FIDE President visits the Middle East
This week, the President of the International Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, held several high-level meetings in the Middle East before joining the rest of the team in Jerusalem for the Q4 FIDE Council Meeting. The first stop was Bahrain, on November 22, where Dvorkovich met with the Vice-President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, his Highness Shaikh Isa Bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Secretary-General Mr Faris Al Kooheji, and the Board Member Dr Shaikha Hessa bint Khalid Al Khalifa. Two of the main topics of the discussion were possibly holding some top FIDE events in Bahrein, as well as the inclusion of chess into the regional games. The third edition of the Gulf Games was held this year in Kuwait, and the next one, in 2026, will see the participation of 10 countries from the region. The Bahrain Chess Federation is a member of the National Olympic Committee, as well as a member of FIDE since 1982, and the island currently has 570 rated players. The last top-level chess event held in Bahrain was the exhibition match between Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz in 2002. The FIDE president also met with His Highness Aymen Al Moayed, Minister of Youth and Sports, and since this week, Supreme Council for Youth & Sports Secretary General. The Minister demonstrated a great interest in creating a technification centre or academy in Bahrain offering high-level training to young talents from the region. The next stop was Beirut, where the Deputy Chair of the Management Board, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, and the Chairman of the Trainers Commission, Sami Khader, joined the FIDE President. The host was the President of the Lebanon Federation, Khaled Badieh, who prepared a packed agenda of visits and high-level meetings. With Minister of Youth and Sports, George Kallas November 23 started with a meeting with George Kallas, Minister of Youth and Sports for Lebanon (pictured above, left), followed by a meeting with the Vice President of the Olympic Committee, Mr Jack Tamer, and its Secretary General, Mr Hassan Rostom. After a break, the round of meetings continued in the afternoon, where the FIDE delegation had the chance to meet with the Minister of Culture, Mr Muhammad Wissam Adnan Murtada, the Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, and the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Mr Mahmoud Makiya. Most of these top-level meetings follow a similar script: the possibility of hosting a FIDE event is usually accompanied by a proposal to create a plan to train and develop local talents, so the best players in the country can make the most of the opportunity. This way, the host can ensure that the investment in the event has a long-lasting effect. Then, the authorities receive a comprehensive explanation of why chess is such a formidable tool for education, and they are presented with some examples of social projects developed by FIDE. In the case of Lebanon, the chess in prisons project, and the possibility of including chess in cultural sites and as a part of cultural festivals, were two of the ideas that resounded the most among our hosts. With the Lebanese Minister of Education, Mr Abbas Halabi “I am very satisfied with the visit of THE FIDE President”, said the President of the Lebanon Chess Federation, Khaled Badieh. “It is of great help since it opens doors to the government and provides guidance. The Federation will do its best to follow up on the initiatives discussed and deliver”, he added. FIDE had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lebanese Ministry of Education back in 2010, but the results were quite modest. While chess has a strong presence at universities, where it is very well considered, chess in school activities are scattered and lack coordination and support. “There is a vibrant chess life in Lebanon, but scattered. I would be happy if our meetings with government officials and representatives of the chess community could help to enhance their cooperation for the benefit of professional chess players, but most importantly, to engage even more kids in schools and chess clubs”, said Arkady Dvorkovich. Lebanon currently has 1800 registered players, 290 of which are FIDE-rated. “Before the arrival of the President, I had the chance to visit visiting schools and chess clubs. What pleased me the most was seeing many young players and girls among the members”, says Dana Reizniece-Ozola. “Many of these clubs are self-organised, quite a few were created during the pandemic, and they act like the local community clubs: people gather there to play chess but also to socialise, connect, and spend some quality time together”, she added. With Lebanon Olympic Committee One last meeting before leaving Beirut was held between Dvorkovich and Dr Nabil Badr. A prominent business figure in Lebanon, Mr Badr is also a member of the Parliament, and he has been President of the Lebanese and Mediterranean chess federations. Arkady Dvorkovich and Dr. Nabil Badr, former President of the Lebanese Chess Federation
