FIDE Word Cup R01 Day 02: Favourites push forward
Round one of the World Cup finished without huge upsets on top boards, but some significantly lower-rated players managed to spring a surprise and knock out strong Grandmasters The opening move on the second day of the World Cup was made by the former World Champion, Viswanathan Anand. With just two more days before the top-world players play their first games, many have started arriving in Baku and were seen inspecting the playing hall and getting ready for the matches. The top favourites in this early stage of the World Cup secured the pass to the next round, but there were some upsets: Chile’s Pablo Salinas Herrera (rated 2468) proved that it was no surprise as he defeated the significantly higher-rated Montenegrin GM Denis Kadric (rated 2601) in the first game, and repeated it in the second, this time with black pieces. Herrera will now go up against Iran’s Amin M. Tabatabaei in the second round. Also, after a draw in game one, Moldova’s Schitco defeated the higher-rated Azeri Grandmaster Nidjat Mamedov in the second game and will now be playing against the 2018 US Champion, Sam Shankland, in the second round. After a surprising draw in the first game, Croatia’s Ivan Saric (rated 2657) dominated the Namibian IM Dante Beukes (rated 2180), who caused him a lot of problems on day one. Saric took the initiative early on and eventually won the game to qualify for the second round. There were two notable draws on the top boards on day two. Bulgaria’s Ivan Cheparinov drew with 663 points lower-rated Yousef A Alhassadi from Libya. Despite being better on time, Cheparinov decided not to force the position as he had already won in their first game. One of the top-rated players in round one, Gadir Guseinov (rated 2661), was having a tough challenge against Rupesh Jaiswal (rated 2122) from Nepal in game two. After more than six hours of play, the game ended in a draw on move 68, with just the kings left on the board. Guseinov moves on thanks to his victory in the first game, but the resistance showed by Jaiswal in both games is impressive. Guseinov will be facing Jonas Bjerre in the second round, who won the first but drew in the second game with IM Al Qudaimi from Yemen. Among the other top favourites of the first round, Etienne Bacrot, Saleh Salem, Javokhir Sindarov, Aleksandr Predke, and Arjan Tari all came out victorious, winning both games and proceeding comfortably to round two. Predke will take on local and strong Grandmaster Rauf Mamedov, who won both games. The Women’s Tournament: When it comes to surprises in the women’s section, Natalya Buksa failed to qualify – she lost her first game against 140 points lower-rated Turmunkh Munkhzul from Mongolia and then failed to achieve more than a draw in the second game. Munkhzul will be playing Grandmaster Elisabeth Paehtz in round two. The women’s top seed in round one, Eline Roebers, continued confidently and scored a second victory against Yamama Asif Abdula Al-Fayyadh. In Round 2, she will be playing Egypt’s Mona Khaled. Irina Bulmaga also won both games and comfortably moved to Round 2. Serbia’s Teodora Injac (pictured below) won against Nurai Sovetbekova, despite being weaker as the two transitioned to the endgame. With two victories, she will be playing against France’s Sophie Millet (who also won both of her games) in the second round. Among the other favourites from round one – Olga Badelka and Alina Bivol won their games and advanced to the next stage with a 100 per cent score. Round two will see the strongest women players enter the field, making it a real test for the qualifiers from round one. Slovakian IM Eva Repkova will go against the freshly-confirmed four-time Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun. WGM Qianyun Gong will play the two-time Women’s World Blitz Chess Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva. Round one tiebreaks will be played on Tuesday, 1st of August at 3 PM. Here follows a closer look at some of the games and positions in the second match-day of round one of the World Cup: In the Open section, Bulgaria’s Ivan Cheparinov drew his second game against 633 points lower-rated Yousef A. Alhassadi. The player from Libya posed problems to Cheparinov in the first game but