World Senior Championship 2023 prize fund breaks record
FIDE happy to announce that the prize fund of World Senior Chess Championship 2023 will hit the absolute record. The participants in categories age 50+ and 65+, Open and Women and Open 75+ (special prizes) will share the total amount of 42,500 Euros. 1-14 places in both Open sections, 1-5 places in Women sections will be awarded the money prizes. The 3 prizes in Open 75+ category is also have been increased. In addition, the top three finishers in each category will receive memorable trophies and gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. Place Open 50+ Open65+ Women50+ Women 65+ Open 75+ 1st 3,000 3,000 1,500 1,500 1,000 2nd 2,500 2,500 1,200 1,200 700 3rd 2,000 2,000 850 850 500 The World Senior Chess Championships 2023 will be held in Terrasini, Italy from 24 October (arrival) to 6 November (departure) 2023. The Championship will be played in four categories: 50+ Open and Women, 65+, Open and Women. The deadline for the registration is August 30, 2023. Registration form Regulations for the FIDE World Senior Championships 2023 (pdf) FIDE Senior Chess Championships official website: worldsenior.fide.com E-mail: worldsenior@fide.com Photo: Wikipeida, Bjs
WWC Match 2023: Lei Tingjie takes initiative once again but Ju holds her to a draw
In the second game of the Match, World Champion Ju Wenjun played with the white pieces. Despite this advantage, Lei Tingjie once again seized the initiative and put pressure on Ju. However, the Women’s World Champion managed to hold and secure a draw It wasn’t just the colours that changed today—following yesterday’s game, Lei Tingjie requested to change her chair. This request may hold significance, as Ding Liren, in his match for the title of World Champion, tried and changed several chairs, which turned out to be a positive sign for him. The first move ceremony was made by KK Chan, President of the Hong Kong Chess Federation and Xu Qi, Deputy Director of Shanghai Sports Bureau. Ju opened with her standard move 1.d4. In the Tarrasch defence, both sides played steadily, but Lei gradually took over the initiative with active pawn pushes on both flanks. Despite the position being roughly even, Black was the side with more chances to play for a victory. With 23…b4 Lei began an advance on the queenside which threatened to end with her rook getting down to the second rank and putting significant pressure on White. Ju found the best way to counter but she was in an uncomfortable position, under pressure, reminiscent of the first game of the match. However, Lei was in time trouble and had 15 minutes on the clock to make more than 15 moves to reach the first time control. With the clock ticking and Ju’s skilful response, Black’s initiative failed to materialize into a tangible advantage. Subsequently, piece exchanges occurred on the board, leading to an even bishop and rook endgame by move 34. After 40 moves and three and a half hours of play, the two agreed on a draw. The score is now 1:1. Another uncomfortable day for Ju as she was again on the defensive side, despite playing with white pieces. In the post-game interview, she acknowledged being under more pressure saying “White had to play precisely” to hold. At the post-game press conference, an interesting question came from Deputy Press Officer Gu Xiaobing. She asked which player the contenders would like to meet at the board. Ju Wenjun said she wants to play younger Ding Liren, whom she can beat, while Lei Tingjie would choose to play against Carlsen at any time. Friday will be the first rest day of the Match. As both sides recover and reflect, Ju will need to think more about how far she can continue playing defence, while Lei will need to reconsider how to push herself further to convert an edge into a victory. Here follows a closer look at the second game of the match: Unlike her counterpart in the first game, Ju Wenjun played her usual opening move 1.d4 to which Lei Tingjie responded with the Tarrasch Defence. The game saw a topical line that has been extensively tested by the elite players. 10…Bg4 Lei demonstrated a good opening preparation. This move is more precise than the immediate 10…Be6. As Grandmaster Alik Gershon put it, the idea behind this continuation was “forcing White to return the b5-bishop to e2, moving it to a worse position, and then she went for Be6”. The opponents followed a recent game Mamedyarov – Nepomniachtchi (Zagreb, 2022) up to certain point, but Lei deviated first. 13…Rc8 After this move, both players started spending more time on the clock, suggesting both were out of their preparation. 