Four-way tie at WGP Nicosia
After six rounds and going into the rest day, there is a four-way tie for the lead at the Cyprus Women’s Grand Prix. Tan Zhongyi, Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, and Diana Wagner are all on 4/6 and also undefeated, with two wins and four draws. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the tournament will resume on Tuesday at 3 pm. The players will enjoy a much-needed rest to relax at the swimming pool or hop on to one of the several trips to the beach or the mountains that the organizers have arranged. GM Goryachkina, Aleksandra vs IM Shuvalova, Polina (0’5-0’5) Playing for the same country, it stands to reason that Goryachkina and Shuvalova would have faced each other quite a few times. Although both of them are from the same generation – Shuvalova is 22 years old, and Goryachkina is 24 – they weren’t in the same age group. Therefore, they didn’t meet at the U-18 national categories. Goryachkina has generally prevailed in their classical games, whereas Shuvalova has defeated her in blitz and rapid. Polina Shuvalova is a fast and confident player. This also has some drawbacks, but it also can help you win a lot of games, putting time pressure on your opponent. This afternoon Polina unbelievingly finished with more time on her clock than at the start of the game. After signing the draw, she was kind enough to speak to us for a few minutes. “This line is more or less drawish and part of my preparation up to 22.Re7,” Shuvalova said after the game. “That is why I had more time on the clock than when I started.” When asked about how she was able to change gears at night after a tough result and prepare for the next day, Shuvalova pragmatically explained: “It’s part of life. Of course, I was angry after the game, but I was more relaxed when I understood it wasn’t completely winning. If you go to bed and you are still thinking about the game, it means something has gone wrong for you. When you still have games in the tournament, you should just think about the next game”. IM Assaubayeva, Bibisara vs GM Tan, Zhongyi (0’5-0’5) Excluding rapid and blitz games, Assaubayeva and Tan Zhongyi had only faced each other once before, in the Astana leg of the 2022-2023 Women’s Grand Prix. In that game, a Queen’s Gambit Declined, in which Assaubayeva played White, Tan Zhongyi emerged victorious. Today’s game, a theoretical affair in the fashionable Four Knight’s English Opening, was equal from start to finish. The line has a 93% draw rate, and both players were booked to the teeth with the engine’s first move analysis. No surprise that the game ended in a draw in exactly 30 moves. GM Dzagnidze, Nana vs GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra (0-1) These two Grand Masters have played each other no less than fifty-nine times, the first of them in the 2009 European Women’s Team Championship. In classical chess, nineteen very hard-fought games, the shortest of them 29 moves and the longest 87 moves, but most of them in the 40-60 move range! Kosteniuk has dominated Dzagnidze by eight wins to two with eleven draws, but their most recent game – played in the Munich WGP 2023 – ended in a draw. In a Ragozin defence, Kosteniuk followed the 2017 game between Khademalsharieh and Serarols Mabras, sacrificing a pawn for the initiative. However, Dzagnidze smelled the danger and preferred to finish her development. After some complications, Kosteniuk seized the advantage on the queenside and, at the same time, put her opponent in serious time trouble. In the end, Alexandra switched to the kingside and finished things off with a direct attack. “It’s always nice to win. I used to be very disappointed making draws but now I am happy to draw in complicated games,” Kosteniuk explained after the game. Regarding her clear advantage in the scoreboard against Dzagnidze, Kosteniuk mentioned the psychology behind it: “If you are falling behind in the scoreboard, psychologically it’s harder to play because you always have those memories of losses and wins.” GM Khotenashvili, Bella vs IM Mammadzada, Gunay (0,5-0,5) Bella Khotenashvili and Gunay Mammadzada have played each other on four occasions in the past, although only one of those games has been disputed under classical time control. In the 2018 European Individual Championship, Mammadzada defeated Khotenashvili playing the White side of the Ruy Lopez. This afternoon, Mammadzada played a very principled line with Black, giving up the bishop pair to establish a rock-solid pawn formation on the light squares. GM’s Laznicka, Svetushkin, and Pourramezanali are a few of the higher-rated players who have used the system in the past. “In the two games I lost, I misplayed drawish positions. I hope I will convert these misplayed games in the future,e” Mammadzada said after the game in her interview. However, it seemed that Khotenashvili had a better understanding of the middlegame nuances and, after the exchange of queens, gradually increased her advantage on the queenside. But everything changed on move