FIDE World U8-10 Rapid & Blitz and Champions Match: Day 3 recap
On June 7, Rounds 4-7 of the World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championship 2023 in Batumi were played in all age categories, with five participants having a perfect score of 7 out of 7. The event is broadcast live with professional commentary by IM Valeri Gaprindashvili. The children are preparing for the final rounds, starting on June 8 at 3 PM local time. Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/ Live games Pairings and Results Champions Match On the same day, the third round of the Champions Match was played in the conference hall of the Legend Hotel in Batumi. The game Mariya Muzychuk – Nino Batsiashvili produced the first decisive outcome in the event after 61 moves of play. Black got a decent position in the Rossolimo Sicilian, but first, misplayed it with 10…Be5 and then opted for 17…Bg4? which turned out to be a serious mistake. Just a few moves down the road, Mariya won a pawn and slowly but surely converted her extra material in a knight endgame. The second duel between Anna Muzychuk and Meri Arabidze was a quick 14-move draw. June 8 is a rest day, and the participants have an interesting program prepared for them. The Round 4 of the Champions Match will start on June 9 at 3 PM local time, with the Ukrainian players having the black pieces. Photos: Mindia Malakmadze Live games Pairings and Results
International Schools Festival 2023 in Ploiesti: 12 teams to have “invited” status
To all FIDE National Federations FIDE Events Commission is happy to announce that 12 teams from 4 continents (3 teams per the continent) first to enter the 1st edition of International School Festival in Ploiesti, Romania will receive free accommodation (full board is included). The event will take place from July 3-9, 2023. National Federations should send their requests to the FIDE Events Commission before June 13. The Events Commission should be emailed at: fideevents@fide.com Regulations of the International Schools Chess Festival
World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2023 starts in Batumi
The World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2023, organized by FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation, kicked off at the Euphoria Hotel in Batumi with an opening ceremony. The rapid competitions in all categories are 11-round Swiss tournaments with 15-min + 5 second increment time control. The event brought together 459 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 Chairman of the Supreme Council of Adjara, Tite Aroshidze, the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara, Maya Khajishvili, the Mayor of Batumi, Archil Chikovani, FIDE Special Tasks Director, the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Akaki Iashvili and Georgiian Chess Federation first Vice-President George Giorgadze, who welcomed the participants and wished them success. The government members made the first ceremonial move on several boards. Before the games start all participants were presented with symbolic gifts. On the first day threee rounds were played in all categories 39 participants having the perfect score of score of 3 out of 3. Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/ Live games Pairings and Results Champions Match Day 2 On the same day, the second round of the Champions Match was played in the conference hall of the Legend Hotel in Batumi. In the second round, Ukainian players, Mariya and Anna Muzychuk, had the black pieces. After four hours of play, both games ended peacefully. White had a slight edge in both encounters but Black held draws with accurate defense. The third round of the Champions Match will start on June 8 at 3 PM local time. Photos: Mindia Malakmadze Live games Pairings and Results
Global Chess League Unveils Six Franchises for Inaugural Edition Set to Reach 600 Million Viewers in 160 Countries