World Team Championship 2022: China and Uzbekistan face off in the final
India and Spain are to play for bronze Except for Grandmaster Hans Niemann, who remains abroad for other tournament opportunities, the USA players and the USA team captain returned to their homes for Thanksgiving, a traditional holiday in the USA. On the fourth Thursday of November, celebrants sing the folk song Simple Gifts and the hymn We Gather Together. After a tense semifinal Round 1, which saw two tied matches, in Round 2, Thanksgiving lyrics resonated with the teams-winners China and Uzbekistan. After round 1, chess fan Nechama Joanes, whose first name means “a consolation” in Hebrew, felt sorry for players who drew. She said, “A draw means two people don’t win”, so they are not satisfied. Nechama learned the rules of chess when she was seven, and she is now 11 years old. Her favourite part of the tournament was watching everyone think very hard and stay focused. Semifinals Round 1 Dr Zvika Barkai, Chairman of the Israel Chess Federation, rang the gong to start the first round of the semifinals. India and Uzbekistan tied their round 1 match 2-2. On the first board, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew with Nordirbek Yakubboev, although at some point, his position looked very dangerous. On the second board, Nihal Sarin and Javokhir Sindharov quickly traded the majority of pieces and split a point in an equal rook endgame. On third board S. L. Narayanan gradually outplayed Shamsiddin Vokhidov with the black pieces to give his team the lead. Luckily for Uzbekistan, on board four, Jakhongir Vakhidov‘s pawn avalanche swept away S.P Sethuraman‘s defences. China and Spain also tied their match 2-2. After the games on boards 1 and 3 were drawn, David Anton Guijarro, playing on the second board with Black, instructively outmanoeuvred Xu Xiangyu and put his team in front. Xu Xiangyu – David Anton Guijarro White is in zugzwang. Indeed, virtually any move leads to material losses. Xu Xiangyu tried 33.e5, but after 33…dxe5 34.fxe5 Rc5! Black won a pawn and smoothly converted it. | 0-1, 48 moves In a short interview, Anton Guijarro (pictured below) said that this game might be his favourite win in the tournament. However, China levelled the score after Di Li beat Miguel Santos Ruiz on board 4. Round 2 To start round 2 of the semifinals, Jonathan Tal, age 14, a member of the Tel Aviv Chess Club, rang the gong. Uzbekistan defeated India 2.5-1.5. On the first board, Nordirbek Yakubboev prevailed over Vidit Santosh Gujrathi with the black pieces in a very complicated battle. Javokhir Sindharov skillfully pressured Nihal Sarin’s pawn weaknesses and then broke through on the kingside. Javokhir Sindharov – Nihal Sarin 52.Qxd3! forced an immediate resignation as 52… Qxd3 is met with 53. Rf7+ Nxf7 54. Rxf7+ Rg7 55. Rxg7+ Kh8 56. Rd7+ 1-0 India retaliated on board 3, where S. L. Narayanan won as White against Shamsiddin Vokhidov, but it was not enough to save the match as the game between Jakhongir Vakhidov and Krishnan Sasikiran ended in a draw. Meanwhile, China defeated Spain 3-1. On the second board, Xu Xiangyu drew as Black against Spain’s David Anton Guijarro. Daniil Yuffa took over Miguel Santos Ruiz on the fourth board and drew his game as White against Di Li. The decisive outcomes were posted on boards 1 and 3. Lu Shanglei, as White, impeccably converted his extra pawn into a full point against Jaime Santos Latasa, while Bai Jinshi cold-bloodily extinguished Alexei Shirov’s initiative and scored the second victory for his team. The hymn We Gather Together was written after Spain lost in the Battle of Turnhout and suffered almost 50% casualties. That battle was in 1597 against the Dutch and English. This time, Spain’s opponent was China, and the casualties were just as bad. Out of the eight games played today (4 in round 1 and 4 in round 2), Spain got 3 out of 8 points or 37.5%. Winning the fight The hymn We Gather Together includes the lyric, “So from the beginning the fight we were winning.” That lyric applies to China in this tournament. China has been unstoppable since the FIDE World Team Championship 2022 began on November 19. The team dominated Pool A with 4 match wins and one tied match. Yesterday, China eliminated Poland with one winning match and one tied match. In the two-round semifinals, China tied Spain in round 1, then won 3-1 to advance to the finals. The folk song Simple Gifts includes the lyric, “‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.” Yesterday, the Uzbek first board Nordirbek Yakubboev said that his team intended to win gold in Jerusalem, just as it did in Chennai at the 2022 Olympiad. Is the gold medal podium meant for Uzbeks, or do the Chinese belong there? Tomorrow’s final will determine this championship’s gold medal winner and second-place finisher. Also tomorrow a “small final” to determine the third place and fourth place finishers, to be contested between Spain and India. Each match will consist of two games, to be played an hour earlier than on previous days. On Friday, November 25, round 1 will be at 2 p.m. local time and round 2 at 5 p.m. If a tiebreak is needed, that will be played at 7:30 p.m. Text: WIM Alexey Root, FIDE Press Officer, Jerusalem Photos: Dr. Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova Official website: worldteams.fide.com
Italian Championship: Luca Moroni and Olga Zimina win titles
Luca Moroni and Olga Zimina emerged as the winners of the Italian Championship 2022, both claiming their second national titles. The Italian Championship, 12-player and 8-player round robins (open and women, respectively), took place in Cagliari (Sardegna) from November 12-23, 2022. The rating favourite in the open section Luca Moroni grabbed the lead after Round 4 and never looked back. The native of Desio scored an impressive 8½ /11 and claimed the title with a round to spare. The champion became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. Danyyil Dvirnyy and Sabino Brunello finished 1½ points behind the champion and tied for second place. Sonneborn-Berger favoured Danyyil, who took silver. The bronze medal goes to Sabino Brunello. Final standings: 1 GM Moroni, Luca 2559 8½ 2 GM Dvirnyy, Danyyil 2514 7 3 GM Brunello, Sabino 2518 7 4 GM Basso, Pier Luigi 2503 6½ 5 GM David, Alberto 2517 6 6 IM Barp, Alberto 2412 6 7 GM Sonis, Francesco 2547 6 8 GM Godena, Michele 2463 5½ 9 GM Lodici, Lorenzo 2536 4 10 FM Carnicelli, Valerio 2325 4 11 IM Di Benedetto, Edoardo 2378 3 12 FM Lettieri, Giuseppe 2427 2½ The women’s event saw the dominance of Olga Zimina, who won six straight games and removed all the questions about the champion after Round 6. Despite losing to Zimina, Marina Brunello netted 5½ points and finished second. Melissa Maione took bronze. Final standings: 1 IM Zimina, Olga 2283 6½ 2 IM Brunello, Marina 2337 5½ 3 Maione, Melissa 1928 4 4 Cassi, Elisa 1995 3½ 5 IM Sedina, Elena 2197 2½ 6 WFM Raccanello, Marianna 2062 2 7 Gabbani, Sara 1844 2 8 Martinelli, Valeria 2008 2 The U20 Italian Championship held alongside the open and women’s sections ended in victory for Gabriele Lumachi. Ieysaa Bin-Suhayl is second, Joshuaede Cappelletto came third. Photo: official website Official website: federscacchi.com/
Italian Championship: Luca Moroni and Olga Zimina win titles
Luca Moroni and Olga Zimina emerged as the winners of the Italian Championship 2022, both claiming their second national titles. The Italian Championship, 12-player and 8-player round robins (open and women, respectively), took place in Cagliari (Sardegna) from November 12-23, 2022. The rating favourite in the open section Luca Moroni grabbed the lead after Round 4 and never looked back. The native of Desio scored an impressive 8½ /11 and claimed the title with a round to spare. The champion became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. Danyyil Dvirnyy and Sabino Brunello finished 1½ points behind the champion and tied for second place. Sonneborn-Berger favoured Danyyil, who took silver. The bronze medal goes to Sabino Brunello. Final standings: 1 GM Moroni, Luca 2559 8½ 2 GM Dvirnyy, Danyyil 2514 7 3 GM Brunello, Sabino 2518 7 4 GM Basso, Pier Luigi 2503 6½ 5 GM David, Alberto 2517 6 6 IM Barp, Alberto 2412 6 7 GM Sonis, Francesco 2547 6 8 GM Godena, Michele 2463 5½ 9 GM Lodici, Lorenzo 2536 4 10 FM Carnicelli, Valerio 2325 4 11 IM Di Benedetto, Edoardo 2378 3 12 FM Lettieri, Giuseppe 2427 2½ The women’s event saw the dominance of Olga Zimina, who won six straight games and removed all the questions about the champion after Round 6. Despite losing to Zimina, Marina Brunello netted 5½ points and finished second. Melissa Maione took bronze. Final standings: 1 IM Zimina, Olga 2283 6½ 2 IM Brunello, Marina 2337 5½ 3 Maione, Melissa 1928 4 4 Cassi, Elisa 1995 3½ 5 IM Sedina, Elena 2197 2½ 6 WFM Raccanello, Marianna 2062 2 7 Gabbani, Sara 1844 2 8 Martinelli, Valeria 2008 2 The U20 Italian Championship held alongside the open and women’s sections ended in victory for Gabriele Lumachi. Ieysaa Bin-Suhayl is second, Joshuaede Cappelletto came third. Photo: official website Official website: federscacchi.com/
World Team Championship 2022: China, India, Spain, and Uzbekistan advance