lost. Now in the second game, playing as White, Alhassadi opted for the Vienna Game, creating a solid position in the opening where neither side had much chance. Despite making a mistake in the middlegame, Cheparinov did not choose the most optimal continuation, but the position was still comfortable for Black. In the end, following a lot of exchanges on the board, the two transitioned to a knight and bishop endgame. Cheparinov was significantly better on time but decided not to force and accept a draw in the following position: FM Rupesh Jaiswal from Nepal sprang a huge surprise as he managed to hold Azerbaijan’s Gadir Guseinov to a draw, with Black pieces. In the Sicilian, Jaiswal came equal out of the opening but made an imprecision in the middlegame. Guseinov was slightly better, but following an exchange of queens, the game was even. But gradually, Black was beginning to take the initiative. Guseinov went for a promising exchange sacrifice 34.Rxe5, which was the best move he had in this position. In the endgame that transpired, the FM from Nepal showed great technical skills and comfortably held the position. Guesinov was trying everything to unsettle his opponent, but after more than six hours of playing and with just the kings left on the board, the GM from Azerbaijan had to settle for a draw. After a stunning loss in the first game to 14-year-old Ediz Gurel, Velimir Ivic of Serbia won his second game and made it to the tiebreaks. In the Caro-Kann, slightly better after the opening, Ivic gradually outplayed his young opponent and emerged with two extra passers on the queenside in the end. This was the final position where
Michael Adams wins British Championship 2023
The 2023 British Chess Championships were held at The Venue, De Montfort University in Leicester, with several events taking place from July 20-30 2023. It was the 109th British Chess Championship in a series, which has run almost unbroken since 1904. The British Championship, a 9-round Swiss event, brought together 64 players and saw the triumph of GM Michael Adams, who confirmed his status as a pre-tournament favourite. The top seed scored an impressive 7.5/9 and clinched the title in a very convincing fashion. Despite losing to the champion in the first round, 32nd seed untitled Steven Jones somewhat surprisingly netted 6.5/9 and finished clear second picking up 62 (!) rating points along the way. As many as four players tied for third place, with GM Daniel Fernandez completing the podium thanks to superior tiebreaks. Final standings: 1 GM Adams, Michael ENG 2666 7½ 2 Jones, Steven A ENG 2175 6½ 3 GM Fernandez, Daniel H ENG 2518 6 4 IM Grieve, Harry ENG 2459 6 5 IM Wadsworth, Matthew ENG 2431 6 6 FM Han, Yichen NED 2413 6 7 GM Pert, Nicholas ENG 2536 5½ 8 GM Gasanov, Eldar UKR 2481 5½ 9 GM Hebden, Mark ENG 2436 5½ 10 IM Pert, Richard ENG 2421 5½ Complete results Photo: ECF Women’s Chess Congratulations to WIM Lan Yao (pictured above) who won the British Women’s Championship and gained a WGM norm. Photos: Brendan O’Gorman Official website: britishchesschampionships.co.uk/
FIDE World Cup 2023: Round 1 Day 1 Report
The first round of the World Cup started in Baku, with 114 games taking place in the Open and the Women’s section Amidst the expected victories of the favourites, the World Cup’s opening showcased a hint of unpredictability, as a handful of upsets set the stage for potential surprises in the games ahead. At 3 PM sharp local time in Baku (Azerbaijan), the first round of the World Cup began, where altogether 228 players in the Open and the Women’s tournament are fighting for the top three places in each group leading to the Candidates tournament, the final qualifying stage to select the next challenger for the title of World Champion. Not all of the players are taking part in the first round. As per regulation, the top 50 players in the Open and the top 25 in the Women’s section will join the event from the second round. Altogether, 114 games were played in round one – 76 in the Open tournament and 38 in the Women’s. Three players did not manage to show up in Baku despite being registered – Eric Hansen and Christopher Yoo in the Open, and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya in the Women’s tournament. In line with chess