twenty-two. In this position, Khotenashvili initiated a sequence of mass exchanges beginning with 22.Bxd6 that ultimately lead her only to equality. Instead, 22.e3 was the way to go, and Black still had to find a way of solving her king’s position to exchange the rook on the c-file: not an easy task at all. A draw was finally agreed on move 41 in a completely drawn opposite-coloured bishop endgame. Asked about her plans for the free day, Mammadzada said that she still wasn’t sure. “I want to have a good rest first of all. I know Cyprus is known for its historical places so maybe I will check them out. We’ll see!” Add interview link WGM Wagner, Dinara vs IM Kiolbasa, Oliwia (1-0) Dinara and Oliwia played twice in the Under-12 European and World Championships, back in 2011, but since then, strangely enough, they had never met again in classical chess. Struggling over the last several
FIDE WGP Nicosia: Harika scores her second win and joins the lead
85-year-old WIM Edith Krizsán-Bilek is a pioneer in women’s chess. She has been playing all her life. In 1958, Krizsán-Bilek won the Hungarian Women’s Chess Championship and has represented Hungary in several Chess Olympiads, winning individual and team medals. Even now, she travels to Cyprus regularly, giving talks to kids and teaching chess, accompanied by friends and family. This afternoon she attended the fifth round of the Cyprus Women’s Grand Prix, inspiring all the players with her presence. It was a special moment for everyone involved when she was applauded by the players at the start of the round. The hero of the round was Harika Dronavalli. Supported by a few Indian fans who came to cheer her on, she defeated Oliwia Kiolbasa with Black and now shares the lead with Tan Zhongi and Lagno, who could only draw their games. GM Lagno, Kateryna vs GM Goryachkina, Aleksandra (0,5-0,5) The most important game of the round and, maybe, of the entire series. Goryachkina and Lagno have faced each other nine times in classical games, including two games during the current Grand Prix series. With two wins and seven draws, Goryachkina outscores Lagno by the slightest of margins, although it must be said that Lagno has had her fair share of victories in blitz and rapid. Today’s game was a theoretical battle in the 4.d3 Berlin defence in the Ruy Lopez. Instead of 5…0-0, which Goryachkina chose against Lagno a month ago in New Delhi, she decided to mix things up and go for 5…Nd4, an active line achieving the two bishops and initiative in exchange for a severely weakened pawn structure. All the games played in this line have ended in draws, including a 2019 encounter between Nakamura and Aronian or more recent games played by Giri or Kryvoruchko. Lagno had prepared a new idea, 13.Qd3, but as usual, Goryachkina had done her homework and uncorked a very nice exchange sacrifice to keep the balance. According to the engine, Aleksandra could have even gone for more had she played 22…Bxe3 instead of 22…Bf3+. The idea is to keep playing an exchange down and prioritize the centralization of the black king. Both players discussed this and other variations after the game while they were undergoing the fair-play postgame procedures. IM Kiolbasa, Oliwia vs GM Dronavalli, Harika (0-1) It’s hard to say for sure, but judging by the amount of time that Kiolbasa spent on the opening, it seems she was surprised by the Neo-Arkhangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez that Harika played against her this afternoon. Although it’s not one of her main repertoire lines, she did play it recently against Zhu Jiner in the 2023 Munich leg of the Grand Prix. In this afternoon’s game, she can safely say that her work on the opening has been successful. Although Black has two sets of doubled pawns from the opening, it’s easy to see that only Harika is fighting for the advantage: strong doubled rooks on the f-file and clear attacking chances. Harika could have cashed in with 22…Rxf2, winning a pawn but losing part of her positional advantage. Instead, she preferred to play for the attack, especially taking into account Kiolbasa’s time trouble. With precise and aggressive play, she took down the point, cruising into joint lead with 3.5/5. In her postgame interview, she was joined by a team of local Indian supporters, who arrived just at the right moment to see her convert her advantage. “I’m not thinking much about the standings; I’m just trying to play my own chess and give my best,” were her wise words after the game. IM Shuvalova, Polina vs GM Khotenashvili, Bella (0’5-0’5) According to my database, Shuvalova and Khotenashvili had only played once together, a draw in the 2022 World Rapid Championship. This afternoon, Shuvalova’s opening preparation was spot on. In a dangerous side-line of the Grunfeld defence, she played fast and with a lot of confidence, blitzing out her attacking moves and putting maximum pressure on her Georgian opponent. By advancing her h-pawn to h6, she created a very dangerous wedge in Khotenashvili’s castled kingside – a decisive