Tata Steel Chess 2020: Young guns take the lead
After several rapid and mix events, traditional Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2020 in Wijk aan Zee looks like a window into the glorified past of chess. A true classical super-tournament presents an interesting combination of established stars and ambitious newcomers in which every round is sure to deliver a lot of amazing encounters. Sometimes spectators and chess analytics will need to spend a lot of hours to understand the real nature of the players’ plans and concepts. The first round of the Masters event played on January 11 didn’t disappoint. 16-year old Alireza Firouzja was the first one to score a full point after he outplayed Challengers 2019 winner Vladislav Kovalev from Belarus with White. In a very well-known position of Zaitsev variation of Ruy Lopez Kovalev opted for dubious 16…c4 (instead of popular and standard 16…Nd7). Probably it was not a result of preparation, but a clear mix-up as Black was in trouble right away quickly losing two pawns without any compensation. Firouzja was ruthless in converting a clear opportunity into a win. Another leader after Round 1 is probably even more unexpected. Jorden Van Foreest is by far the lowest-rated participant of the event, but it didn’t stop the local hero from starting with a victory. His game against the World Cup semifinalist Yu Yangyi from China quickly transformed into a rook endgame where Black had to accurately defend his weak pawns. The endgame sharpened up rapidly and definitely needs much deeper analysis to understand what was really going on. One thing is clear though – after a few mutual inaccuracies, Yu was one to divert from a clear draw (44…Re8 45. Rxa7 Kg6! 46. Ra6+ Kg7 or even simple 44…e3) in favor of a suicidal maneuver 44…Kg4? 45.b6 Kf3? It was a point of no return for Black. The other five games were drawn but not without a fight. The most uneventful game was surprisingly played by World Classical, Rapid & Blitz Champion Magnus Carlsen. Facing the crowd favorite Anish Giri he chose an extremely rare line in the English opening (4.Qb3) but this approach did not pay off – Magnus did not get even a slight advantage; actually it was Carlsen himself who had to be accurate to reach a draw on move 25. Anand – Artemiev and a battle of American superstars Caruana – So ended in draws pretty quickly also. Wesley So seemingly had no problems equalizing in Gruenfeld while Vladislav Artemiev held his own in Caro-Cann where his two bishops were so strong that Anand decided to sacrifice an exchange and force a draw at some point. Youngsters Jeffery Xiong and Daniil Dubov were both out for the blood in their Sicilian showdown. When both white rooks paid a visit to an e7 square right in the center of Black’s defensive fortifications it became clear that it would be a tough day for Dubov. Being a pawn down (and for a few moves even two pawns) Russian GM was looking for some counterplay to escape and somehow succeeded. Xiong probably missed some chances, but the dubious “Miss of the Day” prize goes to Nikita Vitiugov who replaced Ian Nepomniachtchi two weeks before the event. Vitiugov who had a very successful 2019 was very close to starting 2020 with another excellent win, this time against Polish finest Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Vitiugov outplayed his opponent in Najdorf Sicilian and was winning prosaically with 30.c4 – instead, he decided to sacrifice an exchange and still had a huge advantage as his monstrous bishops were completely dominating black lonely knight, but after the time trouble GM from Saint-Petersburg let his advantage slip away (the clearest chance was probably Be3-c5-e7 maneuver), lost his key passed pawn and had to accept a draw. One more miraculous save by Jan-Krzysztof! In Round 2 Duda will examine one of the early leaders Alireza Firouzja. Their battles are always very interesting for the spectators – less than two weeks ago they exchanged blows in World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Moscow with Duda winning in the rapid game and Firouzja retaliating in blitz. Official site: https://www.tatasteelchess.com/Photo: Alina l’Ami
WWCC Game 5: Goryachkina strikes back
