Lindores Abbey Day 2: Nakamura and Karjakin shoot ahead
Hikaru Nakamura and Sergey Karjakin are clear in the lead as the race to the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge knockout stage has reached its climax. Four players face elimination from the second Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour tournament tomorrow when the 11-game round-robin comes to an end. But Nakamura and Karjakin, the former World Championship challenger, will not be among them after they both secured places in the top 8. Photo: Justin Kellar Meanwhile, an out-of-sorts Magnus Carlsen, the classical World Champion and world number 1, had an extremely disappointing day scoring just 1.5/4. The Norwegian should still, however, comfortably make the next stage.Carlsen faced immediate drama in a wild first game of the day when Yu Yangyi caught him in a vicious mating net. After a strong first day, it was an unexpected blow for the champ. He tweeted in the break: “Did all the right things strategically, then missed everything and got mated. On to the next one, I guess #oldandwashed“ Nakamura, meanwhile, cooly beat Armenian Levon Aronian to move into pole position. He followed that with three draws to secure his high spot in the standings. Carlsen did briefly bounce back – as he does so often – demolishing the youngster Wei Yi in his next game. Wei, who has struggled, is now in serious danger of being eliminated tomorrow. Ding, who was a hot tip before the tournament started, has – like Carlsen – not hit top form yet and had already had a disappointing start losing to Alexander Grischuk. China’s world number 3 lost again to his countryman Yu Yangyi to leave him going into the final game of the day on 0.5/4 and in ninth place overall. However, Ding did pick up a much-needed win against Wei to steady his qualification hopes. Meanwhile, Carlsen’s bad day reared its ugly head again as he found himself sunk against the 22-year-old Jan-Krzysztof Duda, exciting Polish fans in the process. Carlsen finished with a draw against the solid Wesley So, leaving him on -1 for the day. Carlsen and So are both on 4.5/8 and qualification for the knockout should still be comfortable tomorrow. After three straight draws, the “Minister for Defence” Karjakin lifted himself in the mix alongside Nakamura in his final game with a timely win over Alireza Firouzja. Alexander Grischuk and Levon Aronian scored the same 50% as on the first day and found themselves tied for the 5th place with Ding Liren and Yu Yangyi. Tomorrow will all be about the scrap at the bottom as Duda and the other two young hotshots Daniil Dubov and Firouzja fight for places in the knockout. Nobody is completely out of the race for the next playoff stage. The event, which runs until June 3, is being put on in association with the Lindores Abbey Heritage Society, which maintains the historic site. Coverage begins with commentary in 10 languages at 16.00 CEST tomorrow. Standings after 8 rounds: You can watch it live here Highlights English New files at around 23.00 CEST. FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Lindores Abbey: Four-way tie after Day 1
A glittering line-up of stars put on a stunning show of attacking chess on the first day of the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge. World Champion Magnus Carlsen cruised through the first four rounds to set the pace again in the expanded 12-player second event of his $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. The Norwegian got off to a fast start with two wins in a bloody first two rounds. Other players also were in fighting mood as nine of the first 12 games ended decisively. However, Carlsen had to settle for draws in the third and fourth games against two of his biggest threats: Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura enjoyed a similarly smooth run and joins Carlsen and former US champion Wesley So in the lead on 3/4. Photo: Lennart Ootes Sergey Karjakin, who challenged Carlsen for the world title in 2016, caught up with the leaders after winning his final game vs. Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Of the other players, the Chinese pair Wei Yi and Yu Yangyi both struggled – perhaps due to the night-time zone where they were playing. Wei, particularly, seemed out of sorts as he finished on 1/4 and blundered a painful checkmate against Karjakin in his third game being a pawn up. Daniil Dubov, playing from Yekaterinburg where he has been since the Candidates tournament was halted, also scored only one point. It follows his final-day collapse in the FIDE Steinitz Online Memorial over the weekend. Wei and the Russian were joined in a four-way tie for the last place with the two talented youngsters Alireza Firouzja and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Meanwhile, the two experienced Super Grandmasters Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk had mixed days scoring 2/4. Both will be hoping to catch up with the leaders tomorrow. Photo: Maria Emelianova IM Lawrence Trent said: “It has been a successful day for some and a not so successful day for others. “Magnus Carlsen has once again shown us fantastic chess for the most part, as has Hikaru Nakamura, they had a great game just now, very tense.” “Sergey Karjakin has also shown certainly that he’s motivated and Wesley So is also up there having done pretty well today.” The event, which runs until June 3, is being put on in association with the Lindores Abbey Heritage Society, which maintains the historic site. Coverage begins with commentary in 10 languages at 16.00 CEST. You can watch it live here Highlights English New files at around 23.00 CEST. FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