tactical option for a back-rank mate. The key moment was move twenty-seven. Instead of exchanging queens, 27.Rxa7 straight away was much better, reducing Black’s defensive opportunities in the double rook ending. The engine assesses the endgame as won for White, but Shuvalova chose a different option, grabbing a pawn but substantially reducing her winning chances, and the game finally ended in a draw. GM Dzagnidze, Nana vs IM Assaubayeva, Bibisara (0.5-0.5) Assaubayeva has demonstrated time and time again her strength on the black side of the King’s Indian defence, so it was no surprise to see the experienced Dzagnidze select one of the many offbeat side-lines with double fianchetto. The idea was to take her opponent out of the book as soon as possible and make her think for herself from the get-go. The plan was successful: Assaubayeva didn’t seem at home in the opening phase, spending much more time than usual. Dzagnidze got a small edge out of the middlegame: control over the central dark squares and potentially a two vs one pawn majority on the queenside. However, Assaubayeva defended well, keeping the disadvantage at a minimum. Approaching the time control, Assaubayeva misplayed her position in her opponent’s time trouble, landing in a very dangerous queen plus knight vs queen plus bishop endgame, totally lost according to the engines. Nonetheless, inaccurate play by Dzagnidze combined with strong defence by Assaubayeva earned the latter a well-deserved half point. IM Mammadzada, Gunay vs GM Tan, Zhongyi (0,5-0,5) In their first game together, Mammadzada went for the Catalan Opening with 3.g3, sidestepping Tan Zhongyi’s Queen’s Indian defence. After a few theoretical moves, Mammadzada forfeited her Catalan bishop in exchange for what seemed to be a superior pawn structure. However, as in other games in this event, the top Azerbaijan female player was spending too much time on the clock. With her opponent under severe time pressure,
FIDE WGP Nicosia: Goryachkina wins, Lagno and Tan Zhongyi lead
“Chess is hard, no one said it was going to be easy.” Wise words by Kosteniuk this afternoon summing up in a sentence how difficult it is to play good chess, especially at the highest level. This afternoon we saw an array of missed opportunities, tenacious defence, a couple of blunders, and some excellent endgame technique. With her win, the only victory of the fourth round, Aleksandra Goryachkina recovers some ground and joins the group that trails the leaders Tan Zhongyi and Lagno by just half a point. With seven rounds to go it’s still anyone’s game. GM Khotenashvili, Bella vs GM Lagno, Kateryna (0,5-0,5) The round had hardly started, with most of the games still under ten moves in, and my screen was already indicating a 30-move draw on one of the boards. After checking that it wasn’t a mistake, I rapidly went to search for the players. According to my database, this was the eighth classical game between Khotenashvili and Lagno: three wins for Lagno, three draws, and just one win for Khotenashvili. Interestingly, the first game they played together was back in 2002, in the International Youth Games Under-14 category! Khotenashvili happily explained what had happened. “I generally don’t like to play these long computer draws, but as Lagno repeated the same line I played in the second round against Kosteniuk, I deviated, and sometimes these things happen,” she explained in her brief postgame interview. “When you play such a strong tournament, you need good preparation and a lot of energy. So, I’m trying to do my best. For now, I feel that I’m in good shape.” GM Tan, Zhongyi vs IM Shuvalova, Polina (0,5-0,5) Clearly, the most equal game of the day, bordering on a quick theoretical draw. In a Neo-Grunfeld defence, Shuvalova equalised comfortably with great home preparation following a 2018 game between GM’s Inarkiev and Ponkratov. After twenty moves, most of the pieces were exchanged, and the opponents reached a completely equal ending. Maybe it can be argued that Tan Zhongyi had a minor academic edge, but it didn’t seem likely at all that she would be able to convert. A draw was agreed on move forty-three in an equal bishop endgame. GM Dronavalli, Harika vs GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra (0,5-0,5) Harika and Kosteniuk have a huge playing history. According to my database, they played more than ninety official games, although only twenty-four were classical. They are very closely matched: seven wins each and ten draws, the last of them three months ago at the Munich WGP. In yet another rather obscure line in the Catalan opening, Kosteniuk improved on her second-round game against Khotenashvili and achieved quite a decent position going into the middlegame. Excellent piece play, pawn structure, and king safety for just a pawn, but still a very difficult position to handle. “Neither of us had a clue on what was going on”, she said after the game in her first short interview of the event. IM Assaubayeva, Bibisara vs IM Mammadzada, Gunay (0,5-0,5) An interesting match-up