Women’s Candidates: Tan Zhongyi honored in Khiva
The closing ceremony of the 2022 FIDE Women’s Candidates Pool B, took place this afternoon in the magnificent ballroom of the Farovon Hotel, the venue of the event. Representing China, GM Tan Zhongyi received the winner’s trophy and a diploma from FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, who was joined on the stage by the President of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, Alisher Sadullaev. Runner-up GM Aleksandra Goryachkina, who participated under the FIDE flag, didn’t attend the ceremony. The ceremony began at 3 pm with a short recap video of the event, followed by the official speeches of the authorities. Sadullaev thanked FIDE for supporting the idea of organizing the Women’s Candidates in Khiva and for their help and cooperation. He also hoped that many more top events could be held in Uzbekistan. Dvorkovich began his speech with words of gratitude to all the local organizers and everyone who made the event possible, including the arbiters, the fair-play team, the media team, and the hotel staff. He also thanked all the local Uzbek people who always warmly welcome their guests with all their hearts. He mentioned that it was his request to hold the event in Uzbekistan, that he was really happy it turned out so well, and that the best players in the world had a chance to play here. He was also very pleased to see so many other players present in the 1st International Al-Beruniy Chess Open tournament, especially all the kids. Finally, Chief Arbiter Husan Turdialiev thanked the players for their great fighting chess and a good attitude, before inviting Tan Zhongyi onto the stage. Arkady Dvorkovich gave her the winner’s trophy and all the guests stood up for China’s official anthem. The authorities exchanged gifts and pleasantries. Amongst other presents, Dvorkovich was given a set of traditional Uzbek robes and a hat, while Sadullaev was treated to a special chess book, which Dvorkovich used to learn how to play. Dvorkovich also received a chess set from the Mayor of Khiva, Timur Davletov. The ceremony concluded with traditional music and dance, in addition to a tasty meal for everyone. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Women’s Candidates: Tan Zhongyi defeats Goryachkina and will now face Lei Tingjie
In an amazing turn of events, when everything seemed to be pointing towards a tiebreak, former Women’s World Chess Champion GM Tan Zhongyi, from China, defeated GM Aleksandra Goryachkina, playing under the FIDE flag, in the fourth and final game of the 2022 Women’s Candidates Pool B. Tan Zhongyi will face Pool A winner, GM Lei Tingjie, also playing for China, in the first quarter of 2023. The winner will play the current women’s World Champion, GM Ju Wenjun, from China, for the title. The fourth game began at 3 pm sharp, in the Farovon Hotel venue. The ceremonial first move was performed by Mr. Akram Ikramov, General Director of the Hotel, who correctly guessed Tan Zhongyi’s first move 1.d4. Tan Zhongyi has been dominant in the opening stage, mixing up her openings intelligently to keep her opponent off-balance – Goryachkina has hardly had the chance to pose any serious problems. This afternoon, she decided to repeat the Semi-Slav defense, which was also seen in the second game of the match. However, instead of repeating the Exchange variation, with which she didn’t achieve much in that game, this time Tan Zhongyi understandably went for 6.e3. Slightly surprised, Goryachkina paused for a few moments considering her options, and finally decided to move her queen to a5: the Cambridge Springs variation. GM Arturs Neiksans, one of the official commentators of the event, was slightly taken aback by this choice, mentioning “I am not sure of the current reputation of this line”. Nevertheless, judging by the speed with which Tan Zhongyi whipped out her moves, she was clearly still in preparation. I did notice that Goryachkina had already played the Cambridge Springs against top Indian GM Nihan Sarin, back in 2020, along with other games against GM’s Cramling and Timofeev. I am also sure that her opponent’s team had also noticed this. The key moment of the game occurred on move eighteen, just out of the opening. Goryachkina blundered with the seemingly natural 18…Rac8? allowing the very strong and unexpected pawn thrust 18.c5! It took Goryachkina more than twenty minutes to recover from the shock. It’s not at all easy to find a way to parry the threat Nc4, hitting the queen and the bishop on a3. Tan Zhongyi took only four minutes to calculate the lines, which makes me think that she had already considered this idea in her home preparation. In an attempt to come out alive from the complications, Goryachkina sacrificed a piece for two pawns. She would have had some chances to survive had she found 32…Qe6! instead of 32…gxh4 played in the game. After that, it was plain sailing for Tan Zhongyi, who secured the win on move forty. In her post-game interview, Tan Zhongyi was very happy. FIDE Women’s Cadidates format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Croatian Championship: Ivan Šarić clinches his fourth title
