Lesotho Championship: Bokang Motsamai and Reitumetse Taioe win titles
The delayed 2022 National Chess Championships of Lesotho ended in Good Night Lodge, Maseru. The event was a 7-round Swiss tournament with 65+30 time control that stretched over three days from April 14-16, 2023. The 2021 winner, CM Tokelo Klaas, did not defend his title, citing personal reasons. Twenty-nine players from different qualifying zones were in contention for the highest title in the country. It was a highly contested competition, with the winner being determined in the final seventh round. The top finishers walked away with trophies, medals and cash. The fourth seed Bokang Motsamai (pictured above) scored an impressive 6/7 and tied for the top position with Sechaba Khalema but claimed the title as the winner of the direct encounter (the first tiebreaker). The 2019 national champion Tsephe Lebajoa and George Mahommed shared third place, but the former took bronze thanks to better tiebreaks. Reitumetse Taioe netted 4 points and became the best female player, while Ntsielo Bonolo and Thetsane Nteboheleng came second and third, respectively. Mahommed George and Reitumetse Taioe also won the best junior prize in their categories. Final standings: 1 Motsamai, Bokang 1507 6 2 Khalema, Sechaba 1810 6 3 Tsephe, Lebajoa 1768 5 4 George, Mahommed 1456 5 5 Nzema, Ngakane 1451 4½ 6 Khiba, Selatela 1409 4½ 7 Koetle, Kemohele 1498 4 8 Molapo, Joang 1599 4 9 Mokhachane, Naeo 4 10 Taioe, Reitumetse 1236 4 Women 1. Reitumetse Taioe – Trophy + Gold medal2. Bonolo Ntsielo – Silver medal3. Nteboheleng Thetsane – Bronze medal The complete results can be found here. The Chess Federation of Lesotho would like to thank all the players who showed up and participated even after a long delay following the qualifiers in their respective zones. The organizers are grateful to the event’s sponsors, Azania ML Cleaning Services and Good Night Lodge, who made this championship possible. Photo: Chess Federation of Lesotho Facebook page
The pendulum swings: Ding Liren equalises again
The sixth game of the World Chess Championship match ended with a convincing victory of Ding Liren over Ian Nepomniachtchi, to even the score to 3:3. With four decisive games in the first six rounds, both players are displaying a fierce determination to win. Playing as White, Ding Liren opted for the London system, which offers a solid position to White. Both sides got out even from the opening, but the position was more promising for White as he effectively blocked Black’s queenside by advancing his pawn to a5. This game felt like a repeat of yesterday’s game where Ian Nepomniachtchi similarly defeated Ding, gradually outplaying him thanks to the better coordination of White’s pieces. While there was material equality on the board and a seemingly ‘normal’ position, the power and the chances were all on the side of White. Ding’s advantage was threatened by his time trouble, and he came close to losing it all. Fortunately for him, Nepomniachtchi’s impulsive moves played right into Ding’s hands as Black’s position deteriorated. Nepomniachtchi started to spend notably more time away from the board, which some commentators noted to be a sign of unhappiness with his position. By the time the to reached move 40 and the first time control, White was completely winning. The game ended after 44 moves and four hours of play. The World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi has already produced four decisive results in just the first six games, something which was last seen in the Korchnoi-Karpov match of 1981 and the legendary 1972 match between Spassky and Fischer. Both players are setting the stage for an unpredictable and exciting fight not seen for a long time in a chess match. Monday will be the rest day for the two, as game seven is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 18th of April, at 3 PM local time in Astana. Here follows a closer look at game six of the match. As in rounds three and four, Ding started game six on the backfoot, a point down in the match. The first move of the day was made by Woman Grandmaster Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board. Ding was playing as White. He opened with 1.d4 and after 1…Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 went for the London system, considered to be a very solid line. The two followed the theoretical path up to move twelve when Ding opted for 12.Ne5 (the first line of Stockfish) instead of 12.a4 played in the game Kamsky – Markus last year. 12.Ne5 Ne7 13.a4 Ding carried out Kamsky’s plan of advancing his a-pawn, which seems to be very effective in this position. 