Call for submissions: FIDE Veterans Support Program
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of its support to chess veterans. A number of grants will be awarded next month to distinguished players, coaches and organizers aged 65+. Anyone over this age who has contributed to the development of chess and who is in an unstable financial situation is eligible to submit an application. As in previous years, we invite federations, clubs, and players themselves to send their applications, including a CV of the nominee, to the FIDE Secretariat: office@fide.com. The deadline for submissions is January 23, 2023.
Women in Chess: FIDE WOM Workshop held in Stockholm
The International Chess Federation declared 2022 the Year of the Woman in Chess. Throughout the year, many events were held to form gender equity policies, practices and programs to promote women’s participation in chess and to make the game more attractive to women. The year is over, but the work continues. The first FIDE WOM workshop organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and Stockholm Chess Federation took place on January 05, in Stockholm, Sweden, during the Rilton Cup. The speakers of the event – Pia Cramling, GM, Swedish legendary chess player, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, WGM, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, Ofelia Thörnqvist, Chairperson Sveriges Schackförbund Women Commission, Anastasiya Karlovich, WGM, Chess Journalist, Photographer, Ulkar Umudova, member of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess – talked about their chess careers and shared their experience how the game helps them in the profession and everyday life. Anastasia Sorokina, Chairperson of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, was the event’s moderator. A lot of things were said before about the positive impact of chess on decision-making, troubleshooting and communication. But true stories are worth a thousand words. ” I feel so well in this community. I’ve done so many things in my life, but the feeling that I am a member of a chess world has always helped me a lot. It has given me a very important sense of security,” said Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board Dana Reizniece-Ozola in her presentation. Speaking about the role of women in chess, she added: “There are no physical or other restrictions; it’s just our mindset that sometimes stops the girls and puts the glass ceiling for them. And it is our task to break it and allow them to excel.” According to the speakers, through chess, women can become not only professional players but journalists, bloggers, politicians, trainers, and arbiters. In her presentation, Pia Cramling shared her experience as one of the world’s strongest chess players and the experience of her daughter, who is also a chess player and a successful chess streamer. “I do so much believe in what chess gives to you. It is not what it was before, not something which is only for men. Now it changes. It is really for the young, for the girls, for everyone. We can meet anyone at the chessboard. Chess takes away the boundaries – age, sex, and other things don’t matter,” she said. Ofelia Thörnqvist, Chairperson Sveriges Schackförbund Women Commission, showed some statistics about women in chess in Sweden. According to her data, although in school chess clubs, the number of girls is almost equal to the number of boys playing chess, it significantly reduces among girls and women aged 15-25. To change these statistics for the better, Sveriges Schackförbund established online chess training for women and hosts girls’ and women’s national championships and weekly tournaments. The workshop was followed by a simul with Pia Cramling and Dana Reizniece-Ozola and a blitz tournament for all the participants. Watch the full event on the FIDE YouTube channel: youtu.be/L-DbU4ulGzs Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich
Belgrade to host Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities
Belgrade, Serbia will host the Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, which will take place from January 29 to February 5, 2023. This is a team competition, played over four boards, and limited to a maximum of 30 participant teams: 27 teams are selected by rating, and four are nominated by the FIDE President. If there is an odd number of participating teams, the host Federation (Serbia) is entitled to register a second team. Preliminary list of participating teams and lineups You can find the invitation letter, with all the details about registration, travel and accommodation, et cetera, on the following link. DIS Olympiad 2023 Photo: guide.michelin.com/
2023 FIDE Laws of Chess published
During the last days of the year, the FIDE Rules Commission completed the administrative check on the 2023 Laws of Chess, which were approved at the 93rd FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, India, and came into force on January 1, 2023. The final reviewed version is now available in chapter E012023 of the FIDE Handbook. This English text is the authentic version of the Laws of Chess, and translations to other languages are now being prepared. The main novelty (12.2.7) is that the penalty in rapid games is now reduced to one minute from two minutes in the previous version. The new version also includes a mention of FIDE certified “electronic scoresheet” (8.1.1.2), which introduction was approved by FIDE in February 2022. No other rules were amended during this check, and most changes are purely editorial, consisting of correcting typos and adjusting the numbering of chapters and sections. Following a process that FIDE has applied to all its body of documentation, pronouns were changed from “he” to “he/she”. By now, almost all legacy documents at FIDE have already undergone this indispensable modification to make them inclusive. The FIDE Rules Commission has published on its website a comprehensive table showing all changes and corrections. You can find it at this link.