14.a3 A more natural choice was Qd2, connecting the rooks. At this stage of the game, Ju proceeded somewhat sluggishly and allowed Lei to become the more active side. 17…g5 Played by Lei after six minutes. After expanding on the queenside, Lei pushed on the kingside. The thematic sacrifice 18.Nxg5 hxg5 19.Bxg5 doesn’t work here as Black consolidates with 19…Kg7 followed by Rh8. By move 20 GM Alik Gershon concluded: “With a series of energetic moves, Lei has taken over the initiative”. 23…b4. Black has now started her sharp offensive on White, but Ju’s position – although slightly weaker – is definitely holdable. After 24.Na4 Qb5 offering an exchange of queens and threatening to get the rook on e2, Ju spent a lot of time thinking and lost the clock advantage she had over Lei but found the best defence. 26…Nxb4 Black had another interesting option 26…Bxf3. Lei again started falling behind on time at this point. After 27.Rd2 was played, Lei had 15 minutes on the clock, while Ju had just under 30 minutes. With 13 moves to the first time control, Lei needed to be mindful of her time problems. A couple of moves down the road, the challenger missed her last chance to pose some problems for White. 28…Bf5 According to chess engines, the endgame emerging after 28…Bxf3 is slightly better for Black, although with an accurate defence White should hold. As played, Ju timely defused the tension and forced massive exchanges. After 30.Ne5 Nxe5 31.dxe4 Rxe5 32.Nxd5 Nxd5 33.Bxd5 Re1+ 34.Kh2 a5, it came down to a drawn rook and bishop endgame. Both players knew this was a draw, but the rules forbid them from offering a draw before move 40, so they continued playing and shook hands right after reaching the time control. Text: Milan Dinic Photos: Stev Bonhage Official website: womenworldchampionship.fide.com/ About the Match The match will take place in two Chinese cities, where each of the contestants comes from. The first half of the match will be in Shanghai, while the second half takes place in Chongqing. The match will consist of 12 games of classical chess. The payers will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting on move one. Players cannot offer a draw before they reach the 41st move. In case of a tie, there will be the following tiebreaks: Four games with a 25+10 time control. Two games with a 5+3 time control. Two more games with a 5+3 time control. One game with a 3+2 time control, until a
GCT SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia: Day 1 Recap
Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand shined on the first day of the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz, the third leg of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour hosted by Zagreb, Croatia. After three rounds of play, currently tied for second place are World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzystof Duda, and Richard Rapport, each just a point behind Anand. RAPID | ROUNDS 1-3 The early leader of the event turned out to be the Polish No. 1 Duda, who won his first two games against Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja in very nice fashion. 16.Nc6! was a nice find by Duda, winning Black’s queen. 1-0, 33 moves Duda got off to a hot start, beating two of his biggest rivals in back-to-back games. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Duda’s perfect run would be stopped by Rapport, who emerged with extra material after trapping Duda’s knight in the center of the board. Rapport also scored in Round 1, after finding an unexpected mating net in a nervy time-scramble against Caruana: 62.Kg4! forced resignation as Black had no defense to the threat of Rh2+, followed by mate. Wins over Caruana and Duda for Rapport, who’s tied for second heading into Day 2. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes This allowed Rapport to reach Duda in the standings and for Anand to jump into the lead, as he drew with Firouzja in Round 1 before scoring wins against Rapport and Lupulescu thanks to some excellent technique: Here Anand played 18.Qxb7!, correctly grabbing a pawn which he was able to hold onto. | 1-0, 41 moves The leader after Day 1, Vishy Anand. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Ending with 4.0/6 along with Duda and Rapport was Carlsen, whose campaign started with a win over the youngest participant, Gukesh, but was then followed by draws against Saric and Nepomniachtchi. 21…f4! gave Black a fantastic initiative on the kingside, which Magnus duly converted. 0-1, 36 moves. A win and two draws for the top seed Carlsen. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes The 2023 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in continues Thursday, July 6, with tournament action live starting at 7:05 AM CT with Grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Cristian Chirila and International Master Nazi Paikidze on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Further Information: Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: The Westin Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia July 5 – 9, 2023 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE WRTC 2023: Showdown in Düsseldorf
