USA and UK prodigies clash in online match
This article was originally published on the FIDE newsletter #9 (July 06, 2020). If you want to receive this biweekly publication directly in your inbox, please subscribe here. Not long ago, two young prodigies hit the headlines worldwide, not only for being two of the most gifted chess players in their generation but also because of their personal stories. Shreyas Royal, who lived in the UK since he was 3 years old, was on the edge of being expelled from the country in September 2018, when his father’s work visa came to an end. Only the last-minute intervention and “personal decision” of the Home Secretary Sajid Javid allowed Shreyas to stay in the UK. One year later, the inspiring story of Tani Adewumi (pictured below) went viral. His family escaped persecution from Boko Haram in Nigeria and settled into a New York City homeless shelter. They were struggling to start a new life. But barely one year after their arrival to the States, the 8-year-old refugee would become state champion, winning a trophy that also meant a new life for him and his family, after the media got interested in his story. The two chess prodigies faced off on June 25, both proudly representing their respective countries of adoption. Their match was a prelude of the “UK vs. USA Rising Stars Chess Match“, organized by ChessKid and Chess in Schools and Communities. This is a continuation of Malcolm Pein’s joint project with CSC and ChessKid to get one million kids in the UK playing chess. The main event took place on Sunday, June 28, 2020, and UK and USA tied 10-10, which means USA wins thanks to the “draw odds” earned by Tani when he defeated Shreyas in the tie-break of their match. As Mike Klein put it, “the two may live thousands of miles apart but they share one common thread: they are both immigrant success stories thanks to their chess acumen”. According to Nicholas Kristof, one of the New York Times star columnists, what makes the stories of these kids exceptional and inspiring is that “they overcome one of life’s basic truths: talent is universal, but opportunity is not”. Nicholas, who is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, devoted two lengthy articles to the success of Tani: “This 8-Year-Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile” and “Our Chess Champion Has a Home“.
Ennio Morricone: legendary composer and avid chess fan dies at 91
Ennio Morricone, the legendary Oscar-winning composer of more than 500 film scores, has died today, at the age of 91. He played competitive chess in the mid-50s, and he took it very seriously: in an effort to improve, he even trained with the twelve-time Italian champion, IM Stefano Tatai. His passion for chess began by pure chance, when he came across a chess book when he was a boy, and ended up organizing a chess tournament with some other kids who lived in the same building. But his father noted that chess was interfering with his music studies, so he put an end to this new hobby, and Morricone would not play again until he was already a consecrated musician. “Had I not become a composer, I would have wanted to be a chess player, but a high-level one, someone competing for the world title”. He definitely had the talent, and he even drew in a game against Boris Spassky in what he describes in his memories as the peak of his chess career. “He started with a King’s Gambit, a terrible move and a difficult one for me. Thanks to this he took the initiative, but on my fifth move I tried a Bobby Fischer invention (a move by his historical rival), and I managed to force a triple repetition”. Morricone also had the chance to play against chess giants, the likes of Kasparov and Karpov, “and I lost dreadfully. I also played against Judit Polgar, who was pregnant at the time, and Peter Leko in Budapest. Those were great occasions. Leko was kind enough to offer me a rematch after I made a beginner’s mistake in my opening move. I lost anyway, but in a decidedly more honorable way”. “I have always admired Ennio Morricone”, posted Judit Polgar earlier today on Twitter. “I was fortunate to meet him, he challenged me in two rapid games in 2004 at the Hungarian Academy of Rome. I will always remember him and continue listening to his music as his artwork and compositions were one of a kind”, she concludes. Not surprisingly, Morricone made friends with another chess-musician, Mark Taimanov. And he often cited Mikhail Tal and Bobby Fischer as his favorite players. “I have often met players with whom I have nothing in common, but they turn out to be sensational chess players. Spassky, for instance, seemed like a very laid back, easygoing person, but on the chessboard, he was fiercely determined”.