Ivan Šarić emerged as the winner of the 2022 Croatian Chess Championship and took his fourth national title. He previously won this event in 2009, 2013 and 2018. The 2022 Croatian Chess Championship, a round-robin with classical time control, took place from 29 November to 9 December 2022 at Pax hotel in Split, the second-largest city in the country. A native of Split, Šarić stumbled in the first round falling to the defending champion Zdenko Kozul but did not flinch and turned in an excellent performance to finish on 7½/11, a full point ahead of his main competitors. Ante Brkić, Marin Bosiočić and Zoran Jovanović tied for second place scoring 6½/11, with the first two winning silver and bronze, respectively, thanks to better tiebreaks. Brkić and Jovanović became the only unbeaten players in the event. Final standings: 1 GM Šarić, Ivan 2674 7½ 2 GM Brkić, Ante 2610 6½ 3 GM Bosiočić, Marin 2536 6½ 4 GM Jovanović, Zoran 2513 6½ 5 GM Martinović, Saša 2557 6 6 GM Stević, Hrvoje 2543 6 7 GM Šarić, Ante 2504 6 8 GM Kožul, Zdenko 2539 5½ 9 GM Kurajica, Bojan 2487 4½ 10 GM Zelčić, Robert 2496 4½ 11 IM Dorić, Darko 2446 4 12 IM Bukal, Vladimir Jr. 2411 2½ Photo: Official website Official website: hrvatski-sahovski-savez.hr/
FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2022: Registration deadline extended
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The registration deadline is extended to December 12, 2022 12:00 CET. The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from December 25-31 at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace, the arena that has hosted many international sports competitions as well as live concerts and various shows. Eligible players, accompanying persons, FIDE Principals and arbiters are invited to register via the following link. Please select from the menu the event you are going to participate in. If you want to participate in both Rapid and Blitz, please tick both boxes. When applying for press accreditation, please fill out the following form. The accreditations will be issued in accordance with the FIDE Media accreditation policy. Tournament schedule: December 25 — Opening Ceremony December 26-28 — Rapid competitions December 29-30 — Blitz competitions and Closing Ceremony Upon completing the registration process, each player will receive an invoice to be paid by 12:00 PM Lausanne time on December 12, 2022. Baluan Sholak Sports Palace | Photo: Baluan Sholak Sports Palace Facebook page Registration will automatically be validated upon receiving the payment. Players are expected to read the tournament regulations before starting the registration process. Regulations for FIDE Open Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Regulations for FIDE Women’s Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Open tournaments eligibility: – Players rated at least 2550 in any of the twelve FIDE rating lists 2022 (Standard, Rapid or Blitz); – Reigning National Champions (in Standard, Rapid, Blitz) representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating; – Ten players nominated by FIDE President; – The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Women’s tournaments eligibility: – Players rated at least 2250 in any of the twelve FIDE rating lists 2022 (Standard, Rapid or Blitz); – Reigning National Champions (in Standard, Rapid, Blitz) representing Member Federations regardless of their title or rating; – Ten players nominated by FIDE President; – The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 10 additional players of his/her own choice. The Reigning National Champions should send proof of their titles via their National Federations to worldrapidandblitz@fide.com in order to be accepted. Official hotels Participants can stay in the following official hotels: 1) Double Tree by Hilton 4*. Address: 115 Dosmukhamedov Street, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan (1,3 km from the playing venue) – for invited players only Photo: booking.com 2) Rixos 5*. Address: Seifullina Street 506/99, 050012 Almaty, Kazakhstan (3,6 km from the playing venue) – for invited players + other players Hotel rates: Single accommodation (One person per room) – KZT 55,000 Double accommodation (Two persons per room) – KZT 62,000 Photo: booking.com Lunch – KZT 14,000 Dinner – KZT 19,000 3) Holiday Inn Express 3*. Address: Seyfullin Avenue 050067 Almaty, Kazakhstan (1,5 km from the playing venue) – for all players Hotel rates: Single accommodation (One person per room) – KZT 22,400 Double accommodation (Two persons per room) – KZT 29,120 Photo: ihg.com/ Lunch – KZT 8,000 Dinner – KZT 8,000 If you have any questions regarding the registration process, feel free to contact the Organiser via email: worldrapidandblitz@fide.com About the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship The World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships and the Women’s World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships have been held annually since 2012. In rapid chess, each player begins the game with 15 minutes, and 10 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move. In blitz chess, each player begins the game with 3 minutes, and 2 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move. The reigning world champions of the event are: Rapid: Open – Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) Women – Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE) Blitz: Open – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Women – Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) The total prize fund is 1 million USD dollars, with 700,000 USD going to the open championships and 300,000 USD to the women’s championships. The event is made possible thanks to the agreement with Freedom Finance, which becomes a General Sponsor of the event. Freedom Finance Investment Company is an investment company that is a part of Freedom Holdings (Nevada, USA), trading symbol FRHC. The company is engaged in investment banking, asset management, and capital markets services. Freedom Holdings owns the Kazakh bank Freedom Finance, the online store Freedom24 and the Kazakhstani broker Freedom Finance JSC, among other assets.
FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships: Preliminary lists of participants
The preliminary lists of participants of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship and the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship have been published. The events will be held from December 25-31 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 149 players will compete in the open tournaments, and there will be 93 participants in the women’s event. The rating favourites of the open event are the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (representing Norway, rated 2859 in the December list), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2768), Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2766), Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2793), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2764), Alexander Grischuk (FIDE, 2745), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland, 2729), Yu Yangyi (China, 2728), the defendings champions Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2737 – Blitz) alongside many other well-known chess players from all over the world. The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will feature Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2584), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, 2563), Humpy Koneru (India, 2572), Tan Zhongyi (China, 2518), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia, 2517), Harika Dronavalli (India, 2507), Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan, 2496), Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iran, 2490), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria, 2442), the reigning champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE, 2520 – Rapid) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, 2440) as well as many other chess stars. The final lists of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship and the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will be published after the end of the registration process (December 12, 12:00 CET). Preliminary players lists: Rapid Open: https://chess-results.com/tnr706381.aspx Rapid Women: https://chess-results.com/tnr706382.aspx Blitz Open: https://chess-results.com/tnr706383.aspx Blitz Women: https://chess-results.com/tnr706384.aspx Registration link: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com/registration/ 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. On global scale, it is a part of the Freedom Holding Corp. group of companies. The Holding’s shares are traded in New York at Nasdaq Capital Market under FRHC ticker. Freedom Holding Corp. operates in 15 countries: USA, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Spain, France, Germany, UAE and Turkey. More information about the championships, including schedule and tickets, can be found on the official website of the event: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com
Women’s Candidates semifinal: Winless draught continues