tradition, the first round started with the ceremonial making of the first move on board one in each section. In the Open event, the first move was made by Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, while FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the first move in the Women’s section. Both the Open and the Women’s tournament are taking place in the same hall, at the Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard, situated right on the Caspian coastline. The Open tournament The first victory in the 2023 World Cup was scored by the youngest player in the tournament. The 14-year-old Turkish IM Ediz Gurel (rated 2500) defeated the more experienced Serbian Grandmaster Velimir Ivic (2590), who made a terrible mistake on move 21, allowing a piece sacrifice which led to unavoidable checkmate. Black has just captured the c5-pawn, completely overlooking 22. Bxh7+! Kxh7 23. Qh5+ Kg8 24. Qh6 g6 25. Ne4 Be7 26. Rf3! – Black has no defence against Nf6+ – 26…Bf5 27. Rxf5 Ra6 28. Rf3 1-0 If he manages to pass Ivic, Gurel is going to face the super-strong Spanish GM Vallejo Pons. On the top two boards in round one, Bulgaria’s Ivan Cheparinov and France’s Etienne Bacrot were somewhat struggling against their significantly lower-rated opponents. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, 18-year-old Lybian Yousef A. Alhassadi, who played Black, was posing problems to Cheparinov. Reaching a knight endgame with a pawn down but where Black could hold if he played precisely, Alhassadi blundered. Here Black made a fatal error. Instead of 42…Kc5, he played 42.Kb5? and lost several moves down the road 1-0. In the end, experience prevailed, and Cheparinov won, but Alhassadi – who is rated just 2030 – put on strong resistance to his 630+ higher-rated opponent. On board two, French Number Three, Etienne Bacrot (rated 2662) was playing as Black against Myanmar’s Nay Lin Tun (rated 2055). In the transition to the queen endgame, Bacrot won a pawn, but the position was even. Still, Bacrot was an hour ahead of his opponent. White completely misplayed in time trouble, allowing Bacrot to win, but it wasn’t simple for the Frenchman. Ivan Saric from Croatia was facing difficulties against nearly 500 points lower-rated International Master Dante Beukes from Namibia. After a tense struggle in the middlegame, Beukes offered a move repetition, but Saric refused, entering an inferior position. At one point, after Saric sacrificed an exchange, Beukes was winning, but he misplayed, and the game ended in a draw. When it comes to other top players who took part in this round – Salem, Guseinov, Sindarov, Predke, and Tari (pictured below) – all scored victories. Apart from Velimir Ivic, another negative surprise among the 2600-rated players was Denis Kadric of Montenegro, who lost to significantly lower-rated Chilean Grandmaster Pablo Salinas Herrera, who won a piece in the middlegame. There were a few more upsets in the Open section. Mongolia’s Ganzorig Amartuvshin (rated 2407) defeated the top Spanish Grandmaster Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (rated 2612) with Black pieces, while Iran’s Pouria Darini (rated 2412) prevailed over Hungary’s Ferenc Berkes (rated 2615). The Women’s tournament In the Women’s tournament, there were no big surprises. The Dutch Women’s Champion, Eline Roebers, defeated Yamama Asif Abdula Al-Fayyadh of Iraq after the latter played 20 moves with a piece down. White is winning as her kingside attack is way too dangerous. Here Black opted to give up a piece with 19…Nxf5 and managed to hold on for the next 20 moves but eventually lost. All other frontrunners in the women’s section won their games. As was the case in the Open section, some of the lower-rated players posed considerable challenges to the favourites. Serbia’s top-rated woman player Teodora Injac (rated 2415) was clinched in an even endgame against Kyrgyzstan’s 1823 rate player, Nurai Sovetbekova. The Kyrgyz player made an imprecision in the endgame and was slightly weaker, but then she blundered, allowing Injac an effective finish. Black just played 41…Kh6-g5? (41…Nxf2 was the only chance) allowing White a nice winning combination. 