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FIDE presents the Online Olympiad 2020 Main decisions of the FIDE Council meeting Changes in the FIDE Commissions Do you have any questions about the Laws of chess? Swiss-Manager manual and online course Ushenina and Gunina lead the Women’s Speed Chess GP Rising Stars Match Anniversaries READ NEWSLETTER
Correspondence between FIDE and Iranian Chess Federation
08-06-2020 Dear Mr. Nikoukhesal, I’d kindly remind you, that FIDE rejects any kind of discrimination against a country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, citizenship, birth, age, status, wealth, disability, language, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political opinions, or any other reason. This rule is strict, determined as one of the basic principles of FIDE, and explicitly spelled in the FIDE Charter (Article 4.4). At the same time, in recent years, there have been repeated cases where athletes from Iran refused to participate in games with Israeli citizens. In some cases, comments were even received, that such games were ignored intentionally for political and ideological reasons. It is important for FIDE that everyone abides the Charter, therefore we ask Iran’s Chess Federation to confirm in writing its position on the admissibility of the mentioned games (between Iranian and Israeli players). Failure to give such confirmation will force FIDE to discuss the compliance of Iran’s Chess Federation’s values with the principles of FIDE and the IOC. Sincerely yours, FIDE PresidentArkady Dvorkovich 22-6-2020 To the President of FIDE Dear Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich Hope this email finds you well. Following your letter dated 6 June 2020, I would like to inform you that the Chess Federation of Islamic Republic of Iran has been constantly working in compliance with the rules and efforts of FIDE, and adhere to FIDE’s statutes. As you are aware, Chess is a popular sport discipline in Iran and especially the young generation took a favorable attitude toward it. The names of around 44,000 Iranian Chess players have been recorded in FIDE, which demonstrates the level of importance of this sport in our country. The Chess Federation of Iran has been in permanent adhere to Olympic Charter. Since you have been informed in previous correspondences; at the International and Open tournaments, the athletes make the decision to participate at any types of events and they carry out the registration process themselves; therefore, this is the athlete who determines about the types of event to participate in, without rendering any advisory opinion. Hence, the responsibilities of all decisions should be shouldered by the athletes themselves. Moreover, considering the efficient cooperation among FIDE and the Chess Federation of Iran, I would like to invite you to pay a visit to our country, sports equipment and the capacity of our country at your earliest desirable convenience. We are ready to any kind of cooperation for the development and growth of this sport within FIDE’s framework. Sincerely yours, Acting President of Iran Chess FederationFarhad Nikoukhesal
Titles approved by Q2 2020 FIDE Council Online
FIDE publishes the list of titles approved by the 2020 Q2 FIDE Council Online. GRANDMASTER GM 5040299 Akash, G IND GM 4901266 Munkhgal, Gombosuren MGL GM 4900774 Nasanjargal, Urtnasan MGL GM 1046730 Schoppen, Casper NED INTERNATIONAL MASTER IM 8609950 Pang, Tao CHN IM 26028999 Gatineau, Yovann FRA IM 25034430 Audi, Ameya IND IM 35028600 Pranesh, M IND IM 4901606 Agibileg, Uurtsaikh MGL IM 1195360 Baum, Jonasz POL IM 1113380 Lewicki, Miroslaw POL IM 1232622 Banzea, Alexandru-Bogdan ROU IM 960047 Budisavljevic, Luka SRB IM 925799 Panic, Nenad SRB IM 1721003 Pantzar, Milton SWE IM 14113406 Borsuk, Konstantin UKR IM 14129558 Roshka, Yevgeniy UKR WOMAN GRANDMASTER WGM 13702971 Dauletova, Gulmira KAZ WGM 1130790 Warakomska, Anna POL WOMAN INTERNATIONAL MASTER WIM 8608709 Ren, Xiaoyi CHN INTERNATIONAL ARBITER IA 411450 Elwin, Adrian G ENG IA 32015283 Martinez Martinez, Pedro Jose ESP IA 12917648 Mutschelknaus, Yves GER IA 4245199 Kontini, Angelina GRE IA 5088526 Chavan, Deepak IND IA 25708651 Gourav Kumar Ray IND IA 25649833 Sandesh, Nagarnaik IND IA 5087872 Sunil, Soni IND IA 12518948 Oliazdeh, Pedram IND IA 5300444 Shamieh, Jamal LBN IA 1601962 Wolfinger, Dominik LIE IA 22000712 Al Hinai, Hamdan Hamood OMA IA 14320142 De Winnaar, Benjamin RSA IA 24100498 Biryukov, Mikhail RUS IA 24129275 Druzhinina, Natalia RUS IA 1708260 Naslund, Mikael SWE IA 2005832 Brownscombe, Thomas USA FIDE ARBITER FA 