The 1st Chess Workshop for Women set for January 05
FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and Stockholm Chess Federation are pleased to announce the 1st FIDE WOM and Stockholm Chess Federation workshop that will take place on January 05, 2023, at 12:00 in Stockholm, Sweden. The event will be held during Rilton Cup in the Scandic Continental, Vasagatan 22, Stockholm, subway station T-Centralen. According to the workshop’s organizers, chess is a special world, and through chess, women can become not only professional players and champions but journalists, bloggers, politicians, trainers, and arbiters. The speakers will exchange experiences and showcase how chess can change women’s lives for the better. Invited guests of the workshop: Pia Cramling, GM, Swedish legendary chess player, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, WGM, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, Ofelia Thörnqvist, Chairperson Sveriges Schackförbund Women Commission,Anastasiya Karlovich, WGM, Chess Journalist, Photographer Moderator of the event: Anastasia Sorokina, Chairperson of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess The event will be live streamed on FIDE Youtube: youtu.be/L-DbU4ulGzs Prior to the workshop, the first WOM meeting will be held at 10:00 CET.
January 2023 Chess Solvers rating list published
The latest Chess Solvers Rating List, issued by the Solving Tournament Manager and released by the World Federation for Chess Composition, set a historical record in this chess format. On January 1st 2023, 20-year-old Danila Pavlov (FIDE) became the youngest ever #1. His compatriot Georgy Evseev occupied the top position for eight previous years and still holds the absolute record as the longest-standing No.1. Danila’s rise to the top was only a natural outcome of his unprecedented series of triumphs. In May 2022, he convincingly won the 15th European Chess Solving Championship (ECSC) in Riga, thus defending his 2019 European title (after the Covid break in 2020-21). This alone was an absolute record for his age. On the way to this victory, Danila won the Open tournament in Riga, a traditional introduction to ECSC. In the 45th World Chess Solving Championship in Fujairah (UAE) last November, Pavlov defended the title of World Champion from Rhodes 2021, again becoming the youngest-ever solver to do it. On top of that, he won the introductory open tourney again and became the overall winner of the World Solving Cup 2021/22, the cycle of 14 yearly solving competitions in different countries. As if that wasn’t enough, Danila capped the year by winning both tourneys in quick solving at the 64th World Congress of Chess Composition in Fujairah (Open Quick Solving and Open Solving Show), matching the 2022 domination of Magnus Carlsen in all different time controls. GM solver Danila Pavlov is not the only junior representing a new wave of youngsters in solving competitions raising after the quarantine break in 2020/21. His compatriot Ural Khasanov, the new World Vice-Champion aged only 16, is bound to mount much higher from his current 9th position in the rating list. Ilija Serafimović from Serbia (pictured above), aged 18, just broke into the top 20. An all-around chess problemist, he is equally good at solving and composing chess problems. Ilija convincingly won all Youth Chess Composing tourneys at the 64th WCCC. Another new name is 14-years old Anirudh Daga from India, a rising star in both solving and composing. The biggest gains in the rating list also belong to young solvers: Kamila Hryshchenko (20) from Great Britain (+163) (pictured below) and Kevinas Kuznecovas (17) from Lithuania (+144). Young Romanian chess players Denisa-Andreea Bucur (+74) and Mihnea Costacchi (+48), as well as Mongolian chess GM Bilguun Sumia (+65), are also on the upswing. Photos: Fujairah Chess & Culture Club Official website: https://www.wfcc.ch/
FIDE January 2023 rating list is out
