FIDE World Schools Team Championship: Schools from Turkey and India are in the lead
Two more rounds were played today at the FIDE World Schools Team Championship in Aktau. Two teams are in the lead in the U18 section. Four match victories of Istanbul ENKA High School come as no surprise as Turkish players are the rating favourites of the event. So far, IM Isik Can and his peers have conceded only half a point to their opponents. The same result from Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, a school in Chennai, India, is even more impressive as they started 11th. The team made a tricky choice of putting their lowest-rated player, Santhosh V L, on the top board, and he has a tough time, but his teammates greatly compensate for that. In the U12 category, the Indian squad of Velammal MHS Mogappair is in sole lead with four match wins. Tomorrow they will be put to serious test facing the National Physics & Mathematics School of Kazakhstan, trailing just one point behind. Apart from creating chess masterpieces, the participants of the Championship continue exploring what Aktau has to offer. Today the players visited a local water park to refill their batteries and lift team spirits! The organizers prepared a diverse program of fun side activities so everyone would return home with lifetime memories. Here are the top standings after Round 4: Under 18 1 TUR Istanbul ENKA High School 8 2 IND Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, Chennai 8 3 PER Saco Oliveros 7 4 KAZ Republican School of Physics and Mathema 6 5 PAR ABSE Escuela 6 6 GER Gymnasium Theodorianum Paderborn 6 7 UZB No 5 Xatirchi 6 8 MGL Mongeni Complex School 6 9 ARM Photon Gymnasium 6 10 AZE Sumgayit city No-1 Secondary School name 6 Under 12 1 IND Velammal MHS Mogappair 8 2 KAZ National Physics & Mathematics School 7 3 POL Szkoła Podstawowa nr 48 im. Szarych Szer 6 4 KAZ School of Astana, number 72 6 5 PER Saco Oliveros 6 6 CAN Silver Stream Public School 6 7 UKR Lviv Academic Gymnasium 6 About World Schools Team Championship 2023 Schoolkids come to Aktau from all over the world to defend the honour of their school and country. The Championship is organized by FIDE and Kazakhstan Chess Federation, with the support of the akimat of Mangistau region, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan. Freedom Holding Corp is the General Partner and Sponsor. Official website: wstcc2023.fide.com Photos: Flickr (can be used only for media reporting about the event, with credit given to Kazakhstan Chess Federation)
FIDE World Cup Round 3 Game 1: A round of draws
In a sign that things are tightening up at the World Cup, a huge number of games ended in a draw, setting the stage for a more challenging second day for the favourites Magnus Carlsen and Leinier Dominguez Perez were the only top-rated players in the Open to score a victory. While all the other top players started round three with a draw, Daniil Dubov lost with white pieces against Daniele Vocaturo. Things were similar in the Women’s tournament, where Aleksandra Goryachkina and Mariya Muzychuk were the only two leading players to score a victory. The Open Tournament highlights: The main surprise of round three in the Open Tournament is Daniil Dubov’s unexpected loss as White against Italian Daniele Vocaturo (who eliminated Andrei Volokitin in the round two tiebreaks). After finding a nice combination to draw an even position, Dubov blundered, allowing the black king to escape perpetual check. Dubov ended with a rook down and ultimately had to resign. Norway’s number two, Aryan Tari, played a solid game as Black against the world’s highest-rated player and countryman, Magnus Carlsen. Tari ended with five pawns and a knight against a rook and three pawns, but Carlsen – who is regarded as one of the best endgame players in history – slowly peeled off Black’s position and then transitioned to a winning pawn endgame. Cuban-born American Leinier Dominguez Perez had a lucky break against Azerbaijan’s Gadir Guseinov. In a sharp opening line where Black (Guseinov) gave up a knight for four pawns, the two reached an even endgame. In a critical moment, facing time trouble, Guseinov blundered and was immediately lost. Salem Saleh is continuing his excellent run in the World Cup. Today he defeated Iran’s Bardiya Daneshvar (who yesterday eliminated Grischuk after four rounds of nail-biting tiebreaks) after a sharp attack, which destroyed the black king’s fortress and saw him getting caught up in a mating net in the centre. Notably, wildcard-entrant Peter Svidler defeated Jeroen Van Foreest after the Dutchman allowed the FIDE World Cup 2011 winner to launch a crushing attack on the kingside. All the other top favourites drew their games, including Nakamura, Caruana, Nepomniachtchi, Giri, Duda, So, Radjabov, and others. The Women’s Tournament highlights: Former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk and former World Championship Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina got off to a good start in Round 3 as they pushed forward with a victory against Indian players. Mariya Muzychuk was better throughout her game against India’s rising star Vaishali Rameshbabu and won. Goryachkina scored against Deshmukh Divya after the Indian player overlooked a combination in the middlegame leading to a dominating position for White. The derby Round 3 in the Women’s tournament, between Elisabeth Paehtz and the reigning Women’s World Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, ended in a draw, with neither side gaining any advantage. Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili scored a notable victory as Black against China’s Zhao Xue. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun drew with black pieces against Ulviyya Fataliyeva, while the 2011 Women’s World Cup Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, was held to a draw by Serbia’s Teodora Injac. Other top women players – Humpy Koneru, Tan Zhongyi, Anna Muzychuk, Zhu Jiner, Harika Dronavalli, and Polina Shuvalova, start round three with a draw. The full list of the results from the first game of round three can be found here: https://worldcup2023.fide.com/tree. Here follows a look at some of the most interesting positions from the first game Round 3: Daniil Dubov suffered a shocking defeat today as he lost a drawn endgame to more than 100 points lower-rated Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo. Following the English Opening which transposed into the Modern Benoni reversed, the two reached the following position. Black is a pawn up but his pawn structure is weak and the rook on h8 is yet to join the action. In a slightly inferior position, Dubov found a nice combination for a draw: 27.Na4! Qf2 28.Qxc6 Qc2 29.Nc5 Qb1+ 30.Kg2 Qd1 31.Nb7!+ Ke7 Now Dubov should have continued with 32.Qc5+ and after 32…Ke8 33.Nd6+ Kf7 34.Qb5+ Ke7 35.Qc5 both sides can only give perpetual checks. Dubov instead took the pawn with 32.Qxc7+ and after 32…Qd7 35.Qc5+ Ke8 36.Nd6+ Kd8 37.Qxa3? (37.Kh3 offered more chances) Qc6+ 38.Kh3 Nxc4 39.Nxc4 Qxc4 Black repelled all the threats and preserved his extra rook. Saleh Salem scored an impressive victory as White over Bardiya Daneshvar. White’s pieces are poised for an attack on the black king. Black should have taken it seriously and focused more on defending, with 26…Ne8. Instead, he played 26…Rc8? 27.Ng4! Ne8 but now it’s late 28.Nh6!! gxh6 29.Rg3+ Kf8 30.Qd2 Ke7 31.Qxh6 Qxb2? The fatal error. After the precise 32.Rf1! White is simply unstoppable 32…Qc2 33.Qg5 Kd7 34.Qg8! Nd6 35.Qg7 Nf5 36.Qxf7+ Ne7 37.Rg7 Re8 38.h6 Qf5 39.Qf6! Qh5 40.h7 Rcc8 41.c4! dxc4 42.d5 and Black has no good options to resist anymore. Guseinov dropped a point to Dominguez Perez in an even endgame. In a deeply analyzed and tested line of the Four Knights Variation of the Sicilian, playing as Black, he got three pawns for the knight. As the game progressed the two reached the following endgame: In time trouble, Black misplayed with a seemingly logical move 40…Rf1? Guseinov should have proceeded with 40…Rfa8 maintaining the balance. But now: 41.Bg8! and Black either has to give up a rook for the bishop with his king in a mating net, or accept immediate checkmate. Aleksandra Goryachkina won her game as White against Divya Deshmukh after the Indian player overlooked a combination early on, after which she was in dire straits. 16…Nd7? (better was 16…Nd5) and after 17.Nxa5 Bxc5 18.Nxb7 Bxb7 19.Nxd7 Rxe1+ 20.Bxe1 Qxd7 21.Bxb7 White is not only a pawn up but also significantly better. The game between Zhao Xue and Nino Batsiashvili ended with a victory for Black after White underestimated the attacking chances against her king. Black is significantly better but Zhao’s trade of the knights is a perfect illustration of “the cure is worse than the disease”. 25.Nxg4? hxg4 26.Rc5 Completely ignoring Black’s potential on the h-file, although White’s position is beyond repair. And now: 26…Rh8 27.Rxa5 Rae8 28.Qb4 Rh6 29.Rc1 Qe4! White resigned as there is no way of
FIDE World Schools Team Championship commences in Aktau, Kazakhstan
The new scholastic flagship FIDE competition started in Aktau on August 4, 2023, bringing together more than 400 students from 53 countries. These young chess enthusiasts are competing in two age categories: up to 12 years old and 18 years old. Two rounds were played at the Halyk Arena on the first day. As many as eight teams in the U18 and five in the U12 sections won both matches. Notably, the Istanbul ENKA High School team from Turkey, competing in the U18 category, showcased exceptional skills by winning all of their games and reinforcing their position as the main favourites of the tournament. The day started with the grand Opening Ceremony at the prestigious Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. Among the distinguished guests were Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, the President of the International Chess Federation, Mr Timur Turlov, the President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and Mr Nurlan Nogaev, Akim of Mangistau region, where Aktau is situated. “A few months ago, we thought bringing more than 50 countries to the World Schools Team Championship was an almost impossible mission, but together we made our idea a reality. And I want each and every one of you to dream of something that seems impossible and achieve it,” said Arkady Dvorkovich greeting the participants. “This championship is in full compliance with our strategic objective of building an intellectual nation, strengthening human potential and promoting the cult of knowledge. And school-level chess should play a key role in it,” noted Timur Turlov. “Schoolchildren from four continents came to the Caspian coast to defend the honour of their school and country with dignity. I am sure these talents will conquer great milestones and become champions in the future. It is also worth noting the merit of coaches and parents because their work is behind each victory,” said Nurlan Nogaev. Nurlan Nogaev made the symbolic first move in the U18 category, while Timur Turlov the honours in the U12 tournament, and the chess fighting commenced. Eight teams in the Under 18 section won both matches, finishing the day with four match points: Istanbul ENKA High School (TUR)Republican School of Physics and Mathema (KAZ)Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, Chennai (IND)Gymnasium Theodorianum Paderborn (GER)Author’s educational complex of the gymn (KGZ)Riga State Gymnasium No. 1 (LAT)Sumgayit City No-1 Secondary School (AZE)ABSE Escuela (PAR) In the Under 12 category, five teams are in the lead with perfect 4 match points: Lyceum School No. 8 for Gifted Children (KAZ)Velammal MHS Mogappair (IND)Saco Oliveros (PER)Lviv Academic Gymnasium (UKR)Szkoła Podstawowa nr 48 im. Szarych Szer (POL) Rounds 3 and 4 will be played on Saturday, August 5. The winners will be determined on August 7. Apart from the thrilling competition, this event offers a diverse excursion and entertainment program, ensuring that participants and guests have an unforgettable time in Aktau. The historic World Schools Team Championship presents a unique opportunity for young chess players from around the globe to showcase their skills while getting to know new cultures, enjoying a friendly atmosphere and making new friends. About World Schools Team Championship 2023 Schoolkids come to Aktau from all over the world to defend the honour of their school and country. The Championship is organized by FIDE and Kazakhstan Chess Federation, with the support of the akimat of Mangistau region, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan. Freedom Holding Corp is the General Partner and Sponsor. Official website: wstcc2023.fide.com Photos: Flickr (can be used only for media reporting about the event, with credit given to Kazakhstan Chess Federation)
FIDE World Cup 2023 Round 2 Tiebreaks: Grischuk and Lagno eliminated
A tough day at the World Cup in Baku as another group of strong players were eliminated, including the chess power couple and three-time World Blitz Champions, Alexander Grischuk and Kateryna Lagno Despite their strong reputation, the duo found themselves ousted by opponents rated lower than them. Lagno was eliminated in the first rapid match of the playoff after losing the second game to more than 200 points lower-rated Mary Ann Gomes. Grischuk’s fate was sealed after a gruelling six-hour battle across four playoff rounds, ultimately succumbing in the final game against Iranian Bardiya Daneshvar after missing a winning move. Among the favourites in the Open, Nakamura, So, and Giri are through after winning their rapid tiebreaks. In the Women’s tournament, the World Champion Ju Wenjun, as well as the 2021 World Cup winner (and former World Champion) Alexandra Kosteniuk, are through after winning their rapid tiebreaks. The Open tournament highlights: Alexander Grischuk’s day turned tragic as he navigated through four stages of tiebreaks, only to be eliminated in the final blitz game while playing as White. Iran’s 2577-rated Bardiya Daneshvar proved to be a formidable adversary to Grischuk. The two drew both of their classical games in the second round. Then came the first rapid match: After drawing both classical games in the second round, the first rapid match saw Daneshvar clinching a win after losing the initial game in the playoffs. The second rapid match saw the same thing happen again. Then came the Blitz – where Grischuk was the favourite as the three-time World Champion in this category. The first game ended in a draw, but in the second, Grischuk had a lucky escape in the endgame where Daneshvar did not find the best continuation due to time trouble, despite winning. In the final tiebreak blitz game Grischuk was leading the white pieces and grabbed the initiative early on. At some point, Alexander was one move away from victory. However, he misplayed and allowed Black to escape a mating threat, while at the same time advancing his runners on the queenside. A tragic end for Grischuk and a heroic victory for the 17-year-old Iranian chess champion. He will be facing Salem Saleh in round three. Among other favourites, Hikaru Nakamura qualified for the third round after clinching victory in the second rapid game against India’s Venkataraman Karthik after their draw in the first one. The 2565-rated Indian GM was winning as White before he, first, dropped the advantage, and then got into trouble where he had to give up an exchange, ending up in a lost position. Speaking after the match, Nakamura said that it was “very tough” for him. Nakamura, who is currently the world’s second highest-rated player, complemented his opponent by noting that “Karthik defended ridiculously well, like a 2700 player” in game one. “It’s very clear he’s under-rated” Nakamura added. Wesley So’s luck continued as he overcame a seemingly lost position in the first rapid game against Emre Can due to the time trouble-induced errors. With a draw in game two, So was through to round three. Super GM Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Andrey Esipenko, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Amin Bassem were also through after the first rapid playoffs. In a big surprise, Azerbaijan’s Abdulla Gadimbayli (rated 2483) knocked out Spain’s 2691-rated GM David GM Anton. Following two draws in the classical part of round two, Gadimbayli won the first rapid game. Despite being lost in the middlegame in the second encounter, the Azeri GM put on stiff resistance and managed to take over the initiative from David Anton in time trouble and win. The second game ended in a draw. Andrei Volokitin was knocked out after two crushing defeats in the endgame at the hands of Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo. One of India’s top players, Vidit Santos Gujrathi, had to go through three rounds of the tiebreaker. Vidit was evenly matched by the Greek GM Dimitrios Mastrovasilis, as all of their classical and rapid games ended in a