World Rapid Team Championship: Preliminary list of participants announced
The inaugural edition of the World Rapid Team Championship, a 12-round Swiss tournament played over three days under rapid time control, will take place in Düsseldorf from August 25 (arrival day) to August 28, 2023. The event, with a prize fund of €250,000, is open to teams from all over the world. Each team shall be composed in accordance with the following requirements: A. At least six and not more than nine players, including at least: 1) One female player 2) One player, other than the one indicated in the previous point, who never achieved FIDE Standard, Rapid or Blitz Rating of 2000 Elo points (or unrated) up to and including the April 2023 rating lists B. A captain, who may also be one of the players. The preliminary list of registered teams has been published on the event’s official website. We will see quite a few top GMs in action, including Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hou Yifan, Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, and many others. Preliminary list of registered teams as of June 05, 2023: WR Chess 1 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM 2794 2 So, Wesley GM 2789 3 Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2760 4 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM 2703 5 Keymer, Vincent GM 2617 6 Praggnanandhaa R GM 2587 7 Hou, Yifan GM 2540 8 Kosteniuk, Alexandra GM 2524 9 Rosenstein, Wadim (Captain) Columbus Energy KingsOfChess Kraków 1 Jobava, Baadur GM 2660 2 Gumularz, Szymon GM 2550 3 Teclaf, Pawel IM 2494 4 Pakleza, Zbigniew (Captain) GM 2455 6 Jakubiec, Artur GM 2430 7 Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra IM 2371 8 Kulon, Klaudia IM 2147 9 Przedlacki, Wiktor 1645 Rishon LeZion Chess Club 1 Gelfand, Boris GM 2619 2 Zanan, Evgeny GM 2407 3 Veinberg, Nimrod IM 2348 4 Bronstein, Or IM 2328 5 Kaspi, Alexander IM 2312 6 Belenkaya, Dina WGM 2163 7 Lahav, Michal (Captain) WIM 2094 8 Raiko, Yossi 1838 9 Bulkovstein, David 1663 Chess Wizards 1 Dyachuk, Artem FM 2044 2 Korchynskyi, Mykola 1864 3 Nechitaylo, Nikita 1816 4 Kliashtornyi, Arkadii 1760 5 Tarasenko, Nazar 1727 7 Hladeniuk, Yelyzaveta 1477 8 Nechitaylo, Lev 1411 9 Shynkar, Daria 1014 Westerhoff, Ralf (Captain) 1517 ASV AlphaEchecs LINZ 1 Bacrot, Etienne (Captain) GM 2691 2 Maghsoodloo, Parham GM 2672 3 Naiditsch, Arkadij GM 2566 4 Lagno, Kateryna GM 2494 5 Llari, Marc 1868 6 Stoettinger, Michael 1779 Berlin Chess Federation 1 Huschenbeth, Niclas GM 2566 2 Paehtz, Elisabeth GM 2373 3 Baskin, Robert IM 2327 4 Lagunow, Raphael IM 2317 5 Meyer-Dunker, Paul (Captain) 2109 7 Carmesin, Leon Lucas 8 Rabiega, Robert GM Germany and friends 1 Svane, Rasmus GM 2621 2 Bluebaum, Matthias GM 2601 3 Donchenko, Alexander (Captain) GM 2568 5 Kollars, Dmitrij GM 2526 6 Bashylina, Luisa WFM 2007 7 Lobkin, Bohdan 1722 Kompetenzakademie Allstars 1 Caruana, Fabiano GM 2752 2 Aronian, Levon GM 2743 3 Gukesh D GM 2629 4 Tsatsalashvili, Keti WGM 2203 5 Schneider, Manfred 6 Becker, Rainer (Captain) Naphtali Team Nigeria 1 Koko, Obubele 2061 2 Oluwadare Samuel 1990 3 Akomaka, Apollos (Captain) 1763 5 Ajanwachukwu, Eunice 6 Ezeh, Pamella Souter 7 Egbujie, Stanley 8 Nwachukwu, John 9 Dan-Jumbo, Queen Awuereba 10 Dan-Jumbo, Victor Neustadt Weinstraße 1 Schulz-Knappe, Florian (Captain) 2150 3 Reh, Claudia Anne 4 Thomas, Andreas 5 Gaab, Wolfgang 6 Teuffer, Michael 7 Helbig, Mark FM 8 Allmacher, Marco 9 Schwarz, Dietmar PhileKhoob Chess Club 1 Pooreraghian, Mohammadreza 2082 2 Khademi, Mohammad Miran FM 1997 3 Bahmani, Koorosh 1863 4 Shahsanam, Alireza 1766 5 Sousanabadi Farahani, Ramin 1540 6 Farahani, Ali 1260 7 Marzban, Yasaman 8 Shamsi, Mohammadhossein (Captain) CM 9 Mirzaiee Rad, Javad Slovenia 1 Borisek, Jure GM 2548 2 Sebenik, Matej (Captain) GM 2464 4 Skoberne, Jure GM 2436 5 Subelj, Jan IM 2430 6 Unuk, Laura IM 2197 7 Novak, Rok 1621 Team MGD1 1 Erigaisi Arjun GM 2714 2 Nihal Sarin GM 2672 3 Harikrishna, Pentala GM 2630 