From August 25-28, 2023, German Düsseldorf will host a unique competition, the inaugural edition of the World Rapid Team Championship, organized by FIDE in partnership with WR Group Holding GmbH. The 12-round Swiss tournament with rapid time control will see the squads from all over the world fight for the €250,000 prize fund, with the winners taking home €100,000. The playing venue is Rheinterrasse located right in the heart of Düsseldorf, directly on the Rhine. The format Each team shall be composed of at least six and not more than nine players, and it must include at least one female and one recreational player, who never achieved FIDE rating of 2000. Each match is played on six boards, with at least one female and one recreational player in every match. The time control: 15 minutes for the first with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move 1. Matches are scored by match points, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The team with the most match points will become the champion. The teams The World Rapid Team Championship attracted several dozen squads, with some of them assembling stellar lineups. Based on average rating, there are as many as four clear favourites: WR Chess (Duda, So, Nepomniachtchi, Abdusattorov, Keymer, Praggnanandhaa R, Hou Yifan and Kosteniuk), Freedom (Rapport, Anand, Dubov, Najer, Shuvalova and Shapiro), Team MGD1 (Erigaisi, Sarin, Harikrishna, Sadhwani, Dronavalli) and Kompetenzakademie Allstars (Caruana, Aronian, Gukesh D, Tsatsalashvili). Let’s not forget that in team events, average rating often is not as important as team spirit, camaraderie, grit and determination. Take, for example, Armenia’s three gold medals in the 2006, 2008 and 2012 Chess Olympiads. Another critical factor is the participation of recreational players in every match, which can add an element of unpredictability and serve as an equalizer in critical moments. With this in mind, squads like Ashdod Elit Chess Club (headed by Pavel Eljanov), Armenia (that can easily represent the country in Chess Olympiads), ASV AlphaEchecs LINZ, Uzbekistan (basically the country’s national team minus Nodirbek Abdusattorov) and some other teams also have a shot for the title. Since this democratic competition is open to all, many teams consisting of low-rated and recreational players will participate. For them, the World Rapid Team Championship is a unique opportunity to face the best players in the world over the board and gain valuable experience. Given a long 12-round tournament distance, all the top teams are bound to play each other, so we can expect a riveting chess spectacle in Dusseldorf. Check out all the registered teams and lineups on the official website.
WWC Match 2023: Lei surprises Ju but game one ends in a draw
In the first game of the Women’s World Championship Match, challenger Lei Tingjie surprised defender Ju Wenjun in the opening, but Black managed to hold a draw The first game of the match for the title of Women’s World Champion started sharp at 3 PM local time in Shanghai. As determined in the drawing of lots, the challenger Lei Tingjie was leading the white pieces against the defender, Ju Wenjun. The first game of the match saw a first surprise as Lei opened with 1.e4 instead of her usual 1.d4. In the Berlin Defence of Ruy Lopez with 5.Re1, White opted for a rare line sacrificing a central pawn for the initiative. Ju, although taking more time on the clock, managed to counter effectively, eventually returning the extra pawn to exchange the queens and thwart White’s hopes of mounting an attack. Still, White has a small edge thanks to a slightly better pawn structure and two bishops. Neither side managed to tilt the balance for a long time. However, at one point, the world champion made an inaccuracy with move 26…a6, which allowed White some chances. Lei leapt at the opportunity and got a better better position but then simplified and entered what was an even rook endgame. Ju had one problem in the background – she was significantly behind on the clock and had little time to calculate. Despite time troubles, Ju managed to reach the first time control and hold the position. After 50 moves and just over three hours of play, the game ended in a draw. Although Lei surprised the world champion, she was unable to gain the upper hand. Nevertheless, the unexpected start promises more excitement in the upcoming games. In the press conference, both players said it was a tough game but that they feel