2022 Sinquefield Cup – Day 8 Recap
It was a pivotal day for the standings as Alireza Firouzja survived a difficult position to score an important victory over Wesley So, overtaking the lead in the penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup. It was then not long after that Ian Nepomniachtchi joined Firouzja in first place, after he defeated Levon Aronian in a highly tactical game. Going into tomorrow’s final round, Firouzja is now a heavy favorite to win the 2022 Grand Chess Tour, as his performance in the Sinquefield Cup will likely place him ahead of current leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the overall standings. Standings after Round 8 (Caruana will have a bye-round tomorrow and finish on 4.5/8) FIROUZJA – SO | 1-0, 32 moves A theoretical Italian saw Firouzja surprisingly get into trouble out of the opening, as So snagged the initiative with the strong attacking plan of 14…Nh5 & 15…Qf6. Going after White’s king, So then sacrificed a bishop on h3, which was not the most promising continuation but one that left Black with a comfortable game, as Firouzja was forced to give back the piece in order to avoid getting mated. But an uncharacteristic blunder by So allowed Firouzja an immediate tactical win, ending up with two extra pawns and a completely winning endgame. After 25.Ba3!, forcing the queen back with 25…Qb6, Firouzja blew Black’s position wide open with 26.e6!, winning after 26…c5 27.exf7+ Kxf7 28.Qd7+ Kf8 29.Qd5+- A second “come-from-behind” win by Firouzja, who now seems very likely to win the 2022 Grand Chess Tour. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ARONIAN – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | 0-1, 52 moves Opting for a sharp line against Nepomniachtchi’s Petroff Defense, Aronian seemingly mixed something up in the opening, as after 12.Nbd7 f5 13.Qb3 Rf7! Black already stood better, with an extremely powerful knight in the center. Aronian’s situation then went from bad to worse as Nepomniachtchi capitalized on his large strategic advantage to win two healthy pawns, but a later slip by Ian allowed White back into the game. Aronian had compensation for the missing pawns, but a crucial mistake on move 40 allowed Nepomniachtchi to consolidate his material advantage. After 43…Ne6, although Black’s king looks open, White can’t generate any real threats, and Black is winning thanks to the powerful passed pawns in the center. Nepomniachtchi is now tied for first overall, and will face Niemann with White in the last round. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Bryan Adams NIEMANN – CARUANA | 0-1, 69 moves A somewhat unorthodox line in the English left Niemann a little better after the opening, but a hasty decision (21.g4) opened up too many weaknesses on the kingside. A strong decision by Caruana (21…Ba5) then allowed him to seize the e4-square, exploiting White’s overextended position. This put Niemann under tremendous pressure, as he soon had to give up the exchange. Following a nice tactic by Caruana which forced the queens off, White was left with decent drawing chances, but after some moving around in circles by Black Niemann’s defenses eventually crumbled and Caruana converted his material advantage in the endgame. After Caruana’s 34…Qxd4!, with idea 35…Nf3+ on any recapture, winning the queen back. A decent finish for Caruana, who will end on “plus 1”. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller DOMINGUEZ – MAMEDYAROV | ½-½, 85 moves An Open Ruy Lopez left Dominguez with a small plus out of the opening, as Black’s far advanced pawn on d3 seemed to be more of a weakness than a strength. With skillful maneuvering, Dominguez ended up collecting the pawn and then started to nurse his long-term advantage. Eventually, the players traded into a queen endgame, with excellent winning chances for White. Dominguez managed to break through, creating three passed pawns on the kingside, but allowing Mamedyarov a passed pawn on the queenside in return. This counterplay caused Dominguez to blunder his advantage away, as one wrong move allowed Mamedyarov to force a draw by perpetual check. The final position in Dominguez – Mamedyarov – Black has a perpetual with Qd1+/Qh1+, and it’s important for White not to play Kh4??, where Kf5! would force mate-in-2 Another missed chance for Dominguez, who was previously winning against both Nepo & Niemann. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller In light of recent controversy, some fans came out to show their support for Hans Niemann. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Sunday, September 11, starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan, and Alejandro Ramirez on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club September 02-12, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
2022 Sinquefield Cup – So stays in front
