challenges in our lives. I think chess has the power to do the same. Does chess provide that for you? There are similarities between life and chess. But, life is stronger than chess and can be a heavy burden. If I want to leave my home, there are many obstacles. When life gets challenging, playing chess provides some release from the challenges because it requires deep concentration. You are lawyers and you advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. Can you give us an example of the work you’ve done in this field? Making laws is good but, without education, laws are not enough. For us, education is more important because sometimes laws are not enforced. We focus on education because education has the power to touch people, and laws don’t always touch people. Our work in education is very important to us. We have written a chess guide in braille and have created many audio chess books for the visually impaired. We would like to make these books accessible to as many visually impaired people as possible. In addition to the chess books we have written, we have also written an autobiography called, “The Color of Darkness is White”. How did you come up with the title for your autobiography? We had many talks about what the title should be. We decided on this name because when people think of darkness, the color that comes to mind is black. But, if we accept that darkness is black, we accept a hopeless situation. When we say that the color of darkness is white, this is our perspective
Nigel Short to visit Vanuatu in 2021
Have you ever dreamed of playing chess face to face against a Grandmaster? Nigel Short, the best British chess player of all time, is visiting Vanuatu in 2021 (exact dates to be confirmed), as part of a wider tour to promote chess in Polynesia. Twenty chess fans from the island will have the unique opportunity to play against him. Nigel will take on all opponents at once, board to board, move by move, in what is called “a simul exhibition”. This event is sponsored by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and participation is completely FREE. The seats will be assigned by strict order of registration. If you want to take part, just send us an email to office@fide.com with the word “VANUATU” in the subject line. Please tell us in the email what is your full name, age, and sex, since there is a minimum of seats reserved for juniors and girls. It is convenient if you also include a phone number, so we can reach out to you once the exact dates and venue are confirmed. Nigel Short is a Vice-President of FIDE. A former chess prodigy, he was ranked third in the world, and in 1993 he defeated Anatoly Karpov to become the first English player to play a World Chess Championship match. He was defeated by Garry Kasparov in the final. During his stay in Vanuatu Nigel will also host a roundtable where he will answer questions from the media and local chess fans. This is your chance to ask a Grandmaster how does it feel to play for the world championship title in chess, one of the longest and most prestigious traditions in the world of sports.