7501587 Hermann, Martis AHO FA 3201791 Feldman, Vladimir AUS FA 3204081 Hardegen, Andrew AUS FA 3203360 Kordahi, Nicholas AUS FA 1605992 Wadsack, Winfried AUT FA 13400835 Dibirova, Ruhangiz AZE FA 2634120 Wan, Corina CAN FA 2634139 Wan, Karen CAN FA 6505694 Nunez Gonzalez, Joshebeth Elena CRC FA 353507 Drahotsky, Lubos CZE FA 514608 Tiiva, Eetu FIN FA 13604635 Kekelidze, Nino GEO FA 12915750 Born, Jonathan GER FA 24693316 Goettel, Tobias GER FA 16238460 Kawelke, Anton GER FA 705012 Jakobetz, Andras HUN FA 5063434 Aishwarya IND FA 25058657 Balasubramanian A IND FA 5097983 Chandan Kumar Prasad, Jharkhand IND FA 35046349 Makadiya, Atul IND FA 25631071 Meena, R IND FA 35070576 Murukaananth, A IND FA 46681434 Muthukumarasamy J IND FA 5012066 Ramesh, Kumar N IND FA 25125737 Shraddha, Vinchwekar IND FA 2252519 Golshani Poor Komeleh, Soghra IRI FA 12505366 Khalesi, Vahid IRI FA 12540889 Pakgohar, Mahdi IRI FA 2500256 Harding, Tim D IRL FA 11607327 Gertners, Gunars LAT FA 5706696 Sabri, Shamsuddin MAS FA 5704421 Syed Hussin, Syed Iskandar Shah MAS FA 16504615 Obrovic, Pavle MNE FA 13002864 Thandar, Aye Win MYA FA 1056069 Van de Krol, Sernin NED FA 3809277 Altamirano Porras, Ricardo PER FA 3827836 Llave Escobedo, Elia Emma PER FA 3801160 Soto Dextre, Elmer PER FA 3812731 Velarde Munante, Gloria Isabel PER FA 1936069 Lopes, Bruno Ricardo POR FA 24166308 Zhdanov, Alexander D. RUS FA 5700779 Lim, Chin Lee SGP FA 938114 Markovic, Miroslav R SRB FA 14000407 Bayramsahedov, Serdarguly TKM FA 10000631 Kimera, Innocent UGA FA 14129388 Timoshenko, Irina UKR FA 30910633 Buklis, William USA FA 2064545 McGreen, Maya USA FA 30962030 Reed, Louis USA FA 3903133 Romero Gonzalez, Jose Gregorio VEN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZER IO 7501587 Hermann, Martis AHO IO 7501595 Martis, Vladimir AHO IO 13522361 Tamkovich, Maria BLR IO 304689 Pisk, Peter CZE IO 1400789 Stuhr, Finn DEN IO 803731 Luciani, Valerio ITA IO 10802150 Sembei, Mutua KEN IO 15000192 Stojcevski, Zoran MKD IO 9311769 Alnuaimi, Ahmed M. UAE CONDITIONAL ON RATING GM 14001128 Atabayev, Yusup TKM CONDITIONAL ON INFO IM 11602988 Reimanis, Ritvars LAT IO 941328 Tomic, Goran MNE Arbiters’ Titles (from Seminars) approved by the 2020 Q2 FIDE Council Online Trainers’ Titles approved by the 2020 Q2 FIDE Council Online
Valentina Gunina wins Leg 2 of WSCC Grand Prix
Valentina Gunina emerged as the winner of the second leg of the Women’s Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix and picked up 12 GP points. In the final match, she took revenge on Anna Ushenina, to whom she had lost the previous Leg 1 final match. Ushenina earned 8 points for her runner-up finish and tied for the overall lead in the series with Gunina. Going into the bullet portion of the final match against Ushenina, Gunina who was playing at a higher tempo, had the lead 4.5-3.5. Most likely the Russian GM was quite optimistic about her chances as she is known for her prowess in the fastest time controls. The Ukrainian GM was close to bouncing back in the first bullet game as was up an exchange but missed a perpetual check. In the next game, Anna went from bad to worse as she blundered a queen. Valentina extended the lead to 6-4 with just 4 minutes to go. A smashing attack by Gunina in the next game pretty much decided the match in her favor as there was no comeback from 4-7. However, Ushenina scored a consolation goal in the last game to finish it on 5-7. “For me, the final match was just like one minute. I even can’t remember what was going on… I like how I played all these matches and I am really happy to win in the final because I lost the previous match. I am really, really happy.” Valentina said in a short interview after the final. In the match for third place, Kateryna Lagno did not give any chance to Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, convincingly defeated her opponent 9.5-2.5, and collected 6 GP points. For her efforts, Sarasadat received 5 GP points. FIDE Chess.com WSCC Grand Prix – Standings after Leg 2
Carlsen rules supreme