4 Sadhwani, Raunak GM 2567 6 Dronavalli, Harika GM 2450 7 Peter Anand, A 1906 Narayanan, Srinath (Captain) GM 2482 Unischach Bayreuth 1 Ivekovic, Tihana WFM 2054 2 Braun, Kristin 1947 3 Glock, Benjamin (Captain) 1710 5 Holoubek, Jonas 1524 6 Hollstein, Jonas 7 Colmie, Nicolai 8 Kraus, Sebastian 9 Strahl, Christian Wensing & Pöbel 1 Elier, Ali 2216 2 Garbuz, Vitaliy 2149 3 Kracht, Raphael 2032 4 Bartelt, Max Peter (Captain) 1981 6 Moeller, Lisa-Marie 7 Kesselmeier, Kevin 8 Wensing, Maximilian 9 Leonard, Timo Registration is open until June 10, 2023, 12 PM Lausanne time. Each team shall apply for participation by filling out the registration form on the event’s official website.
Champions Match starts in Batumi, Georgia
The Champions Match, organized by FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation, kicked off at the Legend Hotel in Batumi with a technical meeting and drawing of colours. The competition is two six-game matches with classical time control held between Ukrainian and Georgian top female players: • Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine, 2515) • Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, 2504) • Nino Batsiashvili (Georgia, 2467) • Meri Arabidze (Georgia, 2441) The drawing of colours was conducted using traditional Georgian wines. The player to pick white wine, Teliani Valley – Tvishi, will play with white in the first round, and the one who chose red wine, Teliani Valley – Khvanchkara, will have the black pieces. First-round pairings: • Maria Muzychuk – Nino Batsiashvili • Anna Muzychuk – Meri Arabidze The technical meeting was attended by FIDE Special Tasks Director and the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Akaki Iashvili, who welcomed the participants and wished them success. The first round of the Champions Match will start on June 5, at 3 PM local time, in the Legend Hotel. Chief Arbiter: Ashot Vardapetyan Chief of the Appeal Committee: Marco Biagioli Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/ Live games Photos: official website
Winners crowned at European Senior Championship 2023
The ECU Senior Chess Championship 2023 is in the books. The event took place in Acqui Terme, Italy, from May 25 to June 4, 2023, and was held in two age categories, 65+ and 50+. Women 65+ competed in the Open 65+ Swiss tournament (with separate ranking and prizes), while ladies 50+ had their own competition, a 9-player round-robin. As many as five players scored 7/9 in the 65+ tournament after the leaders, GM Lubomir Ftacnik and FM Terry Chapman drew their final-round game and allowed Jose Fernandez Garcia, John Nunn and Wolfgang Polster, who scored victories, to catch up with them. The Buchholz (second variable) favoured the reigning Word Senior Champion John Nunn, who added another title to his collection. Jose Fernandez Garcia and Lubomir Fracnik won silver and bronze, respectively. Final standings Open 65+: 1 GM Nunn, John D M ENG 2579 7 2 GM Fernandez Garcia, Jose ESP 2370 7 3 GM Ftacnik, Lubomir SVK 2456 7 4 FM Chapman, Terry P D ENG 2204 7 5 Polster, Wolfgang GER 2189 7 6 IM Renman, Nils-Gustaf SWE 2331 6½ 7 FM Schulz, Michael GER 2215 6½ 8 Kierzek, Matthias. GER 2163 6 9 IM Rooze, Jan BEL 2268 6 10 Ubezio, Marco ITA 2112 6 WGM Gisela Fischdick pulled off a crucial last-round victory over Wim Kortis and leapfrogged legendary GM Nona Gaprindashvili, who had to settle for silver. WFM Mira Kierzek took bronze. Final standings Women 65+: 1. WGM Gisela Fischdick (Germany) European champion – 6 2. GM Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia) – 5½ 3. WFM Mira Kierzek (Germany) – 4½ The Open 50+ was an even closer race with seven players, including the defending European Senior Champion GM Martin Mrva and the reigning World Senior Champion GM Zurab Sturua, scoring 6.5/9 and tying for the top position. Ironically, just like in the Open 65+, the reigning World Senior Champion Zurab Sturua had the best Buchholz and claimed the title. Fabrizio Bellia