A Paradigm Shift in Chess Spectatorship with the Inclusion of World-Class Players and Visionary Franchise Owners U SPORTS, Insurekot Sports(ISPL), Punit Balan Group, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., Chingari App, and APL Apollo-led SG Sports take ownership India / New York / London: 5th June 2023: The Global Chess League (GCL), a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, today unveiled the six participating franchises for its highly anticipated first edition. The league, set to revolutionize the chess ecosystem, will commence with a players’ draft where franchise owners will select players for their respective teams. The GCL aims to redefine the world of chess by bringing together the brightest stars in the game, including Viswanathan Anand, Ding Liren, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hou Yifan, Kateryna Lagno, and other renowned players, alongside distinguished sports entrepreneurs as franchise owners. U SPORTS, Insurekot Sports (ISPL), Punit Balan Group, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., Chingari App, and APL Apollo-led SG Sports are the franchises committed to propelling the chess revolution forward. The league is scheduled to take place from June 21st to July 2nd, 2023, at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club. The FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, said, “Tech Mahindra Global Chess League started as a dream, and as we are heading towards its actualisation, we have found the right partners who believe in the vision. We are excited that such reputed entrepreneurs have joined the ranks of GCL. We want to welcome all the owners and their teams to the GCL family and look forward to making the league a big success.” Jagdish Mitra, Chairperson of the Global Chess League Board said, “GCL, the world’s first and largest official franchise league of its kind, blends traditional chess with the new era, aiming to enhance fan experience through digitization, innovation, and technology. The joint-team format, encompassing men, women, and U21 players, demonstrates our commitment to equal opportunities for all. With a cutting-edge broadcast reaching 600 million viewers in 160 countries, GCL will captivate new fans worldwide. We are delighted to have found the right partners to establish GCL’s strong presence across continents and look forward to creating a lasting legacy.” Joining the GCL bandwagon are three experienced sports entrepreneurs U SPORTS, Insurekot Sports, and Punit Balan Group. They are renowned for their successful investments in various franchises across leagues. Apart from the seasoned owners, three new names, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., Chingari App, and APL Apollo-led SG Sports, have joined the franchise owners’ ranks. U SPORTS, led by Ronnie Screwvala, renowned for its sporting successes in sports like Kabaddi, Table Tennis, and eSports in India, will make its international debut with the upGrad Mumba Masters team in the GCL. Suhail Chandhok, CEO, U Mumba & upGrad Mumba Masters said, “Chess is a sport that resonates with all of us, and being a part of something as revolutionary as the Global Chess League really does excite us at U Mumba. The collaboration between Tech Mahindra and FIDE has done an exceptional job of expanding the reach of chess to a wider audience. The star-studded lineup that the GCL promises thrilling matchups that will captivate and mesmerize spectators & we are thrilled to witness the incredible growth of this sport and proud to contribute to its flourishing future.” The second franchise of the tournament will be Ganges Grandmasters, led by Insurekot Sports (ISPL), an entity owned by Suresh Kotak. ISPL also owns the Pro Kabaddi League team & Ultimate Table Tennis League team, Puneri Paltan. Kailash Kandpal, CEO, Insurekot Sports Private Limited said, “We have always been dedicated to promoting sports with immense growth potential. While chess has a rich history, it has yet to establish itself as a mainstream spectator sport. GCL has the power to change that, and we eagerly wait for the league to start.” The third in this list of illustrious owners is the Punit Balan Group (PBG) which will own the team, Balan Alaskan Knights. Led by entrepreneur, businessman and sportspreneur, Mr