Magnus Carlsen is the first Chessable Masters champion after Anish Giri’s fierce fightback derailed. The World Chess Champion reaffirmed his incredible dominance of the online game as he pocketed a cool $45,000 top prize and a second Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour title. Afterward, Carlsen paid tribute to his “impressive” opponent who squandered three gilt-edged chances to get back in the match. “Frankly, he just played much better than I did in the last three games,” Carlsen said. Carlsen had gone into the elite event featuring eight of the world’s top 10 after a being dumped out of the previous tour stage, the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, in the semis. But Carlsen roared back to top his group in the Chessable Masters preliminary stage and then en route to the final he destroyed the world numbers 2 and 3 without losing a set. In the final, a red hot Carlsen faced his arch-rival Giri who has publicly goaded the champion repeatedly on Twitter – and even during their matches. Day 1 saw Carlsen steam ahead before a Giri comeback took the set to a tiebreak, which the champion eventually won to go 1-0 up. Today’s set however followed a different path. In the opening game, Carlsen showed he was in top gear as he crushed Giri with ominous ease. Magnus, with victory now in his sights, then had huge let-offs in the second and third games as both finished in draws. Giri had winning chances but didn’t take them. It left Anish going into the final game 2-1 down and needing a win to take the set to tiebreakers. He started very strongly but it all fell apart for the Dutchman as – for the third game in a row – he somehow let Carlsen back in to draw. It was a heartbreaking end to the tournament for Giri who came so close to getting back into it. He said afterward: “It was a huge pity… I relaxed in the end.” As the winner, Carlsen picks up $45,000 while runner-up Giri wins $27,000. Defeat in the final does not mean Giri goes through to the tour’s $300,000 Grand Final in August, despite Carlsen already having qualified. Based on tour standings, the American Hikaru Nakamura is now in pole position to occupy one of the four spots. There is one leg to go, the Legends of Chess which starts on July 21. About the tournament The event, broadcast live on chess24, is the next stage of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour which carries a total prize pot of $1 million, a record for the online game. The Chessable Masters, which runs until July 5, is being put on in association with Chessable and the tour’s Education Partner, leading Swiss private banking group, Julius Baer. Players were split into two groups (A and B) of six for the preliminary stage before eight progressed to the knockouts. Highlights English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dpG2c-dmqs58tSDSZvxzGNqzgquJyO0g?usp=sharing FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Chessable Masters final: Carlsen edges into the lead
A huge online audience saw Magnus Carlsen take the lead against arch-rival Anish Giri in the $150,000 Chessable Masters final today. A peak of at least 50,000 on chess24.com channels alone tuned in to watch the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event as it was broadcast in 10 languages. Carlsen said: “It was 3.5 games that were pretty solid and then… insanity ensued.” Carlsen started like a train and steamed into his in-form rival early in the first game of the four-game set. But Giri, who won the MrDodgy Invitational in the run-up to this event, managed to pull off a remarkable save. The Dutchman, who upped the ante by tweeting about Carlsen in the break, could not escape in the second, however. The game had looked like it was heading for another draw but Carlsen left the commentators shocked with a sudden win in the endgame. Having taken a 1.5-0.5 lead, Carlsen then did what he needed to do to steer the match to a safe conclusion with a solid draw. But in the final game, with Giri needing a win, the champion made a stunning mistake to allow Giri back in it. With the scores level at 2-2 and the set going to a two-game blitz chess tiebreak, the match had suddenly flared up. Game 1 of the tiebreak was drawn but, with the tension mounting, Carlsen finally put the set to bed in a complicated sixth game of the day. It was a huge relief for the Norwegian who goes one set up in the best-of-three match and tomorrow has the chance to win outright. Giri, meanwhile, needs to win and win again on Sunday. The winner picks up $45,000 and the runner-up $27,000. If Giri wins on Sunday, then an automatic place in the $300,000 4-player Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Grand Final may well be worth more. Day two of the final kicks off at 16.00 CEST tomorrow. About the tournament The event, broadcast live on chess24, is the next stage of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour which carries a total prize pot of $1 million, a record for the online game. The Chessable Masters, which runs until July 5, is being put on in association with Chessable and the tour’s Education Partner, leading Swiss private banking group, Julius Baer. Players were split into two groups (A and B) of six for the preliminary stage before eight progressed to the knockouts. Coverage begins with commentary in 10 languages at 16.00 CEST. You can watch it live here: https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/chessable-masters-2020-group-a#live Highlights English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dpG2c-dmqs58tSDSZvxzGNqzgquJyO0g?usp=sharing FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
