Are there chess players in Samoa?
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of international chess. It was founded in 1924, and it is now one of the largest organizations of its kind, with 195 member countries. Chess is considered the king of games, and as such, it is widely known and played all around the world. For sure there are chess lovers in Samoa, too. However, we are not aware of any organized chess activity on the islands. Is there a chess club, is chess taught in the schools? We are looking for local chess enthusiasts who can help us to promote the game, and we would assist you to create a basic chess infrastructure. This would lay the foundation for the establishment of a Samoan Chess Federation and – why not? – you could even get the chance to represent Samoa at international competitions in the future. If you are interested in cooperating with us, just get in touch by sending an email introducing yourself to office@fide.com. We will get back to you right away.
Announcing FIDE Congress 2020
The FIDE Council has approved the decision of holding the FIDE General Assembly online, on December 6, 2020 (Sunday). According to the new FIDE Charter, the Assembly, together with the meetings of the Zonal Council, the FIDE Council, and the Commissions, forms the FIDE Congress, which dates are as follows: – FIDE Commissions meetings: December 1-3, 2020– FIDE Council meeting: December 4, 2020– FIDE Zonal Council meeting: December 5, 2020– FIDE General Assembly: December 6, 2020. The exact time of the meetings, agenda, hosting platform, and invitation link will be provided in future communication. If your National Federation or Affiliated Organization would like to propose an item to be included in the online General Assembly agenda, please provide the FIDE Secretariat with all the necessary documents, using the email office@fide.com. According to the FIDE Charter, these proposals should reach the FIDE offices at least two months before the opening date of the General Assembly, so please make sure to send them by October 6, 2020. We would also like to draw your attention to the provisions of Article 17.6 of the FIDE Charter and the requirements for delegates. The new FIDE Charter was approved earlier this year and it implies relevant changes. We recommend all participants in the FIDE Congress to get as familiar as possible with the FIDE Charter in preparation for the event. Regarding the Commissions meetings, the meeting of a Commission may be held at an earlier date than the one proposed here, taking into account the opinion of the Commission members.
Alexei Shirov wins Gazprom Brilliancy Prize
Alexei Shirov has been proclaimed the winner of the Gazprom Brilliancy Prize, a special trophy awarded by the General Partner of the Online Chess Olympiad. The game that earned Shirov this prize was his victory with the Black pieces against Danyyil Dvirnyy, in the match Spain – Italy that took place in the Pool C of Division 2. The game was a Slav Defense in which Alexei came up with a novelty relatively early in the game, 14…Qb8 instead of the queen’s exchange proposal that implies the most common continuation 14…Qb6. Shirov’s attack on the Queenside progressed much faster than Danyyil’s advances on the Kingside, and the Spaniard achieved a crushing victory in just 29 moves with an elegant checkmate thread following a Queen sacrifice. This isn’t the first brilliancy prize in Shirov’s career, and for sure it won’t be the last. The Spaniard remains one of the most popular players among chess fans on account of his uncompromising style and fighting spirit, and he is always willing to jump into the sharpest possible continuation that the position has to offer. During the Online Olympiad, Alexei demonstrated to be in very good shape, and this is just one of the dozen victories he scored with the Spanish team. He totaled 13 points in 15 games, with just 1 defeat and 2 draws. FIDE had invited a panel of 14 popular Streamers and YouTubers to be the judges for the Gazprom Brilliancy Prize, asking them to give 3 points to their favorite game, 2 to their second favorite, and 1 to the third. Ten out of the fourteen judges picked Shirov’s game as their top choice, announcing their votes in their respective channels. Final results: Dvirnyy – Shirov, 33 points Kapitanchuk – Kozak, 18 points Anand – Maghsoodloo, 10 pointsNoritsyn – So, 10 pointsPavlidis – Ftacnik, 4 pointsSalman – Aziz, 4 pointsXiong – Esipenko, 3 pointsGunina – Gara, 1 pointZabi – Napoleao, 1 point These are the votes, judge by judge, and the links to their respective videos: Anna Cramling (Sweden) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7301845123 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov2 points: Noritsyn – So1 point: Kapitanchuk – Kozak Anna-Maja Kazarian (Netherlands) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7279364513 points: Noritsyn – So 2 points: Salman – Aziz 1 point: Zaibi – Napoleao Antonio Radic (Croatia) https://youtu.be/3kNznwra7yg3 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov2 points: Pavlidis – Ftacnik1 point: Kapitanchuk – Kozak Ayelen Martinez (Argentina) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7300949683 points: Anand – Maghsoodloo2 points: Noritsyn – So1 point: Kapitanchuk – Kozak Carlos Matamoros (Ecuador) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7291819753 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov2 points: Anand – Maghsoodloo1 point: Noritsyn – So Daniel King (UK) https://www.youtube.com/user/PowerPlayChess3 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov2 points: Anand – Maghsoodloo1 point: Noritsyn – So Daniel Naroditsky (USA) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7307617313 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov 2 points: Kapitanchuk – Kozak 1 point: Xiong – Esipenko Eric Rosen (USA) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7306656043 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov2 points: Anand – Maghsoodloo1 point: Noritsyn – So Fiona Steil Antoni (Luxemburg) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7272053693 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov 2 points: Kapitanchuk – Kozak 1 point: Salman – Aziz Jesse February (South Africa) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/727913527 3 points: Kapitanchuk – Kozak 2 points: Xiong – Esipenko 1 point: Dvirnyy – Shirov Maria Emelianova (Russia) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/7300306003 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov 2 points: Pavlidis – Ftacnik 1 point: Anand – Maghsoodloo Michael Rahal (Spain) https://youtu.be/WP1GSRgtB3s3 points: Kapitanchuk – Kozak 2 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov 1 point: Salman – Aziz Sagar Shah & Amruta Mokal (India) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzJPLw4AoFM3 points: Dvirnyy vs Shirov2 points: Vidit – Nepomniachtich1 point: Kapitanchuk – Kozak Simon Williams (UK) https://youtu.be/CVRrQ_1N06s3 points: Dvirnyy – Shirov 2 points: Kapitanchuk – Kozak 1 point: Gunina – Ticia Gara
David Navara wins Czech Chess Championship
David Navara won his tenth title of the Czech chess champion at the championship held in Pilsen. The highest-parted participant lived up to his status of favorite and conceded his opponents only three draws in nine rounds. The silver came to Viktor Láznička, the second-ranked Czech player; another favorite Zbyněk Hráček took bronze. “I am glad that I managed to win the tournament. Maybe I played a little better than the others, but not by much, more like the first among equals,” the champion humbly said. Navara won his first title of Czech champion back in 2004 when he was only 19 years old. Navara went through a difficult moment in Round 8 when he had to defend an inferior position against Jiří Štoček, the winner of last year’s Czech Open, but he managed to neutralize the opponent’s pressure. It was one of Navarre’s three draws for the entire tournament – he also slit points with the two other medalists. In Round 4 David had an almost six-hour battle with Zbyněk Hráček, his predecessor in the position of Czech number one and former 20th chess player in the world; in Round 6 he drew with the Czech number two Viktor Láznička. Before the last round, Navara was a half-point ahead of four players and by defeating Karel Malinovsky he secured the title. Out of four pursuers, only Láznička scored a victory and took silver. Zbyněk Hráček tied for third place with several players but was awarded bronze thanks to better tiebreaks. A young prodigy Václav Finěk turned in a solid performance and finished 14th, leaving behind GMs Peter Michalík or Pavel Šimáček. Final standings: 1. David Navara (2719) – 7½2. Viktor Láznička (2638) – 73. Zbyněk Hráček (2563) – 6½4. Jiří Štoček (2595) – 6½5. Thai Dai Van Nguyen (2569) – 6½6. Milan Orság (2300) – 6½7. Daniel Šorm (2343) – 6½8. Karel Malinovský (2474) – 69. Daniel Kožúšek (2307) – 610. Josef Havelka (2367) – 6 Text and photo: https://www.chess.cz/
Gazprom Brilliancy Prize
