UPDATE: FIDE workshop for tournament organizers
UPDATE: April 15, 2020 More than 90 people attended the first workshop by FIDE Competitions Director Maxim Korshunov. In view of this success, we have decided to repeat it next week, again on Monday and Tuesday (April 20-21). The content, format, and other details regarding the workshop remain exactly the same (see below). Likewise, a second stage workshop with more advanced content (for those who have already attended the first one), will be held on April 27-28. Maxim joined FIDE in September last year, having previously worked at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup (as stadium manager, leading a team of more than 150 direct subordinates), the World EXPO 2015 in Milan (as Deputy Head of Department at the Russian Pavilion), and the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 (as Senior Manager within the Organizing Committee). The conference will be be held over ZOOM. In order to register, simply send an email to korshunov@fide.com. Prior to the start, the organizer will send a link from where you can join the lecture. Schedule:20.04.2020 [Monday], 12:00 (GMT 0)21.04.2020 [Tuesday], 12:00 (GMT 0) Title – Event operational planning tools Lecturer – Maxim Korshunov, FIDE Competitions director. Description – The lecturer will show operational tools that can help chess organizers to deliver the best practices of worldwide events: During the conference you will find out: a) How to prepare operational plans for an eventb) How to create responsibility assignment matricesc) How to do daily check-lists and check the venue on a day-to-day basisd) How to plan and deliver the zones of the venue for the different client groupse) How to activate a sponsorship f) How to integrate activities together with local authorities. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Arkady Dvorkovich: I have no regrets
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich gave a big interview to a popular Russian newspaper Kommersant. This is the first part of this interview. Let’s start with the Candidates Tournament. You opened it in the middle of March, exactly on the day the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation issued an order imposing severe restrictions on sports events in the country. Do you have any regrets about your decision to run this event? After all, you had to put in on hold halfway through. Arkady Dvorkovich: I have no regrets. It was a conscious decision. I personally weighed all the factors that had to be taken into consideration before the event. First and foremost, it was about chess fans all around the world as so many people were looking forward to watching this competition. I was 100% sure that we would provide the health security of all the participants and people involved in the organization of this tournament. It was a critical factor. Besides, it was very important not to disrupt the World Championship cycle and to do our best to keep to the schedule. Another key factor was providing equal rights and conditions for all the participants. For example, Ding Liren arrived in Russia in advance on March 1, to get the required 14-day quarantine. Had we failed to ensure his participation in the Candidates Tournament (the decision was being made at the end of February) the entire event would have been in question. The final line-up was formed 10 days before the event. All the participants reaffirmed their willingness to contend for the chess crown. We did not have sound reasons to postpone the tournament. Some participants, for example, Alexander Grischuk complained about the atmosphere and the problems with concentration during the games. Were you aware of that? A.D.: First of all, there were no official complaints. We quickly reacted to all requests, made many concessions, took into considerations even tiny details to create a comfortable psychological atmosphere. Don’t forget, that all the players are real professionals. Allow me to remind you about the order by the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation. Essentially, this order canceled all the sports competitions in Russia, didn’t it? A.D.: The Candidates Tournament is not a mass sport event as there were only eight players participating. It was not affected by these restrictions. We were in constant contact with regional authorities, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare) regarding the event and got the green light. I understand that it is very hard to make projections right now. Do you have any scenarios regarding the completion of the event – plan A, plan B, and plan C? A.D.: We do. Plan A – the optimistic scenario – is to hold the second part of the event in August or September. Many experts believe that this is a realistic timeframe bearing in mind how the situation with the COVID-19 has been evolving. We might return to normal life by the middle or the end of the summer. In this case, the winner of the Candidates Tournament will have enough time for thorough preparation for the World Championship match – approximately 3 months. But again, this is an optimistic scenario, under which the title match will be held in December of 2020 as planned. Are there less optimistic scenarios? A.D.: A less optimistic plan is to move the entire cycle a few months later. However, this is an undesirable alternative for us. We believe that