It was a hard-fought day with four draws as GM Wesley So continues to lead the Sinquefield Cup, the final leg of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour. With So having a bye round today it was an opportunity for his competitors to close the distance, but with just two rounds left it’s only Alireza Firouzja and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who are a half-point behind, that have the best chance of catching up. As the event stands right now, So looks poised to win the 2022 GCT–if the tournament were to end as is, he would overtake Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final tour standings: Projected Grand Chess Tour Standings (if the event were to finish right now) DOMINGUEZ – FIROUZJA | ½-½, 55 moves In a sharp Najdorf (6.Be3 Ng4), the players quickly reached a very double-edged middlegame with a bishop and knight for Dominguez against Firouzja’s rook and two pawns. With the evaluation close to equal, it wasn’t clear who was playing for the win, as both players rejected repetitions throughout the game. As the long battle entered mutual time-trouble with both sides playing on the 30-second increment, a repetition was finally found, with neither player able to make any more progress. After 25…0-0 a very complex middlegame arose, with chances for both sides. Firouzja will play White in tomorrow’s crucial match-up against So. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Bryan Adams VACHIER-LAGRAVE – NIEMANN | ½-½, 55 moves Starting with the surprising 1.Nf3, Vachier-Lagrave decided to go for the Symmetrical Grunfeld, playing for a small edge. White was certainly better in the middlegame due to Black’s misplaced knight on a6, but MVL missed his best chances for an advantage, allowing Niemann to simplify and hold the position with precise trades. Here White’s best was 19.Nd5! with a clear advantage after 19…Rfd8 20.Nf4 Qe4 21.Rd3! – Instead MVL played 19.Nd4, allowing trades and only keeping a small plus. An important draw for Niemann today, who suffered his first loss of the event yesterday. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes CARUANA – ARONIAN | ½-½, 44 moves Facing the Berlin, Caruana opted for a long theoretical line that went deep into the endgame. Aronian, having lost in the same variation to Caruana before, was better prepared this time, knowing exactly how to generate good counterplay. With both sides having passed pawns Caruana needed to be careful not to overpress, as the game eventually simplified down to bare kings. After 28.Rc6–although White is winning on the queenside, Black can create ample play on the kingside. Caruana was unable to surprise Aronian today. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Bryan Adams MAMEDYAROV – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | ½-½, 33 moves A rather uneventful game, as Mamedyarov went for the 4.Qc2 Nimzo, testing Nepomniachtchi’s preparation in a long theoretical line. Nepo passed the test, as the players ended up in a completely drawn endgame and repeated moves shortly before the first time control. Not much sweat today for Nepomniachtchi, who along with Firouzja remains just a half-point behind So. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Saturday, September 10, starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan, and Alejandro Ramirez on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club September 02-12, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
Serbia prepares for second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners
Convicts from Belgrade prison Padinska Skela played simultaneous exhibition with GM Aleksandar Indjic. Last year, the International Chess Federation, jointly with Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office, launched the project “Chess for Freedom”, which is dedicated to convicted and detained persons worldwide. As a part of it, the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners was organized. Its first edition was supported by 17 national federations, including the Chess Federation of Serbia. The Administration for the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia established strong cooperation with several Penal Correctional Facilities in Serbia. Last year, a team of Serbian convicts from the Penal Correctional Facility in Belgrade (Padinska Skela) participated in the very first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. This year, Serbia will field four teams in the competition: men’s teams from Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela and Zabela Pozarevac, a women’s team representing Penal Correctional Facility for women in Pozarevac and a youth team of Juvenile Reformatory in Krusevac. As part of the preparatory activities, tournaments were held in several penitentiary institutions, and the first board of the Serbian national team, grandmaster Aleksandar Indjic, played a simultaneous exhibition on the premises of the Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela on September 7 2022. The warden of the Penal Correctional Facility, Vladimir Bukvic, wished the simultaneous game participants to give the most vigorous possible resistance to Grandmaster Indjic and use this opportunity to improve their chess skills. On behalf of the Chess Federation of Serbia, Nebojsa Baralic, Chief Advisor to the President of the Serbian Chess Federation and Director of the FIDE Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, expressed his gratitude for the hospitality. He told the attendees about all the activities that have been carried out since the beginning of the project. He also introduced them to the plans of FIDE and Serbia Chess Federation in this field, as well as the organization of the upcoming Intercontinental Championship. The country’s four largest Penal Correctional Facility – Sremska Mitrovica, Pozarevac (Zabela), Nis and Belgrade have been having chess sections for many years, and all prisons regularly organize tournaments with more than 100 convicts participating. Chess tournaments and numerous sports activities have been regularly organized in the Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela (Belgrade) since last year. The Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for prisoners is open for teams representing any correctional facility. Currently, 45 teams from 23 countries have already registered for the tournament. The registration deadline is September 21, 2022. Participation is free of charge. Tournament regulations (pdf) Registration form