The last month of 2022 was marked by strong tournaments with fast time control that somewhat overshadowed classical events. Consequently, both Open and Women’s top 10 (standard rating) saw just minimal changes. The only exception is the rise of Tan Zhongyi, who picked 12 rating points after winning Women’s Candidates Pool B in Khiva and repeated her career-high 7th position in the rating list. Still, three players fared well in December, substantially increasing their classical rating. Amin Tabatabaei (+26), Kirill Alekseenko (+18) and Teodora Injac (+17) put up a strong showing in Elllobregat Open and IX Chessable Sunway Sitges Chess Festival and earned some good rating points. Magnus Carlsen ruled supreme in Almaty at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship. The World Champion in all three categories took both rapid and blitz titles for the third time in his career. Magnus consolidated his top position in the rapid list (+5 points) and moved up to third place in the blitz list after gaining 22 points in Almaty. Nodirbek Abdusattorov did not manage to defend his rapid title but continues climbing in the respective rating list. First, the talented youngster came out on top in a very strong Gashimov Memorial (+20 points) and then picked 18 points in the World Rapid Championship to cross a 2700 rating mark. Despite winning silver in the World Blitz Championship, Hikaru Nakamura lost 30 rating points and gave up the top spot in the blitz rating to Alireza Firouzja, who did not play in Almaty. The biggest rating beneficiaries in this event alongside Magnus are Richard Rapport (+47), the bronze-winner Haik Martirosyan (+25) and Vladimir Fedoseev (+19). All three considerably improved their positions in the blitz rating list. Fresh from her successful campaign in the Women’s Candidates (where she earned 7 rapid rating points), Tan Zhongyi won the World Women’s Rapid Championship, added another 8 points to her tally and mounted to the fourth position in the women’s rapid rating list. Alexandra Maltsevskaya delivered an uneven performance in this event, but her triumph in the European Women’s Rapid Championship just a few days earlier allowed the Polish youngster to increase her rating by impressive 53 points. Bibisara Assaubayeva not only successfully defended her title of women’s blitz world champion but also earned 36 rating points and broke into the top 10 women’s blitz. Interestingly, as many as five players from the women’s top 10, including the silver-winner Humpy Koneru, lost quite a few rating points in this tournament. Photo: Lennart Ootes
Kenya Championship 2022: Mehul Gohil and Joyce Nyaruai win titles
Kenya National Championship, one of the most interesting and followed chess competitions in Africa, ended yesterday in a dramatic playoff at Charter Hall, Nairobi. The event attracted 203 players and ran for five days, from 26th to 30th December 2022. Mehul Gohil and Joyce Nyaruai Friday reclaimed their Kenya National Chess Championship (KNCC) Open Section and Ladies Section titles, respectively. Both competitions were 9-round Swiss events with classical time control. Just as many had predicted on Thursday evening, the Open Section’s winner of the competition was decided in a tiebreaker. Gohil, the 2014 and 2019 champion, outwitted Hugh Misiko in the final Armageddon game after they drew 1-1 in both rapid and blitz games. The two players had tied at the top on eight points after nine rounds. Gohi’s hard-fought win was a sweet one since he lost to Misiko in the fifth round of the competition, which is one of those used to select the 2023 national team for the Africa games to be held in Ghana from August 4-19. For their triumphs, Mehul drove home with a brand new Mazda Demio car for the second time in three years, while Nyaruai pocketed Sh100,000 (about USD 1000) “This was very tough, basically it was like a penalty kick, and I am happy to have won. To become the best in chess takes years of practice and love for the game, so winning the car is a validation of the hard work,” said Gohil. He uses the 2019 car for his own movement and is considering turning the second one into a taxi. Gohil, the second finest chess player in the country with a rating of 2012, defeated the 2021 champion Martin Njoroge (1973) in Round 9 to force playoffs. That game was a repeat of the 2021 final, where Njoroge carried the day in a blitz playoff after the rapid games failed to produce a winner. Then, Gohil and Njoroge tied on eight points in nine rounds. Hugh Misiko said he never expected to reach the competition’s final. “I just came to play chess and enjoy but not to win the car. I did not expect to go to the finals, and since this performance has motivated me to work hard, next year I must win with maximum points,” said the Eldoret-based businessman and chess coach. CM Ben Nguku defeated Brian Kadenge to finish third with 