FIDE launches the biggest online chess marathon
Dear Chess Friends, The worldwide community is facing an unprecedented crisis with the Coronavirus pandemic and I heartfeltly hope that my letter finds you in good health and spirit. FIDE, supporting the efforts of all national governments and people all over the world, has decided to promote an online international initiative in order to give a creative outlet to those that have to spend many hours at home. Additionally, we promote the ideals of unity and solidarity which must be manifested in such times. With the motto “Checkmate Coronavirus” we will organize at least 1500 online tournaments across all major chess platforms with hundreds of thousands participants running for 30 days and 720 hours non-stop. We’re planning to launch this project on May 18. The tournaments are aimed at all the chess players in the world, regardless of age, country or their level of play. There will be many special prizes, and all of them will be distributed not between those who score more points, but between winners of the random draw, thus giving a winning chance to everyone and reward first and foremost the value of participation. In line with this “Olympic principle” the major prize will be invitations to the 2021 Chess Olympiad in Moscow, for one week. I invite you to join this worldwide initiative in two ways: By actively organizing your online tournaments, which will also become part of the “Checkmate Coronavirus” initiative and will give your players a chance to take part in the prize draws. By spreading the news to the chess clubs and players of your country (or association), encouraging them to participate in “FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus” events, proving that chess is stronger than a disease! We stay safe, we stay creative, and we play online chess. Checkmate Coronavirus! Gens una Sumus! Arkady DvorkovichFIDE President How to be a part of “Checkmate Coronavirus? Guidelines for Federations & partners As the FIDE President pointed out in his letter, the International Chess Federation strongly encourages the National Federations to: A) Help to spread the news about this initiative, communicating with their club members and players. B) Getting actively involved, organizing their own tournaments within the Checkmate Coronavirus framework. Participants of tournaments organized by federations under the Checkmate Coronavirus initiative will also be eligible for the 1.500+ prizes. 5% of the players (and no less than 3), will get “raffle tickets” qualifying for the prize giving, second phase of the draw. In order to take part, a Federation should: 1) Inform the Checkmate Coronavirus team at info@checkmatecoronavirus.com about their intention to organize a tournament (or a series of tournaments) within the Checkmate Coronavirus project, with a minimum notice period of 24 hours The required information is: – Name of the Federation– Contact person– Tournament administrator– Plattform where the tournament will be held.– A complete schedule for the tournament (date, starting time, and ending time)– Time control for the event– Link of the tournament (if it has been already scheduled)– Additional notes If the Federation wants to organize more than one tournament, it can specify accordingly the details and schedule for each tournament. 2) The Federation must schedule the tournament(s) and send the links with the final results to the Checkmate Coronavirus administrative team, to the email info@checkmatecoronavirus.com. 3) Send a complete file with the result, in .xls format, including the following information:– Name of the tournament– Time control– Place– Nickname– Score– Number of finished games The administrative team can help in this task if requested. 4) Abide by the rules described in the Checkmate Coronavirus regulations. 5) Include a clear reference to the Checkmate Coronavirus project in all the promotional materials for the tournament.* *(Please remember that any materials -digital or printed- bearing the FIDE logo must be sent to marketing@fide.com for approval) More information Checkmate Coronavirus has a dedicated website, where you can find a “frequently asked questions” section: www.checkmatecoronavirus.com/faq. You can also follow regular updates via social media: Facebook – www.facebook.com/checkmatecoronavirus Instagram – www.instagram.com/checkmatecoronavirus Twitter – www.twitter.com/CheckmateCOVID The official hashtag we will be using is #CheckmateCoronavirus We encourage you to use the images above on your website/social media accounts to help us promote the event. Lastly, we would like to thank our partners in this project, Chess.com, Lichess.org, Chess24.com, and FIDE Arena Online, for their valuable help and enthusiastic support towards this initiative.