Aleksandra Goryahkina bounces back and beats Ju Wenjun in the fifth game of the 2020 FIDE Women’s World Championship Match. The challenger sets the score to 2½-2½ after five games, with only one left to be played in Shanghai; the remaining six games will be fought in Vladivostok. Ernst Yurkin, Deputy Consul General of the Russian Federation in Shanghai, and Zhu Chen, former World Champion made the first symbolic moves of Game 5. Before today, Aleksandra Goryachkina has never beaten Ju Wenjun. In fact, prior to the match, the Russian Grandmaster has never had a better position against the World Champion in any of their games. However, Goryachkina is a very young player still at the peak of her development, and already in the first games of the match, she showed she could put Ju Wenjun against the ropes. In that context, Goryachkina’s defeat in the fourth game was a cold shower for the Russian fans, but the challenger didn’t display any signs of disappointment. And after a rest day, she came back to the board ready to put up a fight, and with today’s victory, Goryachkina demonstrated the world that she belongs in this match and is the rightful challenger. Goryachkina appeared to have surprised her opponent with 1. c4, which sent Ju into a short think. In the ensuing English Opening, players went for a very sharp line, with Ju producing the first novelty 12… Be4. This seemed to have taken Goryachkina out of her preparation and black quickly achieved a very promising position. However, facing a 16.Qb5+, Ju went astray with Qd7, unnecessary opting for a variation in which White was up an exchange, with Black having some compensation for it in the form of a very dangerous d-pawn. Interestingly enough, in the post-mortem, Goryachkina thought that Ju simply blundered the exchange. It seemed that Game 5 would follow a familiar scenario from Games 1 and 3 where the Russian obtained comfortable positions out of openings but squandered her chances with some little inaccuracies right before the first time control. In today’s encounter, after mutual mistakes 29…g6? and 31.Rxf7? the game appeared to be heading for a draw, but a serious blunder by Ju (34…Nc6?? instead of 34…Nc4) allowed Goryachkina to consolidate her advantage and convert it into a full point fifteen moves later. In the post-game press conference, Goryachkina said she was relieved and happy to be back into the match. Ju agreed that while today’s result was disappointing, it was a logical conclusion and the overall score reflected the match thus far. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Zhang Yanhong, Lewis Liu, Michael Friedman Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
WWCC Game 4: Ju Wenjun breaks the ice
The reigning Women’s World Chess Champion scores the first win in the match. After four games, Ju Wenjun leads by 2½-1½ against Aleksandra Goryachkina. Gui Jinsong, director of Mass Sports Department of Shanghai Sports Bureau, and Liu Changle, party branch secretary of Shanghai Board and Card Games Administrative Center, made the first symbolic move in game 4.Ju Wenjun, playing white, reverted to her usual 1.d4 and both players appeared to be well within their preparations in the ensuing Slav Defense. With the game moving so quickly, it remained unclear who was better prepared and who was bluffing by playing at a blistering pace. Aleksandra Goryachkina‘s unnatural 22…Kxf8 further illustrated the point of how comfortable and prepared she either was or wanted her opponent to believe. Ju had an opportunity to increase pressure with a strong 26.Rc6, but chose to exchange the rooks, opting for playing a pleasant endgame with just queens and bishops. The white queen dominated the board on white squares, while black had to be patient and careful.The game seemed to be heading toward another draw but then Goryachkina—not content with sitting back—unadvisedly exchanged bishops on move 34, creating a long-term weakness on c5. In the ensuing endgame, Black had to find a precise plan of defense, such as advancing her f-pawn to f5. Goryachkina wasn’t able to find it, and Ju Wenjun, despite some hesitation was able to calculate the precise moment to exchange queens and transposed into a winning pawn ending.After the game, Goryachkina said that she lost the thread of the game, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where and accepted that her position just kept getting worse and she couldn’t recover. Ju was happy and relieved to finally get the full point, and praised Goryachkina’s valiant defense. Tomorrow (Friday), is a rest day. Play will be resumed on Saturday, January 10, with the 5th game of the match. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Zhang Yanhong, Lewis Liu, Michael Friedman Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
WWCC Game 3: Goryachkina dominates, but Ju saves a draw