42.Nxe4! Kg4 (42…fxe4 43.Qd8+Kf5 44.Qc8+ winning the queen) 43.f3+!! and Black resigned in view of 43…Kxf3 44.Ng5+ 1-0. Munkhzul Turmunkh from Mongolia (rated 2226) stunned Ukraine’s Woman Grandmaster Natalia Buksa, defeating her with a spectacular mating combination. 36.Nh6! (36…gxh6 37.Qxg8!+) Ng3+ 37.Qxg3 Qxg3 38.Nf7# While there have not been any major surprises in the first part of the first round, the strong resistance and some upsets set by the lesser-known players announce a lot of tension ahead of game two. The event continues on Monday, 31st of July, at 3 PM, with game two of the first round. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Stev Bonhage, Anna Shtourman and Maria Emelianova (chess.com) About the event The FIDE World Cup 2023 is taking place from 29 July to 25 August 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the Open tournament, 206 players were eligible to take part and
FIDE World Cup 2023: Opening ceremony and press conference
With a magnificent display of light and sound, digital computer chess merging with actors dressed-up as real-life chess pieces, the 2023 FIDE World Cup kicked off this afternoon with the opening ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan. Packed to the brim with players, guests, officials and staff, the breath-taking Baku Convention Centre hosted the festivities, including speeches, music, dance, and most importantly for all the players, the drawing of colours – 5-times World Champion Vishy Anand and former chess star and politician Aynur Sofiyeva performed the honours. In the Open section, Ivan Cheparinov, the top player starting in Round 1, will start with White in the first game, whereas Magnus Carlsen, the top player overall and joining in Round 2, will start with Black in the first game. In the women’s section, Eline Roebers, the top player starting in Round 1, will have the White pieces in the first game, so will the overall top player in the women’s section, Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun in Round 2. The chess afternoon also featured the first official press conference, with the presence of the officials Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan, Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President and Mahir Mammedov, President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation. Two of Azerbaijan’s top players, both of them World Cup participants, also attended the conference to answer the questions of the media; Teimour Radjabov, winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup and Gunay Mammadzada. Gayibov wished the best of success to all the participants in the event and reminded everyone that they were planning to host many more international events in Azerbaijan. Arkady Dvorkovich was very thankful to the local organizers: “It’s a tough job to put together such a big competition, with tens of countries and hundreds of players. We would like to thank all the staff for their efforts to organize the event… I expect that fair play will prevail, with role models playing their best chess and having fun”. He also added: “I am sure Magnus Carlsen plans to win the World Cup, but the competition is very strong, and it won’t be easy. It’s his own decision to play or not in the Candidates”. Teimour Radjabov mentioned that “the hardest thing is to compete for the whole month, but I am pleased to stay in my country. FIDE is doing a great job; I am happy to be here and hope to make it as far as possible. I missed the feeling of being a superstar here in Azerbaijan.” Gunay Mammadzada hoped that the event might encourage new players to take up the game. “This tournament is a festivity for me, and I will do my best to make it to the final. I also hope it encourages many more young players to compete in the future”. Day one of Round 1 will start tomorrow, July 30th, at 3 pm. The games will be played in the Marriott Hotel Boulevard and broadcast live with expert commentary on the FIDE Youtube Channel. Text: Michael Rahal Photo: Stev Bonhage, Anna Shtourman About the event The FIDE World Cup has been held since 2005 and takes place every two years. The first Women’s World Cup was organized in 2021. The regulations for this year’s events, as well as the breakdown of the prize fund, can be found on the Official Information section of the event website: worldcup2023.fide.com/.