FIDE DIS Commission meeting summary
May 19, 2020: FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and FIDE DIS Commission held an online meeting to exchange plans and ideas on how to continue moving forward, keeping chess on top of the activities for players with disabilities. FIDE DIS members have reported to the FIDE President on the long-term plan of activities FIDE DIS prepared for the players with disabilities. Among them, there are at least three online chess competitions in open, women, and junior categories. The first online event, FIDE Online CUP for Players with Disabilities 2020, starts on 21 May on a popular online platform playchess.com with 38 chess players representing 28 national federations from different groups of disabilities participating. Many players with disabilities are looking forward to competing in this competition, bringing together participants from all around the world. It will serve as a rehearsal for the Competition for the Disabled People, which will be a part of Chess Olympiad. A significant initiative that FIDE DIS started last year – the seminar “Equal Opportunities” – will be continued this year and it is already scheduled for September. At this seminar, different lecturers will speak up to the audience via the Internet on the problems, issues, and recent developments. FIDE DIS Commission has also discussed the steps toward including chess for the disabled into the Paralympics program. The members of the commission put forth the idea of presenting chess to the audience of the next year Paralympics in Tokyo.
Rauf Mamedov wins French Online Blitz Championship
The Rapid and Blitz French championship was scheduled to be played in Orsay, but the coronavirus pandemic spoiled the initial plan. The blitz section of the championship (with time control: 3+2) was run online, May 16-17, and brought together 709 players, including 34 grandmasters. The line-up boasted of such stars as Alireza Firouzja and Vasyl Ivanchuk, who won the qualification phase on Day 1. Day 2 played in knockout-format, started sensationally as Alireza Firouzja was surprisingly eliminated by Kacper Piorun in the Round of 16. Other pre-event favorites Rauf Mamedov, Vasyl Ivanchuk, and Baadur Jobava turned in a very solid performance and made it to the semifinals. Mamedov beat Ivanchuk in Armageddon game and reached the final in which he was up against a three-time French Champion Christian Bauer who whitewashed Jobava (2-0). The four-game final was much closer than the score suggests – Christian gave Rauf a run for his money, leveling the score after losing the first game. In the fourth and final game, the Frenchman found himself in a must-win situation but failed to do the trick. Nevertheless, as the best French player in this tournament, Christian Bauer became French Online Blitz champion; Sophie Milliet wins the French women’s champion title. The tournament was broadcast on Twitch with commentary by GM Matthieu Cornette, 2016 French champion, and Kévin Bordi, a popular French streamer with more than 1500 viewers following the event simultaneously. The French Blitz Championship also served a noble purpose, as 20% of the registration fees were donated to the associations fighting against the coronavirus: the Fondation de France and the Blouses Roses. The French Chess Federation would like to thank the city of Orsay for supporting this championship.
Carlsen and Lagno take titles in Steinitz Memorial
Carlsen waltzes to victory Magnus Carlsen brought the FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial to a fitting end with a crushing win in the inaugural event held to honor his predecessor. The 16th World Champion’s performance echoed the dominance of the first undisputed king of chess, Austrian great Wilhelm Steinitz, as he waltzed to victory. Carlsen had led the field after the first day’s play but was overtaken yesterday by Russia’s former World Champion in rapid Daniil Dubov. However, the young pretender’s challenge quickly fizzled out today as he lost three straight games against fellow Russian Alexander Grischuk, China’s Bu Xiangzhi and the American teenager Jeffery Xiong. In the Bu game, in particular, the under-pressure Dubov played a shocker. IM Lawrence Trent, while commentating, likened Dubov’s dramatic slump to an “English batting collapse” – a phenomenon well known to cricket fans. Meanwhile, Carlsen benefitted from another shocker played by Grischuk in Round 15. In the chess24 commentary box, GM Peter Leko was absolutely brutal in his assessment of the out-of-form Grischuk’s play. “This is unbelievable,” he said. “Black is absolutely toast!” Carlsen was cruising ahead on 10/15 while Dubov fell back to second on 9/15. Yet in Round 17, Dubov had one last chance to get back in it as he faced the tournament leader. Dubov had to win and win again in Round 18, while Carlsen had to lose both, which was highly unlikely. Carlsen duly closed out the draw to secure the title with a round to spare. The champion was downbeat in his interview after the match and typically hard on his own play. He said: “I was terrible from start to finish. The result is OK, so I move on.” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich paid tribute to the quality of play and the consistency of the top players. “No matter whether it’s online or offline the same guys win the tournaments,” he said. Lagno clinches the title in a thrilling tiebreak against Lei Tingjie Kateryna Lagno won a bizarre Armageddon tiebreak to secure first place in the inaugural FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial’s Women’s Section today. The Russian kept her cool as her play-off with Lei Tingjie went to a marathon 152 moves. The Chinese player, playing with White and needing to win, tried to flag her on time. Sunday’s final 6 rounds were full of drama as momentum swung back-and-forth before the focused Lagno eventually came out on top. Earlier Tingjie came from under the radar to draw level with Lagno at the end of 18 rounds of blitz. It followed a stunning charge from Zhansaya Abdumalik who, at one point, was on seven straight games and in the lead. The Kazakhstani’s momentum appeared unstoppable until Tingjie spoiled her run by holding her to a draw. With Tan Zhongyi and Lagno’s fellow Russian Alexandra Kosteniuk also in the mix, it looked like the tournament was wide open. Then Tingjie took up the mantle winning her final two games to finish the day’s blitz unbeaten on 5/6. Meanwhile, Lagno, the pre-tournament favorite, and overnight leader started with a loss and it took a “lucky” win on game 14 to spark her into life. Lagno then followed it up with a smooth win over Marie Sebag to wrest back the lead. Tingjie ended Kosteniuk’s hopes while in the 17th Abdumalik lost to Tan Zhongyi. By the final round, it was incredibly tight at the top with Lagno just ahead in a three-horse race. All eyes were on Abdumalik vs Lagno with Abdumalik needing a win. But in a tense encounter Lagno held the draw and Abdumalik was squeezed out. Tingjie, meanwhile, beat Elisabeth Paehtz to go into the tiebreak which Lagno eventually won. “We’ve witnessed a fantastic event with so many dramas,” said commentator GM Peter Leko More information at Chess24.com: FIDE Women’s Steinitz MemorialFIDE Open Steinitz Memorial
Steinitz Memorial: Dubov and Lagno on fire
Dubov’s day: Young Russian on fire as wheels come off for Carlsen Speed-chess specialist, Daniil Dubov, raced into the lead on drama-filled Day 2 of the FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial. The Russian won a key game against Magnus Carlsen as the World Champion suffered his first real wobble. Carlsen managed to steady himself but stays a half-point behind Dubov going into the final six rounds tomorrow. On a day of fast-paced action in practically every game, Carlsen got off to the perfect start by dispatching Bu Xiangzhi. He then rode his luck in a wild finish to come out on top against Jeffery Xiong, the youngest player in the field. Hot on his heels, however, was Dubov who dispatched Xiong and Peter Svidler in short order. It set up a key Game 9 clash between the pair when Dubov had the chance to overtake Carlsen. With Magnus in trouble, Dubov used his time advantage and stayed cool to close out a spectacular win. The former the World Rapid Champion leapfrogged Carlsen to go top. “Amazing stuff,” remarked IM Lawrence Trent. “This was incredible,” GM Peter Leko said. “Kudos to Daniil Dubov. Incredible.” Carlsen’s crushing loss set up a must-win game for the champion playing Black against Peter Svidler. But instead of straight bouncing back – as sometimes happens Magnus – the wheels really came off. The champion was in trouble all through the game and eventually fell to a checkmate. 48. Rxh6!+ 1-0 Dubov, meanwhile, calmly drew with Le Quang Liem to move a full point clear. Next up in Game 11 it was Carlsen’s turn to face Le while Dubov took on third-placed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The Norwegian found himself in an inferior position but bagged a huge win to keep up the pressure before Dubov’s lead was cut to half a point when he failed to convert. In the final round of the day, Dubov drew quickly against Anton Korobov to secure at least the joint lead overnight while Carlsen’s game was still ongoing. The champion, needing the win, seemed on top but Mamedyarov pulled off an amazing save to escape with a draw. Dubov, like his fellow Russian Kateryna Lagno in the Women’s section, claimed