Shan Xiali, president of the Shanghai Chess Academy, and Wang Lianyun, president of the Shanghai Xiangqi Association, made the first symbolic move in the third game of the Women’s World Championship match. Ju Wenjun, playing Black, countered Aleksandra Goryachkina‘s Queen’s Gambit with the Semi-Tarrasch Defence, transforming the duel into a comfortable, yet somewhat passive play for herself. The reigning champion failed to come up with a plan to fully equalize, and by move 23 Goryachkina enjoyed a considerable advantage. However, a momentary slip 23.Bd3 presented Ju with an opportunity to turn the tables with 23..Ne5, which was not played. As if Ju was so focused on defending an inferior position, that she simply missed her chance to snatch the initiative. Having also opted against 18.g4! in game 2, the World Champion seems to be wary when it comes to dynamic and tactical play. White continued to dictate and ten moves later and following the thematic break on d5, Goryachkina won a pawn. For a moment, it felt we would see the first decisive outcome of the match. However, the Russian played inaccurately in moderate time-trouble and before the first time control, the game steered into an easy save for the World Champion in a rook ending. Just like in game 1, the challenger kept pushing for another 40 moves, until the players agreed on a draw on move 85. Ju must feel relieved to be tied in this match after not playing her best game, especially with Black. Speaking at the press conference, the World Champion said that she was content with three draws. On her part, Goryachkina added that she felt good about dominating her opponent in two out of the first three games, yet somewhat frustrated having not capitalized on her chances. A difficult stretch of the match is coming for Goryachkina now as she will have black pieces in the next 3 out of 4 games. Game 4 will be played tomorrow, on January 9th. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Zhang Yanhong, Lewis Liu, Michael Friedman Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
90th FIDE Congress: List of Delegates
FIDE is publishing the list of delegates as is required by the FIDE Electoral Regulations Section 5.A.1. LIST OF DELEGATES (pdf) According to FIDE Electoral Regulations Section 5.A.2 At the latest five weeks before the opening session of the General Assembly, the President of each member federation shall inform the FIDE Secretariat in writing of any changes to be made to this list. If there has been no such notification by this deadline, and there is no delegate on the list that was published on the FIDE website pursuant to Section (1) above, the delegate shall be the President of the federation. In some cases, federations have already submitted documents requesting for a change of their delegate – these are to be approved after the verification of these documents. FIDE recommends that the following wording be used for informing the Secretariat, until 22 January (CET 17.00), of any change to be made to the list of delegates in accordance with this paragraph. “I, the President of the federation of _____________________ hereby inform FIDE that the Delegate of my federation at the FIDE 2020 General Assembly in Abu Dhabi will be _____________________. Date : _____________________ Signature: _____________________” —–FIDE Secretariat
FIDE World Cup 2021 – Allocation of Continental spots
We are publishing the allocation of Continental spots for the FIDE World Cup 2021 related to Article 2.1.V of the Regulations The quotas are calculated according to the average Rating of twelve standard FIDE Rating Lists from February 2019 to January 2020 of the world top eight juniors (born on January 1st, 1999 or later) and the world top sixty players (see here for the details).
Rating analytics: New Year – new young leaders
Kaspars Migla is the creator and founder of chessratings.top. In his column, he analyzes monthly FIDE standard rating changes, career-high ratings, rating distribution by country, continent, region, and other rating-related statistics. In this edition, he reveals major changes in the lists of top junior players. Every new year traditionally brings about major changes in the top-rated juniors lists and the year 2020 is no exception. Some players lose their junior status and can play only in regular tournaments, others move up to the next age category in which their rating often is not good enough to qualify for the top 10. One of the most important changes in the January rating list is Wei Yi’s (born in 1999 and rated 2732) leaving juniors. According to chessratings.top, he stayed in the top 100 active juniors for 88 (!) straight months. The Chinese GM made his debut in the juniors top 100 back in September 2012 in 97th position (rated 2453). The second-longest stint in this list (72 months) belongs to an Indian Murali Karthikeyan (2611) but he also can play only in regular tournaments. Currently, the best Chinese player in this list is Yan Liu (2513). Born in 2000 he occupies 47th position in this list. After Wei Yi’s outgrowing juniors, the record holder is Samuel Sevian (2660) with 72 months in the TOP 100 or six full years. Since it is his last year in juniors Samuel