confident about how it began. Both Ju and Lei praised the point that the match is taking place in China and think it will prove to be a turning point for Chinese chess. “This is a good thing for Chinese chess. Our chess organisation is doing a lot to promote the game and this will help,” said the defending champion Ju. ‘More children will take up chess and this is good for China and chess’, Lei added. Game two starts on Thursday, 6th July at 3 PM local time in Shanghai (+8 GMT). Here follows a closer look at the game one of the match: Lei Tingjie is known for playing 1.d4 as her first move, but she surprised her opponent by opening with 1.e4. Ju opted for the popular Berlin Defence in the Ruy Lopez. Popularised by Vladimir Kramnik in his 2000 title match against Kasparov, the Berlin is considered to be a drawing weapon for Black and has been extensively used at the top level in recent years. Following exchanges in the centre, Lei went for a line in which she gave up a central pawn for better development, hoping to grab the initiative. 11.Nc3 Played quickly by Lei, suggesting this is her preparation. The moves 11.c3 or Bf4 are considered as the main continuations here. 11…Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Bxd4 13.Bd3 13.Bf4 is considered the main line. 13.Bd3 is a relatively new move recently played by such strong players as Fabiano Caruana, Parham Maghsoodloo and Jorden van Foreest. White is preventing Black from getting the knight on the thematic f5-square. White has a pair of bishops and the initiative compensating the sacrificed pawn. Black has to be cautious of an obvious threat with Qe4 – simultaneously threatening mate and attacking the bishop on d4. As White was building up pressure, it was noticeable that Black spent significantly more time: by move 20, Lei had an hour and 23 minutes, while Ju was down to 50 minutes. 19…Ne4 Played after 20 minutes. 19…f6 or 19…Nf5 considered to be better options. Ju decided to give up her extra pawn to stabilize the position and liquidate into an endgame. However, White kept a small edge thanks to two bishops and a slightly better pawn structure. At some point, Ju silently offered a draw by move repetition, but Lei refused and rightly so, as her opponent committed an inaccuracy a few moves down the road. Instead of 26…d4 Ju played 26…a6 giving White some interesting options. Lei immediately started her push on the kingside with 27.h4. Another – probably even better – move was 27.Bd1, protecting c2-pawn and untying her dark-squared bishop. After another imprecision by Black 27…Nf8 (instead of 27…d4). White’s hopes in the game have suddenly increased. Lei continued her kingside advance, and after 28.g4 (28.Bd1 also looks interesting) 28…f5 the opponents reached the critical juncture of the game. After 29.Bb4 Kf7 30. gxf5 Bxf5 31. Re7+ Kf6 32. c4 dxc4 33. Bxc4 Be6 34. Bxe6 Nxe6 35. Rxb7 White could have emerged with an extra pawn and some winning chances. However, with 29.gxf5 Lei loosened her grip, as after 29…Bxf5 30.Bf3 Be4! the worst was behind Black. By this point, Ju had 10 minutes on the clock while Lei had 21, and the inaccuracies crept in again. As a result, White got an edge, but then it was Lei’s turn to err. With 33.Bxf8?! White exchanged her strong bishop for a passive Black’s knight, dropping the advantage immediately. Better options were Kg2, Rc3 and f3. As Black was worse on time, this exchange only played into Ju’s hands. Although Ju had a weak pawn on e4, it was not enough for White to make substantial progress. The only hope for Lei was to go after the b5-pawn, with the idea of creating two passers on the queenside, but Ju effectively countered this plan by attacking the c2-pawn. After reaching the first time control, White created a passer on the b-file, but Black held comfortably thanks to her active rook. After 50 moves and just over three hours of play, Lei and Ju decided to call it a day and split a point. Text: Milan Dinic Photos: David Llada and Stev Bonhage Official website: womenworldchampionship.fide.com/ About the Match The match will take place in two Chinese cities, where each of
World Schools Team Championship 2023: Registration deadline extended
FIDE and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation have extended the registration deadline for the participants of the World Schools Team Championship 2023 (WSTC). National Federations should submit or complete the information about their invited and additional teams using the link for the online registration form before July 10. The championship will take place in Aktau, Caspian Sea-Side, from August 3 (arrivals) to August 8 (departures) of 2023. The playing venue is Halyk Arena. About 50 National Federations first to enter with preliminary confirmation of participation in WSTC have already received for one of their teams “invited team” status and a travel grant (for schools located in member Federations affiliated to Africa or the Americas, the travel grants are up to $10,000, for schools situated in member Federations affiliated to Asia or Europe they are up to $5,000). Registration form: https://wstcc2023.fide.com/registration/ Contact email: wstcc@fide.com Regulations and invitation letter (pdf) Photo: welcome.kz