Azerbaijan, France, Poland, and Ukraine are eliminated When chess players, officials, and fans arrived at the Western Wall Plaza on Wednesday morning, they saw over one hundred Ethiopian Jews celebrating Sigd. Tour guide Shuki Cohen told the chess group, “The Ethiopian Jews are here in big numbers today, as Sigd is a once-a-year holiday.” After their tour of the Old City, which also included the Tower of David and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the USA team players and captain speculated about where the next championship might be held. Perhaps the championship’s next location will be discussed by the FIDE Council, which will be meeting on November 25 here in Jerusalem. Dozens of fans attend each round of the FIDE World Team Championship 2022. One is Fernando Maar from Toronto, Canada. From inside the playing hall, Maar watches the players’ faces and their moves on the display screens. Another fan is Mark Flaum from Ashdod, Israel. Flaum prefers the commentary room to the playing hall. Flaum said, “I don’t even need the commentary, just sitting five meters from the legend Vishy Anand is fantastic. However, I also like Almira and Vishy’s commentary because they don’t use computers. It’s human thinking.” Menachem Wertheim, tour guide, visited the tournament because his friend Moshe Slav, a former Chairman of the Israel Chess Federation, invited him. Wertheim was honoured to see Anand again because he played against Anand in a 2017 simul in Jerusalem. At the start of the quarterfinals, three of the world’s top 25 rapid-rated players were competing: France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2775) is ranked seventh in the world. Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2747) is ranked 12th, and his teammate Teimour Radjabov (2718) is ranked 25th. By the end of the quarterfinals, the teams of these three top players had been eliminated. Quarterfinals Round 1 Leontxo Garcia, a journalist for El Pais since 1985, rang the gong to start the first round of the quarterfinals. In yesterday’s match against the United States of America, India won 3-1 by winning two games as Black and drawing two games as White. In the first round of the quarterfinals, India repeated that winning formula beating France by a score of 3-1. First board Vidit Santosh Gujrathi as Black defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a topical line of the English opening. Third board S. L. Narayanan prevailed over against Laurence Fressinet after the Frenchman mishandled a slightly better endgame. Boards 2 and 4, where India had White, were draws. The last game to finish was board 4, where France’s Tigran Gharamian held a draw with one knight against Krishnan Sasikiran’s g- and h-pawns. Uzbekistan wrestled down Ukraine by a score of 3-1. Javokhir Sindarov got the best of Kirill Shevchenko in a sharp Sicilian battle with White and Jakhongir Vakhidov scored an excellent strategic victory over Igor Kovalenko. Spain and Azerbaijan tied their match 2-2, with every game drawn. China won over Poland 2.5-1.5 thanks to the victories of Lu Shanglei over Radoslaw Wojtaszek on the first board and Bai Jinshi over Mateusz Bartel (in both games, the Chinese players had White). Poland struck back on board 4, where Szymon Gumularz defeated Di Li but it was not enough to save the match. Round 2 Before round 2 of the quarterfinals, Elisha Sagi, the under-10 champion for all of Israel, rang the gong. After losing 1-3 the first round the French players were faced a daunting task but “les bleus” did the almost-impossible. In an exact reversal of round 1, France defeated India 3-1 by winning two games as Black with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Laurent Fressinet taking revenge on their opponents. Spain defeated Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5. After the squads exchanged blows on boards 3 and 4, all eyes were on the game David Anton Guijarro against Teimour Radjabov, in which the Spaniard eventually pulled out a victory in a long endgame. Since Spain tied round 1, winning the round 2 match means that Spain advances to the semifinals. The Chinese players drew all four games against their Polish opponents. By tying round 2 after winning round 1, China progressed into the semifinals. Uzbekistan won 2.5 to 1.5 against Ukraine, advancing to semifinals since it also won the previous round. In an interview, the Uzbek first board Nordirbek Yakubboev says that his team intends to win gold in Jerusalem, just as it did in Chennai at the 2022 Olympiad. Tiebreak France and India played a blitz tiebreak, with a time control of 3 minutes with a two-second increment. India won the tiebreak 2.5 to 1.5. This Year in Jerusalem On the tour, Shuki Cohen said that Jews say, “Next year in Jerusalem.” The Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Uzbek players in the World Team Championship 2022 each hope that this year in Jerusalem will be when their team wins. Text: WIM Alexey Root, FIDE Press Officer, Jerusalem Photos: Dr. Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova Official website: worldteams.fide.com/
World Team Championship 2022: China, India, Spain, and Uzbekistan advance