7.5 points and claim bronze, while Njoroge, Matthew Kamau, Caleb Miran, Joseph Methu and Jackson Kamau all ended with seven points each, tying for fourth place. Final standings: 1 Okonga Hugh Misiko 1785 8 2 Gohil Mehul 2012 8 3 Namale Ben Nguku 1972 7½ 4 Njoroge Martin 1973 7 5 Kanegeni Matthew Kamau 1944 7 6 Marani Caleb 1499 7 7 Methu Joseph Muragu 1945 7 8 Ndegwa Jackson Kamau 1809 7 9 Ngani Victor 1925 6½ 10 Brian Gabriel Mwangi 1760 6½ WCM Joyce Nyaruai defeated a former champion WCM Lucy Wanjiru and the defending champion and the top-rated participant WFM Sasha Mogeli to top the women’s section with eight points and reclaim title she won in 2017. “The competition was extremely tough. If you remember, I had a rough start by registering two draws in my first two matches. In my mind at that time, my campaign was over but the other players also stumbled and I was able to pick up,” the champion Nyaruai said. Having defeated her main rival Glenda Madelta (1565) in the penultimate round, Nyaruai he leapfrogged her by a half-point and needed only a draw in round nine to bag her second national title. Joyce secured it after beating against Wanjiru (1454) with the white pieces. Madelta defeated Jully Mutisya (1460) to finish runners-up with 7.5 points. The 2021 champion Sasha Mongeli (1726) finished third with seven points ahead of Wanjiru who scored 6/9. Final standings: 1 Ndirangu Joyce Nyaruai 1699 8 2 Madelta Glenda 1565 7½ 3 Mongeli Sasha 1726 7 4 Wanjiru Lucy 1454 6 5 Mutisya Jully 1460 6 6 Cherono Mercy 1196 6 7 Nicole Albright 1346 6 8 Elizabeth Cassidy Maina 1209 6 9 Mwendwa Triza 1466 5½ 10 Muturi Elsie 1147 5½ Photo: Chess Kenya
Magnus Carlsen and Bibisara Assaubayeva win the World Blitz Chess Championships
Magnus Carlsen clinched his second gold in Almaty after winning both the Rapid and the Blitz. Carlsen won the World Blitz Championship with 16/21. Kazakh player Bibisara Assaubayeva took her second consecutive gold in the Women’s World Blitz with 13/17 The World Blitz Chess Championship ended in Almaty (Kazakhstan) with the victory of Magnus Carlsen in the Open section and Bibisara Assaubayeva in the Women’s. The Open Blitz After a strong performance on the first day of the Blitz, Carlsen (third seed in the Blitz) maintained course, held on to the leading position and brought the tournament to a successful end. On day two Carlsen drew the game with his number one competitor in the Blitz (and leader after day one) – Hikaru Nakamura. It wasn’t a smooth ride for Carlsen, who suffered two defeats in critical moments: to Ian Nepomniachtchi (candidate for World Champion in classical chess) and the young superstar Alexey Sarana. In the final round of the Blitz, Carlsen was up against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusatorrov (whom he had previously beaten in the Rapid). Carlsen showed steadier nerves in a complicated position and managed to snatch a victory, securing he is alone in the first place. Having previously won the World Rapid chess championship, Carlsen is currently the holder of all three world championship titles – in Classical, Rapid and Blitz. By winning the World Rapid and the World Blitz Magnus Carlsen, who has decided not to defend his crown in classical chess, has secured himself another year as world champion – in rapid and blitz categories. This is the third time that the Norwegian is the holder of all three world chess crowns. “It feels great,” was Carlsen’s first reaction to winning two world championship titles in three days. “This is a really tough event. It started great yesterday but I wasn’t feeling I had a lot of energy… Yesterday I was trying to survive until day two and see if I had some chance… Today I felt a little bit better than yesterday, and I tried to win as many games as I could.” Carlsen also asked which of his world titles is dearest to him. “To some extent, the Blitz title is very important because it’s [won in a tournament with] more rounds… As far as the classical championship [goes] I won it, but it wasn’t dear enough to hold on to.” Carlsen also reflected on his main competitor in the Blitz, GM Hikaru Nakamura, who finished second, pointing out that he was under incredible pressure being the leader after day one. “While he is used to winning tournaments, he’s never won this one… When he started a bit shakey, then I knew I had a chance”. The second and third place went to GM Hikaru Nakamura