the first, optimistic scenario can materialize. Let me clarify just in case. Will the second part of the Candidates be held in Yekaterinburg? A.D.: It will. I see no obstacles. We have the confirmation from our key partners, SIMA Land company and the regional authorities. They expressed their willingness to hold the second part of the event in Yekaterinburg. Naturally, if some other location wants to host it, we will consider such a request. At present, Yekaterinburg remains our priority. Let’s return to the World Championship match. Will it be held in Dubai in December as you mentioned before? A.D.: We hope it will take place in December in Dubai. In the case of force-majeure, we will be considering the alternatives. Presently, our partners are still willing to hold this match. If there is any contract? A.D.: We agreed on the terms. It remains just to sign the contract. At the beginning of the year, FIDE published the terms and conditions of bidding for the right to hold the World Championship match. One of the key conditions was a guaranteed prize fund of at least €2,000,000. Is this condition met? A.D.: Sure. Why Dubai, exactly? A.D.: The idea came about several months ago in connection with EXPO-2020 that will be held in this city. The World Expo will provide maximum interest to the venue. Plus, its theme – The Global Mind – is consonant with chess. We entered into the negotiations and reached a mutual understanding. Dubai was not the only bidder. We considered several options but Dubai looks the most attractive one. I am a little concerned that you are going to hold the title match as part of EXPO. Do you think it might downgrade the event, make it some sort of a side order to the main course? A.D.: Of course not. This match is not a part of EXPO, we will just use its platform. It will be one of the central events of this period, which is going to attract the maximum audience. In other words, you are confident that this symbiosis will increase the exposure of the match. A.D.: Definitely. You already mentioned that in the best-case scenario there would be three months between the completion of the Candidates tournament and the start of the World Championship match. Indeed, it is enough for the participants to prepare for the competition, but is it a sufficient period to promote and advertise the match? Previously this process took twice as long. A.D.: We will start
South vs. North Chess Star Online Match ended in a draw
On March 30 – April 10, the Chinese Chess Association organized an online North vs South match that was live on CCTV5, the main sports broadcaster in China. The show reached 2 million views. Each team consisted of eight players five male and three female members, including such stars as grandmasters Yu Yangyi (2709), Wang Yue (2669), Li Chao (2683) playing for North and GM Wei Yi (2732), former women’s world champion Tan Zhongyi (2510) representing for South. There was a rule regarding the players’ age: 2 players in each team had to be born in the 1940s-1950s, 2 players in the 1960s-1970s, 2 players in the 1980s, 2 players in the 1990s and 2 players in the 2000s. The gimmick of the show was that the players were hidden under nicknames and neither audience nor commentators knew who was playing the game. The coaches of each team chose their players without knowing who the opponent would be. The Chinese chess community called this tournament a mystery TV series, as in each “episode”(round) spectators and commentators could guess the real identities of the players by their silhouette photos. The players were revealed after the games were over and proceeded to a flash interview where they shared their emotions and told stories from their chess careers. The match ended in a draw, 4:4.
FIDE Newsletter #003 is out
Welcome to the FIDE newsletter Welcome to the bi-weekly FIDE Newsletter. The coronavirus crisis conditions most of the content in our third issue: all official competitions have been halted, but the online chess activity never ceases, and in fact, it is thriving. For many, the global lockdown is a great opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills, so FIDE is launching a series of online seminars and workshops, as well as a campaign to encourage the members of our chess family to strive for self-improvement. Content: Stay home, stay safe, stay sharp! FIDE news and activities Online events FIDE distributes €35,000 among chess veterans Chess in outer space Happy birthday, Garry Kimovich! Stay home, stay safe, stay sharp! The UN considers the COVID-19 pandemic the most challenging crisis since the Second World War. Probably it is also the most global event ever experienced in human history, and many think that we will come through the crisis reinforced as a society. With an estimated four billion people under a lockdown of some kind, this can also be an opportunity to improve and grow as individuals. From the International Chess Federation, we would like to encourage you, first and foremost, to follow the public health recommendations. Stay home, and stay safe! But we would also like to encourage you to stay active, both mentally and physically. Exercising will strengthen your immune system, improve your mental health, and make you feel better about yourself during this frightening period. Maybe you can’t go to the gym, but you can still get great workouts anywhere you are thanks to YouTube. There are plenty of fitness channels with free videos, offering a huge variety of exercises, from aerobics and pilates to bootcamp and boxing. Most people will enjoy more free time than usual during the lockdown. We have a near-limitless offer of TV shows, but, what if we make productive use of this time instead? A book is usually more enriching. Learning a new language is always a good option. Doing the same things but in a new and different way is common advice to prevent and limit brain aging, so why not to take up a new chess opening? Or set yourself a goal, like coming out of the quarantine as a stronger player: try and break your own rating record online! SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF HERE