14.Bf1 Nd7 Offering an exchange. In the hindside 14…a5, followed by Qd8 and re-routing the f6-knight to d6 looks like a better option. The point is that after 15.Nxd7 Qd7 16.a5 White put clamps on Black’s queenside, securing a long-lasting strategic advantage on this wing. After a series of logical moves, the players reached the first important position: Ding has just offered the queen exchange, but Ian decided to keep the most powerful pieces on the board with 20…Qe7. However with 21.h4! White timely opened a second front on the kingside and grabbed the initiative after 21…Re8?! 22.Nc5! This move works fine as after 22…Nxa5 23.Ra5 b6? White has 24.h5 Bxh5 (if bxa5 then hxg6 and White is dominating) 25.Nxe6 threatening checkmate 25…fxe6 26.Rxd5 exd5 27.Rxe7 Rxe7 28.Qh4 attacking the e7-rook and the h5-bishop simultaneously. Ian broke in the centre with 22…e5, but it looks like the cure was worse than the disease, as after 23.Rb3 Nxa5 24.Rxe5 Qf6 White emerged clearly better. Ding sunk into deep thinking here, pondering his choices. 25.Ra3 Nc4 26.Bxc4 dxc4 27.h5 Played in just under three minutes. 27…Bc2 Played quickly by Ian but after this move White consolidated his advantage. Much more stubborn was 27…Rxe5 28.dxe5 Qd8! As played, after 28.Nxb7 Qb6 29.Nd6 Rxe5 30.Qxe5 Qxb2 31.Ra5 White optimally arranged his pieces. Black’s c3-pawn is taboo since 31…Qxc3 fails to 32.Ne8! Despite being his move, Ian was in his resting room. As Anish Giri observed, “Ian usually thinks in the resting area when he is uncomfortable with his position or with something he missed”, referring to the match against Carlsen and games three and four in this match. After some nine minutes, Ian returned to the board. He looked at it for about a minute and played 31…Kh7 which was met with the instant 32.Rc5? Here the bar dropped from White winning to the position being even. The computers were suggesting 32.Qe1 is the best move here, to defend the c3 pawn and proceed to pick up a pawn on c4 of f7 with the knight. Ian should have taken on c3, leading to an even position. Instead, he played 32…Qc1+ and again handed over the initiative to White as after the check, Black’s queen is pinned to c1 and can’t really get back into the game quickly. After White plucked Black’s c4 pawn, Ian’s only hope was his a-passer but Ding’s attack on the kingside coupled with advancing the d-pawn turned out to be the decisive factor. Facing an imminent checkmate Ian threw in the towel. Commenting on the game and the results so far, Anish Giri noted the willingness of both players to go directly for sharp play and victories, instead of draws. “An amazing match. I’ve not seen something like this in a long time,” said Giri in his assessment of the match so far. Nepomniachtchi was frank and critical about his play in today’s game: “I played one of my worst games ever. Every move was bad… Bd3 instead of Bc2 was better, but even that was unfortunate.” He also confirmed that he expected the London system to be played in one of the games, and it happened. “Bad day,” concluded Nepomniachtchi. “My whole game consists of inaccuracies.” For his part, Ding said that he was “in very good shape during the game” and “not so much influenced by yesterday’s loss”. He agreed he could have played better in the middlegame, but overall, he was satisfied with what he showed on the
FIDE World Championship: Nepomniachtchi takes the lead again
Following his defeat in the fourth round, Ian Nepomniachtchi staged a comeback as he scored an important victory as White against Ding Liren to take the lead 3:2 One day of rest was all Ian Nepomniachtchi needed to regain his composure after blundering his round four game of the match and allowing Ding to equalize. In the Anti-Marshal line of the Ruy Lopez, both sides quickly played the opening but the position that transpired in the middlegame seemed to be more suited to Nepomniachtchi’s style of play. Nepomniachtchi made an h2-h4-h5 advance on the kingside, securing the position for the knight on f5, which was a foundation for the future attack while Ding was on the defensive. In the positional maneuvering that followed Ding could not find the best plan and White gradually inched his way towards a better position. Nepomniachtchi was close to losing that advantage at one point, but Ding could not see all the best moves and gradually handed an even bigger edge to White. With better-positioned pieces and more initiative, White started knitting a mating net around Black, preventing him from any counter-play. Ding struggled but had no real option but to wait and let Nepomniachtchi dictate his fate. Just as the two reached the first time control after 40 moves, Black was completely lost. Ding