between two young and upcoming stars. According to my database, this was the first classical game between them: in eight previous blitz and rapid games, Assaubayeva outscored Mammadzada by 5-3. Heavily prepared theoretically for the game, Assaubayeva went for a pawn sacrifice in the Exchange Slav, giving her strong tactical compensation with superior development and attack. The move 15.Ke2, played almost instantly, is a key indicator that she was playing fast, confident, and “still in the book”. Around move twenty-five, Assaubayeva had two times the amount of time than her opponent, who, it has to be said, defended a difficult position very tenaciously. Assaubayeva wasn’t able to cash in on the attack but did force a slightly favourable ending, even still being down a pawn. However, Mammadzada defended accurately, and a draw was agreed on move forty-two, in an endgame with opposite-coloured bishops. WGM Wagner, Dinara vs GM Dzagnidze, Nana (0,5-0,5) A missed opportunity for Dinara Wagner, who is displaying a great level of play here in Nicosia, and excellent time management. Dzagnidze tried, unsuccessfully, to surprise her opponent by employing a rare side-line in the Queen’s Gambit – the so-called Dzindzi-Indian defence, named after GM Roman Dzindzichashvili. But Wagner didn’t even blink. She proceeded to play fast and confidently, isolating one of Dzagnidze’s centre pawns and then exchanging off the appropriate pieces to reach a favourable ending with a clear extra pawn and, uncharacteristically for her, much more time on the clock. However, Dzagnidze defended very accurately and reduced the disadvantage to a minimum. A draw was agreed on move sixty-five. GM Goryachkina, Aleksandra vs IM Kiolbasa, Oliwia (1-0) The last game to finish and the only one with a decisive result. Today was a tough outing for Kiolbasa. According to my database, they had never faced each other before in an official classical game, and Goryachkina is a very strong opponent for the young Polish IM. Kiolbasa came to the game extremely well-prepared. The first 18 moves of the game followed the 2020 Goryachkina vs Dubov game, which ended in a win for Dubov. Kiolbasa improved on Dubov’s play with 18…Rc4, hitting the d4-pawn, the first engine option (Dubov played the slightly inferior 18…Nb6). Surprised but at the same time imperturbable, Goryachkina spent more than 20 minutes remembering her analysis, ultimately coming up with the correct sequence. Surprised herself, Kiolbasa blundered heavily with 21…Rxd1? Instead, 21…e5 would have led to a dynamically balanced position. Goryachkina could have decided the game with 23.Qxa5, snatching a pawn, but instead headed to a superior rook + knight vs rook + bishop ending, in which she ground her opponent down in great fashion. In her postgame interview, Goryachkina herself didn’t quite understand why she hadn’t captured the pawn. Standings after Round 4 Text: IM Michael Rahal (Nicosia, Cyprus) Photos: Mark Livshitz About Freedom Finance Europe Freedom Finance Europe, a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp., is a leading European stockbroker. The company’s Freedom24 web and mobile app investment platform provides traders with
Preliminary confirmation of participation in WSTC 2023: Deadline announced
To all FIDE National Federations All FIDE member federations should email the FIDE Events Commission for preliminary confirmation of participation in the World Schools Team Championship (WSTC) 2023. Only federations that held or are going to hold Stage 1 (National Championship) are eligible to apply for “invited team” status (with expenses for accommodations and travel covered by the organisers for one team). National Federations should indicate the exact dates before Thursday, May 26; and after the competitions finish, provide the data (documents and photos) that confirm the organisation of the Championship as per Article 2.4 of the WSTC Regulations. If the National Championship has already been held, National Federations should submit all the necessary information according to Article 2.4 of the Regulations to the FIDE Events Commission. The Events Commission should be emailed at: fideevents@fide.com Regulations of the World Schools Team Championship (pdf)
11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023: Unearthing new masterpieces