2023 FIDE World Cup: Players lists and pairings announced
FIDE World Cup, held every two years, will celebrate its 10th edition in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30 July to 24 August 2023. With 206 players in the open section, plus 103 in the Women’s competition, this event has seen its combined prize pool boosted to a whopping USD 2.5 million, the single largest one at any chess event in the world. For many players, the World Cup is the first and only opportunity to enter the race for the World Championship crown since the three top finishers in the event will advance to the next stage: the super exclusive Candidates Tournament. This means one more spot than in the previous edition, Sochi 2021, where only the finalists would qualify: in Baku, the winner of the match for 3rd/4th place will also get the coveted invitation for the Candidates, which adds some extra excitement to this already thrilling competition. The rating favourites of the open event are the #1 in FIDE July 2023 rating list Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2835), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2787; received a wild card), Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2782), Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2779), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2775), Wesley So (USA, 2769), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan, 2747), Gukesh D (India, 2744), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 2742), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2739) alongside many other well-known chess players from all over the world. The FIDE Women’s World Cup will feature the reigning champion Ju Wenjun (China, 2564), the 2020 Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2557), Humpy Koneru (India, 2553), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, 2552), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Switzerland, 2523), Tan Zhongyi (China, 2523), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia, 2511), the Ukrainians Mariya and Anna Muzychuk (2511 and 2504, respectively), and many other chess stars. Most top players in both competitions have a bye in the first round, but we still have some exciting matchups. Looking further into the draw, we can spot some interesting potential clashes. In the open event, Magnus Carlsen has a relatively easy draw up to the Round of 32 in which he most likely (provided he beats his compatriot in Aryan Tari in the Round of 64) will face either Amin Tabatabaei or Vincent Keymer. Moving down, we see a couple of possible high-profile battles, Abdusattorov – Korobov and Ivanchuk – Wei Yi and two duels of youngsters Sarin – Deac and Shevchenko – Sarana, as early as in Round 3. The second-seeded Hikaru Nakamura can meet Carlsen only in the final, but most likely, he will have his first serious test in Round 3, taking on up-and-coming Nodirbek Yakubboev. In the women’s event, there are several potential exciting confrontations in Round 3: Assaubayeva – Paehtz, the Ukrainian derby Anna Muzychuk – Anna Ushenina, Krush – Shuvalova, Zhao Xue – Batsiashvili (although the former will have to see off very talented Carissa Yip first). Since two top seeds, Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra Goryachkina, have easy early rounds, it is interesting to see whether they will make it all the way to the final to set a repeat of their 2020 title match. The World Cup is one of FIDE’s flagship competitions, and in recent editions, it has clearly become one of the most followed events in the chess calendar. It reflects FIDE’s efforts to expand the competition, increasing the variety of qualification paths and the number of represented countries. List of players for the Open Section (highlighted the 50 players BYE in Round 1) Pairings for Open Section Round 1 List of players for the Women Section (highlighed the 25 players BYE in Round 1) Pairings for Women Section Round 1 Official website: worldcup2023.fide.com/
FIDE distributes €25,000 among chess veterans