Biel Grandmaster Triathlon 2023: Lê Quang Liêm defends his title
He has not participated in any rated competition for one year since his victory at Grandmaster Triathlon in Biel (2022). But in the last ten days, he has shown that he still belongs to the chess elite: Lê Quang Liêm emerged as the winner of the Grandmaster Triathlon at the Biel International Chess Festival 2023. The Grandmaster Triathlon was a centrepiece of the Biel Chess Festival, which also included several side events. The 8-player tournament combined three different time formats (blitz, rapid and classic), counting towards the final score. A win in a classical game was worth 4 points, with 1½ points for a draw. In the Rapid (15min+5s) segment, a victory was worth 2 points and a draw 1 point. The blitz (3+2) was played as a double round-robin with 1 point for a win and ½ points for a draw. The event was a close race between Lê Quang Liêm, David Navara, and Vincent Keymer, who took turns on the top throughout the tournament. The final round draw against David Navara, who finished the tournament in third place, was enough for Lê to successfully defend his title. The outcome of the tournament is bitter for Vincent Keymer, although, in his fourth showing, he achieved his best placing in the Biel Grandmaster Tournament, finishing second. A draw would have been enough for him to win the title as Vincent went into the last round as the leader – but on the final day, he suffered his only defeat in the classical games at the hands of Arjun Erigaisi, and allowed Lê Quang Liêm to leapfrog him on the finish line. Lê, who now teaches chess for the largest part, has not played a single competitive game since the 2022 Biel tournament. Nevertheless, he proved to be the strongest player in the field in the classical games with 19 points and, thanks to this result, will most likely achieve his career high in the August 2023 FIDE rating list. Final standings: Alexey Khanabiev won the Main Tournament, while Thomas Mani triumphed in the Amateur Tournament. The Master Tournament MTO goes into a tenth and final round today with Bu Xiangzhi in the lead, a half-point ahead of Aryan Chopra. Text and photos: official website Official website: bielchessfestival.ch/
GCL Day 5: Triveni Continental Kings fail to stop Ganges Grandmasters’ charge
Dubai, 26th June 2023 – Tech Mahindra Global Chess League has hit a significant milestone on its fifth day. With half of the matches already in the books, the competition now embarks on the crucial second phase of the round-robin tournament. After day five, Ganges Grandmasters and SG Alpine Warriors are on top with 12 match points. The team of Ganges Grandmasters is in the first place due to a better difference in game points – 52:51, upGrad Mumba Masters are third, with 8 Match Points. This was a day of big hope for Triveni Continental Kings. The team, which features top-world players such as Levon Aronian, Yu Yangyi, and three-time women blitz champion Kateryna Lagno had high hopes ahead of the match with Gangese Grandmasters. With two victories in four matches, they needed to win to have strong chances of reaching the finals. However, this wasn’t their day. Ganges Grandmasters vs Triveni Continental Kings (14:2) This was the last match in the event where the colour of pieces was determined following a coin toss. After this match, the teams start the second phase of the round-robin, where those who have been white in the first encounter now play black, and vice versa. The final coin toss was won by the team of Ganges Grandmasters who, after three successive victories, suffered a defeat in the fourth round, which removed them from the lead in the League. They were up against the team of Triveni Continental Kings, who won two out of the four matches played. The Ganges Grandmasters took the initiative early in the match thanks to Georgian GM Bella Khotenashvili, who achieved a strong position against compatriot Nana Dzagnidze in the first stages of the opening. Soon, team Ganges Grandmasters were dominating all over the place. While the first game to finish ended in a draw – between Rapport and Yu on board two – all other boards but one saw results in favour of Ganges Grandmasters. First, Khotenashvili scored against Dzagnidze. This was quickly followed by Hou Yifan’s victory over Kateryna Lagno on board four. Then, on board three, Dominguez was better against China’s Wei Yi. The only two left holding in the team Triveni Continental Kings were Jonas Buhl Bjerre (who turned 19 today) and Levon Aronian. The birthday boy did a good job maintaining the balance against the very strong Andrey Esipenko. On board one, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand got the upper hand against Levon Aronian and wasn’t letting it go. Despite his best efforts to complicate things and prolong the game to finish last of all boards, Aronian threw in the towel. With four victories as White and two draws, the team of Ganges Grandmasters won the match, 14:2. A great comeback from Ganges Grandmasters. With another three match points and a large number of game points, team GG once again reached the top. Loek van Wely, manager of Triveni Continental Kings, was blunt after the game: “It was a crushing defeat for us. I think the rest day and the visit to the Dubai Mall was a bit overwhelming for some of the team, and they still haven’t recovered. We will seriously need to think about what to do next”. Balan Alaskan Knights vs SG Alpine Warriors (10:9) This was a duel between one of the tournament leaders and the team at the bottom of the scoreboard. SG Alpine Warriors have won four of the five matches played, while the Balan Alaskan Knights scored just a single match victory. The standings don’t do justice to the strength of the Balan Alaskan Knights, who have a tremendous team led by none other than one of the currently best players in the world, Ian Nepomniachtchi. While the Warriors had two matches on Sunday, the Knights had an advantage of a day of rest. They were leading white pieces. The two sides were evenly matched at the outset. Knowing they needed to make a push, the Knights opted for more sharp play, avoiding drawish lines. On board five BAK’s Nino Batsiashvili achieved a winning position against the strongest German woman player Elisabeth Paehtz and won. On board four, Tan Zhongyi got a sizable space advantage over America’s eight-time women’s champion, Irina Krush. On board two, 2021 World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov was pressing hard against Gukesh D and managed to win. One of the top performers in the BAK team, Praggnananadhaa notched up another important victory for his squad against Raunak Sadhawani. Some glimmer of hope for SG Alpine Warriors came with a draw on board three between Radjabov and Erigaisi. The victory of the Balan Alaskan Knights was dependent on what Tan Zhongyi did against Irina Krush. Despite entering time trouble, the former Women’s World Champion from China managed to convert her advantage against Krush, securing her team a victory in the match. It was noticeable that Tan was shaking after the game from the excitement. The match was already decided as the board one game was still going on. Ian Nepomniachtchi was playing against Magnus Carlsen. (The two know each other well, and Dubai was the home of their 2021 match for the World Championship title, which Carlsen won.) Nepomniachtchi gave up a pawn early to get some initiative, however, Carlsen coordinated his pieces well, and as they were moving towards the endgame, he started raising the pressure on White. Nepomniachtchi was on the back foot and gradually started falling behind. Once again, Carlsen demonstrated his superb endgame technique and pulled off another victory in an endgame with a slight edge, but that wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the match. The final result was 10:9 for the Balan Alaskan Knights. Balan Alaskan Knights have won the match and made a strong comeback. A huge success for the team, raising hopes for the second part of the event. Match results – 26 June 2023 Match 15 Ganges Grandmasters 14-2 Triveni Continental KingsQueen of the match – Viswanathan AnandKing of the match – Hou
Call of Interest for Arbiters in World Events 2024-2025
Dear chess friends, International and FIDE arbiters, According to the new Regulation B.06.4 FIDE Regulations for the Appointment of Arbiters in World Events (effective from July 20, 2023), the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission is proud to release a new process for the selection of arbiters in the Panels (Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow) for the next cycle 2024-2025. The Call of Interest for Arbiters in World Events 2024-2025 is open for one month, from July 25, 2023, to August 24, 2023, 23:59 CEST, for all FIDE Arbiters and International Arbiters with a valid FIDE license. All arbiters who wish to officiate in World Events have to submit their application via Chamilo* (https://arb-learn.fide.com/). * Chamilo is the ARB Training Portal, which we are using to support the process. We will take advantage of the call of interest to include colleagues who haven’t followed training sessions yet under this new system. Survey link >>> Please complete this survey to help us identify your wishes and availability for the World Events scheduled in 2024-2025. Arbiters will be assigned, according to the Regulations (B06.4), depending on their experience, to panels, which will be used to assign positions in tournaments. GENS UNA SUMUS! IA Ivan SYROVYChairmanFIDE Arbiters’ Commission IA Nebojsa BARALICSecretaryFIDE Arbiters’ Commission