and the Armenian GN Haik Martirosyan, respectively, who both finished a point behind Carlsen (15/21). The Women’s Blitz With 13 points out of 17 rounds in the Women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan came out on top. Her success is even more impressive as she managed to defend the world title in Blitz (the previous women player to defend her Blitz crown was Kateryna Lagno in 2018 and 2019). Humpy Koneru of India took second place after scoring 12.5/17, while Polina Shuvalova and this year’s Women’s Rapid winner Tan Zhongyi tied for fourth place after both netting 12 points. Having started day two of the Blitz a full point and a half behind the leaders (6/9), Assaubayeva had a spectacular second day winning seven games and losing just one (to Polina Shuvalova). In the press conference following her victory, Assaubayeva said she felt very emotional having managed to defend her crown (“which is more difficult than to win it”), but also that she achieved this in her home country. “I am very delighted that I won in my home country. I felt I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I got sick after the first day of the Rapid, so I wanted to show all my strength in the Blitz,” she said. Kazakhstan won two medals in the Women’s tournaments: silver in the Rapid and gold in the Blitz. This is a huge success for this Central Asian country which has recently expanded investment in the game and is hoping to organize additional international chess competitions. The Closing ceremony The Closing ceremony of the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships took part at 8 PM local (Almaty) time in the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace, where the tournaments took place. Players, guests, sponsors and officials joined the 2022 Rapid and Blitz winners in the playing hall, where a big podium was set up. The ceremony started with the intonation of the national anthem of Kazakhstan. Speaking on behalf of FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE Executive Director Grandmaster Victor Bologan thanked the Chess Federation of Kazakhstan and the local teams for successfully organizing the event, emphasizing a friendly and positive atmosphere which reigned in tournaments. Victor Bologan congratulated the winners and also compared Magnus Carlsen to Lionel Messi. The winners in both Rapid and Blitz walked to the podium to receive prizes delivered by FIDE officials, sponsors and the Akim (mayor) of Almaty. After awarding the medals and trophies and performing national anthems, the 2022 World Rapid and Blitz Championships were declared officially closed. The organization of the event and support The World Rapid and Blitz championships are held by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation together with the International Chess Federation and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, as well as the Akimat of the city of Almaty. The event is made possible thanks to the agreement with Freedom Finance, which becomes a General Sponsor of the event. Freedom Broker is an investment company and a stockbroker. Provides access to NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, HKEX and other largest stock exchanges on the planet. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Lennart Ootes and Anna Shtourman Official website: worldrapidandblitz2022.fide.com/ ORGANIZERS: GENERAL PARTNER: PARTNERS:
World Blitz Championship, Day 1: Nakamura’s moment
Hikaru Nakamura is a point ahead of everyone else after the first day of the blitz in the Open tournament. In the Women’s event, Polina Shuvalova and Valentina Gunina are tied for first place. The World Blitz Chess Championship got underway today in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the sound of chess clocks ticking quickly throughout the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace. There are 174 players in the Open tournament and 98 in the Women’s section, totalling 272 participants from more than 50 countries. American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is alone in first place with 10 points after 12 rounds of the Open competition. With nine rounds completed in the women’s competition, Polina Shuvalova and Valentina Gunina are sharing the lead with 7.5 points. The first round started with a delay after Magnus Carlsen was late due to a traffic jam on the way from his hotel. There was also