After carefully considering the numerous applications received, the special panel appointed by the FIDE Council decided that these will be the ten chess players, coaches, and promoters to benefit from the second instalment of FIDE’s support to chess veterans in 2023: Nikola Padevsky (BUL)Goran Cabrilo (SRB)Yuri Meshkov (RUS)Vassilis Aristotelous (CYP)Mario Galeano (PAR)Jens Kristiansen (DEN)Živko Janevski (MKD)Ulrich Jahr (POL)Lubov Zsiltsova-Lisenko (UKR)Dang Tat Thang (VIE) A total of €25,000 will be distributed among them, each receiving €2,500. As we did on previous occasions, we would pay tribute to these illustrious veterans with a few words about each one of them, summarizing their careers and achievements. Nikola Padevsky (BUL) Photo: Anefo – Dutch National Archives Born in 1933 in Bulgaria’s second-largest city Plovdiv, Nikola Padevsky quickly came to the forefront of national chess. He became the Bulgarian National Champion in 1954 and repeated this success in 1955, 1962 and 1964. In 1957, Nikola became IM and was awarded the GM title seven years later. Padevsky took part in World Student Team Championship six times (from 1954 through 1959). Nikola’s performance in his last championship (Hungary, 1959) was remarkable as playing first board, he helped Bulgaria to pull ahead of team USSR and win gold. A real fixture in the national team, he represented Bulgaria in eleven Chess Olympiads (every Olympiad from 1956 to 1978 except for 1976), playing first board in 1956, 1962 and 1964. His solid tournament record includes the victory in the inaugural Rubinstein Memorial (Polanica Zdrój) in 1963 and shared first place in Varna (1960), Varna (1975), Athens (Acropolis International, 1983) and Kragujevac (1984). From 1981-1989 Nikola Padevsky served as the coach of the Bulgarian national team. Nikola Padevsky is one of the oldest living grandmasters. Goran Cabrilo (SRB) Photo: alo.rs/ Born in 1958 in Yugoslavia, Goran Cabrilo made seven appearances in the national championship. Although Goran never won a medal, he finished fifth in 1989 and 1990. Goran Čabrilo delivered a good performance in the Zonal Tournament (Nea Makri, 1989) and qualified for the Interzonal Tournament (Manila 1990) where he shared 40-47th place. Goran served as the coach of the Serbian national team at the Chess Olympiad in Elista (1998). He also worked with both junior national teams in 2000. Over his long career as a player, he took part in numerous tournaments sharing first place in Trnava (1981), Subotica (1992), Vršac (2006) and Belgrad (2008). Goran Cabrilo still participates in chess competitions, but due to health problems, only those not far from his home. Yuri Meshkov (RUS) Photo: papinchess Born in Smolensk in 1950, IM Yuri Meshkov became visually impaired at seven and was introduced to chess five years later. Inspired by Mikhail Botvinnik’s three-volume book (a gift from his father) and the positional style of the fifth World Champion, Yuri progressed rapidly and soon became a CM. His real breakthrough came in 1980 when Meshkov qualified for the final stage of the RSFSR Championship and was awarded the master title. Graduated from the Smolensk Pedagogical Institute, Yuri Meshkov, for many years worked as a chess coach and instructor. Over his long career, he helped GMs Nikolai Chadayev, Vadim Malakhatko, Alexander Kovchan, David Navara, IM Alexei Potapov, FIDE masters Artyom Benza and Ekaterina Prudnikova. In 1991, together with Vladimir Krayushkin, he organized a chess school under the guidance of grandmasters Alexander Belyavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin. After the collapse of the Union, the school existed under the patronage of Anatoly Karpov. Most of the training sessions took place in his home Smolensk region. Since 2007, Yuri Meshkov has been participating in chess competitions among the visually impaired. In 2010 and 2013, he became the IBCA World Champion. He is the winner of the IBCA World Chess Olympiad (2008, 2012), the World Team Championship among chess players with disabilities (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018), European vice-champion, five-time champion of Russia in individual competitions or as a member of the national team among visually impaired chess players (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015). From 2010-2018 Yuri participated in five Chess Olympiads playing for a team of visually impaired players. A talented organizer, Yuri Meshkov held multiple competitions in his home Smolensk region. Vassilis Aristotelous (CYP) Photo: Vassilis Aristotelous’ Facebook Born in 1956, FIDE Instructor, FIDE Arbiter, and AIM Vassilis Aristotelous enormously contributed to chess in his home Cyprus. The 2008 national champion, he represented Cyprus at six Chess Olympiads and multiple international competitions. For many years Vassilis made bulletins for the Cyprus Chess Championship, providing coverage for each round, including all the games of each round, photos, and updates. Throughout