the day and leads overnight. In the other games, Alexander Grischuk dented Mamedyarov’s hopes with a win in Game 8 which Leko described as a “strategic masterpiece”. Mamedyarov, however, ended the day still in with a shout in third place on 7/12 while Svidler and Le are on 6.5. “I promised that I would play better today, but I didn’t. I don’t know what to say. It was so messy that it was terrible”, said Magnus Carlsen to 2Sjakk after the games where over. Kateryna Lagno claws her way to the top Kateryna Lagno, Russia’s reigning Women’s World Champion in blitz, hit top form as she battled her way into the lead on Day 2 of the FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial. The big pre-tournament favorite drew ahead of the overnight leader, and fellow Russian, Alexandra Kosteniuk with four wins out of six to finish a half-point clear at the top of the table. Yesterday, Kosteniuk blew away the field with 5.5/6. But on Day 2 she got off to a terrible losing her first two games – and after that, it didn’t get much better. In the key third game of the day against Lagno, Kosteniuk was cruising. But with just 10 seconds left on the clock, the former Women’s World Champion appeared to miss a huge opportunity and Lagno escaped with a draw. It was a huge result. In the next game, Lagno moved smoothly into the lead when she was too strong for Elisabeth Paehtz. Tan Zhongyi and Marie Sebag also briefly challenged for the lead but fell back while Antoaneta Stefanova scored 2.5/6 to sit in seventh place. Meanwhile, Zhansaya Abdumalik, the talented Kazakhstani IM, catapulted herself into the running by winning her last four games. Earlier, after her wipeout yesterday, Peru’s Deysi Cori had picked up her first win. In the final round of the day, Round 12 of 18, Lei Tingjie made a shocking blunder that put Tan Zhongyi back in business. However, despite losing her final game against Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, it was Lagno’s day. Lawrence Trent, commentating, said: “It’s going to be a very, very interesting day tomorrow.” The tournament is broadcast with commentary in multiple languages at www.Chess24.com/watch SCHEDULE:(all times are CEST) Friday, May 15th Saturday, May 16th Sunday, May 17th Rounds 1-6 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 7-12 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 13-18 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 1-6 Open:18:30 – 21:30 Rounds 7-12 Open:18:30 – 21:30 Rounds 13-18 Open:18:30 – 21:30 More information at Chess24.com: FIDE Women’s Steinitz MemorialFIDE Open Steinitz Memorial
2020 1st quarter FIDE Council Online Meeting: List of Decisions
FIDE Council decisions 12th of May, 2020 (online-meeting) OCM-2020/01 The Council approved the revised FIDE budget for 2020 proposed by MB. It was also noted that FIDE should closely monitor the financial state of national federations as an implication of pandemics with a further consideration by the Council if necessary. OCM-2020/02 The Council thanked Swiss authorities for the financial support regarding salaries of FIDE staff and rental payments for the FIDE office in Lausanne. OCM-2020/03 The Council approved the organization of online FIDE Council and other official and non-official meetings e.g. FIDE Zonal Council meetings and commission meetings. The Council noted a possibility to organize an online 2020 General Assembly. OCM-2020/04 The Council noted that the second half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament shall be held later this year and appreciated the commitment of Yekaterinburg partners to host the event. OCM-2020/05 The Council noted that the opening of World EXPO 2020 is confirmed to move to the fourth quarter of 2021 under the same name and with the same organizer, who expressed a clear commitment to host the World Championship Match with the dates and terms to be reconfirmed in a due course. OCM-2020/06 The Council approved shifting the Chess Olympiad 2020 to the next year, to be held at the same locations in Russia and within the same time frame as per FIDE Statement dated March 25th, 2020. OCM-2020/07 The Council took note of the President’s information on the preparations for the 2022 Olympiad. The Council requested the Belarus Chess Federation to provide the final information on the decision of the Belarus authorities about holding the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Minsk till the end of May 2020. OCM-2020/08 The Council approved that in case of a negative reply from the Belarus authorities, FIDE shall reopen the bidding procedure for the 2022 Chess Olympiad for a period of three months. OCM-2020/09 The Council noted that FIDE received one full bid for the 2024 Olympiad from Hungarian Chess