Gazprom, General Partner of the first Online Chess Olympiad, is the sponsor of the Brilliancy Prize for the best game of the competition. A special trophy has been specially designed for the occasion, and FIDE has invited a panel of popular Streamers and YouTubers to be the judges. They will announce their votes along the week in their respective channels, and the final winner will be announced on Friday, once all their votes have been gathered. Judges have been asked to give 3 points to their favorite game, 2 to their second favorite, and 1 to the third. This is the initial* list: Anna Cramling (Sweden) Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/annacramling Anna-Maja Kazarian (Netherlands) Twitch: www.twitch.tv/annamaja Antonio Radic (Croatia) Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AGADMATOR/videos Ayelen Martinez (Argentina)Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/ayelenchess Carlos Matamoros (Ecuador)Twitch www.twitch.tv/gmmatamoros Daniel King (UK) Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PowerPlayChess Daniel Naroditsky (USA)Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/gmnaroditsky Eric Rosen (USA)Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/imrosen Fiona Steil Antoni (Luxemburg) Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/fionchetta Jesse February (South Africa)Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/hashtagchess Maria Emelianova (Russia)Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/photochess Michael Rahal (Spain)Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mikerahal/ Sagar Shah & Amruta Mokal (India)Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessBaseIndiachannel Simon Williams (UK)Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GingerGM Do you have a favorite game from the Olympiad? We invite you to post the critical position from a favorite game on social media, tagging FIDE and/or using the hashtag #ChessOlympiad. We will make sure that the judges take your suggestions into account. (*One more judge is pending confirmation, due to problems with their schedule. They are expected to confirm along today).
Call for Interest: Chess Olympiad 2022
Dear Member Federations and chess organizers: The 2022 World Chess Olympiad in Minsk (Belarus), as well as a number of side events, are at risk after the current organizers failed to comply with their obligations. At the moment, FIDE is expecting the current Organizing Committee to confirm their final position regarding their organizational and financial duties. Unless the Minsk organizers meet their obligations in the upcoming days, FIDE will be forced to change the hosting country for the 2022 World Chess Olympiad and related events. In that eventuality, FIDE would launch a call for bids on September 7 for the right to host the following events: 1. 2022 World Chess Olympiad and 2022 FIDE Congress (Expected for August 2022)https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/Olympiad2024.pdf 2. 2021 FIDE World Cup (Expected for September 2021)https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WorldCup2021Regulations.pdf 3. 2020 FIDE Women’s World Cup 2020 (Expected in April 2021)https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WWorldCup2020Regulations.pdf The Federations or private organizers who wish to submit a proposal in response to this call for interest should do so before October 7, 2020, using FIDE’s official email account: office@fide.com. FIDE could give additional time to provide government guarantees. Likewise, FIDE reserves the right to extend this deadline.
Professional Education & Development Workshops for Trainers
Technology advances fast, and chess trainers need to have a good grasp of the latest developments in many fields: chess engines, databases, different learning platforms… “While logic and experience can get someone far, there is currently a huge gap of knowledge of what really the chess engines can and what they cannot do, which deprives the trainer to use them in their full potential”, explains Peter Long, Secretary of the Trainers Commission (TRG). To address this need, the TRG Commission has organized several 1-day seminars dedicated to explaining to chess coaches how to make the most of all these tools in their day-by-day. The lecturer is Nikos Ntirlis, a renowned chess author and a highly specialized professional in the fields of data analysis, adult learning theories, and sales engineering. The first of these seminars took place on August 29, but chess coaches still have the chance to join two of the upcoming ones: on September 5, and September 12 (starting from 9 AM CET). You can find more information in the following brochure, as well as the TRG website. https://trainers.fide.com/2020/08/03/professional-education-development-workshops-for-trainers/ https://www.dropbox.com/s/1qsr34icz0vs7qq/Analysis%20Engines%20Workshop.pdf?dl=0 E-mail for registration: trainers@fide.com
Lanka and Rogule win Latvian Championship