TTCA receives Award for Top Sporting Organization
The Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA), was awarded the Jeffrey Stollmeyer Award for Top Sporting Organization-Large for 2019 during the First Citizens Sports Foundation Awards virtual presentation aired last night on local TV stations. This honor followed previous awards received by the TTCA as Top Sporting Organization-Small Category in 2015, 2016 and 2018. The other nominees for the Large Category were the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board and the National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago, both of which were dominant recipients of this award in the past. This was indeed a milestone for chess in Trinidad and Tobago as it was benchmarked against mainstream sports in the country. The Jeffrey Stollmeyer Award is given to a national governing sports body that has outstandingly showcased initiatives and made significant administrative improvements and real steps towards the development of its athletes. Additionally, the youth nominees for chess, WCM Shemilah James and IM Alan-Safar Ramoutar, were shortlisted as two of the top 10 youth athletes for their performances in 2019. The TTCA President, Sonja Johnson, told that she was very proud yet humbled by the recognition given to the TTCA in the national sporting landscape as this puts the TTCA well on its way to becoming one of the Top 5 sporting organizations in Trinidad and Tobago. Ms. Johnson also remarked that this achievement was a collective effort and expressed her heartfelt thanks to her executive members. She also expressed gratitude to the players, parents, arbiters, clubs and the International Chess Federation. “The funding granted by FIDE really assisted us in achieving this milestone and I would personally like to thank FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich for providing the level of support to help us make such an impact.” Ms. Johnson added. Ms. Johnson also cited the increased focus on developing strategic partnerships as one of the key elements of success of the TTCA and specifically recognized FIDE, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, The Trinidad and Olympic Committee and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Magnus Carlsen stages online super tournament
While the global spread of COVID-19 is preventing offline sports events from happening, Magnus Carlsen decided to organize an 8-player online event with a whopping prize fund of $250,000. The winner of the tournament is guaranteed $70,000. The world champion has turned to the online chess world a while ago, first organizing Play Magnus company after obtaining the world championship title in 2013. Recently, he has significantly extended his presence in the game’s online sector when “Play Magnus” merged with popular Internet portal chess24 in the spring of 2019, followed by buying Chessable and extending the range of services of all the companies in the group. The online super tournament that was announced on April 2, sees the world champion challenge seven of his biggest rivals to a 2-week battle. The event featuring Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja will be streamed on Chess24 with commentary in 9 languages. The $250,000 tournament will be running from April 18th to May 3rd with the following format: 8 players first compete in a single round-robin over 7 rounds Each match features four 15+10 rapid games, where the winner gets 3 match points and the loser 0 If the match ends 2:2 an Armageddon game (5 vs. 4 minutes) is played, with the winner getting 2 points and the loser 1 The top four players after Round 7 enter the Final Four knockout – if match points are equal, game points are the first tiebreaker The semi-finals, 3rd place match and final use the same 4-game match system and decide the overall winner
Faig Gasanov turns 80
Faig Gasanov turns 80 today! The patriarch of Azerbaijani chess made a significant contribution to the development of the game in one of the strongest chess countries in the world. He was a chief arbiter of the Chess Olympiad 2016 and all the editions of Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir. Gasanov is also widely known as a host of weekly Şahmat klubu (Chess Club) program, which is broadcasting each Sunday in AzTV. He has been presenting this chess show for 51 years. Now he continues to serve the chess world as vice-president of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to award Faig Gasanov the Sharaf Order (Order of Honor) for his outstanding achievements in promoting sport in the country. Many happy returns of the day!