and Jose Lacasa Diaz earned silver and bronze, respectively. Final standings Open 50+: 1 GM Sturua, Zurab GEO 2518 6½ 2 IM Bellia, Fabrizio ITA 2393 6½ 3 IM Lacasa Diaz, Jose ESP 2359 6½ 4 GM Arkell, Keith C ENG 2390 6½ 5 IM Van Der Werf, Mark NED 2396 6½ 6 GM Mrva, Martin SVK 2353 6½ 7 FM Wacker, Peter GER 2265 6½ 8 FM De Santis, Alessio ITA 2117 6 9 FM Dishman, Stephen ENG 2259 6 10 GM Atalik, Suat SRB 2441 6 The 50+ Women round-robin saw the triumph of the rating-favourite WGM Marina Makropoulou of Greece who finished 1.5 ahead of Olga Birhkolz (Germany) and Polina Ni (Latvia). The champion became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. Final standings Women 50+: 1 WGM Makropoulou, Marina 2081 GRE 6½ 2 WFM Birkholz, Olga 2005 GER 5 3 Ni, Polina 1892 LAT 5 4 Baliuniene, Margarita 1920 LTU 4½ 5 WIM Dubois, Martine 1753 MNC 4 6 Sirletti, Sonia 1825 ITA 3½ 7 Baglay, Kseniya 1712 UKR 3½ 8 Novak, Simona 1622 SLO 2½ 9 Urbanc, Suzana 1655 SLO 1½ Photos: ECU Senior chess 2023 Official website: scaccomattissimo.com/ecu-senior-2023/
Kuznecovas rolls on the way to European Chess Solving Championship in Bratislava
Photo above: Solving hall in the old building of the Nottingham High School | Photo: British Chess News / John Upham Photography A perfect month of the World Solving Cup 2022/23 events is behind us, with six national championships held in less than 30 days. After 11 out of 17 competitions, differing in the average Solvers rating from 4th to 12th Category the top two places in the WSC Standings are still in the firm hold of Lithuanian solvers, but they switched their places, thanks to a series of outstanding results by Kevinas Kuznecovas. The 18-years old has been rolling this year, reaching the top 5 places in all nine tournaments he entered. The icing on the cake was his back-to-back wins in Slovakia, Great Britain and France. On the way to it, Kevinas has instantly completed norms for solving titles of FIDE Master and International Master. His Next goal is the title of Grandmaster, and the next station is the European Chess Solving Championship in Bratislava (June 2-4). Martynas Limontas is still in a good position to regain the top place since he hasn’t used the quota of six tournaments yet. In fact, nobody else except the leader has done it, and the final standings will heavily depend on two main yearly events: the Bratislava ECSC (June 1), and the World Chess Solving Championship in Batumi (September 4). According to the WSC Rules, the number of points in a competition correlates with the average rating of the ten best participants. In the lowest, 14th Category, the winner gets only 2 WSC points, while the win in the 1st Category event scores 46 points. That explains the high positions of the five solvers who took part in only one WSC leg and still made it in the top 10! The Open Solving Championship of Serbia was the strongest national competition since 2019, with seven solving grandmasters taking part and an average rating of 2477. Danila Pavlov, double World and European Solving Champion pulled off a convincing victory that brought him 31 points – enough for the current third position in the WSC race. The 2nd and 3rd places in Belgrade secured the top 10 WSC positions for GM Solver Marko Filipović (on his successful return after several years) and to the double Grandmaster (in chess and solving) Bojan Vučković, the Serbian champion once again. Winners in Belgrade Bojan Vučković, Danila Pavlov & Marko Filipović This solving competition was a part of the program of the traditional Belgrade Problem Chess Festival revitalized after three years of the COVID break. With B Category for juniors, composing tournament and lectures, it was held in the Chess Club Beograd, on the top of the Football Stadium OFK Beograd. This is where all gatherings of Serbian chess problemists as well as literary evenings devoted to the great chess personalities and events, happen. The week after, the 44th Lithuanian Chess Problem