Azerbaijan, France, Poland, and Ukraine are eliminated When chess players, officials, and fans arrived at the Western Wall Plaza on Wednesday morning, they saw over one hundred Ethiopian Jews celebrating Sigd. Tour guide Shuki Cohen told the chess group, “The Ethiopian Jews are here in big numbers today, as Sigd is a once-a-year holiday.” After their tour of the Old City, which also included the Tower of David and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the USA team players and captain speculated about where the next championship might be held. Perhaps the championship’s next location will be discussed by the FIDE Council, which will be meeting on November 25 here in Jerusalem. Dozens of fans attend each round of the FIDE World Team Championship 2022. One is Fernando Maar from Toronto, Canada. From inside the playing hall, Maar watches the players’ faces and their moves on the display screens. Another fan is Mark Flaum from Ashdod, Israel. Flaum prefers the commentary room to the playing hall. Flaum said, “I don’t even need the commentary, just sitting five meters from the legend Vishy Anand is fantastic. However, I also like Almira and Vishy’s commentary because they don’t use computers. It’s human thinking.” Menachem Wertheim, tour guide, visited the tournament because his friend Moshe Slav, a former Chairman of the Israel Chess Federation, invited him. Wertheim was honoured to see Anand again because he played against Anand in a 2017 simul in Jerusalem. At the start of the quarterfinals, three of the world’s top 25 rapid-rated players were competing: France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2775) is ranked seventh in the world. Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2747) is ranked 12th, and his teammate Teimour Radjabov (2718) is ranked 25th. By the end of the quarterfinals, the teams of these three top players had been eliminated. Quarterfinals Round 1 Leontxo Garcia, a journalist for El Pais since 1985, rang the gong to start the first round of the quarterfinals. In yesterday’s match against the United States of America, India won 3-1 by winning two games as Black and drawing two games as White. In the first round of the quarterfinals, India repeated that winning formula beating France by a score of 3-1. First board Vidit Santosh Gujrathi as Black defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a topical line of the English opening. Third board S. L. Narayanan prevailed over against Laurence Fressinet after the Frenchman mishandled a slightly better endgame. Boards 2 and 4, where India had White, were draws. The last game to finish was board 4, where France’s Tigran Gharamian held a draw with one knight against Krishnan Sasikiran’s g- and h-pawns. Uzbekistan wrestled down Ukraine by a score of 3-1. Javokhir Sindarov got the best of Kirill Shevchenko in a sharp Sicilian battle with White and Jakhongir Vakhidov scored an excellent strategic victory over Igor Kovalenko. Spain and Azerbaijan tied their match 2-2, with every game drawn. China won over Poland 2.5-1.5 thanks to the victories of Lu Shanglei over Radoslaw Wojtaszek on the first board and Bai Jinshi over Mateusz Bartel (in both games, the Chinese players had White). Poland struck back on board 4, where Szymon Gumularz defeated Di Li but it was not enough to save the match. Round 2 Before round 2 of the quarterfinals, Elisha Sagi, the under-10 champion for all of Israel, rang the gong. After losing 1-3 the first round the French players were faced a daunting task but “les bleus” did the almost-impossible. In an exact reversal of round 1, France defeated India 3-1 by winning two games as Black with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Laurent Fressinet taking revenge on their opponents. Spain defeated Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5. After the squads exchanged blows on boards 3 and 4, all eyes were on the game David Anton Guijarro against Teimour Radjabov, in which the Spaniard eventually pulled out a victory in a long endgame. Since Spain tied round 1, winning the round 2 match means that Spain advances to the semifinals. The Chinese players drew all four games against their Polish opponents. By tying round 2 after winning round 1, China progressed into the semifinals. Uzbekistan won 2.5 to 1.5 against Ukraine, advancing to semifinals since it also won the previous round. In an interview, the Uzbek first board Nordirbek Yakubboev says that his team intends to win gold in Jerusalem, just as it did in Chennai at the 2022 Olympiad. Tiebreak France and India played a blitz tiebreak, with a time control of 3 minutes with a two-second increment. India won the tiebreak 2.5 to 1.5. This Year in Jerusalem On the tour, Shuki Cohen said that Jews say, “Next year in Jerusalem.” The Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Uzbek players in the World Team Championship 2022 each hope that this year in Jerusalem will be when their team wins. Text: WIM Alexey Root, FIDE Press Officer, Jerusalem Photos: Dr. Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova Official website: worldteams.fide.com/