At least from the outside, it looks like each day that goes by brings the tiebreak forward. Both players seem to be in a “no risk” control mode: solid openings, symmetrical pawn structures, and, above all, the avoidance of mistakes. With only one classical game to go, it will be very difficult to recover from a loss. The third game of the 2022 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Pool B, ended again in a draw after forty-five moves, although after the exchange of queen’s on move twenty-eight, it could already be seen coming. Playing with White, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina opened once again with 1.d4, but this time GM Tan Zhongyi shelved her beloved Queen’s Gambit Declined and resorted to the solid Bogo-Indian defence, intelligently sidestepping team Goyrachkina’s opening preparation. I couldn’t find that many top-level games with the Bogo-Indian in her broad repertoire, but I did happen to notice that she recently drew a game against non-other than former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, in the Crocus City Stars Blitz, in Krasnogorsk Moscow 2022. In that game, Goryachkina went for the main line 4.Bd2, whereas today, after a brief moment of thought, she preferred 4.Nbd2. After 4…d5, the main line is 5.Qa4+, which scores quite well for White, according to the database. Goryachkina thought for five minutes before playing the uneventful 5.e3, a solid move that unfortunately doesn’t pack the same punch. Tan Zhongyi finished her development quite easily and played 11…c5 equalizing pawn lever without any trouble at all. It’s quite challenging to find a moment where Goryachkina could have tried something more incisive: the position is just too symmetrical and equal. After a few well-timed piece exchanges, the position petered out into a completely drawn double-bishop ending. Visibly disappointed, Goryachkina was sparing with her words in the post-game interview with Press Officer Anna Kantane. “I don’t have much to say. Indeed, she played very quickly, but if I am unable to cause any problems, there is not much to think about”. When asked about her plans for the future, Tan Zhongyi mentioned that she might stay a few more days in Khiva after the event: “This is my first time in Uzbekistan. I think I will have a chance to enjoy the scenery here after I finish the tournament, because I may not return home actually. I will go to Kazakhstan for the World Blitz and Rapid Championship, so I’ll stay around until then!” The players will return to the venue for the fourth and final classical game tomorrow Saturday, December 10th at 3 pm. It can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on the FIDE YouTube channel. FIDE Women’s Cadidates format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Tan Zhongyi and Goryachkina 1-1 with two games to go
The second game of the 2022 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Pool B, played this afternoon in the magnificent Farovon Hotel venue in Khiva, Uzbekistan, ended in a draw after forty moves. After a very equal encounter, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Tan Zhongyi are now tied 1-1 in the match: two classical games are left to decide the winner before resorting to the tiebreak. In her quarter-final match against Kosteniuk, Goryachkina faced 1.e4 in both of her games with Black; today, we got to see her preparation against 1.d4. Her choice was the Semi-Slav Defense, deviating from the pure Slav Defense, which she used to defeat Tan Zhongyi very recently in the Astana leg of the 2022 Women’s Gran Prix. Tan Zhongyi seems to have a preference for the Carlsbad pawn structures, so it was hardly a surprise to see her exchange pawns on d5 following a game that she had played back in 2017 against GM Wei Yi, one of China’s best 2700+ players. By move transposition, they left the realms of the Slav to return to the kingdom of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, exchange variation. Most surely, Goryachkina had prepared this line very well: Tan Zhongyi went for the same structure in her second quarter-final classical game against Lagno. On the move eleven, after thinking for about four minutes, Goryachkina essayed a very rare move 11…Bd6!?, which had only been seen once before, in an old 1946 game between Steiner and Denker. Alternatively, 11…Bf5 is by far the most popular move in this position, featured in many games between top-level players. Tan Zhongyi went into the tank for nearly ten minutes and eventually declined the pawn sacrifice, probably fearing home preparation – there is some positional compensation for the pawn. However, her proposal wasn’t as testing, and after several solid moves and exchanges, Goryachkina more or less equalized going into the middlegame. Maybe at some point, Tan Zhongyi did enjoy a very tiny edge – the engine oscillates between 0.0 and +0.5 – but at no stage did Goryachkina seem to be in any kind of real danger. After more exchanges and precise play, they arrived at a theoretically drawn rook ending which both players agreed not to play out to the inevitable draw. “I think in the opening stage, it should be within the scope of Goryachkina’s preparation. She seems to have played a similar game before, but I did not focus on it too