Solving Championship was held in Kėdainiai, a small town on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Over the last two decades, the championship constantly pulsates between the capital and the countryside, occasionally wandering into the bigger cities – Klaipėda and Kaunas. At the end of the last millennium, the representatives of Kėdainiai began to dominate and, not less than 17 times, became the individual national champions. Curiously, the solving event had the same surrounding as in Belgrade – in the administrative building of the local football club. The fight between the two WSC leaders ended with Martynas‘ scoring his eighth national victory. One of the most titled participants of the World Solving Cup, he won this event in 2017/2018, took second place in 2018/2019, and came third three times. The record holder Vidmantas Satkus, 11-time Lithuanian champion, earned the bronze medal. The biggest surprise happened in the team competition, where the Vilnius II team (A.Mockus, K.Kuznecovas and V.Paliulionis) ended the eternal rivalry between Vilnius and Kėdainiai main chess problem-solving teams. Winners of the Lithuanian championship V. Satkus, M. Limontas and K. Kuznecovas with the arbiter R.Krolikowski | Photo: Vilimantas Satkus With the 16th European Chess Solving Championship ready to begin, the 31st Slovak Championship in Bratislava was of special importance as it served as a preparation stage for the solving hot team and the organizing squad. Among several parallel competitions, the Blind Solving was an interesting novelty in the 16th ECSC program. Using only the notation of the given problems, the top-rated Slovak GM Jerguš Pecháč dominated, the same as in Quick Solving where the shortest problems in 2 moves are presented on a big screen, one by one. Blind Solving in Bratislava: the arbiter Ľubomír Širáň, Marek Kolčák (3rd place), the winner Jerguš Pecháč and Stasys Steponavičius (2nd place) | Photo Richard Dobiáš Although GM Jerguš Pecháč made his debut in a rated solving competition, he did very well in the 31st Slovak Championship, too. Only because of rushing during the moremovers round, when he spent only 30 out of 80 minutes, he missed the 3rd place. The tourney ended with the first out of three consecutive WSC wins for Kevinas Kuznecovas, ahead of Slovaks Tomáš Peitl, Marek Kolčák and Richard Dobiáš. The main ECSC organizer Marek Kolčák has taken part in all 31 Slovak championships and holds the record with 9 national titles, 11 silver medals and 5 bronze ones. He made it to the podium again, despite all the demanding organizing work this year. The final of the Winton British Chess Solving Championship 2022/23 was organized at Nottingham High School and had a very special atmosphere. The second back-to-back win by Kevinas Kuznecovas hardly surprised anyone, but the way he did it was really impressive. David Hodge was the first recipient of the Paul Valois Trophy, for the best British solver, presented by Paul’s sister Andrea Holt. The former World Champion in solving Jonathan Mestel finished only one point behind him, and the bronze went to Kamila Hryshchenko. David Hodge became the first recipient of the Paul Valois Trophy Text: Marjan Kovačević, WFCC President Official website: WFCC – World Federation for Chess Composition
Call for submissions: FIDE Veterans Support Program 2023, second installment
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of its support to chess veterans in 2023. The second installment of grants will be awarded next month to distinguished players, coaches and organizers aged 65+. Anyone over this age who has contributed to the development of chess and who is in an unstable financial situation is eligible to submit an application. As in previous years, we invite federations, clubs, and players themselves to send their applications, including a CV of the nominee, to the FIDE Secretariat: office@fide.com. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2023.
