Luzhniki welcomes King Salman Rapid & Blitz Championships
The King Salman Rapid and Blitz Championships 2019 will be held in the VIP zone of the Grand Sports Arena at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex. The Stadium and the surrounding areas were extensively renovated and upgraded with the occasion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, turning it into one of the biggest and more modern sports facilities in Europe, with a capacity of 78.360 spectators. This is the largest sports and entertainment complex in Russia, stretching over 150 hectares. It is located in one of the most picturesque areas of Moscow, at a bend in Moskva River, in front of the Sparrow Hills (“Vorobyovy Gory”) and the Neskuchny Garden. Luzhniki Stadium lies adjacent to Moscow’s Third Ring road, and it can be reached with the metro line 1 (red line), being Sportivnaya the nearest station, or alternatively Vorobyovy Gory. Both are within walking distance of the stadium. This metro line connects directly with Moscow’s city center, and the ride from either Okhotny Ryad or Biblioteka should take no more than 10 minutes. The playing venue is located in the Sector С, with the entrance from the central alley (walkway). The playing hall is a spacious and well-lit area overlooking the playing field of the main football arena. The official hotel of the King Salman Rapid & Blitz Championships is the Radisson Collection Hotel Moscow, which was historically known as “Hotel Ukraina”. This building is one of the famous “Seven Sisters” of Moscow, the seven legendary skyscrapers from the soviet times, and it served as Karpov’s headquarters during his historical match with Kasparov. The players will be provided with transportation between the official hotel and the playing venue. Online registration for the King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 is open: https://wrbc2019registration.fide.com/ VISA SUPPORT A participant can apply for a visa both in his home country and abroad. The main condition is to apply for a Russian visa only in official institutions such as the Consular Section of the Russian Embassy or Consulate-General. Other institutions (including an official Visa Application Center) and travel agencies offering their services will have no access to the information regarding the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2019. All the embassies and consulates have been informed about the Championship by a circular letter of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are ready to assist players with applying for a visa in a time pressure situation. When applying for a Russian visa, alongside with a complete set of documents requested by the Embassy, a participant shall provide the official invitation from the Chess Federation of Russia. This invitation is the main basis for issuing a visa that substitutes for a telex/reference number. Any accredited participant, who needs a visa to enter Russia, should download the visa invitation letter through the registration system. The visa application can start on December 3.
Monaco hosts the second leg of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix
Monaco is ready to take on the role of the world’s chess capital for the next 17 days. On November 30th, the European Chess Union stages its first European Chess Awards Ceremony with a gala that took place at the prestigious Hotel de Paris. Many famous guests including FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and chess legends Garry Kasparov and Nona Gaprindashvili attended the event. From November 29 to December 1, Monaco also hosted the European Women’s Blitz and Rapid Championships in the Novotel Hotel. The blitz event, a 13-round Swiss tournament brought together 88 players from 21 countries. Despite losing her last round game, Alexandra Kosteniuk scored 10 out of 13 and won the title. Antoaneta Stefanova and Valentina Gunina tied for the second with three other participants but received silver and bronze respectively thanks to better tiebreaks. Final standings of the European Women’s Blitz Championship 1. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – 102. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – 9½3. Valentina Gunina (RUS) – 9½4. Marie Sebag (FRA) – 9½5. Natalia Zhukova (UKR) – 9½6. Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 9½7. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – 98. Irina Bulmaga (ROU) – 99. Lilit Mkrtchian (ARM) – 910. Marta Michna (GER) – 8½ (Photo: David Llada) The second competition, an 11-round Swiss tournament saw Alexandra Kosteniuk celebrate double success. The Russian GM tied for the first with her compatriot Olga Girya but took her second title over the course of days this time due to better tiebreak (she beat her rival in the penultimate round). Final standings of the European Women’s Rapid Chess Championship: 1. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – 9 2. Olga Girya (RUS) – 93. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – 84. Nino Batsiashvili (GEO) – 85. Valentina Gunina (RUS) – 86. Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 87. Pia Cramling (SWE) – 88. Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) – 89. Natalia Zhukova (UKR) – 7½10. Inna Gaponenko (UKR) – 7½ These events are followed by the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, which runs December 2-15 at the Yacht Club de Monaco, under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II. This is the second leg of the 4-tournament Series of the World Championship Qualifying cycle for the Women World Championship 2019-2021. The competition is a 12-participant round-robin tournament with most of the strongest female players in the world taking part. Humpy Koneru is the current leader of the Grand Prix Series, as she won the first leg in Skolkovo. The Indian is currently 3rd of the World Ranking and the highest-rated participant in Monaco. Among the stars, one should note the presence of former World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia and Maryia Muzychuk from Ukraine, as well as living legend Pia Cramling. The Swede was already one of the best players in the world when none of her Monaco opponents had been even born yet! List of participants: 1. Humpy Koneru 2. Alexandra Goryachkina 3. Kateryna Lagno 4. Elisabeth Paehtz 5. Valentina Gunina 6. Harika Dronavalli 7. Alexandra Kosteniuk 8. Pia Cramling 9. Anna Muzychuk 10. Mariya Muzychuk 11. Nana Dzaganidze 12. Xue Zhao The opening ceremony takes place on December 2nd at 8 pm in the beautiful Yacht Club de Monaco. Many honored guests from the diplomatic world are expected to attend the act, as well as FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. The first round will be played on December 3rd. The drawing of lots has already been made at the end of October and the full pairings for all rounds can be found at the official website. Play starts at 3 pm for all rounds days except the last one on December 14th (1 pm). December 9th is a day-off. The games will be broadcasted live with commentaries on the tournament website: https://wgp2019.fide.com Press Officer for the event: Yannick Pelletier Contact: press@fide.com
December rating list: Grischuk is back in the top 5
(Photo: Valeria Gordienko) FIDE December 1 rating listAll Top-100 listsAll rating lists – download November of 2019 was rich with both individual and team events which greatly influenced the December rating list. Since Carlsen, Caruana and Ding Liren were not very active in classical chess whereas their closest pursuers did not accumulate many rating points in November, Alexander Grischuk became a real action-maker in top-10. The winner of FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg not only picked up 13 rating points but also returned into the top 5 for the first time since April 2015. Top-10 December rating 1. Carlsen, Magnus (2872; +2)2. Caruana, Fabiano (2822; +0)3. Ding, Liren (2801; +0)4. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2780; +3)5. Grischuk, Alexander (2777; +13)6. Aronian, Levon (2775; +3)7. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2772; 0)8. Giri, Anish (2769; -7)9. Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2767; -6)10. Radjabov, Teimour (2765; -2) Incidentally, Alexander’s opponent in the final Jan-Krzysztof Duda notched 10 points and reached his career-high (12th position in the rating list). (Photo: Niki Riga) Biggest gains 1. Jones, Gawain (2683, +20)2-3. Shirov, Alexei (2684, +18)2-3. Edouard, Romain (2653, +18)4. Kuzubov, Yuriy (2667, +15)5. Dubov, Daniil (2690, +14)6. Grischuk, Alexander (2777, +13)7. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (2668, +12)8. Ivanchuk, Vassily (2690, +11)9. Mamedov, Rauf (2659, +11)10-11. Duda, Jan-Krzysztof (2758, +10)10-11. Vallejo Pons, Francisco (2704, +10) The leaders in this nomination distinguished themselves in two team events – European Team Championship and Euro Club Cup. Gawain Jones ran rampant on the fourth board in the Team England at the European Team Championship in Batumi and then scored 5 out of 6 points in Budva, playing for the team-champion Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova. These excellent results translated into 20 rating points and the top position in this nomination. (Photo: Andreas Kontokanis) Alexei Shirov, Yuriy Kuzubov, Daniil Dubov, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Vassily Ivanchuk, Rauf Mamedov, and Francisco Vallejo also did very well in Batumi where they earned many rating points. At the end of November Alexei and Francisco along with five other GMs tied for first in a very strong Spanish Championship and improved their rating tally even more. Welcome to top 100 Mamedov, Rauf (2659)Berkes, Ferenc (2656)Edouard, Romain (2653)Saric, Ivan (2651) We have just four newcomers this month. Romain Edouard has been hovering around the top 100 lately. This November was particularly good for the Frenchman as he turned in a very solid performance in Batumi and Budva, picked up 18 points along the way and got back in the top 100 for the first time since March. (Photo: Przemysław Jahr) This November was marked by two Grand Chess Tour rapid & blitz events in Bucharest in Kolkatta. Since Maxime Vachier-Lagrave did not participate in any of them, Magnus Carlsen had a chance to win back the top position in the rapid list. As we all know, the Norwegian crushed his opponents in India earned 27 rating points and triumphantly regained the top spot (2886). Women’s top echelon remains pretty much the same with just one change. Thanks to her excellent results in both above-mentioned team events Nana Dzagnidze netted 18 points and overtook Valentina Gunina in the top 10.
