Rating analytics: The number of rated chess players goes up
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 looks at the absolute numbers of rated players and the percentage of active players in different countries. According to the FIDE December data, integrated by chessratings.top, the number of players with a standard rating has surpassed the 350,000 mark (352,234 people to be exact). The number of active (those who have participated in tournaments over the last 12 months) and inactive players is roughly equal. Over the month’s time, the number of chess players increased by 2546, whereas within a year we have almost 30,000 new players (29 517). If this trend continues, then by 2024 there will be over a half-million chess players with standard FIDE rating. We will definitely inform you when it happens. Stay tuned! Total number of new players over 12 months The number of people having FIDE standard rating has grown in almost all countries. This process seems irreversible, provided that there are no radical rules and rating calculation changes. It is enough to say, that the last year Russia was the only country with more than 30,000 rated players, but not anymore. As of December 1, there are 34,811 active players in Russia, whereas in India – 32 494. Given that in the second most populated country in the world the number of players increases faster, eventually, we might see the rise of a new leader. The top 5 countries – Russia and India mentioned above plus Germany (26 549), Spain (24 784) and France (23 414) – are head and shoulders above the others. Since other countries have far fewer rated players, we can’t expect real changes in the leading quintet. Total number of chess players Currently, there are 172 848 active and 179 386 inactive players with standard FIDE rating. Last year those figures were 166 862 and 155 855 respectively. It is worth mentioning that this year inactive players outnumbered active players. Comparing to the last month, the list of countries with the greatest number of active players remained the same but there have been some changes inside the upper echelon. Spain tops the list with 15 461 active players, followed by France (13 716) and Germany (11 989). The leaders by the overall number of players India (11 682) and Russia (11 164) round out the top 5. This data suggests that the geographic chess center on our planet is located in Western Europe. A closer look at the active players pivot table provides us insight into some things that were hard to imagine before. For example, in the list of Top Federations, the USA is second, but when it comes to active players this country brings up the rear of the top 20, trailing Swede (2741), Denmark (2779) and Serbia (2849). Subsequently, in terms of large-scale involvement, chess in the USA has great potential. The same applies to China, which is third in the list of top federations. Surprisingly, the most populated country in the world can boast of only 658 active players, which corresponds to 46th position in the list. Total number of active players In terms of percentage of active players among the countries with over 5,000 players, the top positions are occupied by Czech Republic (68,6%), Spain (62,4%) and France (58,6%), whereas Brazil (37,6%), India (36%) and Russia (32,1%) round out the list. One can see that the total number of players inversely proportional to the percentage of active players. The opposite is also true: the fewer players the bigger this percentage. In some countries, such as Oman (89.1%), Faroe Islands (80.1%), Kosovo ( 77.6%), Slovakia (74,6%) those figures are really impressive. Kaspars Migla, chessratings.top
FIDE announces a new partnership with TOTAL
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with TOTAL. With presence in more than 130 countries and over 100,000 employees, TOTAL is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas, and low-carbon electricity. The company’s ambition is to become “the responsible energy major, providing energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible”. By this agreement, TOTAL becomes one of the sponsors of the Women’s Grand Prix series 2019-20, as well as the Women’s Rapid and Blitz World Championship 2019. Thanks to TOTAL’s support, two new special trophies are established: A prize for the Best Overall Performance in the FIDE Women Rapid and Blitz World Championship 2019. This trophy will be awarded to the player who achieves the best combined result in the blitz and rapid categories. A prize for the Best Overall Performance in the Women’s Grand Prix Series, combining the results attained in Skolkovo, Monaco, Lausanne, and Italy. The partnership, which became effective on December 1st, will have a duration of half a year. More info about TOTAL Group: Official site: www.total.com TWITTER: @Total
Nepomniachtchi wins Jerusalem Grand Prix and qualifies for the Candidates
Ian Nepomniachtchi wins the Jerusalem Grand Prix after defeating Wei Yi 1,5-0,5 in the final, thus qualifying to the Candidates Tournament 2020. The second game of the final match finished in a draw after 26 moves. Dmitry Vasiliev, First Deputy Director General of CROC, one of the Russian IT market leaders, was the guest of honor in today’s round. He made the first move in the last game of the FIDE Grand Prix 2019, organized by World Chess. It was not an easy task for Wei Yi today, who had to find a way to put up a decent fight with Black in the second game of the final. The Chinese grandmaster had to win the second game to equalize the score in the final match after losing the first game on the previous day. Wei Yi chose to play the Pirc system which looked promising for Black. The Chinese grandmaster decided to sacrifice 2 pieces in order to break through on the King’s side but White had enough resources to defend and to keep the material advantage. According to Ian, he was sure he had a strategically better position, and after he put his bishop on f5, White should be out of any danger. “Obviously, in the end, I could try to play on, but when I realized that I could end the game with