Chess for Refugees Project: Rohingya School Teachers Chess Training
Rohingya School Teachers Chess Training organized by the Bangladesh Chess Federation, under the financial support of FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation, was held at the Refugee and Repatriation Camp-5, Ukhiya, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, last weekend. The Chess for Refugees social project has been carried out in cooperation with the South Asian Chess Council, Office of Refugees and Repatriation Commissioner’s (RRRC), UNICEF and Jagoani Chakra Foundation. The main objective of this training program is to teach the game of chess to the students studying in Rohingya camp schools. Md. Ahsan Habib, Senior Assistant Secretary, attached to the Refugees Relief & Repatriation Commissioner‘s Office (RRRC) of Camp In Charge of Camp-5, inaugurated the three-day training program as the chief guest at CiC conference room, Camp-5. National Chess Champion of Bangladesh, FIDE Trainer and Grandmaster Enamul Hossain Razib, International Chess Arbiter Md. Haroon Or Rashid, Md. Tanvir Rahman Bhuiyan, UNICEF Education Officer, Md. Abul Kashem Mozumder, Project Focal of Jagorni Chakra Foundation Mehedi Kaiser, and Program Coordinator of Johns Hopkins Center Communication program spoke on the occasion. UNICEF’s Communication Officers Alam Farvis and Md Pavlo and UNICEF’s Special Visitor Chris Henderson from Teachers College Cilumba University of New Zealand were present at the time. A total of 30 school teachers from different Rohingya school camps participated in this training program. FIDE Trainer GM Enamul Hossain Razib, International Chess Arbiter Md. Haroon Or Rashid and FIDE Instructor Showkat Hossain Pollab gave training on different subjects of how to learn chess. Rohingya school teachers who participated in this event showed great interest. Books on chess and the laws of chess were given to participating school teachers. Organizers hope that students studying in Rohingya schools will learn chess and will enjoy playing the game. At the same time, by practising chess, they will be more focused on studying the game. At the end of the training, each of the 30 schools was presented with ten sets of pieces and chessboards. Text and photos: asianchess.com
Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss 2023: preliminary lineups and World Cup passes
Photo above by Mark Livshitz For its highly anticipated third edition in 2023, the world’s strongest Swiss-system event is making a triumphant return to the Isle of Man from October 23 to November 6. As of July 2023, 100 players have already confirmed their participation in the Grand Swiss and 40 players in the Women’s Grand Swiss. Apart from their share of the USD 600,000 combined prize fund, the top two finishers in each event will earn qualification for the prestigious 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments. The impressive list of participants includes Alireza Firouzja, the winner of Grand Swiss 2021, as well as Fabiano Caruana, who has been a runner-up twice in this event. The world’s number 2, Hikaru Nakamura, and the world’s number 7, Anish Giri, will also be taking part, along with many other prominent Grandmasters, the likes of Rapport, Gukesh D, and Aronian. On the women’s side, Aleksandra Goryachkina, ranked 3rd in the world, and Humpy Koneru, ranked 5th, will lead the starting list. The event will also feature Harika Dronavalli, who won the best woman trophy in the 2019 edition, Grandmasters Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tan Zhongyi, and sisters Muzychuk. It’s important to note that the lineups are not yet final. More spots will be filled with wild cards and additional qualifications from the World Cup, set to begin on July 29 in Azerbaijan. FIDE will invite up to three players from those who reach the Round of 16 in the World Cup, and up to two players from the Women’s World Cup Round of 16. Moreover, one spot in each event will be offered to the top-rated players who were previously unqualified, according to the September 1 FIDE rating list. Only players who played at least 10 rated games counted in any of the 12 standard rating lists from July 2022 to June 2023 or appeared “active” in all 6 FIDE standard rating lists from January to June 2023 are eligible. The lineups are expected to be finalised in September and comprise 114 players in Grand Swiss and 50 in the Women’s Grand Swiss. You can find the current