his career, Vassilis Aristotelous has been giving chess lectures and simultaneous exhibitions at schools, popularizing chess and attracting new talents. A gifted author Vassilis has been writing articles for one of the leading Cyprus newspapers and penned four chess books. Over the years, he also served as a Public Relations Officer on the Cyprus Chess Federation’s managing board. Mario Galeano (PAR) Photo: Mario Galeano’s Facebook Born in 1947 in Colonia General Aquino, Paraguay, Mario Galeano Vergara became an iconic figure in his home country. Mario made a name for himself as an efficient organizer of numerous chess competitions across Paraguay, including Copa Pte. de la República (1983, 1985, 1986), Memorial Don Julio Domínguez (1988), Memorial Arturo Barchini (1988), Panam. Juvenil con la FEPARAJ (1988, 1990) Memorial Dr. Raúl Sosa Ugarte (1992), Coop. San Cristobal (2002), ITT Copa Gobernación del Amambay (2006), Memorial Ronald Cantero (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), Copa Roggio (2009), Copa ITAIPU (2011) and many others. Jens Kristiansen (DEN) Born in 1952 in Copenhagen, Jens Kristiansen won his first Danish championship in 1979 and became IM in the same year. A three-time national champion, he represented Denmark at Chess Olympiads four times between 1978 and 1990. He also delivered the best result playing second board in the 1983 European Team Championship. Jens can be called a late bloomer as he earned the title of GM aged 60 after winning the 2012 World Senior Championship. A year later, he shared first place with
FIDE Women’s World Championship Match 2023 commences in Shanghai
The match for the title of the 18th Women’s World Champion was officially opened in Shanghai. The drawing of lots determined that the challenger Lei Tingjie will start with the white pieces The 2023 FIDE Women’s World Championship Match kicked off today in Shanghai, where the first part of the match to determine the 18th women’s world champion will take place. In a refined ceremony in the grand ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel, the two players – defending world champion Ju Wenjun and challenger Lei Tingjie – got up on stage with FIDE officials to choose the colours they will start the match with. The ceremony had two stages: first, there was a drawing of lots to determine who would have the first choice in the drawing of colours. Secondly, there was the actual process of determining the colours. The first to choose in the first draw was the current Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun who picked up a box containing a black knight. This meant that Lei Tingjie would be the first to choose the pieces. In the second phase, Lei chose first, and she picked a box with the white queen, which signified that she would begin the match with the white pieces. The opening ceremony was preceded by a press conference, where the hosts and players expressed their views and expectations about the match. Tian Hongwei, General Secretary of the Chinese Chess Association, welcomed the chess world to China. Stressing the importance of the competition, Tian noted the contribution her country made to women’s chess. “This is the fourth time that two Chinese players compete for the Women’s World Chess title after 2000, 2010 and 2018. This is enough to prove that the level of Chinese women’s chess is at the top of the world, which is also the inevitable result of the popularization and development of Chinese chess,” Tian said. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board and serving as the supervisor of the appeals committee for the match, expressed gratitude to the hosts for organizing the championship. Reizniece-Ozola noted the significance of the event as FIDE prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary: “It’s a special moment for FIDE as next year we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary. The winner of this match will be the champion in a year where we mark our first centenary”. The FIDE official also praised Chinese achievements in women’s chess, noting that out of 17 women’s world chess champions so far, six come from China. She highlighted the systematic support provided by the Chinese government for chess – including the use of the game in education – and praised China’s recent victories in the chess world, including Ding Liren’s triumph in the world championship match earlier in the year. Then it was time for the players to speak. The challenger, Lei Tingjie, has proved to be one of the best players in the world. She qualified from the Grand Swiss Tournament held in 2019 and went on to win the Women’s Candidates. As for Ju Wenjun, she is a role model not only for young girls and women but also for male chess