Punit Balan, the Punit Balan Group has invested heavily across various sports leagues in India over the last two years and aims to contribute to India’s journey of becoming the sporting powerhouse globally. Punit Balan, Owner – Punit Balan Group said, “GCL is a vision that will attempt to change how Chess has been viewed and perceived globally. As a sporting brand, we at Punit Balan Group (PBG) wanted to be part of this historic milestone and represent India in the world of Chess as part of this game-changing global league. PBG supports multiple sports and Chess is a game which had its inception in India, it is something we always wanted to be part of and inspire more sporting enthusiasts to take up the game of chequered squares. We applaud the efforts of Tech Mahindra and FIDE in envisioning the League and look forward to a successful first season.” Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited, one of the largest integrated sugar manufacturers in India and a leading player in engineering businesses comprising Power Transmission business and Water & Wastewater treatment solutions, and Triveni Turbine Limited (TTL), a focused, growing and market-leading corporation with core competency in industrial heat & power solutions and decentralized steam-based renewable turbines up to 100 MW size, make their sports debut with Triveni Continental Kings in the GCL. Dhruv M. Sawhney, Chairman, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., and Triveni Turbine Ltd., said, “We are excited to make our sports debut with Triveni Continental Kings in the Global Chess League (GCL). Chess is renowned for its strategic thinking and intellectual prowess that aligns perfectly with our core values. We are known for our rich legacy and nation-building initiatives through years of innovation and this venture marks another significant step in establishing global recognition for India. Our aim is to create meaningful connections with chess enthusiasts and the global chess community, nurture talent, and contribute to the growth of chess worldwide. Moreover, the association of Tech Mahindra with GCL reinforces our trust and confidence that the first-of-its-kind chess tournament will be a remarkable global success.” Chingari App (Tech4Billion Group), the world’s fastest-growing Web3 Social Networking App, whose popularity has skyrocketed since the pandemic, will also debut in the sports business
Champions Match Day 1: Black hold in both games
The Muzychuk sisters pressured with White, but the Georgian players stood their ground. On June 5, the Champions Match got off the mark in the conference hall of the Legend Hotel after a short opening ceremony. Before starting the clock, the participants were greeted by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara Maya Khajishvili and FIDE Special Tasks Director and the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Akaki Iashvili. Mariya Muzychuk – Nino Batsiashvili (0.5-05) The opponents tested a popular line of the Sveshinkov Sicilian in which Black traded his light-squared bishop for White’s centralized knight and found herself in an inferior position. However, after a couple of sluggish moves by Mariya, Nino exchanged the queens and transposed into a roughly equal endgame where the opposite-coloured bishops suggested a draw as the most likely outcome. Indeed, the ladies split a point on move 44. Anna Muzychuk – Meri Arabidze (0.5-0.5) Meri comfortably equalized as Black in the Closed Ruy Lopez, but on move 26, she preferred activity to passive defence and sacrificed a pawn. It did not work out for Arabidze as, after a series of mutual inaccuracies, White gradually consolidated and achieved a winning position. After 48.a4 Black is hard-pressed for a reasonable continuation. However, Anna hastily played 48.e6? and let her opponent escape after 48…Rxe6 49.Rxe6 fxe6 50.Re5 Qc6. A draw was agreed in a rook endgame in which Black had sufficient activity for White’s extra pawn. The second round of the Champions Match will start on June 6 at 3 PM local time, with the Georgian players having the white pieces. Photos: Mindia Malakmadze Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/ Live games Pairings and Results
FIDE Education Commission announces its 7th Preparation of Teachers course
FIDE Chess in Education Commission is pleased to announce the dates of its new 7th Preparation of Teachers course. The course will be held online in English from June 23–25, 2023. The target audience is teachers, chess educators, beginner and advanced players with basic chess knowledge and experience working with children. Participants, based on their exam results, qualify for the FIDE title of School Instructor. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be offered lifetime access to the Opening Master premium chess databases, which currently contain more than 9.6 million official over-the-board chess games and are being updated monthly. Read the detailed course description here. Candidates who wish to attend the course must complete and return the following registration form. The cut-off date for applications is June 19. Applicants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and the maximum number of places on the course is 20. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at edu.courses@fide.com
World Rapid Team Championship: Preliminary list of participants announced
The inaugural edition of the World Rapid Team Championship, a 12-round Swiss tournament played over three days under rapid time control, will take place in Düsseldorf from August 25 (arrival day) to August 28, 2023. The event, with a prize fund of €250,000, is open to teams from all over the world. Each team shall be composed in accordance with the following requirements: A. At least six and not more than nine players, including at least: 1) One female player 2) One player, other than the one indicated in the previous point, who never achieved FIDE Standard, Rapid or Blitz Rating of 2000 Elo points (or unrated) up to and including the April 2023 rating lists B. A captain, who may also be one of the players. The preliminary list of registered teams has been published on the event’s official website. We will see quite a few top GMs in action, including Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hou Yifan, Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, and many others. Preliminary list of registered teams as of June 05, 2023: WR Chess 1 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM 2794 2 So, Wesley GM 2789 3 Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2760 4 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM 2703 5 Keymer, Vincent GM 2617 6 Praggnanandhaa R GM 2587 7 Hou, Yifan GM 2540 8 Kosteniuk, Alexandra GM 2524 9 Rosenstein, Wadim (Captain) Columbus Energy KingsOfChess Kraków 1 Jobava, Baadur GM 2660 2 Gumularz, Szymon GM 2550 3 Teclaf, Pawel IM 2494 4 Pakleza, Zbigniew (Captain) GM 2455 6 Jakubiec, Artur GM 2430 7 Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra IM 2371 8 Kulon, Klaudia IM 2147 9 Przedlacki, Wiktor 1645 Rishon LeZion Chess Club 1 Gelfand, Boris GM 2619 2 Zanan, Evgeny GM 2407 3 Veinberg, Nimrod IM 2348 4 Bronstein, Or IM 2328 5 Kaspi, Alexander IM 2312 6 Belenkaya, Dina WGM 2163 7 Lahav, Michal (Captain) WIM 2094 8 Raiko, Yossi 1838 9 Bulkovstein, David 1663 Chess Wizards 1 Dyachuk, Artem FM 2044 2 Korchynskyi, Mykola 1864 3 Nechitaylo, Nikita 1816 4 Kliashtornyi, Arkadii 1760 5 Tarasenko, Nazar 1727 7 Hladeniuk, Yelyzaveta 1477 8 Nechitaylo, Lev 1411 9 Shynkar, Daria 1014 Westerhoff, Ralf (Captain) 1517 ASV AlphaEchecs LINZ 1 Bacrot, Etienne (Captain) GM 2691 2 Maghsoodloo, Parham GM 2672 3 Naiditsch, Arkadij GM 2566 4 Lagno, Kateryna GM 2494 5 Llari, Marc 1868 6 Stoettinger, Michael 1779 Berlin Chess Federation 1 Huschenbeth, Niclas GM 2566 2 Paehtz, Elisabeth GM 2373 3 Baskin, Robert IM 2327 4 Lagunow, Raphael IM 2317 5 Meyer-Dunker, Paul (Captain) 2109 7 Carmesin, Leon Lucas 8 Rabiega, Robert GM Germany and friends 1 Svane, Rasmus GM 2621 2 Bluebaum, Matthias GM 2601 3 Donchenko, Alexander (Captain) GM 2568 5 Kollars, Dmitrij GM 2526 6 Bashylina, Luisa WFM 2007 7 Lobkin, Bohdan 1722 Kompetenzakademie Allstars 1 Caruana, Fabiano GM 2752 2 Aronian, Levon GM 2743 3 Gukesh D GM 2629 4 Tsatsalashvili, Keti WGM 2203 5 Schneider, Manfred 6 Becker, Rainer (Captain) Naphtali Team Nigeria 1 Koko, Obubele 2061 2 Oluwadare Samuel 1990 3 Akomaka, Apollos (Captain) 1763 5 Ajanwachukwu, Eunice 6 Ezeh, Pamella Souter 7 Egbujie, Stanley 8 Nwachukwu, John 9 Dan-Jumbo, Queen Awuereba 10 Dan-Jumbo, Victor Neustadt Weinstraße 1 Schulz-Knappe, Florian (Captain) 2150 3 Reh, Claudia Anne 4 Thomas, Andreas 5 Gaab, Wolfgang 6 Teuffer, Michael 7 Helbig, Mark FM 8 Allmacher, Marco 9 Schwarz, Dietmar PhileKhoob Chess Club 1 Pooreraghian, Mohammadreza 2082 2 Khademi, Mohammad Miran FM 1997 3 Bahmani, Koorosh 1863 4 Shahsanam, Alireza 1766 5 Sousanabadi Farahani, Ramin 1540 6 Farahani, Ali 1260 7 Marzban, Yasaman 8 Shamsi, Mohammadhossein (Captain) CM 9 Mirzaiee Rad, Javad Slovenia 1 Borisek, Jure GM 2548 2 Sebenik, Matej (Captain) GM 2464 4 Skoberne, Jure GM 2436 5 Subelj, Jan IM 2430 6 Unuk, Laura IM 2197 7 Novak, Rok 1621 Team MGD1 1 Erigaisi Arjun GM 2714 2 Nihal Sarin GM 2672 3 Harikrishna, Pentala GM 2630 4 Sadhwani, Raunak GM 2567 6 Dronavalli, Harika GM 2450 7 Peter Anand, A 1906 Narayanan, Srinath (Captain) GM 2482 Unischach Bayreuth 1 Ivekovic, Tihana WFM 2054 2 Braun, Kristin 1947 3 Glock, Benjamin (Captain) 1710 5 Holoubek, Jonas 1524 6 Hollstein, Jonas 7 Colmie, Nicolai 8 Kraus, Sebastian 9 Strahl, Christian Wensing & Pöbel 1 Elier, Ali 2216 2 Garbuz, Vitaliy 2149 3 Kracht, Raphael 2032 4 Bartelt, Max Peter (Captain) 1981 6 Moeller, Lisa-Marie 7 Kesselmeier, Kevin 8 Wensing, Maximilian 9 Leonard, Timo Registration is open until June 10, 2023, 12 PM Lausanne time. Each team shall apply for participation by filling out the registration form on the event’s official website.
Champions Match starts in Batumi, Georgia
The Champions Match, organized by FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation, kicked off at the Legend Hotel in Batumi with a technical meeting and drawing of colours. The competition is two six-game matches with classical time control held between Ukrainian and Georgian top female players: • Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine, 2515) • Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, 2504) • Nino Batsiashvili (Georgia, 2467) • Meri Arabidze (Georgia, 2441) The drawing of colours was conducted using traditional Georgian wines. The player to pick white wine, Teliani Valley – Tvishi, will play with white in the first round, and the one who chose red wine, Teliani Valley – Khvanchkara, will have the black pieces. First-round pairings: • Maria Muzychuk – Nino Batsiashvili • Anna Muzychuk – Meri Arabidze The technical meeting was attended by FIDE Special Tasks Director and the President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Akaki Iashvili, who welcomed the participants and wished them success. The first round of the Champions Match will start on June 5, at 3 PM local time, in the Legend Hotel. Chief Arbiter: Ashot Vardapetyan Chief of the Appeal Committee: Marco Biagioli Official website: batumi2023.fide.com/ Live games Photos: official website
Winners crowned at European Senior Championship 2023
The ECU Senior Chess Championship 2023 is in the books. The event took place in Acqui Terme, Italy, from May 25 to June 4, 2023, and was held in two age categories, 65+ and 50+. Women 65+ competed in the Open 65+ Swiss tournament (with separate ranking and prizes), while ladies 50+ had their own competition, a 9-player round-robin. As many as five players scored 7/9 in the 65+ tournament after the leaders, GM Lubomir Ftacnik and FM Terry Chapman drew their final-round game and allowed Jose Fernandez Garcia, John Nunn and Wolfgang Polster, who scored victories, to catch up with them. The Buchholz (second variable) favoured the reigning Word Senior Champion John Nunn, who added another title to his collection. Jose Fernandez Garcia and Lubomir Fracnik won silver and bronze, respectively. Final standings Open 65+: 1 GM Nunn, John D M ENG 2579 7 2 GM Fernandez Garcia, Jose ESP 2370 7 3 GM Ftacnik, Lubomir SVK 2456 7 4 FM Chapman, Terry P D ENG 2204 7 5 Polster, Wolfgang GER 2189 7 6 IM Renman, Nils-Gustaf SWE 2331 6½ 7 FM Schulz, Michael GER 2215 6½ 8 Kierzek, Matthias. GER 2163 6 9 IM Rooze, Jan BEL 2268 6 10 Ubezio, Marco ITA 2112 6 WGM Gisela Fischdick pulled off a crucial last-round victory over Wim Kortis and leapfrogged legendary GM Nona Gaprindashvili, who had to settle for silver. WFM Mira Kierzek took bronze. Final standings Women 65+: 1. WGM Gisela Fischdick (Germany) European champion – 6 2. GM Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia) – 5½ 3. WFM Mira Kierzek (Germany) – 4½ The Open 50+ was an even closer race with seven players, including the defending European Senior Champion GM Martin Mrva and the reigning World Senior Champion GM Zurab Sturua, scoring 6.5/9 and tying for the top position. Ironically, just like in the Open 65+, the reigning World Senior Champion Zurab Sturua had the best Buchholz and claimed the title. Fabrizio Bellia and Jose Lacasa Diaz earned silver and bronze, respectively. Final standings Open 50+: 1 GM Sturua, Zurab GEO 2518 6½ 2 IM Bellia, Fabrizio ITA 2393 6½ 3 IM Lacasa Diaz, Jose ESP 2359 6½ 4 GM Arkell, Keith C ENG 2390 6½ 5 IM Van Der Werf, Mark NED 2396 6½ 6 GM Mrva, Martin SVK 2353 6½ 7 FM Wacker, Peter GER 2265 6½ 8 FM De Santis, Alessio ITA 2117 6 9 FM Dishman, Stephen ENG 2259 6 10 GM Atalik, Suat SRB 2441 6 The 50+ Women round-robin saw the triumph of the rating-favourite WGM Marina Makropoulou of Greece who finished 1.5 ahead of Olga Birhkolz (Germany) and Polina Ni (Latvia). The champion became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. Final standings Women 50+: 1 WGM Makropoulou, Marina 2081 GRE 6½ 2 WFM Birkholz, Olga 2005 GER 5 3 Ni, Polina 1892 LAT 5 4 Baliuniene, Margarita 1920 LTU 4½ 5 WIM Dubois, Martine 1753 MNC 4 6 Sirletti, Sonia 1825 ITA 3½ 7 Baglay, Kseniya 1712 UKR 3½ 8 Novak, Simona 1622 SLO 2½ 9 Urbanc, Suzana 1655 SLO 1½ Photos: ECU Senior chess 2023 Official website: scaccomattissimo.com/ecu-senior-2023/
Kuznecovas rolls on the way to European Chess Solving Championship in Bratislava
Photo above: Solving hall in the old building of the Nottingham High School | Photo: British Chess News / John Upham Photography A perfect month of the World Solving Cup 2022/23 events is behind us, with six national championships held in less than 30 days. After 11 out of 17 competitions, differing in the average Solvers rating from 4th to 12th Category the top two places in the WSC Standings are still in the firm hold of Lithuanian solvers, but they switched their places, thanks to a series of outstanding results by Kevinas Kuznecovas. The 18-years old has been rolling this year, reaching the top 5 places in all nine tournaments he entered. The icing on the cake was his back-to-back wins in Slovakia, Great Britain and France. On the way to it, Kevinas has instantly completed norms for solving titles of FIDE Master and International Master. His Next goal is the title of Grandmaster, and the next station is the European Chess Solving Championship in Bratislava (June 2-4). Martynas Limontas is still in a good position to regain the top place since he hasn’t used the quota of six tournaments yet. In fact, nobody else except the leader has done it, and the final standings will heavily depend on two main yearly events: the Bratislava ECSC (June 1), and the World Chess Solving Championship in Batumi (September 4). According to the WSC Rules, the number of points in a competition correlates with the average rating of the ten best participants. In the lowest, 14th Category, the winner gets only 2 WSC points, while the win in the 1st Category event scores 46 points. That explains the high positions of the five solvers who took part in only one WSC leg and still made it in the top 10! The Open Solving Championship of Serbia was the strongest national competition since 2019, with seven solving grandmasters taking part and an average rating of 2477. Danila Pavlov, double World and European Solving Champion pulled off a convincing victory that brought him 31 points – enough for the current third position in the WSC race. The 2nd and 3rd places in Belgrade secured the top 10 WSC positions for GM Solver Marko Filipović (on his successful return after several years) and to the double Grandmaster (in chess and solving) Bojan Vučković, the Serbian champion once again. Winners in Belgrade Bojan Vučković, Danila Pavlov & Marko Filipović This solving competition was a part of the program of the traditional Belgrade Problem Chess Festival revitalized after three years of the COVID break. With B Category for juniors, composing tournament and lectures, it was held in the Chess Club Beograd, on the top of the Football Stadium OFK Beograd. This is where all gatherings of Serbian chess problemists as well as literary evenings devoted to the great chess personalities and events, happen. The week after, the 44th Lithuanian Chess Problem Solving Championship was held in Kėdainiai, a small town on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Over the last two decades, the championship constantly pulsates between the capital and the countryside, occasionally wandering into the bigger cities – Klaipėda and Kaunas. At the end of the last millennium, the representatives of Kėdainiai began to dominate and, not less than 17 times, became the individual national champions. Curiously, the solving event had the same surrounding as in Belgrade – in the administrative building of the local football club. The fight between the two WSC leaders ended with Martynas‘ scoring his eighth national victory. One of the most titled participants of the World Solving Cup, he won this event in 2017/2018, took second place in 2018/2019, and came third three times. The record holder Vidmantas Satkus, 11-time Lithuanian champion, earned the bronze medal. The biggest surprise happened in the team competition, where the Vilnius II team (A.Mockus, K.Kuznecovas and V.Paliulionis) ended the eternal rivalry between Vilnius and Kėdainiai main chess problem-solving teams. Winners of the Lithuanian championship V. Satkus, M. Limontas and K. Kuznecovas with the arbiter R.Krolikowski | Photo: Vilimantas Satkus With the 16th European Chess Solving Championship ready to begin, the 31st Slovak Championship in Bratislava was of special importance as it served as a preparation stage for the solving hot team and the organizing squad. Among several parallel competitions, the Blind Solving was an interesting novelty in the 16th ECSC program. Using only the notation of the given problems, the top-rated Slovak GM Jerguš Pecháč dominated, the same as in Quick Solving where the shortest problems in 2 moves are presented on a big screen, one by one. Blind Solving in Bratislava: the arbiter Ľubomír Širáň, Marek Kolčák (3rd place), the winner Jerguš Pecháč and Stasys Steponavičius (2nd place) | Photo Richard Dobiáš Although GM Jerguš Pecháč made his debut in a rated solving competition, he did very well in the 31st Slovak Championship, too. Only because of rushing during the moremovers round, when he spent only 30 out of 80 minutes, he missed the 3rd place. The tourney ended with the first out of three consecutive WSC wins for Kevinas Kuznecovas, ahead of Slovaks Tomáš Peitl, Marek Kolčák and Richard Dobiáš. The main ECSC organizer Marek Kolčák has taken part in all 31 Slovak championships and holds the record with 9 national titles, 11 silver medals and 5 bronze ones. He made it to the podium again, despite all the demanding organizing work this year. The final of the Winton British Chess Solving Championship 2022/23 was organized at Nottingham High School and had a very special atmosphere. The second back-to-back win by Kevinas Kuznecovas hardly surprised anyone, but the way he did it was really impressive. David Hodge was the first recipient of the Paul Valois Trophy, for the best British solver, presented by Paul’s sister Andrea Holt. The former World Champion in solving Jonathan Mestel finished only one point behind him, and the bronze went to Kamila Hryshchenko. David Hodge became the first recipient of the Paul Valois Trophy Text: Marjan Kovačević, WFCC President Official website: WFCC – World Federation for Chess Composition