has no chance to surpass the record of the Chinese wunderkind. When it comes to women, the situation is slightly different. The current leader Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ, 2471) has a whole year in juniors ahead of her. Since Zhansaya debuted in the TOP 100 in August of 2012 aged 12, by the end of the year her stay in this elite group will stretch over 100 months. It won’t happen only if Zhansaya loses 300 rating points but for such a strong player this is a highly improbable scenario. The leaders changed in all six junior categories: U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 (both open and girls). Back in December of 2019 Alireza Firouzja (2723) who is now playing under the FIDE flag had taken the top spot in U-16 and a month later became the #1 in U-18. Meanwhile, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2635) mounted from the second to top position in U-16. The ex-leader in U-14 Praggnanandhaa R (IND, 2602) not just moved to the U-16 category but found himself on the third place. Actually, Praggnanandhaa’s transfer to an older category allowed his compatriot Gukesh D (2542) to take the top spot in U-14. A young American talent Abhimanyu Mishra (2397) managed to make a “top-top” leap from U-10 to U-12. As ratings are growing very fast in these categories, it is quite an achievement. It suffices to say, that since ratings have been calculated monthly he became the first person to make such a transition. Vaclav Finek (CZE, 2234) tops the U-10 category, whereas in U-8 John Lance Valenxia (PHI, 1810) took over Ilan Schnaider (1893) who has moved to the next group. As a sidenote, the #4 in U10 category Alexander Usov received a wild card for the Rapid and Blitz Championships and got some scalps in this prestigious competition. More detailed information on the leaders in various categories is available here. Although we have covered seniors’ ratings in the previous column, one important event should not go unmentioned. In 2020 three top 100 players fell into seniors category: Viswanathan Anand (IND, 2758), Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 2698), and Aleksey Dreev (RUS, 2677). You can check a full list of active players born in 1969 at chessratings.top. All juniors 1. Firouzja, Alireza (FID, 2723) U-182. Xiong, Jeffery (USA, 2712) U-203. Maghsoodloo, Parham (IRI, 2674) U-204. Sevian, Samuel (USA, 2660) U-205. Sarana, Alexey (RUS, 2656) U-206. Esipenko, Andrey (RUS, 2654) U-187 Tabatabaei, M.amin (IRI, 2638) U-208. Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (UZB, 2635) U-169. Deac, Bogdan-Daniel (ROU, 2626) U-2010. Nihal Sarin (IND, 2618) U-16 U-18 Open 1. Firouzja, Alireza (FID, 2723)2. Esipenko, Andrey (RUS, 2654)3. Sargsyan, Shant (ARM, 2601)4. Yakubboev, Nodirbek (UZB, 2597)5. Liang, Awonder (USA, 2592)6. Erigaisi Arjun (IND, 2575)7. Ivic, Velimir (SRB, 2558)8. Shevchenko, Kirill (UKR, 2553)9. Lomasov, Semyon (RUS, 2546)10. Engel, Luis (GER, 2541) U-16 Open 1. Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (UZB, 2635)2. Nihal Sarin (IND, 2618)3. Praggnanandhaa R (IND, 2602)4. Sindarov, Javokhir (UZB, 2537)5. Bjerre, Jonas Buhl (DEN, 2535)6. Keymer, Vincent (GER, 2527)7. Sadhwani, Raunak (IND, 2522)8. Gines Esteo, Pedro Antonio (ESP, 2482)9. Pogosyan, Stefan (RUS, 2477)10. Suleymanli, Aydin (AZE, 2473) U-14 Open 1. Gukesh D (IND, 2542)2. Yoo, Christopher Woojin (USA, 2449)3. Murzin, Volodar (RUS, 2442)4. Sreeshwan Maralakshikari (IND, 2440)5. Bai, Adelard (TPE, 2430)6. Aditya Mittal (IND, 2427)7. Maurizzi, Marc Andria (FRA, 2423)8. Mendonca, Leon Luke (IND, 2417)9. Bharath Subramaniyam H (IND, 2413)10. Lazavik, Denis (BLR, 2411) U-12 Open 1. CM Mishra, Abhimanyu (USA, 2397)2. Materia, Marco (FRA, 2320)3. Zhou, Liran (USA, 2307)4. Ansat, Aldiyar (KAZ, 2263)5. Mardov, Dimitar (USA, 2255)6. CM Kuhn, Clement (FRA, 2174)7. Li, Shanglin (CHN, 2166)8. Sreyas Payyappat (IND, 2166)9. Krylov, Ivan (RUS, 2165)10. Putnam, Liam (USA, 2147) U-10 Open 1. Finek, Vaclav (CZE, 2234)2. CM Manon, Reja Neer (BAN, 220603. Cherniaiev, Tykhon (UKR, 2151)4. Usov, Aleksandr E. (RUS, 2012)5. Chen, Ryo (USA, 1998)6. Mamedov, Edgar (KAZ, 1971)7. Uskov, Artem (RUS, 1951)8. Besou, Hussain (GER, 1924)9. CM Zverev, Lev (RUS, 1914)10. Ang, Ern Jie Anderson (MAS, 1910)10. CM Begmuratov, Khumoyun (UZB, 1910) U-8 Open 1. Valenxia, John Lance (PHI, 1810)2. Sauti Joshua (ZAM, 1623)3. Oikonomopoulos, Filippos (GRE, 1580)4. Coles, Ruben (FRA, 1557)5. Nilova, Elena (RUS, 1546)6. Mao, Daqi (NZL, 1527)7. Rami,Talab (SYR, 1525)8. Jara Pino, Mateo Stefano (PER, 1518)9. Muhd Ridzuan, Ariessa Rihana (MAS, 1515)10. Faryma, Maksym (POR, 1511)
WWCC Game 2: All quiet on the Eastern front