much or analyze it deeply. Indeed, it may also be because of the long game played yesterday. It was very complicated today, to be honest. I spent a lot of time, in general, also thinking about the strategy and approach for today. The situation was not balanced, but, in the end, I chose to play more stable. Her defence today was very good, and she didn’t give me any chance. Then we ended the game smoothly,” said Tan Zhongyi in short in a short interview after the game. The players will enjoy a free rest day tomorrow and return to the venue for game three on Friday, December 9th, at 3 pm. It can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on the FIDE YouTube channel. On another note entirely, the 1st International Al-Beruniy Chess Tournament, also played in the venue as a parallel event to the Candidates, was won by IM Abdimalik Abdisalimov edging out GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov on a tiebreak. Both of the Uzbekistan players scored 7/9. Twelve-year-old Uzbekistan prodigy FM Khumoyun Begmuratov scored an IM norm with a 2525 performance, qualifying in 4th place. FIDE Women’s Cadidates format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov
Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion Conference held in Paris
“Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion & INFINITE CHESS Evolution” conference, organized by FIDE Social Commission, FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and French Chess Federation with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), took place on December 01, 2022, in Paris, France. Dedicated to the current and new social chess projects, the conference was held in a hybrid format and brought together 118 people from 58 countries. The panel of speakers included Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, Eloi Relange, President of the French Chess Federation, Franck Droin, ECU Social Commission Chairman, President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE; Anastasia Sorokina, Chairperson of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, Infinite Chess Project Leader, Abhijit Kunte, 4th grandmaster of India, Coordinator of the Chess Social Projects in the Indian Oil Corporation and coach of the Indian National women team. The speakers exchanged experiences and showcased how chess helps people to improve their well-being and mental health. You can watch the video from the conference on the FIDE Youtube channel. “This is already the second social initiative we’ve launched together with French Chess Federation. They say, you need to touch hearts in order to move the brain. I think this is true. Every institution, including International Chess Federation, needs to understand that. There are several very practical reasons. We are in a better position to attract supporters and sponsors to our projects if we can touch their hearts. We can use the same principle to increase the authority and credibility of our organization. But the most important reason is the fact that any international organization or leader who has mandate and power needs to use the time to deliver so that the world becomes a better place,” said Dana Reizniece-Ozola in her welcoming speech. She was followed by Eloi Relange, President of the French Chess Federation: “I am very happy that this meeting is held in France. FIDE’s values and visions are very similar to the ones of the European Chess Union and of our national chess federation. It is very important to have visions, the team, the projects and the perfect execution. I am sure that this will be the case with the team we have.” During the event, the preliminary results and the evolution of the pilot FIDE INFINITE CHESS Project (chess for kids with autism spectrum disorder) were announced. According to the survey, chess is a viable medium to improve the social skills of children with autistism spectrum disorder and the quality of their lives. Among other topics discussed at the conference were other FIDE social initiatives, ICAR Project (International Chess Benefits Assessment Resources) led by Franck Droin, ECU Social Commission Chairman and President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE; Prison to Pride program for Prisoners run by the Indian Oil Corporation; Chess like a tool for social responsibility for Coloured Girls presented by Geraldine Engelman, and others. On December 05, FIDE Social Commission, FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and ECU Social Commission, headed by their chairpersons Geir Nesheim, Anastasia Sorokina and Franck Droin, held a meeting where commission members discussed their future joint efforts in promoting social and women chess projects. It was decided to organize one more Chess for Social Benefits and Women Inclusion Conference, a European chess tournament with refugees, and a contest among national federations for the best social initiative.