Last Sunday, August 30, the Latvian 2020 Classic Chess Championships came to the end in Tallink Hotel Riga. GM Zigurds Lanka (pictured above) won his second title in the open section, whereas Laura Rogule became the Lavian women’s chess champion for the tenth time. The 9-round open Swiss tournament brought together 39 participants battling for the title. Zigurds Lanka (2391) finished first with an excellent score 7.5/9 – a full point ahead of GM Tom Kantan (2499) and FM Ilya Semyonov (2368) taking silver and bronze respectively. Interestingly enough Zigurds’ first title dates back to 1993, while Semyonov won his first medal in open championships and completed first of the three required IM norms. Halfway through the championship, Semyonov was leading the field, but in Round 6 he was defeated by Lanka, he took the top spot. The future champion did not give up his position until the end of the tournament, scoring two more victories over Arsen Batashev (2149) and Alexander Jazdanov (2248). In the final round, Lanka made a quick draw with FM Matiss Mustap (2363) and secured the title. This year, many new players with a relatively low rating took part in the tournament, so a lot of them managed to significantly increase their rating. Kirill Bogdanovičs (1611) – plus 128 points, Artjoms Tolmačevs (1655) – 97, Emīls Jānis Mieriņš (1730) – 96, and Miķelis Vingris (1767) – 95. Final standings: 1. Zigurds Lanka (2391) – 7½2. Toms Kantans (2499) – 6½3. Ilja Semjonovs (2368) – 6½4. Matiss Mustaps (2363) – 65. Vladimir Sveshnikov (2426) – 66. Maksims Golubovskis (2234) – 5½7. Roland Berzinsh (2378) – 5½8. Arsens Batashevs (2149) – 5½9. Guntis Jankovskis (2256) – 5½10. Aleksandrs Jazdanovs (2248) – 5½ 24 participants competed in the ladies’ tournament. Laura Rogule (pictured below) entered the competition as an undisputed favorite and lived by to her status by scoring 7.5 points out of 9 (no losses). Laura won her first title back in 2003 at the age of fifteen. WFM Linda Krūmiņa (6.5) took silver, Madara Golsta (6) earned bronze – the first medal in her adult chess career. Text and photo: Official website of the Latvian Chess Federation
Icelandic Championship: Kjartansson takes his third title
A thrilling Icelandic Chess Championship came to a conclusion this Sunday with what can only be described as an epic final round. After the penultimate round two players – Gudmundur Kjartansson and Helgi Gretarsson – were leading with 6 points out of 8. Chasing them in joint third with 5 points out of 6 were Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson and Bragi Thorfinnsson; the latter after a string of amazing turnarounds in his last few rounds. Fate would have it so that in the final round the players in joint third faced the leaders with black pieces. Therefore, there was a remotely possible scenario of a four-player playoff at the end of the tournament. While this seemed highly unlikely first, it wasn’t out of the question the way things unfolded in the final round. GM Bragi Thorfinnsson found a powerful sequence that resulted in him getting a great initiative and a better position in the game with Helgi Gretarsson. He managed to make the best out of that and beat his opponent to catch up with him and Kjartansson. Meanwhile, Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson was on the verge of finishing off Gudmundur Kjartansson in a very exciting game where he extinguished White’s initiative first and then obtained decisive positional and material advantage. However, when the time came to deliver a final blow on move 39 Gretarsson went astray: Gudmundur Kjartansson – Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson After 39…Rxc4 White has to resign as 40. Bd4 is met with 40…Rd8. However, Hjorvar captured the c4-pawn with a wrong piece 39… Qxc4?? and after 40.Qxc4 Rxc4 Gudmundur built an unassailable fortress that gave an important half-point and the title. Some strict regulations were applied in terms of sanitation and safety, with no audience and plenty of space between the boards. The players had to leave the scene immediately after their games. There was no common area with food and drinks so the participants had to bring their own snacks. And of course, there were no handshakes. Final standings: 1. IM Gudmundur Kjartansson – 6½ 2. GM Bragi Thorfinnsson – 63. GM Helgi Ass Gretarsson – 64. GM Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson – 5½5. FM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson – 4½6. IM Bjorn Thorfinnsson – 4½7. FM Dagur Ragnarsson – 4½8. GM Margeir Petursson – 39. GM Throstur Thorhallsson – 2½10. Gauti Pall Jonsson – 2 Text and photo: Gunnar Bjornsson Offical website: https://skak.is/skakthing/
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FIDE Online Olympiad: Grazprom Brilliancy Prize Ukraine Independence Day Schweppes 2020 Analysis Engines Workshop “German Championship” and “German Masters” Gudmundur Kjartansson, Icelandic champion for the 3rd time Lanka and Rogule win Latvian Championship Anniversaries READ NEWSLETTER