decided to continue defending and go for an endgame, but it was futile. After 48 moves and three hours and 15 minutes of play, Ding resigned. An important victory for Nepomniachtchi who has again taken the initiative in the match. Ding is also back and more focused than at the start of their duel, but he will need to show more if he wants to take the chess crown. Game six will take place on Sunday, 16th April, at 3 PM Astana time. Here follows a closer look at the fifth game of the match. The significance of this game was huge. Every match for the World Chess Champion title is intense, but this one held more significance. In the previous round, Nepomniachtchi’s serious mistake put him in a lost position, giving Ding a chance to even the score and regain his footing following a poor start to the match. Now, the tables had turned, and Nepomniachtchi was the one feeling the pressure. A day of rest was important for both to reset, rethink and – re-start their push to the top. The honour of making the first move was awarded to Serik Sapiyev, London 2012 Olympic boxing Champion and the recipient of the Val Barker Trophy presented every four years to the most outstanding boxer at the Olympic Games. He also won the world title in the light welterweight division in 2005 and 2007. On top of that, Sapuyev is a very solid amateur chess player. Nepomniachtchi was White and here he opted for his standard opening move 1.e4. No psychological plays, no surprises – now it’s time to be firm and show your best. 1…e5 – Ding had the same idea, sticking to his main response and the opponents went for the main line in Anti-Marshal. They followed the game Firouzja – Giri played in 2022, up to move twelve when Ian introduced a novelty 12.Bg5 with the idea of trading Black’s f6-knight and taking control over the d5-square. Ian blitzed out his next ten moves which suggested that he was in his preparation. Ding reacted sensibly and basically equalized but White still had some edge. Commenting on the game, Daniil Dubov and Anish Giri concluded that the position is more favourable for White and more suited to Ian’s style of play. 23.h4 The first move Ian spent some time on – six minutes. By this point, Ding was down to an hour, while Ian had an hour and 45 minutes on his clock. White is going to advance his pawn to h5, securing the knight position on f5. A few moves down the road Ian made a strike in the centre and emerged slightly better as his knights were strong and well-coordinated with the queen and h5-pawn. Finally, Black’s d6-pawn was weak. Now, he played 27.Qg4 aiming directly at the black king and preparing to move his knight to f5. The computer, however, didn’t like this move and preferred Qf3 or f4. After 27…Qe5 28.Nf3 Qe6 29.Nf5 and the position was even again. Ding managed to reposition his queen to a better place – protecting his king, offering an exchange and opening the diagonal for his b7-bishop. However, in the consecutive play, he based his defence on sitting in a passive position and his attempt to activate his pieces came too late. 29…Nxf5 Played fast by Ding. This was probably the moment Ding was closest to stabilizing the position and blunting White’s initiative. He should have played his queen to f6 to be just in time to defend and hold. Ding confirmed this in the post-game interview. 30.exf5 Qf6 30…Qd7 was slightly better. After 31.Qd5 Rb8 White got the positional advantage. Ian pushed his g5-pawn and this march quickly paid off. Anish Giri noted that Ding might have missed this move as, usually, this would be “a weakening move”, but not in this particular case. Again, Ding was in a position where had to be very precise to avoid defeat. 33…Qd8 34.Qd5 Dubov described Black’s position as “wearing a suit in a gym”. Not much fits/works. 34…Kf8 35.Kf1 Rc8. The computer prefers 36…Qc8 in this position. 36.Re4 Rb8 37.g5 Pushing forward. Now Ding made his fatal error. 37…Qd7 or Qc8 was the only moves offering some hope. Ding was in time trouble and, in just a minute, he played 37…hxg5? After 38.Rg4! White’s mating geometry makes Black’s position indefensible. The point is that 38…f6 is met with 39.Nh4! gxh4 40.h6! After 38…Ra8 39.Nxg5 White has an overwhelming position as the knight is joining the attack. Ding reached the time control but was fully aware that it was over. He sat down and spent the next 15 minutes coming to terms with the reality on the board. Nepo was pacing up and down the hall, keeping an eye on his opponent. The
2023 FIDE World School Chess Championship kicks off in the Rodos Palace Hotel
2023 FIDE World School Chess Championship, a joint event of the Chess Club “KNIGHT OF RHODES” with the South Aegean Region and the Municipality of Rhodes through the Municipal Organization for Culture and Sports (DOPAR) under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and Greek Chess federation began on Rodos. The opening ceremony was attended by the Regional Governor of the South Aegean, Giorgos Hatzimarkos, the Mayor of Rhodes, Antonis Kambourakis, the Deputy Regional Governor of the Dodecanese for Sports, Nikos Nikolis, the Secretary General of the European Chess Union Theodoros Tzorbatzoglou and the FIDE Technical Delegate Ozgur Solakoglou. The competition brought together 530 entries from 53 countries, with a total of over 1500 participants. The representative group of Greece is in the lead with 105 entries, 60 of which are from the South Aegean region. Through the chess platform chess24.com, spectators can watch live the games of the first five boards of each category, while photo materials, as well as all news about the event, will be published daily on the official website wscc2023.ippotis.com and on the club’s social networks, facebook.com/cc.ippotis, Instagram @rhodes_chess_events, Youtube @rhodes_chess_events as also the Chess in Greece Facebook page. The daily results, pairing and standings are also available here: https://chess-results.com/tnr732421.aspx?lan=1 In his welcome speech, Giorgos Hatzimarkos stressed that the region would continue to stand by the local club and its contributors, who, with their passion and love, have put Rhodes on the world map of chess. Antonis Kambouraki stated that the local government invested in actions and initiatives such as chess events in order to promote creativity, competition and noble competition among children, while Theodoros Tzorbatzoglou, for his part, stressed that Rhodes had become a permanent host of important chess events thanks to its lavish hospitality and excellent hotel infrastructure.
FIDE World Championship: Ding Liren strikes back with a victory
The Chinese Grandmaster scored his first victory in the World Chess Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi on Thursday evening to level out the score at 2:2 Ding Liren scored his first victory in the match for the title of World Chess Champion after Ian Nepomniachtchi lost his way as Black in the middlegame following a serious blunder. In the Two Knights system of the English opening Ding – playing as White – managed to create a position which was more suitable for him. White was in control of the centre and was dictating the pace, but the position was even. Black needed to sustain White’s advances and, with precise play, should have held his own. However, in positional maneuvering Ding showed more sophistication and focus. In the critical moment of the middlegame Nepomniachtchi made a move after just two minutes of thinking and blundered, leading directly into a lost position. Nepomniachtchi tried to resist but there was no escape and he resigned on move 47, after three hours and 50 minutes of play. An important comeback for Ding who started the match badly and a big challenge for Nepomniachtchi who has now lost the edge. The score is now 2:2 with two draws and two victories for each player. The next, fifth game of the match, will take place on Saturday, 15th April 2023 at 3 PM Astana time. Here follows a closer look of game four of the match. The first move of the game was made by Mark Klein of Chessable. It was the second game in which Ding played as White. Like in the previous encounter, Ding was much more present at the board during the game and seemed more focused. Ian was his old self – calm and confident. Ding opted for 1.c4, making a switch from his standard opening movechoice. After Nepomniachtchi responded with 1…Nf6 the opponents quickly found themselves in a popular line of Two Knights system of the English opening and up to move eleven followed the game Rapport vs Zaragatski played in 2013. This is relevant as Rapport is Ding’s second. Ding chose to divert here with 11.0-0. In the above-mentioned game, White played 11.h4. After 11…Qf6 12.Rfe1 Re8 the position was roughly even. A couple of moves down the road, the opponents reached the first important point in the game. Black has just played 14…Na5, trying to prepare the c7-c5 strike on the centre. However, this move gave some opportunities to White. Ding also wants to push c5 himself to foil Black’s plan. Upon some thought Ding indeed played 15.c5, although he had another worthy continuation, namely, 15.Qa4. “Positionally speaking, this [15.c5] is a must,” said Anish Giri in the live commentary of the game. After 15…dxc5 16.e5 opening the diagonal for the d3-bishop, 16…Qh6 17.d5 White got compensation for the sacrificed pawn in form of control over the centre and Black’s knight being sidelined on a5. In subsequent play, both made logical moves and reached a balanced position. White has a passed pawn, but it’s not clear how to push forward. 