World Team Championship 2022: Four Teams Depart the Gathering
The Netherlands, Israel, South Africa, and the USA are eliminated On Tuesday morning, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) hosted FIDE Deputy President and former World Chess Champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and FIDE CEO Grandmaster Emil Sutovsky. The grandmasters played blindfolded, defeating three opponents each. Their opponents were Ze’ev Elkin, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Minister of Housing and Construction, Aviad Friedman, Director General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Raz Frohlich, General Manager, Ministry of Sports and Culture, Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry Director-General Netanel Izak, Yoav Kisch, Knesset member, and Eli Nacht, founder of Israel Empowerment Lobby. Besides being the name of Israel’s parliament, the word Knesset translates to “gathering.” At the start of the FIDE World Team Championship 2022, 12 teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe gathered in Jerusalem. After each game, the opponents did a postmortem. Sometimes, the analysis took almost as long as the rapid game itself. Today, Tuesday, November 22, the fifth and final round of the pool stage took place. From Pool A, South Africa and the Netherlands exited the tournament. From Pool B, Israel and the United States of America were eliminated. Round 5, Pool A Before round 5, Husan Turdialiev, Chief of the Delegation of the Uzbekistan team, presented two gifts to Dr Zvika Barkai, Chairman of the Israel Chess Federation. One gift was a gold medal, as Uzbekistan won gold medals at the open section of the 2022 Olympiad. The other gift was a decorative plate. After presenting the gifts, Turdialiev struck the gong to start Round 5. France tied its match with China. Prior to this round, China had won every other match it played in Pool A. Both France and China progressed to the quarterfinals. As many expected, Spain defeated South Africa 4-0, and Spain advanced to the quarterfinals. The Captain of the South Africa team, Hendrik Petrus Du Toit, said that coming to Jerusalem was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for his players. To get this level of competition, Du Toit said, South African players must travel 9,000 miles. The Netherlands desperately needed to beat Ukraine to have a chance to make it to the quarterfinals, but it was not meant to be. The match ended 2-2, and the Netherlands was eliminated, whereas Ukraine tied for second place with France and Spain and progressed into the next stage. According to Grandmaster Max Warmerdam, Grandmaster Anish Giri would have come to Jerusalem if the Netherlands team had made it out of Pool A. Warmerdam said that the Netherlands team plans to tour Jerusalem before leaving for home. Round 5, Pool B In a very important match for the host team, Azerbaijan defeated Israel by a score of 2.5-1.5. Azerbaijan continues to the quarterfinals, and Israel got edged out of the tournament by Poland. Both teams scored equal match points and game points, but Poland, which drew its last match with Uzbekistan, had a better second tiebreaker (Sonneborn-Berger). Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan tied for first place in Group B and comfortably advanced. Meanwhile, India crushed the USA 3-1 after winning two games on boards 1 and 3 with black pieces. As a result, India progressed to the quarterfinals and the USA was eliminated. Final standings: Pool A Team MP GP 1 China 9 15 2 France 6 11½ 3 Spain 6 11½ 4 Ukraine 6 11 5 Netherlands 3 9½ 6 South Africa 0 1½ Pool B Team MP GP 1 Uzbekistan 7 12 2 Azerbaijan 7 11½ 3 India 6 10 4 Poland 4 9½ 5 Israel 4 9½ 6 United States 2 7½ Gens una sumus In the dining hall on Tuesday evening, players sat with their teammates, heads of delegations, and captains. They also talked with players from other countries. Several players moved their chairs closer together, creating, within their improvised table clusters, gatherings of many nations. Players from the eliminated teams and those remaining in Jerusalem exchanged cell phone numbers. Opponents over the board, friends over dinner – the FIDE motto Gens una sumus in action. Text: WIM Alexey Root, FIDE Press Officer, Jerusalem Photos: Dr. Mark Livshitz Official website: worldteams.fide.com/
World Team Championship 2022: Sunny days for China and Uzbekistan