Chess composition dates back to the first Arabic manuscripts on chess. Throughout history, the theory of composition has kept defining and collecting the patterns of chess beauty, record achievements, schools, styles, and fashions – as all the forms of art. One of the milestones was the first international chess tournament in London (1851), followed by the first international tourney in chess composition. Since then, composing competitions have become the driving force of chess composition. Composers compete with the achievements of their great predecessors to add some quality, intensity, elegancy, and originality… At the same time, they do it for the sake of chess solvers: to entertain, puzzle or amaze the coming generations. What would solvers do without new composers? Over the last decades, the FIDE World Cup in Composing has been one of the most important events to inspire new masterpieces, and this year’s edition is no exception. In the next several weeks, until mid-June, chess composers worldwide will prepare and polish their creations for the 11th FIDE World Cup in Composing 2023. As usual, the competition will be held in eight different sections and judged by well-known experts in each genre. The sections are: A. Twomovers – Judge: Gerard Doukhan (France) B. Threemovers – Judge: Jean-Marc Loustau (France) C. Moremovers – Judge: Ralf Krätschmer (Germany) D. Endgame studies – Judge:Branislav Djurašević (Serbia) E. Helpmates – Judge: János Csák (Hungary) F. Selfmates – Judge: Zoran Gavrilovski (North Macedonia) G. Fairies – Judge: Borislav Gadjanski (Serbia) H. Retros (Proofgames) – Judge: Thomas Brand (Germany) There are no set themes. Each participant can submit only one entry per section to the tournament director Alexey Oganesjan (alexeioganesyan@gmail.com), until June 15, 2023. After careful checking and evaluating all anonymous entries, the judges will prepare preliminary awards by August 15, leaving two weeks for appeals before finalizing the awards for publication on the World Federation for Chess Composition website by September 1. In each section, the Cup winner will receive a monetary prize of 500 Euro, a Cup, a medal, and a certificate. Composers taking 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded medals and respective certificates. The prizes and other distinctions will be presented to the winners at the World Congress of Chess Composition 2023 closing ceremony in Batumi (Georgia) on September 8. The previous editions of the FIDE World Cup have inspired many memorable compositions. Here is one of them: Mirko Miljanić, 1st Prize 4th FIDE World Cup 2015 White to play and win White has an advantage and attack, but Black may count on perpetual or – in the later stage – on stalemate: 1.c6+ Ka8 2.Nc7+! (2.Qxd7? Re2+! 3.Kf3 Qf8+ 4.K×e2 Qf3+! 5.Kxf3 stalemate) 2…Qxc7 3.Rg8+ 3…Rf8! 4.Rxf8+ (3…Nf8 4.Qxc7; 3…Ka7 4.Qxd7 Rf4+ 5.Ke3 Rf7 6.Qd4+!) 4…Nb8. 5.Qh6! Qh7+! (5…Qe7+ 6.Kd5 Qb4 7.Qc1) 6.Rf5! Qxh6 7.Ra5+ Na6 8.Rxa6+ Kb8 9.c7+ Kxc7 10.Rxh6 +- The comment by the judge of the FIDE World Cup 2015, the Grandmaster of the FIDE for chess composition Yochanan Afek: “Brilliant sacrificial anti-stalemate play on an open board, with the heavy cannons absolutely free. The battery Rook-pawn is created already in the first move to trap the black queen by checking her king should he move to the sixth rank. Following an amazing journey highlighted by 6.Rf5!! the very same rook eventually lands on the other side of the very same line to complete the initial job by role exchanges with the pawn in regards to the enemy royal couple. A highly original concept presented in an exemplary setting. A remarkable achievement!” While the most ambitious chess composers will be trying their best in the 11th FIDE World Cup, “Generation Z” will try to reach their own heights in the 7th Youth Chess Composing Challenge. This WFCC competition is open to all U23 composers (born in 2000 and later), matching the limit for juniors in the WFCC solving competition. There are three sections, two of them with the set thematic conditions (mate in 2 and endgame studies), and the 3rd one is open to all genres, with no restrictions in length and content. The YCCC Project includes a workshop mentored by some of the leading chess composers in the world. The deadline for the 7th YCCC is one month longer (July 15) than for the 11th FIDE World Cup (June 15), but the results will be announced at the same time, during the closing ceremony of the Batumi WCCC, on September 8, 2023. Official website: https://www.wfcc.ch/ Text: Marjan Kovačević, WFCC President
First Chess for Freedom Conference opens in Chicago
FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) are hosting the first in-person Chess for Freedom Conference which is taking place from May 17th – May 20th, 2023, in Chicago, USA. More than 40 participants, including FIDE officials, representatives of national chess federations and experts involved in programmes that introduce chess to inmates have come to Chicago to discuss concepts and approaches to using chess as a rehabilitation tool for incarcerated people. On the first day of the conference, the delegation visited the Cook County Jail, where they were greeted by the Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. He was the one who introduced the chess programme to Cook County Jail more than 10 years ago. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiative has now grown into a great “Chess for Freedom” movement. Since 2021 the annual Intercontinental Online Chess Championships for Prisoners are organized, attracting men, women and youth teams from all continents. Chess as a rehabilitation tool is being introduced to more and more prisons around the world. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich greeted the participants of the conference and thanked Sheriff Dart for his enthusiasm in introducing chess to inmates: “We are really proud of the work you’re doing here. We have already visited these facilities a couple of years ago, and what I saw was dedication and inspiration for this programme. Without the continuous support from Sheriff Dart this won’t be possible. We need more people like this around the world to promote this initiative”. With the aim to support and promote this line of work, the International Chess Federation and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue and strengthen cooperation in using chess as a rehabilitation tool for incarcerated people within the period of 2023‐2026. The future initiatives mentioned in the memorandum include: – organizing events such as conferences, round‐tables, practical seminars, project presentations, and site‐visits;– engaging with chess federations, responsible governmental authorities and correctional facilities in order to facilitate the Chess for Freedom programme introduction in all continents and provide a continuously growing participation in Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners;– developing video and web training programmes for a chess training in correctional institutions;– launching a research project on the impact of chess on individuals in custody during the incarceration time and after that;– devising a post‐incarceration reintegration and monitoring program;– attracting strategic informative, financial and administrative partners to expand Chess for Freedom activities;– promoting the Chess for Freedom project to media;– organizing the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners on annual basis. Participants of the conference have also met the Cook County Department of Correction administration and staff, and watched presentations and interactive sessions with members of the penitentiary administration. They had an opportunity to visit the jail and see the social programmes in action – play chess with inmates and have a pizza that was baked by prisoners themselves for lunch. “A recipe for a change!” is the slogan for their cooking programme which could as well be appropriate for the chess programme. Asked why they like chess, the inmates’ answers were sharp: “Chess teaches you to make better moves in life!” Today the conference will continue with the plenary sessions, featuring many experts from the worldwide chess community presenting their national initiatives and approaches to teaching chess in prisons. The conference will be broadcast online on FIDE Youtube channel. Link to the broadcast:https://youtu.be/3M6m1Q18uHk
FIDE Online Cup for People with Disabilities starts on May 21
FIDE DIS Commission published a confirmed list of participants of the first FIDE Online Cup for People with Disabilities. This event, considered by many to be a full rehearsal before the 2020 World Chess Online Olympiad, will be held on a popular online chess platform playchess.com. On May 19 the FIDE DIS Commission held an online meeting with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich to exchange plans and ideas on how to continue moving forward, keeping chess on top of the activities for players with disabilities. The FIDE Online Cup for People eagerly anticipated by many players will be the first important step in this direction. This invitational event will bring together 38 participants representing 28 national federations who will play not only for the title and glory but also for a €2,200 prize fund. The 5-round Swiss tournament starts on May 21, 2020, and can be followed live at playchess.com. Full list of participants in alphabetical order (pdf) Regulations (pdf) Live games: https://disabledchess.org/LIVE_GAME/m333http://live.chessbase.com/watch/1st-Online-FIDE-Cup-Players-Disabilities/ (will be active after the pairings announced) Live commentary: https://disabledchess.org/LIVE_COMMENTS/m344 Schedule: 14.00 CEST – the platform and Zoom conference opened14.30 CEST – the technical meeting and opening ceremony14.55 CEST – President’s speech15.00 CEST – the start of the tournament. Photo: David Llada
Czech Championship 2023: David Navara and Julia Movsesian win titles
David Navara and Julia Movsesian are the new chess champions of the Czech Republic. The Open and Women’s Czech championships organized by the Světlá nad Sázavou Chess Club and Šachový svaz České republiky (Czech Chess Federation) took place from May 9-17 in the conference hall of the Skalský Dvůr hotel in Lísk. The events were held concurrently but in different formats. The open competition was a 10-player round-robin, while the women’s championship was a knock-out tournament with a single preliminary round followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. GM David Navara turned in a dominant performance in the open event and claimed his twelfth national title with a round to spare. The current Czech number one scored an impressive 7.5/9 and became the only unbeaten player in