player lists by the links below. Open: https://chess-results.com/tnr793016.aspx Women: https://chess-results.com/tnr793017.aspx Lei Tingjie, the winner of Women’s Grand Swiss 2021. Photo by Anastasiya Karlovich About Grand Swiss The Grand Swiss tournament was initially organized in 2019 on the Isle of Man, introducing a revolutionary path to enter the World Championship race through a Swiss-system tournament that brought together all the top chess players and granted qualifications to the FIDE Candidates Tournament. Due to Covid-related restrictions, the Isle of Man was unable to host the 2021 edition, which was relocated to Riga, Latvia. The Women’s Grand Swiss was added to the event for the first time. For its 2023 edition, the world’s strongest Swiss-system event returns to the Isle of Man, made possible by sponsorship from the Scheinberg Family. These tournaments’ inclusive nature offers a golden opportunity for underdogs in their pursuit of the chess crown. In the 2019 edition, the Chinese grandmaster Wang Hao, initially ranked 15th in the starting list, emerged victorious among 154 players, sharing first place with Caruana and securing the trophy due to better tiebreaks. Kirill Alekseenko, who finished third and qualified for a Candidates’ wild card, which he eventually received, started with an initial rank of 38th. In 2021, clear winner Alireza Firouzja and runner-up Fabiano Caruana earned two coveted tickets to the Candidates. Lei Tingjie emerged triumphant in the women’s tournament, securing a pass to the Women’s Candidates. With two Candidates’ seats at stake in each event, the 2023 Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss undoubtedly stand out as the most significant Swiss tournaments of the year. Apart from the opportunity to qualify for the Candidates, a substantial pool of players has the chance to claim a piece of the impressive USD 600,000 combined prize fund, with 46 prizes set for the Grand Swiss and 23 prizes for the Women’s Grand Swiss. It is worth mentioning that all participants enjoy accommodation, meals, and travel allowances.
US Senior and Juniors’ Championship 2023: Khachiyan, Mishra and Lee win titles
After drawing their games, both GM Melik Khachiyan and IM-elect Alice Lee clinched national titles with a round to spare in the 2023 US Senior and US Girls’ Junior Championships. Their victory was secured after they both reached 6.5/8 points, with their key rivals no longer able to catch them in the standings. The 2023 U.S. Junior Chess Championship came down to the wire and saw GM Abhimanyu Mishra come out on top after drawing his last round game to reach 6.0/9 points, half a point ahead of four players who tied for second, GM Brandon Jacobson, GM Andrew Hong, GM Balaji Daggupati, and IM Arthur Guo. All three tournaments, 10-player round robins with classical time control, took place simultaneously in the World Chess Hall of Fame, Saint-Louis Chess Club from July 16-24, 2023. US Senior Championship Despite Khachiyan having already secured tournament victory, in the final round, the fight for second and third place was still on the table between Vladimir Akopian and Alex Shabalov, the latter having an extra half-point going into the round. Shabalov forced a quick draw against Khachiyan, while Akopian tried for a win against Gurevich, although he was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving Shabalov in second place. U.S. Junior Championship With the US Senior and US Girls’ Junior already decided in the penultimate round, all eyes were on the U.S. Junior, with no less than five players in contention for first place. Top seed and co-leader Mishra played a hectic game against Daggupati, one of three players a half-point behind, which featured a very sharp Najdorf that ended up drawn by perpetual check. The draw would end up clinching the title for Mishra, as fellow co-leader IM Arthur Guo got into serious trouble against Ghazarian, going on to lose in a sharp middlegame with opposite-coloured bishops. In the meantime, the key matchup Jacobson-Hong was drawn, leaving both players, along with Guo and Daggupati finished tied for second place. US Girls’ Junior Championship With Alice Lee having clinched the event after Round 8, on the final day, the focus was on FMs Ruiyang Yan and Zoey Tang, who were vying for second place. Tang got in trouble and had to survive a worse position to draw against WIM Iris Mou, while Yan scored a full point against Prasanna, winning a technical endgame to secure second. Winning and catching up to tie for third place was top seed IM Carissa Yip, who turned a very dangerous position around to defeat WGM Rochelle Wu. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr