WWC Match 2023: Ju gives Lei a break in a difficult position, ending in a draw
The third game of the Women’s World Championship match ended in a draw as defending champion Ju Wenjun allowed Lei Tingjie to escape from a highly uncomfortable position in the middlegame. The score is now 1.5:1.5 After two draws and a day of rest, Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie resumed the battle. In the first two games, it was Lei who took the initiative. Now, the tables have turned. Lei Tingjie was White and again she opened with 1.e4 and, like in game one (rather than her usual 1.d4). Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun played the Berlin line in the Ruy Lopez – a popular variation among top world players. In contrast to the first game, Lei opted to respond with 1.d3, leading to the anti-Berlin. As early as move six, Ju Wenjun found herself sinking into deep thought, which lasted for 20 minutes. Whether this was a deliberate psychological tactic by Ju or simply a thorough check of her preparation, Lei was not unsettled by this and carried on. However, after some imprecision by Lei, she lost a pawn and found herself in a difficult position. Ju got the upper hand and pressed on. Still, in a critical moment of the game, Ju opted to play 19…a5?! Wasting a precious tempo and letting White escape from a highly unpleasant position. Black still had chances to press on but, nearing severe time trouble, Ju opted to simplify which allowed White to regain a pawn and enter an equal endgame. Despite being in a drawn position, Ju Wenjun pushed her opponent but Lei held on. The game ended on move 49, following a threefold repetition. In the post-game interview, Ju acknowledged that she had a good position but that it wasn’t that easy. “Black had some chances but it was very complicated.” Here follows a closer look at game three of the match: As per tradition in top events, the first move was made by an honorary guest – Deputy Director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports Zhao Guangsheng. In her second game with the white pieces, Lei again opened with 1.e4. By playing 3…Nf6 Ju Wenjun suggested continuing theoretical discussion in the Berlin, but Lei responded with 4.d3 – the anti-Berlin, protecting the e4-pawn instead of castling short, as she did in game one. Despite spending considerable time in the opening, the opponents followed the game of their counterparts (Yu Yangyi – Wang Hao, 2017) up to move ten, where Ju deviated with 10…Bb6. Lei here played 12.Bf4?! unpinning the knight on f6. A much better option was 12.Bh4. After 12…Re8, the e4-pawn was hanging, and White had to find a way to protect it. The opponents reached the first critical moment of the game. Lei made a wrong choice – 13.Qc2? 13…Nxe4! It seems Lei missed this. After 14.Nxe4 Bf5 15.Rfe1 d5 16.Ne5 Bxe4 (16…dxe4 was slightly better) Black regained a piece and emerged with an extra pawn. As Ju was thinking, Lei got off the board. It was the first time in the match either of the players had left the board during the game. Maybe she was doing some soul-searching after compromising her position. Lei thought a lot about the next several moves, and her time advantage over Ju had evaporated. However, even deep thoughts did not save her from making a serious inaccuracy when she was close to equalizing. After 19.Kh1?! Ju had two promising choices – 19…h5 or 19.Rxe5! Instead, the defending Women’s World Champion opted for 19…a5?! to prevent White’s b2-b4 push and prepare c6-c5. Still, a surprising choice, allowing White necessary respite. 20.f3 Bf5 21.a4 The dangers for White are still there, but taking with a rook on e5 is no longer an option for Black. Ju had an edge, but the worst for White was now behind. Both sides were gradually approaching time trouble. By move 23, Ju had 13 minutes on the clock, and Lei had 18 minutes. Black should have held the tension and built up the pressure with 23…Qd8 or 23…h4. Instead, Ju decided to simplify, allowing White to escape a challenging position. 23…c5 24.dxc5 Qxe5 26.cxb6 cxb6 27.Bxb6 Re2 The game is heading for a draw. White got the pawn back; the queens and a pair of bishops are off the board. Soon another pair of rooks was exchanged, and, despite both players continuing, it was a dead draw. The opponents shook hands and split a point on move 49. Despite the draw, the game marks an important turnaround for Ju, who was on the defensive in the first two games and now took over the initiative. Game four of the match will be played on Sunday, 9th July, at 3 PM Local Time in Shanghai (GMT +8). Text: Milan Dinic Photos: David Llada and Stev Bonhage Official website: womenworldchampionship.fide.com/ About the Match The match will take place in two Chinese cities, where each of the contestants comes from. The first half of the match will be in Shanghai, while the second half takes place in Chongqing. The match will consist of 12 games of classical chess. The payers will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting on move one. Players cannot offer a draw before they reach the 41st move. In case of a tie, there will be the following tiebreaks: Four games with a 25+10 time control. Two games with a 5+3 time control. Two more games with a 5+3 time control. One game with a 3+2 time control, until a winner is determined. The prize fund is €500,000, with €300,000 going to the winner and the remaining €200,000 to the runner-up. If the outcome of the match is decided upon tiebreaks, the winner will take €275,000, while the runner-up will receive €225,000.
FIDE Circuit at midway point
FIDE Circuit is the new path to qualify for the FIDE Candidates Tournament, introduced this year. One player achieving the highest results during 2023 in eligible tournaments will get a ticket to Toronto. Each contender must play in at least five eligible tournaments, and only five of the top results are counted towards the Circuit standings. The system elevates the status of eligible tournaments and raises the stakes for participants. Will we see some players shuffle their calendars towards the end of the year to maximise their chances for the coveted Candidates’ spot? Remains to be seen, while at the moment, we have reached the point when we can sum up the first half year of FIDE Circuit. Before we delve into statistics, it is worth noting that each FIDE Circuit tournament has to meet the standards set out in the regulations. While there is no limitation to the maximum of participants, the eight highest-rated players of the event must have an average standard rating of 2550 or more (and there can’t be less than eight players in the tournament). In rapid and blitz, the threshold rises to 2700. Players shall represent at least three federations, except for national championships, and not more than 50% of the top 20 players shall come from one federation. There are also requirements to have an International Arbiter overseeing the tournament and other standards to prevent abuse of the rules and ensure that only professional and strong events get on the list. With the technicalities behind us, let’s look at the first six months of FIDE Circuit. It started with very strong tournaments such as Rilton Cup and Wijk aan Zee (both Masters and Challengers) added to the list in January, and it grew to 44 tournaments awarding FIDE Circuit at the beginning of July. Twenty-eight are held in Europe, eight in the Americas and eight in Asia. More than 300 players scored Circuit points. So far, the top events on the list were Norway Chess and Norway Chess Blitz, with a 2771 average rating, closely followed by Tata Steels Masters (2770) and Romania Grand Chess Tour (2768). The Circuit points awarded to the winners vary based on the events’ strength, so these tournaments heavily influenced the leaderboard. The first event was the Rilton Cup, held at the turn of the year. Its winner, Indian grandmaster Pranesh M (pictured above) got 6.76 points. He hasn’t added any point to his tally since but will go down in history as the first-ever leader of the FIDE Circuit. The Wijk aan Zee triumphant Anish Giri earned 27 points and became the leader at the end of January. He could extend his lead in WR Chess Masters next month but finished shared 5th, which brought him mere 2.03 Circuit points. Instead, the top spot was taken by Wesley So. His tally of 30.8 points was the sum of two solid results in Tata Steel and WR Chess. Photo: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit In April, after securing his second victory at the Menorca Open, Gukesh D took the lead by a tiny margin (mere 0.10 points) ahead of Wesley So. Later the same month, he was overcome by Levon Aronian, who finished second in Satty Zhuldyz blitz in Astana. However, Gukesh D was back at the top of the FIDE Circuit leaderboard in May after two strong performances in Sweden and UAE, followed by third place in Norway Chess in June to solidify his position. The 17-year-old prodigy keeps the lead, closely followed by Wesley So, Anish Giri, and Fabiano Caruana. His path illustrates that steadily high but not necessarily top results are better than alternating between great and mediocre performances. Here are his current top five tournaments: WR Chess Masters – 2nd place, 19.26 Circuit PointsMenorca Open – 1st place, 11.64TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2023 – 2nd to 4th place, 12.226th Sharjah Masters – 3rd place, 13.13Norway Chess – 3rd place, 19.03 Photo: TePe Sigeman & Co tournament | David Llada With many important tournaments to come – Grand Chess Tour, Biel, FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss, World Rapid and Blitz Championships – the FIDE Circuit race is still wide open. Moreover, the final standings can depend on lower-rated events in case of a tight race. We have a page on our website dedicated to FIDE Circuit that we keep up to date. You can find the list of eligible tournaments, the leaderboard, and regulations. Check it out: FIDE Circuit 2023.
Queens’ Festival: Malak Ismayil and Chadha Meddeb win continental qualifiers
The Queens’ Festival 2023 kicked off with Online Blitz Qualification tournaments for Europe and Africa. The European event attracted 108 players from 33 countries. The title of the Queens’ Festival Continental European queen went to WFM Malak Ismayil from Azerbaijan, who managed to score 10½ points in 11 rounds. Her compatriot WFM Laman Hajiyeva finished second with 8½ points, and Arya Aydogan from Turkey with 8 points. According to the tournament regulations, all three players will receive two training sessions with Women Grandmasters. The complete list of 25 qualifiers to advance into the semifinals of the Queens’ Festival from the European continent: 1 WFM Ismayil Malak AZE 10½ 2 WFM Hajiyeva Laman AZE 8½ 3 Aydogan Arya TUR 8 4 WFM Head Louise ENG 8 5 WGM Sikorova Olga CZE 7½ 6 Hryshchenko Kamila ENG 7½ 7 Omeri Eklea ALB 7½ 8 WGM Richtrova Eliska CZE 7½ 9 WCM Pert Nina ENG 7 10 Piddubna Bozhena UKR 7 11 WFM Stangl Anita Dr. GER 7 12 WFM Stefanidi Maria-Anna GRE 7 13 Ghitza Elena MLT 7 14 Nevska Gerda GCI 7 15 WIM Koskoska Gabriela MKD 7 16 WIM Kanyamarala Trisha IRL 6½ 17 Valcu Lavinia SWE 6½ 18 Valkova Angelika UKR 6½ 19 Subramanian Anusha ENG 6½ 20 Muratet Carmona Julia AND 6½ 21 Nadanyan Kiti ARM 6 22 Huseynli Ayan AZE 6 23 Swati Singha ENG 6 24 Bhaumik Mehr FIN 6 25 Batagan Ilinca-Petra ROU 6 One hundred twenty-eight players from 22 African countries competed in another Online Blitz Qualification tournament. WIM Chadha Meddeb from Tunisia scored 9/11, tied for first place with WIM Lina Nassr of Algeria and became the Queens’ Festival Continental Queen thanks to better tiebreaks. WIM Anika Du Plessis from South Africa was third with 8 points. The top 25 players of the event who advanced to the semifinals are: 1 WIM Meddeb Chadha TUN 9 2 WIM Nassr Lina ALG 9 3 WIM Du Plessis Anika RSA 8 4 Oke Abiodun NGR 8 5 WFM Marape Naledi BOT 7½ 6 Laamim Roaa MAR 7 7 WCM Selkirk Rebecca RSA 7 8 WIM Caxita Esperanca ANG 7 9 Ruth Otisitswe BOT 7 10 Ndunakazi Nobuhle RSA 7 11 WFM Pires Luzia ANG 6½ 12 Khoa Lutopu NAM 6½ 13 Kayyar Sana UGA 6½ 14 WCM Allam Yara EGY 6 15 Marochkina Nadezhda SEN 6 16 WFM Francis Thapelo BOT 6 17 WCM Sharell Arona Moshoboro BOT 6 18 Mugide Safinah UGA 6 19 Adzinova Salima MAR 6 20 Paulo Jemima ANG 6 21 WFM Junior Ednasia ANG 6 22 Concillia Ndegwa Awuor KEN 5½ 23 Michael Bridget NGR 5½ 24 Milly Takali UGA 5 25 Andhin Chethanah MRI 5 This weekend two more qualifying tournaments for players from the Americas and Asia will be played. The 25 players from each continent will advance to the semifinals scheduled for July 15th. The top eight finishers of the semifinals will compete in a round-robin tournament to determine the overall winner on July 16th. About Queens’ Festival The Queens’ Online Chess Festival, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments, has been held annually since 2021. The project organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess is a unique all-inclusive event aiming at developing a strong global women’s community in chess and enhancing female participation in all aspects of chess life. This year, the festival offers a chance to participate in two competitions: ·Queens’ Women Open Tournament. Open to all female participants with FIDE ID; ·Unrated Princesses’ tournaments. For U16 (born on 1.1.2007 or later), female players with no FIDE rating. The winners of the Queens’ Women Open Tournament and the Princess’ Tournament will be invited to the 45th World Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. The ticket, full-board 3-day accommodation 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 also take place during the 45th Chess Olympiad.
GCT SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia: Day 3 Recap
Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi remained as co-leaders after the final day of rapid in the 2023 SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz, each with 12.0/18 points. The previous leader, Anand stumbled today and is two points behind, while World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen bounced back into form to take the clear third position going into two full days of blitz next. RAPID | ROUNDS 7-9 The day started off with Nepomniachtchi continuing his perfect streak from yesterday, picking up his fourth straight victory with an impressive win over Saric: 15…d5! was a powerful break by Ian based on the line 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Rxd5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 Qa3+ 19.Kb1 Rd6!-+ | 0-1, 35 moves Nepo continued his excellent form from yesterday. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Caruana kept pace, managing to turn the tables in a very difficult position against Gukesh: 30…Nxd3!? was a strong sacrifice by Gukesh, winning multple pawns for the piece. But Caruana managed to survive and eventually overtook the advantage. | 1-0, 59 moves This would set up a big showdown in Nepomniachtchi-Caruana, where Nepo was close to winning his fifth game in row but failed to capitalize on a huge advantage. The game was drawn, with both players again drawing in the next round to stay tied for the lead. Caruana got a bit lucky in the first game, then escaped against Nepo as well. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes After a difficult day yesterday Carlsen fully turned things around today, with a draw against Rapport and wins over Duda and Lupulescu. In particular his win over Duda contained a phenomenal shot: The stunning 20.Bg5!! by Magnus was perhaps the move of the tournament, winning the exchange after Rc8+ next. With eighteen games of blitz left Carlsen is very much in the hunt. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Losing some steam was Anand, who managed draws with Duda and Nepomniachtchi but would lose to Gukesh to only score 2.0/6 for the day: 40.Ng6! was the final move, leading to a mating attack after 40…Bxg6 41.hxg6++- This was Gukesh’s first ever win over the legendary Anand. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes With two days of blitz now coming up, Nepomniachtchi and Caruana remain at the top with 12.0/18, while Carlsen sits in clear third with 11.0/18. Also not far are Anand and Gukesh, who are just two points behind with 10.0/18. The 2023 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz continues Saturday, July 8, with tournament action live starting at 8:05 AM CT with Grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Cristian Chirila and International Master Nazi Paikidze on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Further Information: Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: The Westin Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia July 5 – 9, 2023 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
Winners crowned at the inaugural chess event of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games
The chess event of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games ended in San Salvador. Chess was included in the quadrennial Games for the first time, alongside 36 more sports. Next to FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who visited the event, is Yamil Bukele, President of the Games COSSAN2023. He helped chess achieve this historic milestone. The Games program included rapid and blitz chess events in open and women categories. Sixteen countries took part, represented by two boards in each category. Cuba brought a stellar lineup with two GMs and two WGMs on the roster, and it was no surprise it took the most medals. Mexico also stood out with two GMs on the list. Cuban Grandmaster Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera (2616) did not leave a chance to the opposition, winning both rapid and blitz events on board 1. WIM Valentina Argote Heredia (2035) also took two medals elevating Colombia to third place, after Cuba and Mexico, by the medal count. Winners on each board and category got the medals of the Games. Our congratulations to the frontrunners! RAPID Board 1, Open: Gold: GM Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera (2616, Cuba) – 13 out of 15Silver: FM Joshua Johnson (2207, Trinidad and Tobago) – 11.5Bronze: CM Samid Eduardo Escalona Landi (2233, Venezuela) – 11.5 Board 1, Women: Gold: WGM Yaniela Forgas Moreno (2177, Cuba) – 12.5Silver: FM Danitza Vazquez Maccarini (2040, Puerto Rico) – 12Bronze: WIM Lilia Ivonne Fuentes Godoy (2057, Mexico) – 11 Board 2, Open Gold: GM Luis Fernando Ibarra Chami (2429, Mexico) – 12.5Silver: GM Luis Ernesto Quesada Perez (2538, Cuba) – 12.5Bronze: IM Esteban Alb Valderrama Quiceno (2526, Colombia) – 12 Board 2, Women: Gold: WIM Valentina Argote Heredia (2035, Colombia) – 14Silver: WGM Yerisbel Miranda Llanes (2235, Cuba) – 13Bronze: WIM Natasha Morales Santos (1876, Puerto Rico) – 12 BLITZ Board 1, Open: Gold: GM Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera (2526, Cuba) – 13.5Silver: IM Esteban Alb Valderrama Quiceno (2546, Colombia) – 12Bronze: GM Gilberto Hernandez Guerrero (2526, Mexico) – 11 Board 1, Women: Gold: WIM Valentina Argote Heredia (2128, Colombia) – 14Silver: WGM Yaniela Forgas Moreno (2169, Cuba) – 13Bronze: FM Danitza Vazquez Maccarini (2014, Puerto Rico) – 12 Board 2, Open: Gold: GM Jose Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso (2484, Colombia) – 14Silver: IM Felix Jose Ynojosa Aponte (2413, Venezuela) – 13Bronze: GM Luis Fernando Ibarra Chami (2450, Mexico) – 12 Board 2, Women: Gold: WIM Lilia Ivonne Fuentes Godoy (2005, Mexico) – 12.5Silver: WIM Natasha Morales Santos (1813, Puerto Rico) – 12Bronze: WGM Yerisbel Miranda Llanes (2257, Cuba) – 12 Full results: Chess-results.com – XXIV Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, San Salvador 2023
GCT SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia: Day 2 Recap
A surging Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana caught up with Anand during the second day of the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz, with Nepo winning all three games to tie for the lead going into the last day of the rapid. Just a point behind in second place are Jan-Krzysztof Duda and the young the young Gukesh, who scored two wins and a draw in today’s action. RAPID | ROUNDS 4-6 The day started off with a shock for Carlsen, as he lost back-to-back games to Caruana and Firouzja. Against Fabi, Magnus got caught in a rare line of the English and found himself worse in an endgame without much prospects. Carlsen-Caruana: after 15…Nd4, Caruana was a pawn up and with better development. | 0-1, 31 moves Two wins and a draw for Caruana, whose tied for first heading into the half-way point. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Fabiano converted to notch up a victory, and in the next round Carlsen again found himself on the defensive side against Firouzja. This time he was close to holding, but a late blunder in a queen endgame allowed Firouzja to seize the full point. A tough day for Carlsen, although at 50% he remains just two points behind the leaders. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Meanwhile Anand carried his excellent form into the first round, as he managed to outplay Saric in a complicated Najdorf battle. Anand-Saric: 37.Nf5+! was a winning stroke, as 37…gxf5 leads to mate after 38.Qg5+ Kf8 39.Qe7+ Kg7 40.Rg1++- | 1-0, 39 moves A win, loss, and draw for Anand, who remains one of the leaders. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Carlsen would bounce back in the final round, with a nice technical win against Anand in a rook endgame. This gave a chance for both Nepomniachtchi and Caruana to catch Anand with wins in the final round of the day – Nepo scoring his third straight victory and Caruana defeating Duda with Black. Nepomniachtchi-Lupulescu: after 32.Bg6, Black had back rank issues for the rest of the game. | 1-0, 50 moves After a winless Day 1 Nepo defeated Firouzja, Rapport, and Lupulescu in back-to-back games. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Ending the day just a point behind the leaders was the young Gukesh, who defeated both Lupulescu and Saric while drawing with Rapport in the first game. The youngest participant in the field, Gukesh has performed impressively so far. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Bryan Adams The 2023 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in continues on Thursday, July 7, with tournament action live starting at 7:05 AM CT with Grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Cristian Chirila and International Master Nazi Paikidze on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Further Information: Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: The Westin Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia July 5 – 9, 2023 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
World Senior Championship 2023 prize fund breaks record
FIDE happy to announce that the prize fund of World Senior Chess Championship 2023 will hit the absolute record. The participants in categories age 50+ and 65+, Open and Women and Open 75+ (special prizes) will share the total amount of 42,500 Euros. 1-14 places in both Open sections, 1-5 places in Women sections will be awarded the money prizes. The 3 prizes in Open 75+ category is also have been increased. In addition, the top three finishers in each category will receive memorable trophies and gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. Place Open 50+ Open65+ Women50+ Women 65+ Open 75+ 1st 3,000 3,000 1,500 1,500 1,000 2nd 2,500 2,500 1,200 1,200 700 3rd 2,000 2,000 850 850 500 The World Senior Chess Championships 2023 will be held in Terrasini, Italy from 24 October (arrival) to 6 November (departure) 2023. The Championship will be played in four categories: 50+ Open and Women, 65+, Open and Women. The deadline for the registration is August 30, 2023. Registration form Regulations for the FIDE World Senior Championships 2023 (pdf) FIDE Senior Chess Championships official website: worldsenior.fide.com E-mail: worldsenior@fide.com Photo: Wikipeida, Bjs
WWC Match 2023: Lei Tingjie takes initiative once again but Ju holds her to a draw
In the second game of the Match, World Champion Ju Wenjun played with the white pieces. Despite this advantage, Lei Tingjie once again seized the initiative and put pressure on Ju. However, the Women’s World Champion managed to hold and secure a draw It wasn’t just the colours that changed today—following yesterday’s game, Lei Tingjie requested to change her chair. This request may hold significance, as Ding Liren, in his match for the title of World Champion, tried and changed several chairs, which turned out to be a positive sign for him. The first move ceremony was made by KK Chan, President of the Hong Kong Chess Federation and Xu Qi, Deputy Director of Shanghai Sports Bureau. Ju opened with her standard move 1.d4. In the Tarrasch defence, both sides played steadily, but Lei gradually took over the initiative with active pawn pushes on both flanks. Despite the position being roughly even, Black was the side with more chances to play for a victory. With 23…b4 Lei began an advance on the queenside which threatened to end with her rook getting down to the second rank and putting significant pressure on White. Ju found the best way to counter but she was in an uncomfortable position, under pressure, reminiscent of the first game of the match. However, Lei was in time trouble and had 15 minutes on the clock to make more than 15 moves to reach the first time control. With the clock ticking and Ju’s skilful response, Black’s initiative failed to materialize into a tangible advantage. Subsequently, piece exchanges occurred on the board, leading to an even bishop and rook endgame by move 34. After 40 moves and three and a half hours of play, the two agreed on a draw. The score is now 1:1. Another uncomfortable day for Ju as she was again on the defensive side, despite playing with white pieces. In the post-game interview, she acknowledged being under more pressure saying “White had to play precisely” to hold. At the post-game press conference, an interesting question came from Deputy Press Officer Gu Xiaobing. She asked which player the contenders would like to meet at the board. Ju Wenjun said she wants to play younger Ding Liren, whom she can beat, while Lei Tingjie would choose to play against Carlsen at any time. Friday will be the first rest day of the Match. As both sides recover and reflect, Ju will need to think more about how far she can continue playing defence, while Lei will need to reconsider how to push herself further to convert an edge into a victory. Here follows a closer look at the second game of the match: Unlike her counterpart in the first game, Ju Wenjun played her usual opening move 1.d4 to which Lei Tingjie responded with the Tarrasch Defence. The game saw a topical line that has been extensively tested by the elite players. 10…Bg4 Lei demonstrated a good opening preparation. This move is more precise than the immediate 10…Be6. As Grandmaster Alik Gershon put it, the idea behind this continuation was “forcing White to return the b5-bishop to e2, moving it to a worse position, and then she went for Be6”. The opponents followed a recent game Mamedyarov – Nepomniachtchi (Zagreb, 2022) up to certain point, but Lei deviated first. 13…Rc8 After this move, both players started spending more time on the clock, suggesting both were out of their preparation. 14.a3 A more natural choice was Qd2, connecting the rooks. At this stage of the game, Ju proceeded somewhat sluggishly and allowed Lei to become the more active side. 17…g5 Played by Lei after six minutes. After expanding on the queenside, Lei pushed on the kingside. The thematic sacrifice 18.Nxg5 hxg5 19.Bxg5 doesn’t work here as Black consolidates with 19…Kg7 followed by Rh8. By move 20 GM Alik Gershon concluded: “With a series of energetic moves, Lei has taken over the initiative”. 23…b4. Black has now started her sharp offensive on White, but Ju’s position – although slightly weaker – is definitely holdable. After 24.Na4 Qb5 offering an exchange of queens and threatening to get the rook on e2, Ju spent a lot of time thinking and lost the clock advantage she had over Lei but found the best defence. 26…Nxb4 Black had another interesting option 26…Bxf3. Lei again started falling behind on time at this point. After 27.Rd2 was played, Lei had 15 minutes on the clock, while Ju had just under 30 minutes. With 13 moves to the first time control, Lei needed to be mindful of her time problems. A couple of moves down the road, the challenger missed her last chance to pose some problems for White. 28…Bf5 According to chess engines, the endgame emerging after 28…Bxf3 is slightly better for Black, although with an accurate defence White should hold. As played, Ju timely defused the tension and forced massive exchanges. After 30.Ne5 Nxe5 31.dxe4 Rxe5 32.Nxd5 Nxd5 33.Bxd5 Re1+ 34.Kh2 a5, it came down to a drawn rook and bishop endgame. Both players knew this was a draw, but the rules forbid them from offering a draw before move 40, so they continued playing and shook hands right after reaching the time control. Text: Milan Dinic Photos: Stev Bonhage Official website: womenworldchampionship.fide.com/ About the Match The match will take place in two Chinese cities, where each of the contestants comes from. The first half of the match will be in Shanghai, while the second half takes place in Chongqing. The match will consist of 12 games of classical chess. The payers will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting on move one. Players cannot offer a draw before they reach the 41st move. In case of a tie, there will be the following tiebreaks: Four games with a 25+10 time control. Two games with a 5+3 time control. Two more games with a 5+3 time control. One game with a 3+2 time control, until a
GCT SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia: Day 1 Recap
Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand shined on the first day of the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz, the third leg of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour hosted by Zagreb, Croatia. After three rounds of play, currently tied for second place are World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzystof Duda, and Richard Rapport, each just a point behind Anand. RAPID | ROUNDS 1-3 The early leader of the event turned out to be the Polish No. 1 Duda, who won his first two games against Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja in very nice fashion. 16.Nc6! was a nice find by Duda, winning Black’s queen. 1-0, 33 moves Duda got off to a hot start, beating two of his biggest rivals in back-to-back games. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Duda’s perfect run would be stopped by Rapport, who emerged with extra material after trapping Duda’s knight in the center of the board. Rapport also scored in Round 1, after finding an unexpected mating net in a nervy time-scramble against Caruana: 62.Kg4! forced resignation as Black had no defense to the threat of Rh2+, followed by mate. Wins over Caruana and Duda for Rapport, who’s tied for second heading into Day 2. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes This allowed Rapport to reach Duda in the standings and for Anand to jump into the lead, as he drew with Firouzja in Round 1 before scoring wins against Rapport and Lupulescu thanks to some excellent technique: Here Anand played 18.Qxb7!, correctly grabbing a pawn which he was able to hold onto. | 1-0, 41 moves The leader after Day 1, Vishy Anand. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Ending with 4.0/6 along with Duda and Rapport was Carlsen, whose campaign started with a win over the youngest participant, Gukesh, but was then followed by draws against Saric and Nepomniachtchi. 21…f4! gave Black a fantastic initiative on the kingside, which Magnus duly converted. 0-1, 36 moves. A win and two draws for the top seed Carlsen. | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes The 2023 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in continues Thursday, July 6, with tournament action live starting at 7:05 AM CT with Grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Cristian Chirila and International Master Nazi Paikidze on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Further Information: Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: The Westin Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia July 5 – 9, 2023 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE WRTC 2023: Showdown in Düsseldorf
From August 25-28, 2023, German Düsseldorf will host a unique competition, the inaugural edition of the World Rapid Team Championship, organized by FIDE in partnership with WR Group Holding GmbH. The 12-round Swiss tournament with rapid time control will see the squads from all over the world fight for the €250,000 prize fund, with the winners taking home €100,000. The playing venue is Rheinterrasse located right in the heart of Düsseldorf, directly on the Rhine. The format Each team shall be composed of at least six and not more than nine players, and it must include at least one female and one recreational player, who never achieved FIDE rating of 2000. Each match is played on six boards, with at least one female and one recreational player in every match. The time control: 15 minutes for the first with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move 1. Matches are scored by match points, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The team with the most match points will become the champion. The teams The World Rapid Team Championship attracted several dozen squads, with some of them assembling stellar lineups. Based on average rating, there are as many as four clear favourites: WR Chess (Duda, So, Nepomniachtchi, Abdusattorov, Keymer, Praggnanandhaa R, Hou Yifan and Kosteniuk), Freedom (Rapport, Anand, Dubov, Najer, Shuvalova and Shapiro), Team MGD1 (Erigaisi, Sarin, Harikrishna, Sadhwani, Dronavalli) and Kompetenzakademie Allstars (Caruana, Aronian, Gukesh D, Tsatsalashvili). Let’s not forget that in team events, average rating often is not as important as team spirit, camaraderie, grit and determination. Take, for example, Armenia’s three gold medals in the 2006, 2008 and 2012 Chess Olympiads. Another critical factor is the participation of recreational players in every match, which can add an element of unpredictability and serve as an equalizer in critical moments. With this in mind, squads like Ashdod Elit Chess Club (headed by Pavel Eljanov), Armenia (that can easily represent the country in Chess Olympiads), ASV AlphaEchecs LINZ, Uzbekistan (basically the country’s national team minus Nodirbek Abdusattorov) and some other teams also have a shot for the title. Since this democratic competition is open to all, many teams consisting of low-rated and recreational players will participate. For them, the World Rapid Team Championship is a unique opportunity to face the best players in the world over the board and gain valuable experience. Given a long 12-round tournament distance, all the top teams are bound to play each other, so we can expect a riveting chess spectacle in Dusseldorf. Check out all the registered teams and lineups on the official website.