draw. In the Blitz Mastrovasilis finally broke: after a mistake in the middlegame, he allowed Vidit to get his rooks to the seventh rank and then create a passer on the b-file, which secured White the victory. The Greek GM could not make a comeback in the second blitz game, which ended in a draw. Ukraine’s Vasyl Ivanchuk qualified after finally defeating Chile’s Cristobal Henriquez Villagra in the second round of the rapid with 2:0 (finishing the second rapid game with an effective rook sacrifice). India’s Arjun Erigaisi is also through but only after the second round of the rapid. The Women’s Tournament: In the Women’s Tournament, the biggest upset of the day is the elimination of Kateryna Lagno – one of the strongest women players in the world (three-time world blitz and one-time world rapid champion, and two-time world champion candidate). After a draw in the first rapid game with Mary Ann Gomes, Lagno had a slightly better position in the second. However, she blundered in the middlegame, trapping her queen, and was completely lost. The knockout comes as a shock, given that Lagno was seen as one of the favourites for winning the World Cup. The Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun is through after her opponent Eva Repkova blundered a piece in an even position in the first game. The second rapid game ended in a draw which sent Ju to the next round. The 2021 World Cup Winner and former Women’s World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, is also through, having dominated Yan Tianqi in the first rapid game and finishing the second with a comfortable draw. Bibisara Assaubayeva won her rapid match against Qianyun Gong. In game one, despite dominating from the start, the Women’s World Rapid champion blundered in the endgame, entering an even position. Luckily for her, Gong also blundered soon after, ending a rook down. Bibisara also won the second rapid, despite being weaker in the first part of that game. Irina Krush and Dejsi Kori qualified after the first rapid. Nana
FIDE Word Cup 2023 Round 2 Game 2: Surprising knockouts and intense battles
Two surprising eliminations in the Open, as the Women’s World Champion forced into the tiebreaks for round three The World Cup continued today, with the second game of Round 2 taking place. While the favourites Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi, Duda and Caruana qualified, some of the other top players, such as Nakamura and So, will have to fight in the tiebreaks. The biggest surprise of the day is the knockout of the 2021 World Rapid winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov. In a shocking surprise, super GM and Azerbaijani star Shakhriyar Mamedyarov lost to Singapore’s Tin Jingyao and failed to qualify for the next stage. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun and 2021 Women’s World Cup winner Alexandra Kosteniuk also head for the tiebreaks. Just before the beginning of the games, a small award ceremony took place for the winners of the online Queens’ Women Open, held in July. The event consisted of a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments. All women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups, including unrated chess enthusiasts, could take place. The winner of the Open tournament was IM Deysi Cori from Peru, while the Continental European crown went to WFM Malak Ismayil from Azerbaijan. The Open Tournament: Slips in the knockout format of the World Cup could be devastating as the 2021 World Rapid winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov learnt. After drawing in game one against 2585-rated Vahap Sanal, Abdusattorov (2725) lost in game two as White. In an even position, he overpressed, sacrificing an exchange, after which he ended up in a lost position. A similar fate befell Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who lost to Singapore’s Tin Jingyao after making errors in an even position and then completely blundering. Mamedyarov’s elimination is a huge upset for Azerbaijan as he was one of their top hopes for the event. The world’s highest-rated player, Magnus Carlsen, scored his second victory. Despite Carlsen being slightly better, Levan Pantsulaia had some chances, but in a tense moment, he made a crucial mistake. It was all Magnus needed to finish off his opponent in style. The winner of the 2021 World Cup, Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda, drew as Black against Peru’s Emilio Cordova. As Duda won in game one, a draw was enough to get him through to round three. Among other top seeds who move to round three are Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Teimour Radjabov, Yu Yagnyi, Parham Maghsoodloo, Wei Yi, Daniil Dubov, Gukesh D, Wang Hao, Amin Tabatabaei, Peter Svidler, Nikita Vitiugov as well as the rising global chess stars Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, Kirill Shevchenko and Alexey Sarana. There were a lot of draws in game two among the favourites who won the first encounter (Nepomniachtchi, Dubov, Praggnanandhaa, Maghsoodloo, Wei, Yu, Svidler), suggesting they did not feel the need to press hard. There were other surprising upsets of the day: After losing a drawn endgame yesterday, American Sam Shankland failed to qualify as he could not make a breakthrough as Black against Moldovan Ivan Schitco and drew. Former World Champion Candidate Boris Gelfand is also out after underestimating Ferenc Berkes’ activity on the kingside. Wesley So (2769) was on the brink of defeat against the 2570-rated Turkish GM Emre Can. In the game, Can created a passer on the b-file and was dominating. So was in dire straits, ending a piece down. In an endgame where