the perpetual check I thought “why not?” It looks like my opponent attacked me, sacrificed two pieces and then brilliantly found a perpetual check. Everyone should be happy with today’s game”, said Ian with a smile. “I have very mixed feelings. It was a very busy and tough year and actually, my strategy was not to qualify for the London Grand Chess tour, as I knew that London almost clashes with the last leg in Jerusalem, which I suppose would be very difficult.” “Speaking seriously, I would like to say that it’s a very big moment in my career. The run is still on and it’s a bit difficult because I’m tired after this year and probably there will be no rest as I need to prepare for the Candidates right now. In fact, every match was tough, including yesterday’s game but the toughest match was against Boris Gelfand. I was the only match where I completely deserve to lose but managed to escape,” said Nepomniachtchi after his victory. When asked about his chances in the Candidates, Ian added: “First of all I should play better in the Candidates than here if I want to have a few chances. I’m not a hundred percent sure who is playing there. Clearly it’s a good point that I have a good experience playing in Grand Chess Tour events with a similar field, including Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana and others. Let’s wait until Candidates happens and let’s show the best chess I’m capable of.” The overall winner of the Grand Prix series 2019 is Alexander Grischuk, with 20 points, one more than Ian Nepomniachtchi. The third in the final standings for the series is Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with 16 points: despite having had a very good 2019, his result is not good enough to get the Frenchman a place in the Candidates tournament. FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 Final Standings *Replacements At the closing ceremony, Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess said: “The Series was dramatic. I am very grateful that all the players showed their best, but some were disappointed with the results, but that means that chess is a sport and is as unpredictable as the sport can get. Thanks to those who followed the Series that will no doubt become a part of chess history.” Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President said: “The last stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 is over. We watched the incredible games of the best chess players in the world. There were many bright and dramatic moments. At the end of the series, the spots in the Candidates Tournament are held by Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Congratulations to all the winners and FIDE Grand Prix participants.” Andrey Guryev, Vice-President of the Russian Chess Federation and the head of PhosAgro expressed his satisfaction with the results: “The last stage of the FIDE Chess Grand Prix ended triumphantly for Russian chess players. Ian Nepomniachtchi showed a great game and will join Alexander Grischuk in the Candidates Tournament! PhosAgro will keep its promise and sign a personal sponsorship contract with both Grandmasters. Now the chances of bringing the chess crown back to Russia are much higher!” Costin Raiu, Director, Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky: “Our work is very much like a game of chess – a constant struggle and fight between good and evil. Building a strong defense can take years, while some attacks happen in seconds. I learned a lot about security strategies while playing chess – overprotection, development, and time or space advantages are incredibly similar in both disciplines. As defenders, we need to be right every single time, while attackers only need to get lucky once. In chess – one bad move can undo 50 good ones. However, in security, we can often learn both from our mistakes and wins. In the words of one of the greatest players who ever played the game of kings – José Raúl Capablanca – “You may learn much more from a game you lose, than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.” Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Anastasiya Karlovich Official Photographer: Niki Riga Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Season’s Greetings and Holiday Announcement
Dear chess friends! The FIDE Secretariat will be closed 25-26 December 2019 and 1st January 2020. During the period of 27-30 December 2019 only urgent matters will be dealt with. We wish all of you Happy New Year! FIDE Secretariat
GP Jerusalem: Nepomniachtchi is one draw away from the Candidates
Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first game against Wei Yi in the final match of Jerusalem Grand Prix. The Russian plays with White in the second game tomorrow and needs just a draw to win the tournament and get a spot in the Candidates 2020. Yoav Evenstein, Consultant and Analyst in Evenovate and Tel Aviv University made a first symbolic move in the first game of the final Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi. Both players were smiling when they saw 1.Nc3 on the board and a few seconds later playing White Wei Yi, chose 1.Nf3 instead. Four knights variation in English Opening was played in what turned to be the longest game of Jerusalem Grand Prix so far. After quite a rare 12.Rb1 Ian chose 12…Qb4, proposing the queen’s exchange. Even though It was the first key moment in the game, surprisingly it took Wei Yi record-breaking 53 minutes to play 13.Qd1, avoiding the exchange. On the 31st move, the Chinese grandmaster had a choice of finishing the game or playing on. Ian Nepomniachtchi expected his opponent to end the game, thinking the position was balanced but with only a few seconds on his clock, Wei Yi spurned the repetition, tempted by a risky 32.Nb5. He entered a forced double-edged sequence where every move could have been a decisive one. According to Wei Yi, he simply missed the strong idea of exchange sacrifice after 32.Qb2. Being short on time, Wei Yi failed to find a precise 34.Ra1 and ended up in a difficult position where only Black was playig for a win. Ian Nepomniachtchi didn’t want to force the issue and kept putting pressure on his opponent waiting for the best moment to push d4. White’s position collapsed a few moves after Ian has finally advanced his passer with 84…d4. Only 87.Qa3 could have given White some hopes to save the game but it was not played. In the post-game interview, the Chinese grandmaster said he was not sure if he could have held his position by playing precisely but it was definitely hard to defend it for so long. The game was over after 96 moves with Ian scoring a very important victory with black pieces. Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Anastasiya Karlovich Official Photographer: Niki Riga World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Grand Prix Jerusalem: Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi meet in the final