an issue with some players – including world champion candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi – not following the FIDE dress code. The Open section Out of 21 rounds in the Open tournament, twelve took place on day one. Hikaru Nakamura – who didn’t have a great experience with the Rapid Championship – got off to a fantastic start in the blitz with four victories. He was slowed down by Anish Giri in Round 5, where he conceded half a point but then scored two more victories – against Fabiano Caruana and Yu Yangyi. The game that drew the most interest in the day – even before the first moves had been made – was played between Nakamura (as White) and Magnus Carlsen. Both players were on 6.5/7. In a game which was described as “boring” by Nakamura, the two quickly exchanged pieces on the board and entered a drawn endgame. In a post-game interview, Nakamura said that he felt tired and that he needed a “break”, so he decided not to try and force an even position. This game, however, started a mini-series of three consecutive draws for Nakamura. However, in the final two rounds of the day, the American regained his mojo and scored two important victories ending a full point ahead of anybody else. Nakamura is hoping to win a gold in the Blitz after winning two bronze medals (in 2014 and 2018) and one silver (in 2019). Anish Giri leads the group of five players who are sharing second place, including – Magnus Carlsen, Daniil Dubov, Haik M. Martirosyan and Richard Rapport. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who is defending the Blitz title, is closer to the middle of the scoreboard, with 6.5 points. After a solid start with 4/5, he suffered a defeat in Round 6 to a 200-point lower-rated Vasif Durarbayli. The Frenchman regained his composure with two victories, but at the end of the day, his concentration fell off a cliff – netting only half a point in four games. The Women’s section The Women’s Blitz has had nine rounds played out of a total of seventeen. Polina Shuvalova and Valentina Gunina, both sitting on 75/12, are tied for the top position. Tan Zhongyi, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Alexandra Kosteniuk (who has won a silver medal in the 2021 edition of the Blitz and has recently won the European Blitz for women) are immediately behind and trailing by a half-point. Shuvalova got off to a great start stringing together five consecutive wins. Following a draw with Tan Zhongyi in Round 6 and a victory over Nana Dzagnidze in Round Seven, she slipped in the next game against none other than Valentina Gunina. In the day’s last round, however, she bounced back and defeated Harika Dronavali to earn a crucial point. Valentina Gunina, who has the same number of points as Shuvalova but has a slightly weaker TB3, is repeating the great performance from day one of the Rapid when she was also in the lead. In the latter stages of the Rapid, things didn’t go that well for her, though. Blitz, however, is her forte and Gunina is looking for her second Blitz gold a decade after she won her first (in Batumi in 2012; she also has two silvers – from 2016 and 2017). In the final two rounds of the day, she pulled off important victories over main competitors – Tan Zhongyi and Polina Shuvalova. After drawing her last game (with Aleksandra Goryachkina), Gunina said that she felt really tired and that she is hoping to rest before the final day of the Blitz. The second day of the Blitz and the final day of the world chess championships in Almaty will be on Friday, 30th December. The games will start at 2 PM local time with the closing ceremony planned for 8 PM. The organisation of the event and support The World Rapid and Blitz championships are held by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation together with the International Chess Federation and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, as well as the Akimat of the city of Almaty. The event is made possible thanks to the agreement with Freedom Finance, which becomes a General Sponsor of the event. Freedom Broker is an investment company and a stockbroker. Provides access to NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, HKEX and other largest stock exchanges on the planet. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Lennart Ootes and Anna Shtourman Official website: worldrapidandblitz2022.fide.com/ ORGANIZERS: GENERAL PARTNER: PARTNERS: