2021-10-26
ADDENDUM:

The FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships 2021 were held in Rhodes, Greece between 16th and 26th of October 2021. During the awarding ceremony on 25th of October, the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in U2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly.

It must be noted that since the number of female players didn't reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both - this is the detail the CA misinterpreted. The prize distribution has been adjusted accordingly: below you can find the final prize list at the bottom of this article.

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The 2021 FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship was one of the first over-the-board World Championship in nearly two years and a big step in returning to normal life after the pandemic. It ran as part of the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival from October 17-25.

The closing ceremony held on October 25  featured Mr Nikos Nikolis, Vice Governor of the Region of South Aegean, responsible for sports; Dr Charudatta Jadhav, the IBCA President; Mr Benard Wanjala, Chairman of Chess Kenya, and a representative from the Rhodes municipality and the local chess club Ippotis.

FIDE representative Mr Ozgur Solakoglu recalled the greetings to the participants sent by the FIDE President, Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, and expressed satisfaction that the amateur players of all ages who came to Rhodes demonstrated love for the beautiful game, good sportsmanship, and courtesy to each other. Mr Solakoglu highlighted no COVID-related health emergencies during the ten days of the championship because everyone adhered to the strictest health protocols as set by the regulators in the host country Greece. He thanked organizers and arbiters for the excellent teamwork that made this tournament a success.

Secretary-General of the European Chess Union Mr Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou explained that FIDE and the continental associations treat amateur chess as a base of the pyramid that allows the game to grow organically and involve players of all ages and skill levels. He congratulated everyone on resuming over-the-board events and promised that 2022 would feature many exciting World and European competitions.

The excitement in the audience was palpable when the world-renowned singer Juga was introduced and a clip of her famous Oh, Capablanca song was played on screen. Juga made a passionate speech defending real women, wonderful role models like Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, Judith Polgar, against the pop-culture fictional Beth Harmon character. Juga is currently working on the Chess Divas series that will be devoted to those brave real-life women. To the delight of all assembled, the singer gave an avant-première of her new song from the series called Shakhmatistka, created in collaboration with the Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

After such an emotional high, the festivities concluded. Chief Arbiter Vadim Tsypin read the award lists in all categories, the assembled dignitaries presented cups and medals to happy players, and Juga generously gifted her exclusive CDs. The champions came from six different countries on three continents:

Women U-1700         
Glenda Madelta (KEN)

Open U-1700             
Mukhtar Ainakul (KAZ)

Women U-2000         
Marigje Degrande (BEL)

Open U-2000 
Peter Anand (IND)

Women U-2300         
Alexandra Zherebtsova (RUS)

Open U-2300            
Dimitrios Ladopoulos (GRE)

During the awarding ceremony the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in the U-2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly:

It must be noted that since the number of female players didn't reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both - this is the detail the CA misinterpreted

At the end of the ceremony, the Tournament Director Nikolaos Kalesis called upon amateur players of the world to come together in Malta for the next FIDE World Amateur Championship in October 2022. 

The complete results of the event can be found here.

Information and photos by the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival press service