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Stay home, stay safe, stay sharp! FIDE news and activities Online events FIDE distributes €35,000 among chess veterans Chess in outer space Happy birthday, Garry Kimovich! READ NEWSLETTER
Chess in outer space
Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight (#HumanSpaceFlight), held on April 12 to commemorate the first space flight by Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. In this picture Yuri Gagarin, Grigory Nelyubov and Nikolai Kamanin are playing chess during the flight that took them to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the legendary launching place in Kazakhstan from where the space exploration began. Seven days after this picture was taken, Gagarin would be leaving the atmosphere, starting a completely new chapter in the history of humankind. Truth be told, Gagarin was not particularly interested in chess – no more than the average Russian person. But nevertheless, chess was one of the very first human leisure activities brought to space by the cosmonauts. The set on this photo was carried aboard the Soyuz 3 and 4 capsules in 1968-1969. Magnetic pieces are not allowed on zero-gravity environments, because they could end up in unexpected places where they would interfere with the on-board instruments. The Soviets designed special chess sets, with pegs and grooves to keep the pieces in place. Photo: Chad Cullen / National Air and Space Museum, Washington. In June 1970 the Soviet astronauts Andrian Nikolayev (Mission Commander) and Vitaly Sevastyanov (Flight Engineer), who were aboard the Soyuz 9 spacecraft, played a consultation game against the earthbound Viktor Gorbatko (also an astronaut) and Nikolai Kamanin (Soviet general, and head of the astronaut training program). Sevastyanov and Nikolayev spent 18 days in space, a record at the time. Their mission was used to investigate the social and psychological implications of prolonged spaceflight. The zero-gravity chess board that they used, signed by the two cosmonauts as well as Boris Spassky (at that time the world champion), Mikhail Botvinnik, Igor Bondarevsky, Alexander Kotov, Salo Flohr, and Andor Lilienthal, was sold by Sotheby’s in 2018 for $1,250. Photos: Sotheby’s Vitaly Sevastyanov was an avid chess fan – so much so, that he would later become President of the Soviet Union Chess Federation from 1977 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1989. He played a very important role during those years when chess was still dominated by the Soviet players. Photo: Sputnik / Alamy Stock Photo Not only the Soviet cosmonauts took chess to outer space. Many of their American counterparts, the astronauts, were also keen players. For instance, the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong (1930-Aug 25, 2012) was a chess fan. In his biography by Leon Wagener (“One Giant Leap”), the author reveals that Neil played chess with his six-year-old son Mark, while he was quarantined upon his return from the Moon. Contrary to the Russians, the Americans didn’t come up with special designs for zero-gravity chess boards. Instead, they resorted to simple plastic pieces fitted with velcro. That’s what the NASA Astronaut Greg Chamitoff did in 2018 in order to take a chess set with him on the space shuttle. In August 2018 he played a chess match against Houston Mission Control and won two games against ground control while playing from the International Space Station (ISS). Photo: NASA. In 2008, NASA and the US Chess Federation teamed up to host a match between the astronaut and Earth. The USCF coordinated worldwide voting on the Earth’s moves, which were proposed by the K-3 champions, the Chess Club at Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Wash. In honor of Human Space Flight Day and of the half-century anniversary of the Cosmos-Earth chess game (which took place on June 9, 1970), Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, Chess Federation of Russia and Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics organize an online chess tournament among schoolchildren. The games will be played on chessplanet.ru on April 18. Info and registration (in Russian): Ivanishin (right) is seen on this picture playing chess with his colleague Chris Cassidy (left), at the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (the same place from where Gagarin took off), a few days before the launch took place. Photo: Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. If you happen to leave in Missouri, you are still on time to visit the exhibition “Ground Control: A Journey Through Chess and Space“, at the World Chess Hall of Fame. The exhibition is on view until April 26. The links between chess and space exploration demonstrate that the game of chess – and other strategy games – are intrinsic to humankind. They are part of our culture, and one of the oldest forms of human social interaction.