Grand Chess Tour finals highlight London Chess Classic festival
The $350,000 Grand Chess Tour Finals at the London Chess Classic are starting on Monday, December 2 at Olympia. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave squeezed into the fourth qualifying place after the dramatic elimination of Vishy Anand. Anand narrowly lost out on his ticket to London after going down in the penultimate blitz game against Magnus Carlsen at the Tata Steel India Rapid & Blitz in Kolkata. Missing a one-move opportunity for a brilliant rook sacrifice (48…Rh6+!!) meant that the Indian former World Champion, playing in front of a heartbroken home crowd, was not going to the Grand Chess Tour Finals. MVL, who was not playing in India due to already having played in his allotted five GCT qualifying events, thus squeaked through – setting up a semifinal clash with the Norwegian World Champion in London. The timing is problematic for the Frenchman, however, who must now play two tough matches in London on December 2-4 and December 6-8, just two days before starting his challenge at the final FIDE Grand Prix event in Jerusalem. At that knockout tournament, which runs from December 10-24, Maxime is bidding to qualify for the first time for the World Championship Candidates tournament. Magnus Carlsen will be most pundits’ strong favorite to win the Grand Chess Tour first prize of $150,000 in London after an impressive victory in Kolkata. After four days of dominating the super-strong field, Magnus was laid low by a stomach bug early on the fifth and final day and was forced into taking some unprecedented quick draws before recovering and winning the Rapid & Blitz a full 4 points ahead of the second-placed player, American Hikaru Nakamura. Ding Liren, while not challenging for first place in Kolkata, had the distinction of beating Carlsen twice in blitz there – setting up the mouth-watering prospect of a possible Ding-Carlsen final in London. The Chinese star became the first player to beat Carlsen in a playoff for a dozen years this summer at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis in August, so a final between the two at London Olympia would promise a brilliant end to the 2019 Grand Chess Tour – and be a foretaste of a potential challenge by Ding Liren for the World title next year. Levon Aronian, the ever-popular Armenian, qualified for the London GCT Finals by dint of his overall 3rd place finish in the Tour events, but he will be desperate to recover his form after finishing last in Kolkata. Whoever gets to lift the Grand Chess Tour trophy in London on Sunday 8th December, chess fans can be assured of a brilliant and fitting climax to the biggest Grand Chess Tour to date, thanks to its expanded roster of tournaments in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Alongside the Grand Chess Tour Finals, the London Classic will also play host to the British Knockout Championship Semi-Finals and Final, which take place simultaneously with the GCT Finals. A strong line-up includes England Open Team members Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell, and Gawain Jones.
Radjabov and Aronian withdrew from Grand Prix Jerusalem
Grandmasters Radjabov and Aronian will be replaced at the 4th stage of the Grand Prix for medical reasons. GMs Teimour Radjabov and Levon Aronian were forced to withdraw from the 4th stage of the Grand Prix in Israel for medical reasons.”After thoughtful consideration and with the permission of FIDE president Mr. Dvorkovich, I regretfully have to withdraw from the FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the dates clash with the treatment of my exhausting and troublesome breathing problems related to previous (and multiple) nasal surgeries which have not resolved the original issues,” wrote GM Aronian on Twitter. FIDE confirms that it conducted a necessary study of the medical causes of GMs Radjabov and Aronian and confirms their validity. Out of respect for privacy, FIDE will not comment further on these reasons. Their replacements will be announced shortly.