FIDE World Senior Championship 2023: Registration is open
FIDE and the Italian Chess Federation, along with UniChess, are happy to invite all FIDE member federations to participate in the World Senior Chess Championship 2023. The event will be held in Terrasini, Italy, from October 24 (arrival) to November 6 (departure), 2023. The Championship will be played in four categories: age 50+ and 65+, Open and Women. All players shall have reached the age of 50 and 65, respectively, by December 31, 2023. The top three players from each category of the previous World Senior Championships have the personal right to participate. In addition, the top three finishers from each category of the previous year’s Continental Senior Championships are also qualified for participation and cannot be substituted by other players. The deadline for registration is August 30, 2023. Registration form Regulations for the FIDE World Senior Championships 2023 (pdf) FIDE Senior Chess Championships official website will be launched by June 15 E-mail: worldsenior@fide.com Photo: Wikipeida, Bjs
FIDE June 2023 rating list published
The top ten places in the overall and women’s lists were mainly impacted by the GСT Superbet Chess Classics Romania and the final leg of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022-2023 in Cyprus. The recent contender for the World Champion title Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi dropped quite a few points in Bucharest (most likely the fatigue took its toll), while the winner Fabiano Caruana and Richard Rapport (who returned into the top 10 Open) became the primary rating beneficiaries of this event. Photo: Grand Chess Tour | Lennart Ootes Ironically, three women’s top-tenners incurred substantial rating losses in Nicosia, but Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina definitely found comfort in qualifying for the 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament. Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Zatonskih, Anna IM USA 2364 (+74) Fressinet, Laurent GM FRA 2652 (+20) Vaishali, Rameshbabu IM IND 2431 (+15) Sargsyan, Shant GM ARM 2654 (+14) Injac, Teodora IM SRB 2415 (+14) Sindarov, Javokhir GM UZB 2659 (+13) Ivanchuk, Vasyl GM UKR 2667 (+12) Krush, Irina GM USA 2447 (+11) Divya Deshmukh WGM IND 2400 (+11) Grandelius, Nils GM SWE 2686 (+10) IM Eline Roebers deservedly won this nomination after stringing together three strong performances in Frauenbundesliga and the 15th BMP Limburg Open and collecting 52 rating points. Photo: Lennart Ootes The lowest-rated player in the field rarely wins the event, but that is exactly what happened with Dinara Wagner. The German WGM defied the odds and took down the final leg of FIDE WGP in Cyprus, picking up 30 rating points along the way. Polina Shuvalova also did well in this event and added 12 points to her tally. Photo: Mark Livshitz The sixth edition of Sharjah Masters had an impressive field featuring many strong GMs. Consequently, those who fared well in this 9-round Swiss tournament substantially increased their rating, while Grigoriy Oparin (+13 points coupled with 7 points he picked in the 2023 President Cup) and Ju Wenjun (+16) made it to this list. The Chinese GM mounted to third position in the women’s list and is now just one point behind Humpy Koneru. Photo: Sharjahmasters IM Nurgyul Salimova and WGM Divya Deshmukh turned in solid performances at the very strong Baku Open 2023 that translated into 18 and 17 rating points, respectively, while the winner of this event, Leon Luke Mendonca (who is still outside of the top 100 open), gained 20 points and moved up to 12th position in the junior list. In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that several young players overperformed in May, playing in strong open events and, as a result, rose in the junior top 100. This list includes Jonas Buhl Bjerre – 2624 (+22), Aydin Suleymanli – 2586 (+26), Aditya Mittal – 2586 (+26), Abhimanyu Mishra – 2574 (+24), Platon Galperin – 2551 (+23) and the newly crowned champion of Iran, untitled Amirreza Pour Agha Bala – 2523 (+22).