FIDE Chessable Academy Camp gets underway in Sitges
FIDE Chessable Academy’s year-end camp started yesterday in Sitges, Spain, with eleven most dedicated young talents out of more than 400 students from all over the world participating. It is a part of the FIDE Chessable Academy program, aiming to support young talents worldwide and attended by boys and girls between 8 and 16 years of age. Among the FIDE Chessable Academy students, there are top-five rated young talents in their age groups and the World Youth and Cadets Championships winners. The children, divided into groups, have two hours of training in English, Spanish, and Russian every weekend. Eleven of them were selected to come to Sitges for an offline training camp. On the first day of studies, they were greeted by the FIDE officials and those organizing the camp. “The camp brings together young talents representing all four continents, both boys and girls, who have shown through the course of the year-long program an extraordinary commitment to excel in chess,” said the Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board Dana Reizniece-Ozola. The five-day programme of the event includes ten training sessions with legendary Artur Jussupow and Alexei Shirov, young PRO’s media portfolios devised by Chessable, and a simultaneous game exhibition by Vasyl Ivanchuk and other activities. After a fulfilling and exhausting first day, the participants of the camp representing India, Ireland, Turkey, Spain, Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Canada and Argentina visited the Chessable headquarters in nearby Barcelona. They attended a special workshop jointly conducted by Chessable CEO Geert Van der Welde and Dana Reizniece-Ozola on what it takes to be a successful chess professional. A day’s highlight at Chessable was individual photo shoots of the young talents to jump-start their professional media kits and chess brands.
Women’s Candidates semi-final: Tan Zhongyi came close, but no cigar
After nearly 100 hard-fought moves, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and GM Tan Zhongyi agreed to a draw by move repetition in the first of their four scheduled games. The semifinal of the 2002 FIDE Women’s Candidates (Pool B) is taking place in Khiva, Uzbekistan, and the winner will face Pool A winner, GM Lei Tingjie, in the final. Goryachkina arrived at the venue just under 15 minutes before the start of the game, while Tan Zhongyi also made it in time with only a few minutes to spare. Chief arbiter Husan Turdialiev was already prepared for the ceremonial opening moves, which were performed by the Mayor of Khiva, Timur Davletov, and Lola Mirzaeva, General Manager of the Farovon Hotel. Playing with White, Goryachkina opened the game with 1.d4, her usual choice. Tan Zhongyi repeated the Queen’s Gambit declined defence, with which she was quite successful in her quarter-final match against Kateryna Lagno. After an early exchange of queenside pawns, a balanced, symmetrical position was reached. According to my database, two Chinese masters, Xu Zhihang and Zhou Weiqi had already played the same variation in this year’s Fuling tournament. Additionally, their game was strikingly similar to today’s encounter! On the move 22, Tan Zhongyi could have captured a pawn on a3. She thought about it for nearly eight minutes but decided not to go down that road. The game remained approximately equal until around move 30: Goryachkina had a slightly worse pawn structure, but Tan Zhongyi was straddled with a passive bishop. Just when the game seemed to be heading for a draw, Goryachkina exchanged knights on c4, giving her opponent a passed pawn and a very nice diagonal for the bishop. Very low on time, it was understandably a difficult decision to make. The tables had turned: now it was Tan Zhongyi pressing for the win. The opponents manoeuvered around for nearly sixty-five more moves – Goryachkina kept trying to set up an impenetrable fortress. According to the engine, it seems that Tan Zhongyi was very close to winning. However, in practical terms, she was unable to make progress, and a draw was finally agreed upon on the move 98. “All in all, I didn’t think that my position was that challenging. We were just moving back and forth, and I don’t recall having any major problems,” were Aleksandra Goryachkina’s first impressions after the game in a short interview. “Maybe my opponent was able to play stronger at some moments, but she didn’t”. Game two of the semi-final is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7th at 3 pm and can be followed live with expert grandmaster commentary on FIDE YouTube channel. Tournament format and prizes Under the new knock-out format, players in each of the two brackets or “pools” will play a four-game match (plus tie-breaks, if needed) in order to advance to the next stage, with the final match being played over the distance of six games. The prize fund for this pool is €70,000, while another €110,000 will be at stake in the Women’s Candidates Final, raising the total to a record-breaking amount of €250,000. Khiva Established around 1500 years ago and currently housing a population of more than 90,000 people, Khiva is the former capital of Khwarezmia, and one of the three Uzbekistan historical cities on the Silk Road. The inner town, Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Mosques, madrassahs, and minarets are the present-day must-see highlights of the city. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: womenscandidates.fide.com/ There is also a Flickr official page from where you can download the photos in high resolution. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Timur Sattarov