Pool A: China dominates; Pool B, Uzbekistan narrowly leads Thus far, the chess teams competing in Jerusalem have enjoyed gorgeous weather. Each day has been sunny and warm, with highs approaching the mid-20s Celsius. But changes are coming for the weather and for the teams. Rain will arrive on Thursday, matching the mood of the four teams that will be eliminated by then. Twelve teams began the competition, divided into two pools of approximately equal strength based on the average rapid ratings of the four highest-rated players in each squad. Pool A had teams ranked 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 12. Pool B had teams ranked 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 11. On November 21, Rounds 3 and 4 of the pool stage were played. At the conclusion of Round 5 tomorrow afternoon, the top four teams from each pool will advance. After losing four matches, South Africa was eliminated from Pool A. In Pool B, the competition is much closer, with all the teams (including the USA sitting in the last place) having a chance to make it to the next stage. Round 3, Pool A France, the top-rated team in Pool A with a 2688 average, tied its match with Spain (2589). The last game to finish in that match was a 124-move win by Spain’s GM David Anton Guijarro against GM Jules Moussard of France. The Spaniard converted an extra exchange in a protracted endgame and chalked up a very important point to level the score. China (2557) somewhat surprisingly crushed Ukraine (2637) 3-1, with draws on boards 1 and 2 and victories on boards 3 and 4. The Netherlands is still missing its top-rated player, Anish Giri, which means the other players moved up a board. The Netherlands alternate, Grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili, has been covering the fourth board. Kevlishvili attends Saint Louis University, where he plays third board for their national champion college team. Kevlishvili says the weather in St. Louis was cold and that he is enjoying the warm weather in Israel. The Netherlands (2638) won 4-0 against South Africa (2261). Round 3, Pool B Playing on its home turf, team Israel (2589) drew with team Poland (2556). The teams traded blows on boards 1 and 2 while the encounters on boards 3 and 4 were drawn. India (2611) defeated Azerbaijan (2662), the highest-rated team in Pool B, by a score of 2.5-1.5. Vidit Gujrathi scored an unexpected victory on the top board after his opponent, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, blundered a knight in a very promising position. All the other games in this match were drawn. The top board for the United States of America, Grandmaster Hans Niemann, swam laps in the indoor hotel pool for five minutes, from 2:15 to 2:20 p.m. Despite the nice weather today, the Dan Jerusalem Hotel’s outdoor pool is closed. After swimming, Niemann donning a dark suit drew as Black against Grandmaster Nordirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan. Niemann’s teammates on boards 3 and 4 also drew, but Lazaro Bruzon fell to the youngest player in the tournament Javokhir Sindarov (born December 8, 2005). As a result, Uzbekistan (2524) beat the United States of America (2643) by a score of 2.5-1.5. Round 4, Pool A Ringing the gong to start round 4 were three children, Teddy, Nesli, and Britt, from the Beer Sheva Chess Club. Spain (2589) tied with Ukraine (2637), 2-2, while China (2557) steamrolled the Netherlands (2638) 3.5-0.5. The South African team (2262) went down against the ratings-favourite France (2688). China, France, and Ukraine are through to the quarterfinals. The last spot in the quarters will go to either Spain or the Netherlands, with the former favoured to get that spot as they face South Africa. Round 4, Pool B In a big win for the host country, Israel (2589) defeated the United States of America (2643) thanks to the victory by the two-time national champion Tamir Nabaty over Alexander Onischuk. Uzbekistan (2524) trounced India (2611), winning 3.5-0.5, while Azerbaijan (2662) and Poland (2556) split points, 2-2. Only Uzbekistan punched its ticket to the quarterfinals from Pool B, with other teams having chances to qualify for the next stage. Much depends on tomorrow’s results in Pool B. Standings after Round 4 In each match, the winning team gets two points. A tied match gives one point to each team. Losing a match gains no match points. If two teams finish round 5 with equal amounts of match points, the first tiebreaker will be the game points scored. With this in mind, winning a match by 3-1 or 4-0 is better than winning it by 2.5-1.5. The game points are in parentheses after the match score. Therefore, China 8 (13) means that China scored 8 match points, following the formula given in the previous paragraph, and 13 game points. Pool A China – 8 (13) France – 5 (9.5) Ukraine – 5 (9) Spain – 4 (7.5) Netherlands – 2 (7.5) South Africa – 0 (1.5) Pool B Uzbekistan – 6 (10) Azerbaijan – 5 (9) Israel – 4 (8) India 4 – (7) Poland – 3 (7.5) United States of America 2 (6.5) The fifth and final round of the pool stage begins at 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 22. For more information, please visit FIDE World Team Championship 2022 official website. Text: WIM Alexey Root, FIDE Press Officer, Jerusalem Photos: Dr Mark Livshitz Official website: worldteams.fide.com
