The World Cadets & Youth & Blitz Chess Championship 2023, organized by FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation, kicked off at the Euphoria Hotel in Batumi with a short opening ceremony.
The blitz competitions in all categories are 11-round Swiss tournaments with 3-min + 2-second increment time control. The event brought together 426 participants from 35 countries.
The event will be broadcast live with professional commentary by IM Valeri Gaprindashvili daily.
The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Sports of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara – Badri Nakashidze, Head of the Sports Department- Irma Nizharadze, FIDE Special Tasks Director, the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, who welcomed the participants and wished them success. The government members made the first ceremonial move on several boards.
On the first day, six rounds were played, with as many as five participants having the perfect score of 6 out of 6.
Tomorrow, June 11, the final five rounds of the World Blitz Championship will be played at Legend hotel, followed by the closing ceremony scheduled for 8 PM local time.
Photos: Mindia Malakmadze
Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/
Champions Match Day 5
On the same day, the fifth round of the Champions Match was played in the conference hall of the Legend Hotel in Batumi.
In the fifth round, Ukrainian players, Mariya and Anna Muzychuk had the white pieces.
Mariya Muzychuk – Nino Batsiashvili (0.5-0.5)
In the Rossolimo Sicilian Black gradually expanded on the kingside and grabbed the initiative. In subsequent play, Nino came up with a very strong queen sacrifice for a rook, a minor piece and a pawn and got a clear edge.
However, Nino missed a powerful 38…Nc2! building up pressure and letting Mariya escape after 38…Nd1+ 39.Kg1 A draw by perpetual was agreed on move 61.
Anna Muzychuk – Meri Arabidze (1-0)
In the Carlsbad variation of Queen's Gambit Declined, both opponents castled long, but Anna played much more purposefully and gradually got Meri on the ropes. Eventually, Muzychuk converted her huge positional advantage into extra material with some nice tactics.
After 26.Rxc6! Rxc6 27. Nxc6 Bxc6 28.Qxa6 White emerged with an extra pawn and forced Black's capitulation just a few moves down the road.
The last round (the sixth round) will be held In Batumi at Legend Hotel at 11 AM local time.