White had two bishops and a pawn and Black had two pawns and a bishop, Can was winning, but he could not find the optimal plan and allowed Wesley to escape. The two will now be playing a tiebreaker. In another lucky escape of the day, Vladimir Fedoseev saved a lost endgame against Jergus Pechac and now goes into the tiebreaks. Several other super-strong Grandmasters will have to fight for round three in the tiebreaks. The list includes the likes of Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Vidit Santos Gujrathi, Alexander Grischuk, David Anton Guijarro (who drew both games against more than 200 points lower-rated Azeri GM Gadimbayli), Andrey Esipenko, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Arjun Erigaisi. The legendary Vasyl Ivanchuk will also play the tiebreak after two draws with Chile’s Cristobal Henriquez Villagra. The Women’s Tournament: In a huge upset for the women’s tournament, former world champion and 2021 World Cup winner Alexandra Kosteniuk lost to 250 points lower-rated Yan Tianqi from China. In the Marshall Attack of the Ruy Lopez, Kosteniuk entered a weaker position in the middlegame and then completely misplayed an inferior ending. She resisted but, in the end, was forced to resign. With both players winning a game each, they will decide the round three qualifiers in the tiebreaks. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun drew again today against the 200+ points lower-rated Eva Repkova in a game where neither side had any advantage. Former World Champion Candidate and one of the tournament favourites, Aleksandra Goryachkina, defeated Cuba’s Lisandra Teresa Ordaz Valdes to secure her place in round three. The other top favourites to qualify for the next stage are Elisabeth Paehtz, Anna Muzychuk, Polina Shuvalova, Koneru Humpy, Zhu Jiner, Tan Zhongyi, Harika Dronavalli, as well as former women’s world champions Anna Ushenina and Marya Muzychuk. Kateryna Lagno drew again against Mary Ann Gomes and will take a shot in the tiebreaks. Fighting for a chance to get to Round 3 will be Nana Dzagnidze, who was held to a draw by Poland’s Klaudia Kulon in both games. The tiebreaks of the second round of the World Cup will take place on Friday, August 4, at 3 PM local time in Baku, Azerbaijan. Here follows a closer look at some of the positions from game two of the second round of the World Cup: Magnus Carlsen won his game against Levan Pantsulaia after the Georgian made a huge blunder in the following position: The best option for Black is to place his bishop on f6. Instead, Levan played 27…Qg6?? to which White responded with 28.Bc7! Rd7 29.Re8+! and Pantsulaia surrendered facing checkmate: 30.Qe4+ Ne6 31.Qa8+ Nd8 32.Qxd8+ Rxd8 33.Rxd8#. 1-0 Nodirbek Abdusattorov got knocked out after going too far in an
FIDE World Cup 2023 Round 2 Day 1: A lot of draws as top seeds enter the race
The second round of the World Cup saw the world chess elite enter the field. While a lot of the favourites won, many of them – in both the Open and the Women’s tournament – were held to a draw The world’s strongest chess players played their first game in the World Cup today, as the top 50 in the Open and the top 25 in the Women’s group entered the tournament. Despite being the strong favourites based on their rating and achievements, many of the top world players were having a difficult time and had to satisfy with a draw. The world’s highest-rated player (2835) and former World Champion Magnus Carlsen – who had never won the World Cup before – started the tournament with a victory. On the other hand, in the Women’s World Cup, defending World Champion Ju Wenjun started with a 16-move draw with white pieces. The biggest upset of the day is the loss of the US 2018 champion and super GM Sam Shankland to a 200 points lower-rated GM Ivan Schito from Moldova. In the Women’s tournament, Sara Khadem was the only favourite to suffer a defeat. After misplaying in the early stages of the game facing Medina Warda Aulia from Indonesia, Khadem found herself in a lost position and ultimately had to resign. There were two honorary guests of the day making the first move. In the Open event, on board one where Magnus Carlsen was playing against Georgia’s Levan Pantsulaia, the first move was made by Madat Guliyev, the Minister of Defence Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a National Hero of Azerbaijan and a Colonel General. In the Women’s event, the first move was made on the board Bibisara Assaubayeva – Qianyun Gong, by Timur Turlov, the President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and the CEO of Freedom Holding Corp, partner of the FIDE World Cup 2023. The Open tournament: US 2018 Champion and super GM Sam Shankland suffered a surprising defeat as White at the hands of GM Ivan Schitco from Moldova. In a slightly better position in a rook endgame, Shankland first dropped the advantage and then blundered and ended up facing checkmate. A heavy blow for Shankland, who will have to win the second game in order to reach the tiebreak. Magnus Carlsen won as Black in 44 moves against Georgia’s Levan Pantsulaia. Despite Pantsulaia’s managing to hold the position steady through the middlegame, Carlsen gradually increased his pressure and as the game simplified, entered a queen and knight endgame where he was a pawn up. Pantsulaia had two chances to make a comeback but failed. A good start for Carlsen, who, despite winning, said he felt ‘a little bit rusty going in’. Other top favourites also started with a victory: Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Gukesh D, Yu Yangyi, Wei Yi, Nikita Vitiugov and Daniil Dubov. The winner of the 2021 World Cup, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, had a lucky break as his opponent went for an unsound sacrifice and was immediately lost. In a game which was played until the bare kings were the only pieces left standing, Hikaru Nakamura split a point with India’s Venkataraman Karthik. Despite Nakamura creating a 2:1 pawn advantage on the kingside, Karthik held out until all the pieces were removed from the board. There were some other notable surprises in the Open: super GM Anish Giri was pressured by the tiebreak qualifier, 221 points lower-rated Arseniy Nesterov, and had to deliver perpetual. Wesley So (2769) allowed Turkey’s Emre Can (2570) to get a slightly better position as Black, but the game ended in a draw. Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov also drew against 200 points lower-rated Viktor Erdos from Hungary. Despite leading the white pieces, Alexander Grischuk could not inch any advantage against Iran’s Bardiya Daneshvar, and the two agreed to split a point. Super GM and Azeri hope Shakhriyar Mamedyarov also drew against Tin Jingyao of Singapore. The former World Champion Candidate, Boris Gelfand, had a tangible advantage against Ferenc Berkes but dropped it in a critical moment, with the game ending in a draw. Super GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2739) drew with white pieces with 2576-rated Valentin Dragnev. The Women’s tournament The Women’s World Cup saw a series of surprising draws between the favourites and significantly lower-rated players. The reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun – who came to Baku directly after defending her world title in a match in China – joined the tournament today along with 24 other top-seed women players. Ju (rated 2564) was up against more than 200 points lower-rated Slovak IM Eva Repkova (2312). It was an underwhelming performance by the World Champion as she entered a drawish line in the Catalan, and the game ended in threefold repetition after just 16 moves. The biggest upset of the day in the Women’s tournament was Sara Khadem. Playing under the Spanish flag, lost to Medina Warda Aulia of Indonesia. Sara made several errors early on and allowed her opponent to create an advanced passer on the c-file and dominate. One of the longest games of the day was played between former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk and her Ukrainian compatriot Anastasiya Rakhmangulova. Mariya achieved an advantage in the opening, but in an attempt to organise a deadly attack on the black king, she miscalculated and ended up in an even position. The two transitioned to a drawn opposite-coloured bishops endgame where Black was a pawn up. After playing it for quite some time, the two decided to call it a day and split a point. There were other relatively surprising draws among women: Former World Champion Tan Zhongyi did not manage to make progress against the 250 points lower-rated Julia Ryjanova playing for Australia. Former Women’s World Champion Candidate Aleksandra Goryachkina also drew, as Black, against the more than 200-points lower rated IM Ordaz Valdes from Cuba. Kateryna Lagno dropped a significant advantage in the endgame against Mary Gomez of India and also had to settle for a
Second FIDE Council Meeting of 2023 took place in Baku
The second FIDE Council Meeting of 2023 took place in Baku on August 1, 2023, alongside the World Cup. The meeting adopted a hybrid format, allowing the Council members to attend through Zoom. As usual, the meeting started with the reports of the FIDE President, Treasurer, followed by updates to the chess calendar. Discussions centred on the tournaments for the current year and the bidding process for competitions in 2024 and beyond. While no approvals were granted during the meeting, FIDE has undertaken to conduct the necessary inspections, with decisions expected to be finalized by the end of the year. The Qualification Commission presented an important proposal regarding changes in rating regulations aiming to address rating deflation concerns. We wrote about it here. This proposal, formulated by Mr Sonas and the working group, will be subject to public discussion. We encourage the chess community to send us their comments and suggestions at qualification@fide.com until September 30, 2023. There are exciting developments in FIDE membership. The Council approved the New Caledonia Chess Federation as an Affiliated Organization and welcomed the Tonga Chess Federation as the newest member of FIDE. These additions signify a historic milestone, as FIDE will reach the inspiring mark of 200 member federations by the end of 2023, pending General Assembly approval. For the first time in history, FIDE Council has approved 92 School Instructor titles, putting them on par with other official FIDE titles. The credit for this achievement goes to the FIDE Chess in Education Commission, whose successful “Preparation of Teachers” course, based on a new and revised training program, will soon see its 9th edition. The translation of the program from English to other languages, primarily Arabic, Portuguese, and French, is being actively discussed and is likely to be implemented soon. We congratulate 17 new Grandmasters whose titles have been approved at this meeting! The list includes Zhu Jiner from China, who proudly joins the ranks as the world’s 41st female player to earn a GM title. We are also exceptionally happy for Lukasz Nowak from Poland as he officially becomes an International Master. The remarkable journey of this 25-year-old overcoming a spinal disease serves as a shining example to the chess community. We will publish the complete list of decisions shortly.