players. She is among the six women in history who excelled the ELO of 2600 and has already defended her title twice. The defending World Champion Ju Wenjun expressed her enthusiasm for the match, anticipating an exciting three weeks of competition: “It will be exciting and a lot of fighting spirit for the next three weeks. I feel I will do my best, also because of my love for chess. I will do everything to fight and win every game”. For Ju, this is her third championship match. When asked if this dual is any different from the previous ones, she said: “Every match is very important and tells its own story. I will consider this as a new match and will do my best… I will do everything to fight and win every game”. Lei Tingjie seemed relaxed ahead of the match, despite being one of the youngest challengers ever (at the age of 26): “I want to win, but I am here to improve myself. I will try my best to play good chess. I am the challenger so I don’t feel any pressure at all”. “I have a good team, and things are going well. My mood is good, I am happy to be here and ready to fight,” Lei added. The two players who are at the top of the Chinese and world chess know each other well for years. “I learnt a lot about chess from Ju. She is one of the top players in the world, and I have been following her games closely”, Lei said. “First time I met Lei, she was a kid. She is an excellent chess player, especially taking into account her young age”, the defending champion Ju Wenjun noted. For the next three weeks, the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Chongqing will play host to the Women’s World Championship match. As both of the contenders come from China, it was decided that their native cities host the event: the first part of the match will take place in Shanghai, the home city of defending champion Ju Wenjun while the second part will take place in Chongqing, where the challenger Lei Tingjie is from. Officials from both cities were present at the event and stressed their support in promoting the match. Shanghai plans to hold a series of events to promote chess, including grandmasters going out and playing chess with the public. Shanghai’s official Shan Xiali pointed out the rich history of chess in the city, also known as the “Paris of the East”: “The relationship between Shanghai and chess has a long history. Shanghai is an early city in China to promote chess. The city also has a good chess mass base and cultural atmosphere, and many excellent chess players are from Shanghai”. As the women’s world chess caravan will move to the central Chinese city of
The 2023 FIDE World Cup wild cards revealed
FIDE has approved the final list of Wild Cards for the 2023 World Cup. In both the Open and the Women’s tournament, the final list features a mix of seasoned players and promising young talents Apart from Hikaru Nakamura (No. 2 on the July 2023 Rating list, who recently scored a brilliant victory in Stavanger) and Arjun Erigaisi (No. 2 on the world junior list, the winner of the 2023 Sharjah Masters held in May), two more distinguished chess names received the Wild Card for the 2023 World Cup – Vasyl Ivanchuk and Peter Svidler. Renowned for their remarkable achievements, both players have left an indelible mark on the game as their results include playing the World Championship final and winning the World Cup and World Rapid Championship. Considered to be exceptionally strong world Grandmasters, both have had great results recently: Peter Svidler won the TePe Sigeman tournament in Malmo (Sweden) in May 2023, while Vasyl Ivanchuk picked up 17 rating points in June and tied for first place at the just concluded GM tournament in Bydgoszcz (Poland). In the Women’s World Cup, three Wild cards were given to the top three non-qualified players – Zhu Jiner (2498), Polina Shuvalova (2496) and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2488). Many in the chess world will be focused on Sarasadat who had not played classical chess for almost a year save a small tournament in May 2023. The final Wild Card was granted to the very talented 17-year-old Eline Roebers, who increased her rating by 62 points in the past three months and crossed a 2400 ELO mark (2419). The event in Baku will be her first test at such a high level. With the Wild Cards announced and the full list of participants now known, the stage is set for a battle where the world’s finest chess players will gather in Baku (Azerbaijan) to decide the winner of the World Cup. List of players for the Open Section (highlighted the 50 players BYE in Round 1) Pairings for Open Section Round 1 List of players for the Women Section (highlighed the 25 players BYE in Round 1) Pairings for Women Section Round 1 Official website: worldcup2023.fide.com/