Bernard Lesbros wins Senegalese Championship 2022
Bernard Lesbros is the new champion of Senegal. The 74-year-old rating-favourite came out on top in fierce competition with Ware Diop and El Hadji Saidou Nourou Ba. After the preliminaries, the final stage of the Senegalese Championship 2022, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control, took place over the last two weekends in the Arene Nationale de Pikine, Dakar. The reigning champion Amadou Lamine Cissé did not defend his title as he was out of the country. The championship saw a very close fight, with neither player completing the event unbeaten. Lesbros had a slow start scoring just 50% in the first three rounds but then stringed together six straight victories to finish clear first, a half point ahead of Wara Diop. El Hadji Saidou Nourou Ba, the only player to defeat the new champion, took bronze. “It is very difficult to win a national title at my age, but I prepared very well for the event. I even hired a personal coach to achieve this goal,” said Bernard Lesbros with a broad smile in a short interview after the final round. Final standings: 1 Lesbros, Bernard 1878 7½ 2 Diop, Wara 1636 7 3 El Hadji Saidou Nourou, Ba 1644 6½ 4 Marochkina, Nadezhda 1668 5½ 5 Bodin-Hullin, Thomas 1838 5 6 Kone, Sidy 1400 4½ 7 Ly Abdoulaye, Aziz 1400 4 8 Wane, Al Hassane 1789 3 9 Kaundum A, Robert Diatta 1635 1 10 Diankha, Bara 1400 1 Photo: FESEC Facebook page
World Senior Championship 2022: It’s halftime!
While the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar, it is halftime at the 30th FIDE World Senior Chess Championship in Assisi, Italy. After six rounds of play, Monday, November 21, is the rest day, so most players spend it visiting beautiful places in the region (Perugia, Gubbio or Siena). In the meantime, let’s take a quick look at the standings of WSCC 2022: After Round 6 (out of 11 rounds), there are two leaders in the Open 50+ section: GMs Darcy Lima (pictured below, right) from Brazil and GM Frank Holke (pictured below, left) of Germany scored 5.5 points each and will lock horns in Round 7. Two GMs are just a half-point behind. Milos Pavlos (SRB) and GM Fernandez Ivan Morovic (CHI) will face off in the next round, trying to catch up with the leader(s). As many as thirteen players, including the top-rated participant GM Zurab Sturua (GEO), are sitting on 4.5/6 but still have a shot for the title. The best female players in this section are GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (SCO) (pictured below) with 4.5 points, followed by WGM Elvira Berend (LUX), WGM Monica Calzetta Ruiz (ESP) and WIM Sophia Tereladze (GEO) with 4 points. In the Open 65+ section, the main favourite of the tournament, GM John Nunn (ENG), is the sole leader. After a quick draw with black against the 2018′ World Senior Chess Champion GM Vlastimil Jansa (CZE), Nunn is the only player to score 5.5 points, and for sure he is determined to stay in this position until the end of the tournament. After their game, Nunn (pictured below) and Jansa went to the fair-play-check, and it was quite interesting to hear them discuss some lines they had in mind about their games at Chess Olympiad in Luzern in 1982 (40 years ago!). A group of seven players is trailing Nunn by just a half-point: GM Vlastimil Jansa (CZE), IM Nathan Birnboim (ISR), GM Garcia Jose Luis Fernandez (ESP), IM Jean Hebert (CAN), IM Boris Maryasin (ISR), FM Jaroslav Mojzis (CZE) and GM Jens Kristiansen (DEN). In the ranking for the best female players, GM Nona Gaprindashvili (GEO) is leading with 4.5 points, followed by WGM Galina Stutinskaia (FID) with 4 points and WFM Larisa Khropova (FID) with 3.5 points. Side events: Two FIDE-rated blitz tournaments were played over the last few days. The first competition saw IM Laszlo Krizsany (HUN) coming out on top, ahead of IM Fred Berend (LUX) and GM Keith Arkell (ENG). GM Keith Arkell (ENG) won the second blitz tournament finishing ahead of IM Alon Mindlin (ISR) and IM Fred Berend (LUX). Some statistics and interesting facts: There are 51 nations from all 6 continents The percentage of female players is 8.5% 24% of the players come from the hosting federation (Italy), 10% from Germany, 4.7% from Israel and 4.6% from England. The most experienced player was born in 1930 and comes from Portugal: Mr Julio Santos The youngest players were born in 1972 (8 players in total); one of them is also from Portugal The average age in section Open 65+ is 71 years The average age in section Open 50+ is 58 years The complete results can be found here. Official Website: scaccomattissimo.com/assisi-2022-en/ Text: Gerhard Bertagnolli