WSCC Grand Prix: Ushenina and Gunina face off in the final again
Anna Ushenina and Valentina Gunina will meet in the final of Women’s Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix again! The opponents, who faced each other in the Leg 01 final, are going to square off for the second time on July 5. “We are witnessing two amazing matches today,” said Anna Muzychuk who joined Jennifer Shahade commenting on the semis of the second leg of the Women’s Speed Chess GP. Both semis – Anna Ushenina vs Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Kateryna Lagno vs Valentina Gunina – were very close and entered the bullet portion with the even score 4-4. In the first semifinal, even the 1+1 portion was not enough to determine the winner. With 6-6 on the scoreboard, Ushenina and Khademalsharieh proceeded to the tiebreak of two more bullet games. The Ukrainian GM won the first one with a nice combo (see below). However in the second bullet game in an ending where White was at no risk, Khademalsharieh, playing with Black went for a desperate trick hoping for her opponent’s premove. Ushenina did not expect such a cunning – she indeed had already premoved the king and lost her rook as a result. For the first time in the event, it all came down to Armageddon. Despite no break to recover from this painful loss, Ushenina pulled herself together, performed solidly to seal the match 8-7. The second semifinal was decided in the bullet portion. Valentina Gunina won two bullet games to defeat Kateryna Lagno, but how crazy those games were! In the first one, Valentina squeezed the water out of stone in an equal ending and pulled ahead. In the second one, Lagno was a piece and two pawns up in the endgame but Gunina’s natural inventiveness and quickness proved to be in its best on the last seconds of the game. It all ended with Lagno losing on time. The final score is 6.5-4.5. The final and the match for the third place will be played on July 5 after a free day tomorrow.
Chessable Masters: Giri sets up final with Carlsen
Dutch star Anish Giri beat Russian # 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi to set up a Chessable Masters final against Magnus Carlsen. The World Champion Carlsen said “see you in the final!” a week ago after both he and Giri won their preliminary groups, and he did his job with a day to spare. Giri’s match went to a decider and he fell behind after his opponent went for the jugular in the first game of the day. The Dutchman pounced on a mistake to level in game two, and then, after a war of attrition, crashed through in style in the 6th and final encounter. Giri has much improved on the chessboard since lockdowns began, but besides that he has always been a social media star, fighting a trash-talk war against Magnus. Anish commented after his win: “He’s the favorite always and he’s shown good chess in this tournament. He beat (world no. 2) Fabi and (world no. 3) Ding like they’re babies, but they don’t have active Twitter accounts and they don’t have the social media skills I possess!” The final starts Friday and continues Saturday and Sunday, with a huge online audience guaranteed. About the tournament The event, broadcast live on chess24, is the next stage of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour which carries a total prize pot of $1 million, a record for the online game. The Chessable Masters, which runs until July 5, is being put on in association with Chessable and the tour’s Education Partner, leading Swiss private banking group, Julius Baer. Players were split into two groups (A and B) of six for the preliminary stage before eight progressed to the knockouts. The final winner will take home the top prize of $45,000 and a ticket to the $300,000 tour Grand Final. Coverage begins with commentary in 10 languages at 16.00 CEST. You can watch it live here: https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/chessable-masters-2020-group-a#live Highlights English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dpG2c-dmqs58tSDSZvxzGNqzgquJyO0g?usp=sharing FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770