Federation. Also, the Argentinian Chess Federation provided FIDE with a letter of intent with a promise to present the whole package with official guarantees by September 2020. The Council confirmed the high level of preparation of the Hungarian Chess Federation’s bid for 2024 and approved remote checking of all related details with formal inspections to be held when the situation allows the visits. The Council also recommended this bid for the ratification by the General Assembly subject to satisfactory inspections. OCM-2020/10 The Council noted that FIDE shall announce a bidding procedure for the World Cups 2022-2023. OCM-2020/11 The Council approved to create a separate procedure for the e-vote, should there be a necessity to decide about the Olympiad host city before the official GA meeting. Mr. Rivello, Chairman of Constitutional Commission, will advise on the procedural aspects. In the case of this e-vote, national federations to be consulted and informed accordingly. OCM-2020/12 The Council noted the information from FIDE President about the options for the timing of the last stage of the Women’s Grand-Prix series. OCM-2020/13 The Council requested the Events Commission to provide by the 1st of July an update regarding the respective 2020 World Championships and inform which events shall be moved to 2021 taking into account both the interests of the organizers of 2020-2021 tournaments and limitations related to the pandemics, including travel restrictions and budget constraints. OCM-2020/14 The Council approved the following online events to be organized by FIDE: – Steinitz memorial (regulations have been approved before);– Checkmate Coronavirus (regulations to be approved by MB);– Online Olympiad, including the players with disabilities (30 teams, President asked for the suggestions regarding 2 wildcards);– competitions for players with disabilities;– knock-out competitions with shorter time format. The Council agreed that FIDE needs a massive anti-cheating work before proceeding with official FIDE online events. FIDE is ready to fight it in cooperation with major chess online platforms. OCM-2020/15 The final regulations of the respective events will be approved by the Council in the near future following the suggestions from the Council members, in particular regarding a possible qualification stage for Online Olympiad. OCM-2020/16 The Council requested MB to provide information regarding media coverage of FIDE online activities and intensify the respective promotion efforts, including by the improvement in the quality of video coverage of FIDE events. The Council welcomed the development of a new visual standard for top FIDE events. OCM-2020/17 The Council noted the Continental reports and supported online activities run by the Continents. OCM-2020/18 The Council approved the new Commissions composition in principle. Council members have been requested to provide comments and proposals regarding personal composition of the commissions. OCM-2020/19 The Council approved the liquidation of the Online Commission conditional on the creation of a clear operational framework for managing and supporting FIDE online activities. OCM-2020/20 The Council approved the creation of the Athletes’ Commission. Council members have been requested to provide comments on possible procedures for the selection of members and on the regulations for the Athletes’ Commission OCM-2020/21 The Council has acknowledged the decisions by the President to appoint the new Chairs for the Planning and Development Commission and the Social Commission. OCM-2020/22 The Council approved MB efforts to kick-off the Chess ID project and noted that the details of the outsourcing procedures will be sent to the members shortly. OCM-2020/23 The Council noted the proposals regarding honorary GM titles. OCM-2020/24 The Council resolved to hold the next online Council meeting (regular quarterly meeting) in June 2020.
Steinitz Memorial: Carlsen and Kosteniuk lead after six rounds
Magnus means business Magnus Carlsen burst out of the blocks to grab the lead in a fiery Day 1 of the super-strong FIDE Steinitz Online Memorial. The Norwegian bullied his way to the top of the standings after six rounds of blitz as the tournament celebrating Wilhelm Steinitz, the first undisputed World Chess Champion, got under-way. Having goaded Peter Svidler on Twitter before the event started, Carlsen’s Round 1 encounter with the Russian ended in a draw – but only after a thrilling topsy-turvy game. Svidler could have won but missed a forced mate on move 37. Carlsen then made a shocking error of his own by missing a winning knight fork on 49.Nc2. But that draw just sparked Carlsen into life. The Norwegian made up for his blunder in the next game with a trademark grind to dispose of Le Quang Liem and take the lead. GM Peter Leko, commentating live on chess24, said: “I think in the last three years Magnus has made incredible steps forward in his preparation.” Round 3 saw a rejuvenated Carlsen going for a London System “beauty prize” against Mamedyarov after the Azerbaijani got into trouble early. Although Carlsen wobbled before he could pull off a quick win, he went on to secure victory and stay ahead of the pack. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Jeffery Xiong, playing on his first online super-tournament, also had a big win in Round 3 against Alexander Grischuk. Disaster then struck for Carlsen in Round 4 as the World Champion played a howler against Anton Korobov that left him with a hopeless task. “It does happen, it does happen to the very best as well. This is blitz,” said Leko. With four rounds gone, Korobov, Xiong and former World Rapid Champion Daniil Dubov caught up with Carlsen at the top on 2.5/4. Carlsen, however, wasn’t phased as he bounced back immediately with a smooth win over the Spaniard David Anton. Round 5 saw Dubov, the young Russian, dispatch fellow countryman Grischuk to keep the pressure on at the top. Xiong fell back with a tricky draw against Xiangzhi Bu and Korobov lost to drop out of the race. Then in the final round, Dubov’s unbeaten streak ended as he collapsed against Xiangzhi while Carlsen played out a draw against Grischuk to move into the lead. Carlsen goes into Day 2 a half-point ahead of the chasing pack. Kosteniuk dominates the women’s section Alexandra Kosteniuk, of Russia, was in blistering form as the FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial tournament kicked off with a series of hyper-aggressive games. The former World Women’s Champion went on a hot streak of five straight blitz wins as she demolished the field in the Women’s section. However, in a dramatic final game, Kosteniuk was pegged back to a draw by the promising 23-year-old Chinese Grandmaster Tingjie Lei. “It was a very high-quality game,” enthused GM Peter Leko, after the first of three days of blitz sessions. Kosteniuk leads a point and a half clear at the top of the table with Zhongyi Tan second on 4. The tournament is broadcast with commentary in multiple languages at www.Chess24.com/watch Schedule (all times are CEST): Friday, May 15th Saturday, May 16th Sunday, May 17th Rounds 1-6 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 7-12 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 13-18 Women:15:00 – 18:15 Rounds 1-6 Open:18:30 – 21:30 Rounds 7-12 Open:18:30 – 21:30 Rounds 13-18 Open18:30 – 21:30 More information at Chess24.com: FIDE Women’s Steinitz MemorialFIDE Open Steinitz Memorial
Rating analytics: Born in the same year – five-player teams
Kaspars Migla is the creator and founder of a chess website chessratings.top. In his column, he analyzes FIDE standard rating changes, career-highs, rating distribution by country, continent, region, and other rating-related statistics. In this edition, he focuses on the particular years that produced the greatest number of chess talents. More than ten years have passed since Magnus Carlsen topped the world rating. When looking at the list, we see not only the World Champion’s actual rating but also the year he was born – 1990. The portal chessratings.top made an attempt to find out whether this year is a special one and focused on the results of other highest-rated players born in 1990. In this research, we took five active players born in the same year and formed hypothetical teams by analogy with Chess Olympiads. We also compared 1990 with other years (both open and women sections) to see how players born earlier have been performing. Are there any other strong players born in 1990 apart from Magnus Carlsen? The answer is a definite yes! We are saying it with confidence because an average rating of the top-5 active players born in 1990 is whopping 2780.6. It means that a hypothetical “team 1990” has the highest rating compared to any other team consisting of players born in the same year. Below you can see the top-5 of teams comprising five players born in the same year (the first figure is the current ranking): Team 19901. Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) 28634. Nepomniachtchi, Ian (RUS) 27845. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (FRA) 277817. Karjakin, Sergey (RUS) 275222. Andreikin, Dmitry (RUS) 2726Average rating: 2780.6 Team 19879. Radjabov, Teimour (AZE) 276518. Nakamura, Hikaru (USA) 273625. Vitiugov, Nikita (RUS) 272228. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (POL) 271934. Tomashevsky, Evgeny (RUS) 2706Average rating: 2728.6 Team 19836. Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) 277714. Dominguez Perez, Leinier (USA) 275847. Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS) 268453. Sargissian, Gabriel (ARM) 268264. Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) 2673Average rating: 2714.8 Team 199410. Giri, Anish (NED, 2764)23. Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi (IND, 2726)33. Yu, Yangyi (CHN, 2709)48. Predke, Alexandr (RUS, 2684)65. Robson, Ray (USA, 2673)Average rating: 2711.2 Team 19922. Caruana, Fabiano (USA) 28353. Ding, Liren (CHN) 279182. Adhiban, B. (IND) 2659136. Heimann, Andreas (GER) 2633143. Yilmaz, Mustafa (TUR) 2630Average rating: 2709.6 Since the players born in 1990 reached an optimal “chess age” (30), many may take team 1990’s leading position for granted. That is not the case though. In reality the year 1990 was simply rich in chess talents. The same applies to 1983 and 1987. Looking at the same list but as of May 2010, we see the same teams in top-3 but in a different order: 1. Team 1983 2. Team 1987 3. Team 1990. Check out the leader as of May 1, 2010. Team 1983 7. Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) 27609. Eljanov, Pavel (UKR) 275118. Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) 273321. Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS) 272526. Jobava, Baadur (GEO) 2715Average rating: 2736.8 Let’s rewind nine more years – Team 1969 was the best squad as of April 2001 (the ratings were not calculated in May): 3. Anand, Viswanathan (IND) 27947. Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) 273118. Dreev, Alexey (RUS) 268556. Piket, Jeroen (NED) 2628165. Korneev, Oleg (RUS) 2572Average rating: 2682 Garry Kasparov (born in 1963) was the rating leader back then (2822), but “his” team 1963 stood only third, trailing team 1975 (lead by Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov) and team 1971 (headed by Michael Adams). In the crosstable below, you can see the top teams year by year from 2001 to 2020 with their average rating and age. Carlsen’s team 1990 has been dominating since 2013, whereas team-leaders’ average rating increased by almost 100 points, from 2688.6 to 2780.6. It is also worth mentioning that nine years ago, in 2011 the chess elite was the youngest ever! Year Top team year Av.rating Av.age 2001 1969 2688.6 32 2002 1975 2682.6 27 2003 1969 2683 34 2004 1975 2679.4 29 2005 1969 2692.8 36 2006 1983 2701 23 2007 1983 2707.4 24 2008 1983 2711 25 2009 1983 2735.8 26 2010 1983 2736.8 27 2011 1990 2744 21 2012 1987 2743.4 25 2013 1990 2757.4 23 2014 1990 2773.4 24 2015 1990 2766.8 25 2016 1990 2771.4 26 2017 1990 2776.8 27 2018 1990 2773.4 28 2019 1990 2777.6 29 2020 1990 2780.6 30 When it comes to women there is no such a gap between the youngest age group and all the others. Interestingly enough, the team of the current rating leader Hou Yifan (CHN, 2658), who was born in 1994, did not “qualify” for the top-3. Team 19914. Ju, Wenjun (CHN) 25609. Harika, Dronavalli (IND) 251510. Tan, Zhongyi (CHN) 251021. Girya, Olga (RUS) 246942. Ding, Yixin (CHN) 2422Average rating: 2495.2 Team 19872. Koneru, Humpy (IND) 25868. Dzagnidze, Nana (GEO) 252426. Batsiashvili, Nino (GEO) 245738. Munguntuul, Batkhuyag (MGL) 242847. Zawadzka, Jolanta (POL) 2419Average rating: 2482.8 Team 198515. Zhao, Xue (CHN) 248618. Pogonina, Natalija (RUS) 247519. Paehtz, Elisabeth (GER) 247350. Ushenina, Anna (UKR) 2416117. Lujan, Carolina (ARG) 2346Average rating: 2439.2 In May 2010, when legendary Judit Polgar was still active, two teams (see below) had an average rating of 2500+. None of the current team-leaders managed to climb that high. Team 19761. Polgar, Judit (HUN) 268222. Xu, Yuhua (CHN) 248427. Zhu, Chen (QAT) 247635. Gaponenko, Inna (UKR) 246536. Skripchenko, Almira (FRA) 2464Average rating: 2514.2 Team 19855. Kosintseva, Nadezhda (RUS) 255314. Pogonina, Natalija (RUS) 250117. Zhao, Xue (CHN) 249320. Paehtz, Elisabeth (GER) 248532. Ushenina, Anna (UKR) 2468Average rating: 2500 Team 1976 was the best in 2001 with an average rating exceeding a 2500 mark: 1. Polgar, Judit (HUN) 26764. Zhu, Chen (CHN) 25387. Xu, Yuhua (CHN) 250124. Skripchenko, Almira (MDA) 244161. Gaponenko, Inna (UKR) 2373Average rating: 2505.8. It is time to apply the same principle to various countries. Probably chess historians know whether there was a team at Chess Olympiad with all players born in the same year. It is highly unlikely but not impossible, at least theoretically. Moreover, one such hypothetical team would have a chance to be in a contest for medals. We are talking about the country replete with talented players born in 1990, namely, Russia. Russia 1990Nepomniachtchi, Ian (RUS) 2784Karjakin, Sergey (RUS) 2752Andreikin, Dmitry (RUS) 2726Popov, Ivan (RUS) 2636Lintchevski, Daniil