the competition. The fight for the silver was much closer, with the second-youngest participant, IM Tomáš Kraus and GM Vlastimil Babula, coming into the final round tied for the second position. Kraus pulled out a crucial victory over the 2021 champion Vojtěch Plát and secured second place, as Babula managed only a draw against Navara with the black pieces and had to settle for bronze. Final standings Open: 1 GM Navara, David 2678 7½ 2 IM Kraus, Tomáš 2473 6 3 GM Babula, Vlastimil 2533 5½ 4 GM Krejčí, Jan 2517 5 5 GM Štoček, Jiří 2525 5 6 GM Šimáček, Pavel 2466 3½ 7 IM Zwardoń, Vojtěch 2494 3½ 8 GM Petr, Martin 2478 3½ 9 FM Finěk, Václav 2410 3 10 GM Plát, Vojtěch 2535 2½ In the women’s championship, the rating favourites, WGMs Julia Movsesian (pictured below) and Karolína Pilsová, made it all the way to the final, which the former convincingly won by a score of 2-0. The last-year champion WIM Nataša Richterová prevailed over WGM Olga Sikorová in the match for bronze. The complete results of the open and women’s championships can be found here. Official website: chess.cz/ Photos: Official website
FIDE and GCF to stage Solidarity Matches in Batumi, Georgia
FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation have organized a double match-up between Top Ukrainian players Mariya and Anna Muzychuk and local stars Nino Batsiashvili and Meri Arabidze, respectively. The games will take place in the Hotel Legend in Batumi, Georgia, from June 5-11. Each of the matches will consist of six classical games, following this schedule: June 5: 1st gameJune 6: 2nd gameJune 7: 3rd gameJune 8: (rest day)June 9: 4th gameJune 10: 5th gameJune 11: 6th game Mariya Muzychuk Born September 21, 1992 Federation: Ukraine Rating: 2515 Mariya Muzychuk was the Women’s World Champion in 2015-16 and reached the semi-finals in the Women’s World Championship in 2018. She earned her spot for the Women’s Grand Prix 2022-23 thanks to her 4th place in the FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 held in Riga. Mariya was born on September 21, 1992, in Stryi, Lviv Region, Ukraine. She started her chess career in the village of Ugersko, where her parents used to work at a local sports school for children and youngsters. However, Mariya managed to train at home, too: her elder sister Anna used to help her along with her parents. Since she was 7, Mariya has participated in the Ukrainian youth championships; in 2002, she won the Ukrainian and European championships for children under 10. At the age of 11, Mariya was shortlisted for the Ukrainian women’s championship, then she won the World Youth Championship for children under 14 and later repeatedly won medals at the European and World Youth Championships. Her success at the European Women’s Championships brought Maria the title of women’s grandmaster, and in 2008 she was awarded the title of International Master. After taking her first serious steps into professional chess, Muzychuk got on the Ukrainian national team (while her elder sister was playing for Slovenia); as a member of the Ukrainian national team, she was the silver medalist (2018) and a three-time bronze medalist (2012, 2014, and 2016) of the Olympiads, as well as the women’s World and European (2013) champion as a member of the Ukrainian team. Moreover, she won the gold medal at the 2018 Olympiad, holding the best result on the second board. She is a two-time Ukrainian women’s champion (2012 and 2013). Muzychuk got her moment of glory in the 2015 knockout World Women’s Championship in Sochi: after outplaying Yuanling Yuan, Monika Socko, Antoaneta Stefanova, Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavalli, and Natalija Pogonina one by one, the Ukrainian grandmaster became the fifteenth Women’s World Champion. In March 2016, Mariya Muzychuk failed to defend her title in a match against Hou Yifan, China. In 2014, Mariya Muzychuk won the first women’s prize at a prestigious Gibraltar Open tournament. Her beginning of this year has been fruitful: she won the second women’s prize in the same tournament, demonstrating an impressive performance with a score of 2718 points. Mariya Muzychuk holds the honourable FIDE Caissa award as the best women’s chess player in 2015. At the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2019 (Kazan, Russia), Mariya Muzychuk was the only woman chess player to defeat the tournament’s winner, Aleksandra Goryachkina, with their match game having been awarded the special prize for being the most beautiful game of the tournament. Like many other Ukrainian players, Mariya had to reallocate abroad since the start of the war, and for the last months, she has been living with her sister in Valencia, Spain. Despite the added difficulties, Mariya successfully defended the first for Ukraine at the Chennai Chess Olympiad, leading her team decisively contributing to a historical gold medal. Anna Muzychuk Born: February 28, 1990 Federation: Ukraine Rating: 2504 Anna Muzychuk is the fourth woman in history to reach 2600 Elo points. She collected all possible