26…Nf5 Played instantly by Ian. He had an interesting alternative of 26…Bg6 with the idea of trading his bishop for White’s knight if an opportunity presents itself. As played, the bar now moved in favour of White. Ding decided to trade the bishops with 26.Bxh5, although chess engines suggest 26.Bg4 as an alternative. After 26…Qh5 27.Re4 Qh6 28.Qf3 the opponents reached the critical position of the entire game. 28…Nd4?? A huge blunder by Ian, played in just under two minutes! The right move here was 28…g5, protecting the f4 pawn with a roughly equal position. Now, Black gave away his strongest piece which was key to his defence. Naturally, Ding almost immediately sacrificed an exchange with 29.Rxd4! cxd4 30.Nb3 g5 31.Nxd4 and White is in total control, as his knight is worth much more than a rook in this closed position. Add to that his passers in the centre and the knight’s coming to f5, and there’s no realistic hope for Black. White tried to take control over the f5 square with 31…Qg6 but after precise 32.g4 fxg3 33.fxg3 h5 34.Nf5, the knight arrived at the destination point. Black’s position collapsed as White simply broke through in the centre. 37.d6! cxd6 38.Nxd6 Qg8 39.Nxe8 Qxe8 40.Qe6 reaching the first time control. The rest was just an agony and on move 47th Ian finally resigned. “I am very happy to win this game. It was hard but I managed to keep things under control, so I’m happy,” Ding said after the game. He added that “after 29.Rxd4 I knew I was winning.” Ian had more words in his immediate reaction: “I don’t feel great. It was a tense game. I misjudged my position after 15.c5. I thought it was nice for Black. Even if so, it was difficult to play. It was more or less playable until I lost my focus and let 29.Rxd4 happen. Clearly, it was much easier to play as White”. The two players will have a rest day on Friday. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Stev Bonhage and Anna Shtourman Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/ About the match The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship match between Grandmasters Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi takes place from 7th April to 1st May 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The match will consist of 14 games, followed by a rapid/blitz tiebreak in case of a tie. The time control for the standard games is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. The first player to reach 7,5 points in the 14 games will win the match. If it’s a tie, the two go to tiebreaks. The prize fund for the match is two million euros, with the reward being split 60:40 between the winner and the runner-up. The main Partner of the match is Freedom Holding.
Timur Gareyev and Josefine Heinemann win Kenya Open Championship
GM Timur Gareyev (2602) of the United States of America and WGM Josefine Heinemann (2274) from Germany are the Open and Ladies sections’ winners, respectively, of the just concluded 2023 Kenya Open Chess Championship. The two top players lived up to their favourites tag and clinched the titles in the competition that attracted 445 participants from 22 countries, with Kenya fielding 335 players. Both open and women’s sections were 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control. Gareyev completed his impressive performance with a victory over Latvian GM Nikita Meshkovs (2585) in the final round. On the way to the title, he scored an impressive 8.5/9, conceding just a half-point in the seventh-round clash with GM Safarli Eltaj (2601) of Azerbaijan. Eltaj finished second on 8/9, while Indian IM Samant Aditya (2496), GM Pavel Ponkratov (2496) and Uganda FM Harold Wanyama (2303) all tied for third place on 7.5, with Buchholz (first tiebreaker) favouring Samant. Kenya’s top seed CM Ben Magana (17th place) became the best home player in the championship. Final standings Open: 1 GM Gareyev Timur USA 2602 8½ 2 GM Safarli Eltaj AZE 2601 8 3 IM Samant Aditya S IND 2496 7½ 4 GM Ponkratov Pavel 2580 7½ 5 FM Wanyama Harold UGA 2303 7½ 6 FM Mulenga Prince Daniel ZAM 2188 7 7 GM Fawzy Adham EGY 2495 7 8 IM Ssegwanyi Arthur UGA 2375 7 9 GM Hesham Abdelrahman EGY 2411 7 10 GM Sriram Jha IND 2310 7 In the Ladies’ section that brought together 92 participants, the tournament favourite WGM Heinemann won all nine games. WGM Josefine Heinemann of Germany (right) takes on Kenya’s Wanjiru Kimani She was followed by Egyptian WGM sisters Wafa Shrook (2138) and Wafa Shaheda (2099), who tied on 7.5 points. Ugandan Woman Fide Master Peninah Nangabo(1809) and Kenyan Woman Candidate Master Joyce Nyaruai (1662), shared fourth place with points. Nyaruai was Kenya’s best performer in the ladies’ section. Final standings Women: 1 WGM Heinemann Josefine GER 2274 9 2 WGM Wafa Shrook EGY 2138 7½ 3 WGM Wafa Shahenda EGY 2099 7½ 4 Nakabo Peninah UGA 1809 7 5 WCM Ndirangu Joyce Nyaruai KEN 1662 7 6 WIM Laubscher Anzel RSA 1762 6½ 7 Sana Omprakash Kayyar UGA 1412 6½ 8 Dutt Lakshita MAW 1257 6½ 9 WFM Mongeli Sasha KEN 1695 6 10 WCM Ampaire Shakira UGA 1702 6 Other winners include South Africa’s IM Karsten Jan(2292), winner of the junior Open Section with his compatriot FM Mhango Banele(2213) and Kenyan Oluka Mcligeyo Robert (2027) tied up in second position. Ugandan Sana Omprakash Kayyar(1412) emerged the best junior in the ladies’ section closely followed by two Kenyans Mercy Ingado(1248) and Elizabeth Cassidy(1428). Zambian Kiddy Makwaya(1967) was the best veteran closely followed by Kenyan FM Martin Gateri (2045)and Peter Gilruth(1984). Zambian Aaron Banda(1949) won the best in People with Disability(PWD), while Ugandan ACM Masiko Ezekiel(1806) and Kenyan Clement Miheso(1594) took second and third places, respectively. Kenyan Mercy Cherono(1263), Merciline Anjenjo(Unrated) and Mary Nduku(unrated) were the best PWD in the ladies category. Complete resutls The six-day event held at Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi was the biggest and most prestigious chess championship ever held in the country, with all the top 10 players in both the Open and Ladies’ sections receiving cash prizes. The Kenya Open Chess Championship is the largest and most lucrative international tournament in Africa. The first edition was held in 1979 when the event was known as the Panpaper Open sponsored by Panafrican Paper Mills (EA) Limited until the early 90s. This year’s event was the 31st edition, jointly organized by Chess Kenya and Terrian Chess Africa, and, for the first time in its history, featured ten grandmasters, including three women grandmasters. This year’s edition was sponsored by Safaricom PLC and Kenya Commercial Bank(KCB). The total prize fund was USD 43,000. Text: Chess Kenya Federation (CKF) Photo: Chess Kenya Facebook page
FIDE – ISF World School Teams Online Chess Cup 2023 prizes announced
The FIDE – ISF World School Teams Online Chess Cup 2023 is an electrifying event that draws in young chess prodigies from all corners of the globe. Organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in conjunction with the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and World Chess, this tournament pits school teams against each other in the age-old game of strategy and skill. The upcoming 2023 edition promises to be an unforgettable experience for all participants as they battle it out for the coveted title of champion. One unique aspect of the FIDE – ISF World School Teams Online Chess Cup 2023 is that it takes place entirely online, providing a rare opportunity for young chess players to compete with their international peers. The games will be played on the FIDE Online Arena, an official FIDE gaming platform that ensures a level playing field for all. But that’s not all – the winners and medalists of the tournament will also walk away with some incredible prizes. They’ll receive exclusive team training sessions with world-renowned grandmasters. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will allow young chess players to learn from the very best in the game and take their skills to the next level. In addition, the winners and medalists will receive official World Chess chessboards, signed by top grandmasters such as Wesley So, Daniil Dubov, Sam Shankland, Leinier Dominguez, Vladimir Kramnik, Gukesh D, Vidit Gujrathi, and others to commemorate their achievement.. They’ll also receive subscriptions for the World Chess Masterclasses program, an invaluable resource that provides access to a vast library of video lessons and training materials. To top it all off, the winners and medalists will also receive FIDE Online Arena premium membership packages, which grant them access to exclusive platform features such as the ability to compete in premium tournaments, play for official ratings, and earn online titles recognised by FIDE. All in all, the FIDE – ISF World School Teams Online Chess Cup 2023 is an exceptional opportunity for young chess players to test their skills on a global stage and reach new heights in their game. With such incredible prizes up for grabs, the stakes have never been higher. We can’t wait to see the dazzling performances and fierce competition that this tournament will undoubtedly bring.
FIDE World Championship: Ding secures an important draw in game three
Ding Liren drew with black pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi, securing an important break in the match after a devastating loss in the second game After a blow in the second round when he lost as White, Ding Liren showed more confidence and drew with black pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the match for the title of World Chess Champion. Despite Nepomniachtchi’s opting to play 1.d4 instead of his regular move 1.e4, Black managed to get an equal position quickly out of the opening. In the Carlsbad variation of the exchange line of the Queen’s Gambit declined, up until move 17, the two players followed the game played between Grandmaster Anish Giri and Ding Liren in 2022 which also ended in a draw. After exchanges in the centre, both had a solid position. Ding opted to play on and chose a more active move, but the position was still balanced. The two tested each other a bit more but then went for a move repetition. After 30 moves and three hours of play, the two agreed to split a point. A confidence boost for Ding who was in control of the position in this game and had a comfortable draw. Alongside game one, this is the second draw of the match. The result is now 2:1 for Ian Nepomniachtchi. The fourth game of the match will take place on Thursday, 13th April at 3 PM local time in Astana. Here follows a closer look at game three of the match. This was the first game after a day of rest. The match did not start well for Ding: in the first game he was weaker but drew, and in the second he was beaten badly in just 29 moves. As Vishy Anand noted, at this point Ding needed to “stabilise the match” and “if he has a reserve opening, this is a time to deploy it”. Ding arrived at the playing hall about five minutes before the start of the game. He was psyching himself up: wrote his opponent’s name in the game sheet, neatly readjusted his pieces on the board, and cleaned off some dust from the table and jacket. As Nepomniachtchi arrived, just two minutes before the start of the round, Ding shook his hand and stood up, took his jacket off and placed it on the chair and then sat back. It felt like a different Ding – more focused and more present, both in body and spirit. The first ceremonial move of the day was made by Talgat Musabaev, a Soviet and Kazakh cosmonaut, a Hero of Kazakhstan. He made three trips to space between 1994 and 2001, spent 341 days 09 hours 46 minutes in space and conducted eight spacewalks. Was this to be a game out of space? Unfortunately for the spectators – it wasn’t. Still, it was a different Ding who seemed much more confident and spent significantly more time at the board than in the previous two games. Like in game one, Nepomniachtchi – playing as White – refused to reveal his first move to the honorary guest and instead told him to play whatever he wanted. Nepo played 1.d4 instead of his usual 1.e4, signalling to the opponent that he wanted to test his preparation in closed openings. After some thought, Ding replied with 1…Nf6 and the opponents entered the Carlsbad variation of the exchange line of the Queen’s Gambit declined which has been extensively tested at the highest level lately. The two were following the game Ding played as Black against Anish Giri in May 2022. The position was equal. Anish Giri slightly criticised Ian’s 16.f3. “This is not a good move in this position,” said Anish, who played this himself against Ding and suggested 16.Nb3 as a better alternative. Up to this point, Ian was playing fast, which may suggest that he was in his preparation. However, after Ding’s 16…Ne6 Nepomniachtchi sank into deep thought. Giri noted that it’s clear that this position “is not Ian’s prep” and that Nepo “is confusing his prep with my game”, adding that Black has more chances here, referring back to his own game against Ding. “White isn’t worse, but his plan to push e4 is not working out”. 17.N1e2 Finally, Ian deviated from the game Giri-Ding. In that game, White played Qf2 in this position but did not get much. Ding stuck to the way he played against Giri and reacted with 17…c5. This is the best move in this position – striking White’s centre and forcing him to react. After a series of logical moves, the opponents reached the position where Ding had to make an important decision. 19…Bd7 was played by Ding instead of simplifying 19…d4, which offered a drawish endgame. After 21.Bxd7 Nxd7 the Chinese GM implemented a knight maneuver to c4. Black has an isolated pawn in the centre but in return his pieces are more active, and White has a weak pawn on e3. Since White’s position is by no means better, a draw by move repetition came as a logical outcome after 25.Na4 Qe7 26.Rfe1 Qf6 27.Nb5 Nc7 28.Nd4 Ne629.Nb5 Nc7 30.Nd4. “It was an interesting battle but I’m not so happy about the result. Ian missed 21…Nxd7 but I couldn’t find the way through. The draw is a pretty decent result for both of us”, said Ding after the game”, said Ding after the game. Nepomniachtchi comment on the game: “The Queen’s gambit declined is a solid opening so you’re not going to achieve much so it’s hard to disrupt equality”. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Stev Bonhage and Anna Shtourman Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/ About the match The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship match between Grandmasters Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi takes place from 7th April to 1st May 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The match will consist of 14 games, followed by a rapid/blitz tiebreak in case of a tie. The time control for the standard games is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of
Mitropacup 2023 starts in Mali Losinj, Croatia
The Mitropacup 2023 kicked off at Hotel Aurora in Mali Losinj, Croatia. This team event held in open and women’s section stretches from 11 to 19 of April. The island of Losinj is a well-known tourist destination in Croatia, famous for its beaches, best air quality, pine forests and hiking trails along the sea. All ten Mitropa Chess Association countries (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland) are represented in both the open class and the women’s sections. Each team consists of four male / female players and one substitute player. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds added for each move from the first move. The top three team finishers are to be awarded trophies and gold, silver and bronze medals. Three teams with the highest average rating – Hungary (2552) Italy (2546) and France (2518) – are the favourites in the open competition. In the women’s section, the top seeds are Slovenia (2233), France (2226) and Hungary (2199). France is the defending champion in both tournaments. Official website: mitropa.chess.at/ Open section results: chess-results.com/tnr745409.aspx Women’s section results: chess-results.com/tnr745452.aspx Live broadcast: hrvatski-sahovski-savez.hr/ftp/mitropacup2023
Danish Championship: Boris Chatalbashev clinches title
GM Boris Chatalbashev emerged as the winner of the 2023 Danish Championship, earning his maiden national title. The Danish Championships 2023 takes place April 1-10, 2023, in Svendborg, a small town that hosted the last five editions. The event was held in eight different groups, but the national title was at stake only in the National Team Class, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control that brought together the best local players. The Danish Chess Championship has always been a highly competitive tournament, and this year’s edition did not disappoint. Suffice it to say that neither participant completed the event unbeaten. The competition turned into an exciting race between the rating favourite Jonas Buhl Bjerre and Boris Chatalbashev, who took turns on the top of the standings throughout the tournament. It culminated in the final round game in which Jonas, who trailed Boris by a half-point, needed a victory to clinch the title, whereas his opponent was OK with a draw. Jonas Buhl Bjerre, playing with the white pieces, got a comfortable position in the Maroczy but had a hard time making any serious progress. Trying to win at any cost, Jonas pushed too hard and handed the advantage to Boris Chatalbashev, which he sure-handedly converted into a win to secure the title. Meanwhile, the last year runner-up GM Jesper Søndergaard Thybo (pictured below), who had a poor start, came from behind and took second place finishing on 6.5/9. He became the only participant to beat the champion, his clubmate Boris Chatalbashev. GM Allan Stig Rasmussen won his final round game to catch up with Jonas Buhl Bjerre and tie for third place. Final standings: GM Boris Chatalbashev 2475 7½ 1 GM Jesper Søndergård Thybo 2527 6½ 2 GM Allan Stig Rasmussen 2525 6 3-4 GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre 2606 6 3-4 IM Nikolaj Borge 2387 4 5-6 GM Lars Schandorff 2478 4 5-6 GM Jacob Aagaard 2449 3 7-8 IM Filip Boe Olsen 2435 3 7-8 FM Viktor Haarmark 2335 2½ 9-10 IM Martin Haubro 2397 2½ 9-10 Official website: skak-dm.dk/2023/ Photos: Thomas Vestergård and Ellen Fredericia Nilssen