Candidates 1950: Where it all began
The first-ever 1950 Candidates Tournament in Budapest, Hungary, became a turning point in the history of chess. Before this event, there was no system in place to determine a challenger in a World Championship match. Any potential challenger had to negotiate with the champion himself, secure funding and arrange a match. After Alekhine’s death in 1946, followed by Botvinnik’s victory in the 1948 World Championship Tournament, FIDE organized the first World Championship cycle that included Zonal, Interzonal and Candidates tournaments. Five qualifiers of the Interzonal tournament (Saltsjobaden, 1948) were supposed to join four participants of the 1948 World Championship tournament (Reshevsky, Keres, Smyslov, and Euwe) plus Robin Fine in a double round-robin competition. Unfortunately, Reshevsky and Fine opted not to play (according to another version the U.S. State Department barred them from traveling to Hungary due to Cold War), while Euwe did not get a leave from the university. Subsequently, FIDE decided to replace them with players who finished 6th-9th in the Interzonal tournament: Miguel Najdorf, Gideon Stahlberg, Salo Flohr and Igor Bondarevsky (the latter withdrew). Vasily Smyslov, Paul Keres and the winner of the first Interzonal tournament David Bronstein entered the event as the main favorites but it was Isaac Boleslavsky who held the stage for the most of the event. Playing the tournament of his life, he demonstrated very solid opening preparation, deep strategic concepts, tenacity in defense and error-free calculation. Boleslvasky played one of his finest games in Round 6 in which he routed Smyslov in just 22 moves and joined the leaders. Boleslavsky – Smyslov 16. Ne4! Bxe3 17. fxe3 Rc2 18. Nbd6! Rf8 19. Bxa6 bxa6 20. g4 Ng7 21. Nf6 Bc6 22. Rfc1 1-0 Halfway through Boleslavsky was leading the field with an excellent score +3, followed by Keres (+2) and Bronstein (+1). The Estonian maestro won probably the most spectacular game of the event, which became his trademark. Keres – Kotov 10. Nxe6! Qxe6 (10… Nxh5 11. Qd5! Nb6 (11… Qxd5? 12. Nc7#) 12. Qxc4 Nxc4 13. Nc7+) 11. Nd5! Kd8 12. Bg4 Qe5 13. f4 Qxe4 14. Bxd7 Bxd7 15. Nxf6 gxf6 16. Bxf6+ Kc7 17. Bxh8, and White converted his extra exchange 1-0 In the second part of the event, Boleslavsky scored three more victories (the one over Szabo is particularly impressive) and pulled away. At some point, many thought that the 30-year old Soviet GM had punched his ticket to the World Championship match with Botvinnik. Indeed, after Round 16 Isaac was a full point ahead of Bronstein – the only player who had a theoretical chance to catch up with the leader. In the last two rounds, Boleslavsky made two quick draws, hoping that his old friend and compatriot would not be able to win both games, but that is exactly what happened! First David outsmarted Stahlberg with Black in a very complicated game, then in the final round facing Keres with White, he took a lot of risks but got to opponent’s king and so tied for the first place. Bronstein’s spurt in the second part of the tournament staggers imagination – the GM from Moscow scored 7 out of 9! The following fragment illustrates his high-voltage, aggressive style: Bronstein – Najdorf 13. f6! Kh8 14. d5 Na5 15. Ng3 gxf6 16. Nf5 Bc8 17. Qh5 Bxf5 18. exf5 Rg8 19. Rf3 Rg7 20. Bh6 Rg8 21. Rh3 1-0 The event in Budapest became the only Candidates Tournament to end in a tie for the first place (in London 2013 Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik scored equal number of points but the former became the winner thanks to better tiebreaks). Bronstein and Boleslavsky had to play a playoff match, which was held in the summer of 1950 in Moscow. It ended in another tie, but Bronstein won the first decisive game and became the official challenger. One of the event favorites Vasily Smyslov was hovering around 50% almost all the way but his fortune changed in Round 16. After obtaining an overwhelming position, his opponent, Alexander Kotov went for a flashy combo but missed an important subtlety. Arguably, this game can be called a miscalculation of the tournament. Kotov – Smyslov Black looks hopeless. That’s what Kotov, Najdorf (who praised him for the played sequence) and even Smyslov himself initially thought. It turns out that White’s idea is refuted by 42…Rf2+! with an immediate win. Smyslov found this move and scored a full point. Since top-five finishers of the event were guaranteed spots in the Candidates 1953, this vexing defeat cost Kotov dearly – he ended up in sixth place, just a half-point behind Najdorf. Later Kotov did qualify for the Candidates 1953 after turning in the most impressive performance of his chess career at the Interzonal 1952 held in Stockholm. In two final rounds, Smyslov made two draws and finished clear third a half-point ahead of Keres, who lost steam in the second part of the event (4th place). Other players had their share of bright moments in Budapest but did not participate in the race for the top spot. Final standings:Source: Wikipedia Although the 1950 Candidates in Budapest was not the most spectacular event it set a trend and paved the way for the historical tournaments in Zurich (1953), Amsterdam (1956), Yugoslavia (1959) and Curacao (1962). It is symbolic that after many years of play-off matches and knockout tournaments, FIDE eventually returned to this good old round-robin format so popular among chess players and spectators all around the world.