Online registration for the King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 is open
Online registration for the King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 is now open:https://wrbc2019registration.fide.com/ Please note that any national champions for the current year (2019) have to provide proof of their title via their national federation. In order to be accredited as a participant, an official letter must be sent from his/her national federation to the official representative of the Chess Federation of Russia, Artem Pugachev, to the email pugachev@ruchess.ru. The King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships will be held in Moscow from December 25 (the day of arrival) to December 31 (the day of departure) 2019. World Rapid & Blitz Championships schedule: December 25 — Opening CeremonyDecember 26-28 — Rapid competitionDecember 29-30 — Blitz competition The total prize fund for the King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships amounts to USD 1,000,000. All players rated at least 2550 (men) and 2250 (women) in any of the FIDE rating lists (standard, rapid or blitz) from January to December of 2019, national champions, and nominees by the organizers (no more than ten in each one of the competitions) are eligible for participation in the King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships. The entry fee in the open event is USD 100, before December 11, and USD 200 after this date. In women’s competitions, the entry fee is USD 50 before December 11 and USD 100 after this date. Bank details of the Chess Federation of Russia for entry fee payments: In Russian Rubles: Beneficiary customer: Chess Federation of Russia (CFR)TIN (INN) 7704016433 RRC 770401001Bank: Public Joint-Stock Company Sberbank of Russia, MoscowBeneficiary account: 40703810438260100813Correspondent account: 30101810400000000225RCBIC: 044525225 Payment reference: Registration fee for participation in FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2019, (player’s name), not subject to VAT Citizens of the Russian Federation shall pay the registration fee in Russian Rubles at the exchange rate of the Bank of Russia on the day of payment. USD Account: Beneficiary customer: CFRAddress: 119019, Moscow, Russia, Gogolevskiy boulevard, 14, build.1Bank: SBERBANK, MOSCOW, RUSSIABank’ address:117312, Moscow, Russia, Vavilova str., 19SWIFT code: SABRRUMMDollar Account: 40703840638260200813Bank correspondent: The Bank of New York Mellon, New York, NYSWIFT code: IRVTUS3N Payment reference: Registration fee for participation in FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2019, (player’s name), not subject to VAT. Any players rated at least 2750 (men) and 2500 (women) in any of FIDE rating lists (standard, rapid or blitz) from January 1 to December 1, 2019, are provided with full board accommodation in a standard room (4-star hotel minimum), from December 25 to December 31, 2019. The King Salman World Rapid Chess Championships are 15-round (open) and 12-round (women) Swiss tournaments with a time control of 15 min +10 sec. The King Salman World Blitz Championships are 21-round (open) and 17-round (women) Swiss tournaments with a time control of 3 min + 2 sec. VISA SUPPORT A participant can apply for a visa both in his home country and abroad. The main condition is to apply for a Russian visa only in official institutions such as the Consular Section of the Russian Embassy or Consulate-General. Other institutions (including an official Visa Application Center) and travel agencies offering their services will have no access to the information regarding the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2019. All the embassies and consulates have been informed about the Championship by a circular letter of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are ready to assist players with applying for a visa in a time pressure situation. When applying for a Russian visa, alongside with a complete set of documents requested by the Embassy, a participant shall provide the official invitation from the Chess Federation of Russia. This invitation is the main basis for issuing a visa that substitutes for a telex/reference number. Any accredited participant, who needs a visa to enter Russia, should download the visa invitation letter through the registration system. The visa application can start on December 3.
General Assembly and FIDE Congress: dates & venue
Dear members of the chess community, The Presidential Board made a final decision about the place and dates of an Extraordinary General Assembly and FIDE Congress. In response to a number of requests from delegates, and taking into account the opinion of the Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, Mr. Rivello, the Board scheduled the Assembly on February 26-29 in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The final agenda will be published no later than one month before the date of the meeting, according to the Statutes.
European Golden Pawn award debuts in Monte Carlo
European Chess Union Board established the annual award ceremony – European Golden Pawn – that will be held every year on the last Saturday of November in Monaco (Monte-Carlo). The first year of the award ceremony will be dedicated to European legends and their achievements The 1st European Golden Pawn Award Ceremony will take place on 30th November in a luxury Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo and in a way will serve as a prelude to the second leg of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix that starts in the Mediterranean principality just two days after the ceremony. The ceremony will be hosted by Jamaican-American chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and Georgian television presenter and singer Helen Kalandadze. The award winners: European Chess Legend (male): Garry Kasparov European Chess Legend (female): Judit Polgar Lifetime Achievement: Nona Gaprindashvili The Youngest European World Chess Champion of all time: Maya Chiburdanidze European Pioneer of Chess Development in Schools: Alexander Kostyev Best European Arbiter: Geurt Gijssen Best European Chess Project: Frederic Friedel Best European Chess Organizer: Bessel Kok Best European Chess Journalist: Leontxo Garcia Best European Chess Magazine: “New In Chess” Best European Movie: “The Chess Game” (1994, Director: Yves Hanchar, Starring: Denis Lavant, Pierre Richard, Catherine Deneuve) Best European Book (Fiction): Ruben David