ranks in rapid and blitz chess, and she is also the 2017 World Vice-Champion. She finished 7th in the previous edition of the Women’s Grand Prix, and she qualified for the current one thanks to reaching the semi-finals in the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021 in Sochi. Anna was born on February 28, 1990, in Stryi, Lviv Region, Ukraine. Her parents, chess candidate masters, were coaches conducting classes at a local sports school for children and youngsters in the adjacent village of Ugersko. They made little Anya familiar with the game; a bit later, her younger sister Mariya started playing, too. Anna Muzychuk took medals and first prizes in many world youth championships and won as many as five European youth championships. At the age of 12, Anna became an international master and, two years later, a grandmaster. In 2003, she won the Ukrainian women’s championship and repeated that achievement in 2014. Between 2003 and 2014, she represented the Slovenian Chess Federation in the international arena and then returned under the Ukrainian flag. She is World Women’s Junior Champion (2010), Two-Times World Blitz Champion (2014, 2016) and World Rapid Champion (2016). When playing on the first board of the Ukrainian national team at the World Chess Olympiad, she won silver in 2018 and twice received the bronze award (2014 and 2016). In 2016, she also won the gold for the best result on the first board. In 2017, at the World Women’s Championship, A. Muzychuk made it all the way to the finals, where she lost to the Chinese chess player Tan Zhongyi in a fierce struggle. At the end of the same year, Anna Muzychuk decided to boycott the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Saudi Arabia despite being the current women’s champion in these two disciplines. Her Facebook post on the subject broke all records in the Ukrainian sector of that social network: it collected more than 160,000 likes and was shared by more than 70,000 people. “The age gap between me and my sister Mariya is two and a half years. Those who know us say that we’re totally different. She is fast, and I’m calm. But we’re on really good terms. We practice together, and never conflict; we just argue a little bit sometimes. A few times, we played against
Toronto Chess Festival for Women & Girls runs big
On Sunday, May 14th, Toronto became the centre of the female chess movement. The All4chess & Chess4All: Toronto Chess Festival for Women & Girls, which took place at the Hart House Chess Club of the University of Toronto, brought together more than 60 participants. The one-day free-to-attend event came to life thanks to the joint effort of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, Chess Federation of Canada, Ontario Chess Association, and Hart House Chess Club. Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola, was the Festival’s special guest. It was her first visit to Canada’s largest city. The day was packed with activities. The morning started with inspiring and instructive lectures by WGM Anna Burtasova, who spoke about the first Women’s World Champion Vera Menchik, WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola, “How to Win the Game: a Secret to a Smart Game”, and WFM Oksana Golubeva who demonstrated impressive tactical strikes from the games of top women players. In addition, Ala Mischanka told the audience about FIDE’s “INFINITE Chess” project for children with ASD amid the plans to launch it in Canada. Soon we will publish the recording of the speeches on the FIDE YouTube channel. After a lunch break with free pizza for all attendants, the next item on the menu was a simultaneous exhibition by WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola, WGM Anna Burtasova, and WFM Cindy Qiao. The simuls warmed everyone up for the afternoon rapid tournament. Played over the six rounds, it had numerous prizes in age and rating categories. Fifty-four players played hundreds of games and only a handful ended in draws. WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola showed her class by sweeping the rapid event by a perfect 6 out of 6, followed by the group of players who shared for second with 5/6. The tiebreak criteria put WGM Anna Burtasova in second place and WFM Oksana Golubeva in third. Our congratulations to all winners in the categories! Trophy for the best player from the University of Toronto: WFM Cindy Qiao (5/6) Top U9 Trophy: Chloe Huang (4/6) Top U12 Trophy: Laksshana Deepak (4/6) Top U15 Trophy: Lucy Gao (5/6) Top U18 Trophy: April Zhong (5/6) Top U2000: Lucy Gao, April Zhong (5/6) Top U1600: Ingrid Wu, Duong Ngoc Minh Chau, Shabnam Abbarin, Adie Todd, Anna Gavrileva (all 4/6) Top U1200: Chloe Huang (4/6) Top U800: Victoria Lai, Katherine Leung, Angela Wang, Tiffany Chen (3/6) Top Unrated: Liza Augustin (3.5/6) And the cutest prize of them all: 6-year-old Carter Payne, the youngest participant, got a teddy bear. The top boards were broadcast live on Lichess:Toronto Chess Festival For Women & Girls • Round 1 • lichess.org Photos: Michael Reyes