The second game of the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship match was a peaceful affair that ended in a draw after threefold repetition. Zhao Guangsheng, Deputy General Director of Shanghai Sports Ministry, together with the Grandmaster Nigel Short, FIDE Vice-President, made the first symbolic moves in Game 2. Playing with white pieces, Ju Wenjun, who is a 1.d4 player, surprised her opponent with 1.e4. In the ensuing Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez, Aleksandra Goryachkina introduced a novelty with 12…c6 and achieved a comfortable play. However, very quickly Black appeared to have gone astray with 16…Bg5, giving White an opportunity for some dynamic play after a possible move 18.g4, which Ju opted against, exchanging Queens and some pieces instead. Perhaps, both players are feeling the impact of yesterday’s 97-move marathon game and went for simpler, safer options. A quiet draw seemed inevitable and was agreed on move 40, after threefold repetition. Goryachkina’s ability to easily equalize in her first game with Black further cemented her position as a formidable challenger. After the game, Ju Wenjun felt satisfied with the result, believing that Black came out well after the opening. The players will enjoy a rest day tomorrow. The match will be resumed on January 8, with Aleksandra Goryachkina having white pieces in the third game. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Zhang Yanhong, Lewis Liu, Michael Friedman Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
WWCC 2020 Game 1: Goryachkina puts Ju on notice
The first game of the Women’s World Chess Championship 2020 (WWCC), held in Shanghai, China, ended with a hard-fought draw. Ye Jiangchuan, President of the Chinese Chess Federation, and Alexandr Shmanevskiy, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Shanghai, made the first symbolic moves in the game. The opening was as cautious as it gets: Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia), playing White, chose 1.d4 as her first move. Instead of her usual Ragozin defense, defending champion Ju Wenjun (China) opted for 4…Be7. The challenger decided to go for a solid Catalan with 5.g3. The impression is that Goryachkina tried to take the game out of the book as soon as she could, and despite the symmetrical and seemingly equal position, she managed to put some pressure on the Champion. In fact, an inaccuracy by Ju Wenjun gave the Russian the opportunity to gain an advantage, and for a while, the Challenger seemed to be playing cat and mouse with the Champion, only to squander it with an untimely rook exchange on move 44. Although the endgame bishop vs. knight looked unpleasant for Black, Ju stoically defended for the next 50-plus moves, before the draw was agreed right before the opponents reached the sixth hour of play. At the press conference held after the game, Ju complimented Goryachkina’s fighting style, looking to exploit even minuscule chances. For her part, Goryachkina was content with putting the world champion on the ropes at the very start of the match. Game 2 will be played tomorrow, January 6, with Ju Wenjun having white pieces. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Zhang Yanhong Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
Women’s World Championship Match kicks off in Shanghai
Women’s World Chess Championship Match in Shanghai kicked off with an opening ceremony and a press conference, attended by the current World Champion Champion Ju Wenjun (China) and the Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia), as well as FIDE, Russian and Chinese Federations’ officials, the local and foreign press. The biggest prize fund—500,000 euros—in the history of women’s chess championships brings a greater emphasis on women’s chess and represents a shift in priorities. This Championship commits to a new strategy adopted by FIDE in 2018 of ensuring that both world championship cycles have similar structure. FIDE VP Nigel Short spoke about the history of championship matches split into games played in different countries. In Shanghai, the players will face-off in six games from January 5 to 12. The second half of this Championship—the remaining six rounds—will be played in Vladivostok, Russia, from January 16 to 23. The tie-break, if needed, and the closing ceremony will be held in Vladivostok on January 24. In the drawing of lots conducted by Chief Arbiter IA Shohreh Bayat (Iran), Goryachkina picked a white hand fan and will have White in the first game. Her opponent Ju Wenjun wasn’t dismayed and said she became a stronger player in the past two years and feels confident with her hometown advantage. Game 1 is set for Sunday, January 5, 15:30 (local time). Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Haohao Zhang Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.