3rd Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners: Registration continues
FIDE will host the third Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, scheduled for October 11-13, 2023. The project, aimed at introducing chess as a tool for education and social inclusion in prisons of different countries, is open for teams made of 4 players. The competition is held in three categories – men’s, women’s and juvenile correctional facilities. Fifteen teams from 9 countries – Argentina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Philippines, Portugal, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the USA – have already confirmed their participation. Among them, two teams represent Kansas, USA. Topeka Correctional Facility, a Kansas Department of Corrections state prison for women, is going to compete in the women’s event, while the chess squad from the Ellsworth Correctional Facility will be fighting for medals in the males’ section. Only recently, the Chess in Prisons project has been launched in Kansas. Less than a year ago, the Kansas Department of Corrections partnered with the Gift of Chess, a nonprofit organization transforming the lives of people, including those currently and formerly incarcerated, through the universal language of chess. For the past months, the game of chess has been instrumental in helping residents of Kansas prisons to see the benefits of using critical thinking skills attained through learning chess strategies. The partnership with the Kansas Department of Corrections was steered under Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda and organized by Statewide Gift of Chess coordinator Captain Kevin Oneth. The State of Kansas has 16 Adult Correctional facilities and one Juvenile facility. Fourteen of them were already visited by Oneth. “I went to most facilities and brought a resident, Tony Ballard, with me. He discussed his story on the benefits of chess and how it changed his life for the better. All the residents that participated became members of the United States Chess Federation. Residents were pleased when we came and actively participated in the lessons that were provided,” he says. In June 2023, the KDOC Online Chess Championship was held, featuring the top four players from each facility. Besides, GM Timur Gareyev attended two correctional facilities, where he spoke to the prisoners, played simuls with them and took time to answer questions and sign autographs. According to prison officials, keeping residents busy playing chess and competing in a non-contact sport is a brilliant idea to curb prison violence, gang activity and drug usage. The registration deadline for the third Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners is September 22, 2023. Participation in the event is free and open via an online registration form: forms.office.com/g/xPqGaWbR4Q Tournament regulations (pdf) More info about the event can be found on chessforfreedom.fide.com Photo: thegiftofchess.org
FIDE August 2023 rating list: Gukesh, Le Quang Liem and Praggnanandhaa reach career-high
The top 10 saw no significant changes this past month, but there were shifts in the women’s top 10 due to the FIDE Women’s World Championship match. Ironically, the winner of the 2023 Dutch Championship, Anish Giri, dropped six points, but it did not affect his position in the top 10 Open. Gukesh D keeps climbing in the rankings, steadily increasing his rating since March 2023. Following his solid performance in the Isbank of Turkiye Chess Super League, he became the youngest player ever to cross a 2750 mark – the distinction previously achieved by world #1 Magnus Carlsen. The 17-year-old of India is knocking on the top 10 Open door, currently sitting in the 11th position. Photo: Lennart Ootes Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Wagner, Dinara WGM GER 2468 (+21) Vaishali R IM IND 2452 (+21) Praggnanandhaa R GM IND 2707 (+17) Donchenko, Alexander GM GER 2684 (+16) Bu, Xiangzhi GM CHN 2690 (+14) Sukandar, Irine Kharisma IM INA 2371 (+13) Le, Quang Liem GM VIE 2740 (+12) Keymer, Vincent GM GER 2701 (+11) Robson, Ray GM USA 2699 (+10) Dinara Wagner and Vaishali Rameshbabu shared the top position in this nomination, both improving their rating by 21 points. Dinara triumphed in the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2023 Sportland NRW Cup, while Vaishali R did a great job in the Isbank of Turkiye Chess Super League and Torneo Internacional Orillas de Mar. In addition to Gukesh D, three more players – Le Quang Liem, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and Alexander Donchenko – reached their career high in August. Photo: bielchessfestival.ch/ Le Quang Liem successfully defended his title in Biel Triathlon and moved up to 15th place in the rating list while his rating peaked at 2740. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu gained 17 points following his victory in the 5th Dr Hetenyi Geza Super GM Memorial and cleared a 2700 rating bar for the first time in his career. It also means that the young Indian is making his debut in the top 30 Open. Photo: Lennart Ootes Alexander Donchenko emerged as the winner of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2023 A-Open, which translates into 16 rating points and 52nd place, his highest-ever position in the top 100 Open. Vincent Keymer might feel disappointed after stumbling in the final round of Biel Triathlon and letting the overall victory slip away, but he may find some comfort in an 11 rating point hike. Bu Xiangzhi and Irine Kharisma Sukandar also performed very well in Biel side events picking 14 and 13 rating points, respectively. The winner of the Prague International Chess Festival 2023 Masters Ray Robson picked up 10 rating points and is about to return to the 2700+ elite group.