Wei Yi outplayed David Navara on the tie-break and advanced to the final of the FIDE Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi will meet in the final in Jerusalem, which will determine who will get a spot in the Candidates tournament. Ironically, the finalists have different motivations in this match – Ian Nepomniachtchi fights for the slot the Candidates, while Wei Yi has no chance to get higher than fourth place in the overall Grand Prix Series standings. However, the Chinese grandmaster can win a prestigious Jerusalem Grand Prix title, if he defeats his opponent in the final. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was eliminated in the semifinal by Ian Nepomniachtchi, cannot affect the tournament situation anymore but keeps his hopes to get to the Candidates if Ian loses the final match. The match between Wei Yi and David Navara was decided in two rapid games on tiebreak. David Navara, who had white pieces in the first game today, got a position with an extra pawn in Anti-Grunfeld for which his opponent had some compensation in form of active pieces. The Czech GM didn’t find the right way to keep his material advantage and according to him, opted for a strange line starting with 25.Ba5 and ended up a pawn down. Nevertheless, David defended well and managed to save the first rapid game. Similarly to the previous encounters the opponents played to bare kings. The second game became a crucial one for the outcome of the match. According to David, he mixed up something in a very silly way. He knew this idea e4 and saw it in various lines but not in the one which actually happened today. Wei Yi got a huge advantage out of the opening and gave his opponent no chance to escape. “My opponent just played better than me today and won deservedly”, said David Navara. “I don’t regret too much losing this match because I’m already tired and lack energy for the final anyway but of course I tried to play well. I’m a bit embarrassed about the way I lost the last game. I can play better sometimes but not today” added the Czech grandmaster. Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com Text: Anastasiya Karlovich Photos: Niki Riga World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Shtembuliak and Zhukova win Ukrainian Championship
The Ukrainian men’s and women’s championships 2019 are in the books. The round-robin tournaments with 10 participants in each were held simultaneously in Lutsk in Ukraine Hotel, December 9-19. Although some of the best players were missing, the line-ups, especially in the men’s event, were still very strong. Both tournaments were closely contested and produced many exciting games. The men’s competition saw a major sensation – the newly-minted World Junior Champion Evgeny Shtembuliak turned in a great performance and achieved an excellent score 7 out of 9. The champion demonstrated enviable self-confidence throughout the event. In most of the games, he went for complicated positions in which he simply outplayed and outcalculated his opponents. Ironically, Evgeny scored his most spectacular victory in the first round. This game set a tone for Shtembuliak from the very start. Shtembuliak – Volokitin 32. h4! Qxh4 33. Nxf6! gxf6 34. Rxf6+ Kg8 35. Rg6+ 1-0 The champion’s only real competitor Yuri Kryvoruchko was hot on his heels all the distance and came to the last round just a half-point behind the leader. In the last round, both won (Shtembuliak with Black), Evgeny preserved his margin over Yuri and took the title. The women’s competition turned into an exciting race between Natalia Zhukova and Iulija Osmak who finished two points ahead of their closest pursuers Olena Martynova and Mariia Berdnyk. After Natalia made a quick draw in the last round with White Iulija, who was a half-point behind, managed to defeat Kateryna Dolzhnykova with black pieces and caught up with her main competitor. Nevertheless, Natalia Zhukova became the champion thanks to better tiebreaks. Official site Final standings of Ukrainian Championships 2019: 1. Evgeny Shtembuliak – 72. Yuriy Kryvoruchko – 6½ 3. Andrei Volokitin – 5½ 4. Alexander Moiseenko – 4½5. Spartak Vysochin – 4 6. Pavel Eljanov – 4 7. Yuriy Kuzubov – 4 8. Alexander Kovchan – 3½ 9. Vitaliy Bernadskiy – 3½10. Petr Golubka – 2½ 1. Natalia Zhukova – 72. Iulija Osmak – 7 3. Olena Martynkova – 5 4. Mariia Berdnyk – 5 5. Yelyzaveta Hrebenshchykova – 5 6. Maritsa Tsirulnik – 4 7. Evgeniya Doluhanova – 3½8. Anastasiya Rakhmangulova – 3 9. Kateryna Dolzhykova – 310. Olga Kalinina – 2½
Call for expression of interest for arbiters at the 44th Chess Olympiad 2020
The 44th Chess Olympiad will take place from the 5th to the 18th of August 2020 in Moscow, Russia. The FIDE Arbiter Commission is opening a call of interest to licensed arbiters (FIDE Arbiter or International Arbiter) who wish to be part of the arbiter team during the Olympiad. If you are interested, please send your application by email before the 10th of January 2020 to office@fide.com, secretary.arbiters@fide.com and chairman.arbiters@fide.com with the following elements : – your chess arbiter resume – the list of languages that you can speak and your level of proficiency – which role you would prefer in the team
Chess for seniors: Players’ satisfaction taken seriously!
Chess for seniors: Players’ satisfaction taken seriously! Just like for the World Championship for Senior Teams in Rhodes last April, the FIDE Director for senior chess, IM Jan Rooze, has carried out a satisfaction survey for players during the latest Senior World Championship in Bucharest, which took place in November. Actually, as many as 251 participants (69% of all players) gave their opinion by filling out a questionnaire in 3 languages, which again shows that players really care about the quality of FIDE events. The majority of players in Bucharest marked their satisfaction with the tournament and particularly emphasized the very good playing conditions in a large and comfortable playing hall. However, a significant number of players were less happy and marked their dissatisfaction, particularly with the hotel and its location. This feedback is very valuable, and it helps us make further improvements in future events. Also, we will continue the practice of measuring player satisfaction by way of a survey for senior events, beginning with the World Team Championships which will take place in Prague. For a full report, see https://events.fide.com/
King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships: Preliminary list of participants
Dear participants, The opening ceremony of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships will take place on December 25 at the Central Chess Club named after M. Botvinnik (Gogolevsky Boulevard, 14/1). The presence at the opening ceremony is obligatory only for the invited participants (players rated at least 2750 in the open event and 2500 in the women’s event in any of the FIDE rating lists from January 1st to December 1st, 2019). Guests and registered press are admitted according to the lists. The guests’ arrival time is 8 PM. The ceremony begins at 8:30 PM (Moscow time). The event will include a short press briefing with participants and officials. The drawing of colors will take place at the ceremony; the pairings will be published on the official website of the WRBC-2019 and in social media. The accreditation cards will be handed out in the playing hall on December 26 from 1 PM till 2:30 PM. The technical meeting will be held on December 26 at 2:30 PM right before the first round. The preliminary lists of participants are published on the official site of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships. The World Champion Magnus Carlsen is coming to the Rapid Championship as the rating favorite. He is to fight not only for the titles but also for the first position in the rapid rating list – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave overtook him in the live rating after his good run at the Grand Chess Tour Finals in London. Despite the fatigue of playing non-stop, the Frenchman will also participate (he skipped the last-year championship in St-Petersburg). Experts and fans will be closely following Anton Korobov (Ukraine), who is fourth in the rapid rating list. Back in November the Ukrainian won the rapid stage of Grand Chess Tour Bucharest and proved that this high position was no coincidence. The list of favorites also includes Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Grischuk, Levon Aronian, and Vladislav Artemiev. Only three players from the top-10, namely Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov have not registered yet. The reigning Rapid World Champion Daniil Dubov is sitting on 12th position in the preliminary list of participants ranked by the rating. Pretty much the same players are among favorites in the Blitz World Championship. The defending Champion Magnus Carlsen is not the rating favorite as the first line in the rating-list belongs to Hikaru Nakamura. There are three Russian GMs in the rating top-10: Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Peter Svidler. Incidentally, their blitz rating is much higher than rapid rating. The exact opposite is true for MVL – after several setbacks in blitz tournaments, he sank to the 12th position in the respective rating list. The only player to give Carlsen run for his money last year in St-Petersburg, Jan-Krzysztof Duda holds the seventh place in the rating list. Many are looking forward to watching Vladimir Kramnik in action. The former World Champion who had retired from professional chess a year ago registered only in the blitz competition (16th position in the rating list). The women’s events will bring together all the best except the World Champion Ju Wenjun and the Challenger Alexandra Goryachkina whose match for the chess crown starts on January 04. In rapid chess, Anna Musychuk, the rapid and blitz European Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kateryna Lagno, Mariya Muzychuk, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi top the list of rating favorites. In blitz, the defending Champion Kateryna Lagno has the highest rating, followed by Lei Tingjie, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, and Humpy Koneru. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, who made her mark last year in St-Petersburg, will also play in Moscow. Since the registration for all events is open until 23:59, December 22, some new players might be added to the list of participants. Photo: David Llada