Gonzalez Gallego (“Chess”) The ceremony will be attended by the official representative of His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco, adviser of His Serene Highness, the President of the World Olympians Association, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, President of the French Federation of Modern Pentathlon and Vice-President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne – Mr. Joel Bouzou; President of the European Chess Union Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili; Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili; the State Representatives of Monaco; FIDE President Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AiGroup Mr. Kakhaber Guledani and the representatives of the Georgian Industrial Holding AiGroup; officials of the ECU and FIDE Boards, Federations’ Presidents & Representatives, business, sports and art personalities. Besides the main Award Ceremony event and gala dinner, European Golden Pawn comprises also side events, such as a simultaneous chess exhibition by the legendary Garry Kasparov, with the participation of 15 kids and blitz game played between European Chess Legend prize Winner Garry Kasparov and Lifetime Achievement Winner Nona Gaprindashvili. Also, gala dinner and ceremony will be completed with music performances by Composer of the ECU anthem Nikoloz Rachveli; Carmen, Juga, Eliza Cipriani and Luca Condello and artists of NuArt. More about the European Golden Pawn The European Chess Union greatly desires for the award ceremony to be held in Monte-Carlo, in order to continue grand chess traditions and make this event a high scale and prestigious. In the very first year, the European Chess Union will give away its first special gift-medal and this prize will be awarded to His Serene Highness Albert II Prince of Monaco as chess is a royal game. Event Director: Basa PotskhishviliArt-director: Tamar PotskhishviliProduction: Studio 1,2,3What: Chess Award Ceremony – European Golden PawnWhere: Hotel de Paris. Monte-Carlo, MonacoWhen: 30 November. 20.00 AMOrganizers: European Chess Union/Monaco Chess Federation More about the Diamond Sponsor of the European Golden Pawn General Sponsor of the European Chess Union AiGroup The Georgian Industrial holding Aigroup brings together Aicar, Aienergy, Aipower and Aiproduction. Aigroup focuses on environmentally friendly projects and gives them priority. The mission of the company is sustainable development of green economy in Georgia. AiGroup – Tbilisi, 67 Tsknety Highway. Georgia / info@aigroup.ge / https://aigroup.ge/en
Official statement on WADA recommendations
Lausanne, November 28, 2019 Answering some queries we got in connection with WADA’s Compliance Review Committee recommendations that were made public on Monday, Nov 25th, we would like to state the following: 1. FIDE is an international sports organization, officially recognized by the IOC, and complies with all internationally recognized rules and regulations. 2. As noted in a WADA press release, “Where the right to host a major event in the four year period has already been awarded to Russia, the Signatory must withdraw that right and re-assign the event to another country, unless it is legally or practically impossible to do so”. FIDE officially confirms that the contracts for the Candidates 2020 and Chess Olympiad 2020 have already been signed. Given that only one application to organize the event was received in each case, we believe that both tournaments fall under the exception formulated by WADA. 3. Given that the final legally binding decision on this matter will be taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and that FIDE is not a party in these procedures, FIDE will refrain from other public comments or legal nature until a final decision is made. FIDE will always put the interest of chess and chess players above any other consideration, and we will continue working for the benefit of our sport.
Tata Steel Rapid & Blitz: Carlsen rules supreme
At the end of another exciting day of chess, Magnus Carlsen was crowned as the winner of the 2019 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz. Despite starting the day under the weather, he scored 5.5 points in the final 9 blitz games, netting an impressive 27 total points. The World Champion surpassed his 26.5 point record from the Cote D’Ivoire Rapid & Blitz earlier this year. “It’s a big deal for me to have a good performance here. I haven’t played so well in rapid and blitz lately, and I think with this result, I showed I’m still the man to beat,” said Carlsen. Across the entire event, Magnus lost just two games; both in the blitz portion to Ding Liren. The World Blitz #1 Hikaru Nakamura maintained his ranking on top of the rating list with a solid performance today. He scored 5.5/9 points and finished in clear second place with 23 total points. Nakamura did not lose a single game in the 18 rounds of blitz. His only loss was to Carlsen in round 4 of the rapid portion. Hikaru proved why he’s still the top-rated blitz player in the world and took home $25,000 for his efforts. After another roller-coaster day for Vishy Anand, his hopes of qualifying for the GCT Finals came to an end. He fell just short of earning the 5 GCT points needed to pass Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the GCT Standings. Despite winning some games early in the day, Anand suffered a few heartbreaking losses. In Round 15 of blitz, he ran out of time with a winning position against Anish Giri; in the penultimate round, he lost to Magnus Carlsen in a chaotic game that could have gone either way. Levon Aronian had a very disappointing performance as he was struggling to find his form throughout the event and finished in the last place. GM Peter Svidler commented on the abysmal performance: “I don’t think I’ve seen him play this poorly in a blitz tournament in my life.” However, Aronian did perform well enough in previous GCT events this year to qualify for the finals. He will have just a few days to recover and find a better form. The four GCT finalists will be Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Ding Liren (China), Levon Aronian (Armenia), and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France). The GCT Finals will commence in just 6 days in London. The action can be followed with live commentary from GMs Peter Svidler, Alejandro Ramirez, Maurice Ashley, and WGM Jennifer Shahade from Monday, December 2 through Sunday, December 8.