FIDE World Cup 2023 Round 1 Tiebreaks: A lot of drama and a few upsets
The tiebreaks of round one of the World Cup saw a lot of drama, particularly in the Open tournament. While the favourites mostly won, a few notable surprises made it to the second round of the World Cup After six hours of play, four rounds of tiebreaks in the Open and two in the Women’s tournament, the full list of qualifiers for the second stage of the 2023 FIDE World Cup in both the Open and the Women’s tournament was determined. Altogether – 24 boards in the Open and 9 in the Women’s World Cup played the round one tiebreaks. While all the top favourites qualified, there have been a few upsets, such as Azerbaijan’s GM Gadimbayli and Argentinean IM Pablo Acosta, who knocked out significantly higher-rated opponents. In the women’s tournament, all the favourites moved to round two, with just one match (Guichard vs Serikbay) entering the second tiebreaker. The first move in today’s tiebreaks was made by Romeo Mikautadze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The rapid playoffs The regulations for both the Open and the Women’s World Cup stipulate that if the score is level after the two regular games, after a new drawing of colours done immediately after Game 2, two tiebreak games shall be played with the time control of 25 minutes for each player + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. The first to qualify in the Open section was Indian GM Adhiban who, after two draws in the regular part of round one, won both rapid games against GM Lance Henderson de La Fuente from Andorra. Adhiban will play against Daniil Dubov in Round 2. In a notable surprise, Abdulla Gadimbayli of Azerbaijan managed to defeat the over 100-points higher rated Uzbek GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov in the rapid playoff and qualify for round two. Some of the top grandmasters who faced upsets in the first games made strong comebacks: Serbian GM Velimir Ivic won both of his rapid games against the 14-year-old Ediz Gurel from Turkey. (Gurel stunned Ivic in the first game of round one with a quick victory.) The Serbian will face Spain’s Vallejo Pons in round two. Azeri GM Eltaj Safarli came strong against IM Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez from Panama, winning both games in the tiebreak rapid. He will be facing Andrey Esipenko in Round 2. Hungarian GM Ferenc Berkes also qualified, having won in the first and drawn in the second tiebreak game against Iranian Darini Pouria. Berkes will now have a tough challenge in round two, facing former World Champion Candidate, Boris Gelfand. After drawing both games with 2369-rated Kareim Wageih, Austrian GM Markus Ragger (2624) won by 1.5:0.5 in the rapid and qualified. Playing Magnus Carlsen in the second round will be Georgian GM Levan Pantsulaia, who bested Indian Bharathakoti Harsha by 1.5:0.5. The other players who qualified for round two after the first tiebreaker were: Mchedlishvili (Georgia), Supi (Brazil), Can (Turkey), Iskandarov (Azerbaijan), Janik (Poland), Asadli (Azerbaijan), Albornoz (Cuba), Bartel (Poland), and Iturrizaga Bonelli (Spain). Among the notable qualifiers in the Women’s section, IM Salome Melia from Georgia (rated 2377) won her rapid tiebreaker against Brazilian 2182-rated Kathie Librelato, with 1.5:0.5. In the first rapid game, Librelato made a basic mistake as early as move eight and was completely lost. The great Peruvian hope, Deysi Cori, qualified after defeating Brazilian Julia Albaredo in the second rapid game. The same applies to Indian Nutakki Priyanka who eliminated Italian IM Marina Brunello. Priyanka will be playing compatriot Humpy Koneru in the second round. The other qualifiers from the first rapid cycle in the women’s event were: Cyfka (Poland), Rudzinska (Poland), Francisco Guecamburu (Argentina), Munguntuul (Mongolia) and Rakhmangulova (Ukraine). The second rapid tiebreaker Players who were still levelled after the first rapid played a second rapid match, but the time control was further shortened to 10 minutes for each player + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. IM Pablo Acosta qualified after defeating the 100-points higher rated GM Kacper Piorun from Poland in the final game. In an even position in the endgame, Kacper misplayed, which cost him a place in the next round. GM Rinat Jumabayev outplayed Luka Paichadze, winning 1.5:0.5. Emre Can from Turkey won the final game against Queseda to qualify after the Cuban made a huge blunder entering a lost position. Ilia Smirin was struggling: In the Sicilian, Santiago Avila Pavas (playing as White) got an extra pawn after an oversight by Smirin and was significantly better, ending with a victory. In the second game, Smirin staged an impressive comeback and won, forcing a third tiebreaker of the day. Three more pairs in the Open section moved to the next stage of tiebreaks. The only pair to go to the second rapid in the Women’s Cup were Pauline Guichard from France (2384) and Assel Serikbay (2139) from Kazakhstan. In the regular part of round one, both sides won a game each, while in the first rapid – both games ended in a draw. Guichard won game five. She was then dominating in the sixth game but in the end, misplayed and entered a drawn opposite-coloured bishops endgame which finished in a draw. In the second round, she will be playing against Vaishali Rameshbabu. The blitz tiebreaks Eight players ended in the third tiebreak. In this tiebreak, the players had five minutes each plus a three-second increment from move one, and they played a mini-match of two games. In the first blitz game, Ilia Smirin scored a victory in just 30 moves, finishing the game with an effective rook sacrifice leading to checkmate. Smirin also won the second game and punched his ticket to the next round, where he will be playing Kirill Shevchenko. Turkey’s Vahap Sanal beat Croatia’s Zdrenko Kozul in both Blitz games to reach the second round. The rapid and the blitz playoffs might prove to be a good training experience for Sanal as in Round 2 he will be playing the 2021 World Rapid champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Croatia’s Ante Brkic managed to qualify after winning a nerve-racking second blitz game against Carlos Matamoros Franco. Although he was dominating, towards the end, Brkic made an error in time trouble, handing the advantage to Black. However, in just one move, Matamoros Franco threw it all away and surrendered. The fourth (and final) tiebreaker: A victory after nine draws There was just one pair of players