Queens’ Chess Festival returns in July
The Queens’ Online Chess Festival, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments, is returning this summer. The third edition of the popular event, organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with FIDE, will take place from July 02-16, 2023, on Tornelo online platform. The festival welcomes all women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups, including unrated chess enthusiasts. Participation is free of charge. The festival gives everybody a chance to participate in two competitions: Queens’ Women Open Tournament. Open to all female participants with FIDE ID, with continental qualifying events running from July 01-09 and Semi-Final and Final scheduled on July 15-16; Unrated Princesses’ tournaments. For U16 (born on 1.1.2007 or later) female players with no FIDE rating. National rating is acceptable but will not influence the pairing of the event. Like in the previous editions, a lot is at stake in the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2023. The winners of the World Queens’ Open 2023 and Princess’ Tournament (both U9 and U16 ) will be invited to the 45th World Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. The ticket, full-board accommodation for 3 days and invitations to the Opening Ceremony of the Chess Olympiad 2024 for the winner and one accompanying person will be covered. The official Award ceremony for the Queens’ Festival 2023 will take place during the Olympiad. Queens’ Women Open Tournament Registration form Registration deadlines: Africa – June 24, 2023 Europe – June 25, 2023 Asia – July 1, 2023 Americas – July 2, 2023 The qualification tournaments and semi-finals will be 7 or 9-round Swiss tournaments with 3+2 time control, depending on the number of participants, while the final will be a round-robin with 5+5 time control (7 rounds). Unrated Princesses’ Tournament Registration form Registration deadline: July 8, 2023 Unrated players U16 years old (born on 1.1.2007 or later) can play in both the Queens’ Women’s Open tournament and the Unrated Princesses’ tournament. Regulations for Queens’ Chess Festival (pdf)
Munkhdalai Amiral and Erdenebayar Khuslen win Mongolian Championship
The 2023 Mongolian Championship saw the triumph of young players as 16-year-old Munkhdalai Amiral and 14-year-old Erdenebayar Khuslen sensationally won their maiden national titles. Both competitions, the open and women’s tournaments, were 12-player round robins taking place simultaneously in Khovd, Mongolia, from May 20-30, 2023. The 10th-rated FM Munkhdalai Amiral (pictured below left) made a splash in the open tournament scoring an impressive 8.5/11 and convincingly winning gold. Aged 16 years and five months, Munkhdalai became the youngest-ever Mongolian champion in the open section. Amiral is the only player in the competition to suffer no defeats. Gombosuren Munkhgal (the only GM in the tournament) and IM Sugar Gan-Erdene finished a full point behind the champion, with the former taking silver as the winner of their direct encounter. Final standings open: 1 FM Amilal, Munkhdalai 2141 8½ 2 GM Munkhgal, Gombosuren 2463 7½ 3 IM Gan-Erdene, Sugar 2420 7½ 4 IM Amartuvshin, Ganzorig 2407 7 5 FM Chinguun, Sumiya 2298 6½ 6 FM Bulgankhan, Ganzorig 2017 6 7 GM Bilguun, Sumiya 2474 6 8 IM Munguntuul, Batkhuyag 2408 4½ 9 WGM Munkhzul, Turmunkh 2318 4 10 Ulziikhishig, Khishigbat 1601 3½ 11 FM Enkhnar, Enkhbaatar 2360 3 12 FM Erdene, Ganzorig 2278 2 Somewhat surprisingly, the women’s competition turned into a very close race between untitled Erdenebayar Khuslen (pictured below left), WCM Khishigbaatar Bayasgalan and WCM Batsaikhan Enkhsaran (rated 5th, 6th, and 7th, respectively). All three players netted 7.5/11 and shared first place, but the title goes to 14-year-old Erdenebayar, who scored victories in both direct encounters. Final standings women: 1 Khuslen, Erdenebayar 1835 7½ 2 WCM Bayasgalan, Khishigbaatar 1811 7½ 3 WCM Enkhsaran, Batsaikhan 1756 7½ 4 WCM Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene 2299 7 5 Enkhrii, Enkh-Amgalan 1448 6½ 6 WFM Altantuya, Boldbaatar 2191 6 7 WCM Enkhbolor, Nyamdavaa 1699 5½ 8 WIM Bayarmaa, Bayarjargal 2167 5 9 WCM Amin-Erdene, Bayanmunkh 1620 4 10 Oyumaa, Myagmardorj 0 3½ 11 Margadgua, Erdenebayar 1934 3½ 12 WCM Udval, Enkhsaikhan 1682 2½ Photos: Mongolian Chess Federation Facebook
English Championship: Michael Adams and Katarzyna Toma clinch titles
Congratulations and well played to the 2023 English and English Women’s Chess Champions – GM Mickey Adams and WGM Katarzyna Toma! The English Championships and English Women’s Championship took place between May 26 and May 29, 2023, at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth-Warwick. Both competitions were 7-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control. Michael Adams confirmed his status as the rating favourite and won the title in the open event, although, it was not a walk in the park for him. Coming into the final round on 5.5/6 a full point ahead of IM Jonah Willow, IM Marcus Havey, GM Peter Wells, IM Matthew Wadsworth and Peter Finn, he needed just a draw to seal the deal. However, his last-round opponent Jonah Willow was in a feisty mood and made the leader work hard. After the opponents traded several mistakes in a complicated middlegame Willow achieved a winning position but missed the decisive move, and this exciting battle ended in a draw by perpetual. Jonah played 34.Rc4 and let Michael off the hook – 34…Qxe5 35.Qxf7+ Kh6 36.Rh4 Kg5 37.Rg4 Kh6 with a draw, whereas after 34.Nxf7! Qf5+ (all other continuations are even worse) 35.Qxf5 gxf5 36. Nxd6 White’s central pawns are unstoppable. Meanwhile, Havey and Wadsworth scored victories and tied for second place, with the former claiming silver thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. Final standings 1 GM Adams, Michael 2757 6 2 IM Harvey, Marcus 2539 5½ 3 IM Wadsworth, Matthew 2469 5½ 4 GM Hebden, Mark 2504 5 5 IM Willow, Jonah 2490 5 6 GM Gormally, Daniel 2470 5 7 CM Khandelwal, Ankush 2362 5 8 Finn, Peter 2258 4½ 9 IM Pert, Richard G 2461 4½ 10 FM Derakhshani, Borna 2405 4½ Complete results The women’s event was also a close race that came down to the wire. Neither player completed the competition unbeaten. Again, the top seed WGM Katarzyna Toma did not disappoint as she came out on top with 5.5/7 after scoring a crucial final-round victory over the leader, WCM Zoe Varney, who was a half-point ahead. Zoe Varney, WFM Audrey Kueh and Kamila Hryshchenko shared second place, with Varney and Kueh taking silver and bronze, respectively, by dint of a superior Buchholz. Final standings 1 WGM Toma, Katarzyna 2386 5½ 2 WCM Varney, Zoe 2081 5 3 WFM Kueh, Audrey 2148 5 4 Hryshchenko, Kamila 2235 5 5 WCM Pert, Nina P 2153 4½ 6 Rida, Ruqayyah 2013 4½ 7 AIM Subramanian, Anusha 2012 4½ 8 WFM Longson, Sarah N 2129 4 9 Sivanandan, Bodhana 1993 4 10 Dicen, Elis Denele 2022 4 Complete results Photo: English Chess Federation Facebook