2022 Sinquefield Cup – So pulls away
It was an exciting day featuring three decisive outcomes as Wesley So defeated Hans Niemann to take a full point lead in the tournament with just three rounds left to play. Meanwhile, Levon Aronian utilized good preparation to earn a win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Alireza Firouzja swindled Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after he blundered a pawn in the middlegame. Today’s results have big implications for the 2022 Grand Chess Tour, with Firouzja sitting only a point behind MVL in the overall GCT standings. FIROUZJA – MAMEDYAROV | 1-0, 28 moves A rich line of the English Defense left Firouzja’s king in the center, though with a very solid structure and potential for piece play. An unexpected blunder allowed Mamedyarov to snag a pawn with a cute tactic, but at the cost of the dark-squared bishop. Despite the position being good for Black, it suddenly became difficult for Mamedyarov to play, as Firouzja developed powerful compensation on the dark squares. And just a few moves later Black’s position collapsed, and as Mamedyarov was about to lose a piece, he resigned. After 19…Bxf2+! 20.Kxf2 Qf5+!, Black won a pawn as 21.Nf4?? would lose the queen to 21…e3+. Instead, Firouzja played 21.Ke1, managing to stir up counterplay after 21…Qxd5 22.Rf1 Nf8 23.Qc3 Ne6 24.Rf4! A big win for Firouzja, who is currently second in the 2022 GCT standings. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes NIEMANN – SO | 0-1, 59 moves A calm Petroff left Niemann with a small edge out of the opening until he erred with the move 20.h4, where after 20…Nh5! Black threatened to trap White’s bishop, overtaking the initiative. Niemann wasn’t able to solve his problems and So ended up with a clear strategic advantage, eventually forcing a winning bishop vs. knight endgame which he converted with technical precision. After 33…Bf4! forcing a very favorable endgame – 34.Qxe4 dxe4-+ With a full point lead, Wesley So looks primed to win his second Sinquefield Cup. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ARONIAN – VACHIER-LAGRAVE | 1-0, 49 moves Strong preparation by Aronian, utilizing an idea (16.Rhf1) found during the recent Olympiad, allowed him to put Vachier-Lagrave under heavy pressure in a topical Najdorf. Although MVL was able to survive the opening, he burned a lot of time to do so and ended up in a slightly worse endgame. Upon hitting severe time-trouble MVL soon went wrong, reaching move 40 down a pawn and with a hopeless position, as Aronian won just a few moves later. The novelty 16.Rhf1 was originally prepared for Caruana in the 2022 Olympiad against Iran’s GM Parham Maghsoodloo, according to Aronian. Today’s win brought Levon back to 50%, as he dealt a huge blow to the current GCT leader. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes NEPOMNIACHTCHI – CARUANA | ½-½, 53 moves Following a blitz game from earlier this year between Nepomniachtchi and GM Richard Rapport, Caruana chose the surprising Four Knights Sicilian, once again armed with deep preparation. It took Ian a while to deviate from his own play, as he ended up with an extra pawn in an endgame with opposite colored bishops. Although White pushed for some time, he wasn’t able to generate any serious winning chances, and Caruana held the draw. After Caruana’s 14…Ne4!, a sharp move which initiates massive complications. Another day, another great preparation from Fabiano Caruana. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Friday, September 9, starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan, and Alejandro Ramirez on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club September 02-12, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE Trainers Commission : Five FIDE Trainers Seminars announced
The FIDE Trainers Commission (TRG) is pleased to announce five FIDE Trainers Seminars in September and October 2022 and which be held in four different languages. First, is 23-25 September, organised online in English by the Arab Chess Federation together with the Asia Chess Academy trainers.fide.com/2022/09/06/fide-trainer-online-seminar-from-23-25-september-2022/. Then on 7-9 October, Jussupow Schachschule will also organise an online seminar, in German. trainers.fide.com/2022/09/05/fide-trainer-seminar-in-german-language-from-7-9-october-2022/ From 14-16 October there will be two seminars held concurrently, for Spanish Americas organised directly by TRG trainers.fide.com/2022/08/31/fide-trainer-online-seminar-for-spanish-americas-14-16-october-2022/, and the other organised by Uppsala Chess+ Academy (with assistance from Jussupow Schachschule) for Scandinavia (and Europe) trainers.fide.com/2022/09/07/fide-trainer-seminar-for-scandinavia-and-europe-from-14-16-october-2022/. In Asia, from 15-17 October, Sekolah Catur Utut Adianto will organise a hybrid regional seminar in Indonesian-Malay in Bali, for Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Timur Leste and Indonesia trainers.fide.com/2022/09/06/hybrid-fide-trainer-seminar-in-indonesian-malay-language-in-bali-from-15-17-october-2022/.
World Youth U14, U16, and U18 Championships kick off in Mamaia, Romania
Youth chess championships are returning to over-the-board play after the pandemic hiatus. Rapid and Blitz Championships in Rhodes at the end of April became the first mass event for young players, followed by World School Individual Championships in Panama. On September 5, the Romanian beach resort of Mamaia took over the baton. Altogether, 620 players from 72 federations participate in six tournaments: Open and Girls under 14, 16, and 18. Naturally, the host Romania is represented by the highest number of players, 84. Among other large delegations are Poland (24 players), Kazakhstan (21), Spain (20), and Ukraine (19). The Opening Ceremony took place in the playing hall at 14:30 on Tuesday, September 6th. Among the dignitaries present were the ambassadors of Armenia, India and Serbia, the consul of Egypt, the President of Constanta County, Vice-Mayor of Constanta Municipality and President of Romanian Chess Federation. In addition to all the dignitaries, Tournament Director on behalf of Organizing Committee, Chief Arbiter on behalf of arbiter team and FIDE Technical Delegate on behalf of FIDE, addressed to all present participants. FIDE Anthem was played prior to the speech of FIDE Technical Delegate. Ambassadors symbolically played first moves at randomly chosen boards among players from their federations. The likes of young stars Gukesh, Abdusattorov, Keymer, Sarin, and Praggnanandhaa, storming 2700 and top-30 lists, are missing from the event. Nevertheless, the lineups promise a great fight, high-quality games, and many outstanding young talents to follow. To name a few, FM Arthur de Winter (Netherlands), who tops the starting list in the Open U14 section, is the #6 rated 14-year-old in the world. Rating-favourite in the Open U16, Indian IM Pranav Anand, is very close to breaking 2500 and will try to make his famous namesake proud by living up to expectations. WFM Alexandra Shvedova, rating-favourite in Girls U14, was European Champion U10 in 2018. Four years later, she’s storming the world championship title. Eline Roebers (Netherlands) is topping the Girls U16 starting list. She’s the world’s second-rated girl under 16 years of age. This winter, Roebers made headlines by becoming the first-ever female winner of the Untergrombach Open by defeating GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov in the final round. Famous chess YouTuber Agadmator showed this game on his channel. In 2020, the Dutch phenomenon won the World Championship U14, held online due to the pandemic. The event will stretch for 11 rounds and finish on September 16. The first three rounds have shown that the top-seeded players would not have an easy task securing the titles. Among 31 participants with perfect scores, only WFM Alexandra Shvedova (FID, Girls U-14) and Eline Roebers (NED, Girls U-16) are the only two top-seeded players. Youth championships are massive forums; alongside participants, they attract many accompanying persons. Mamaia hosts a few additional events to benefit trainers and parents during this event: the FIDE Arbiter seminar from 7-11 September, the FIDE trainer seminar from 7-12 September, and events with Chesskid.com and Chess.com. Photo: Mark Livshitz Official website of the World Youth Championships: worldyouth2022.com/
Serbia prepares for second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners
Convicts from Belgrade prison Padinska Skela played a simultaneous exhibition with GM Aleksandar Indjic. Last year, the International Chess Federation, jointly with Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office, launched the project “Chess for Freedom”, which is dedicated to convicted and detained persons worldwide. As a part of it, the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners was organised. Its first edition was supported by 17 national federations, including the Chess Federation of Serbia. The Administration for the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia established strong cooperation with several Penal Correctional Facilities in Serbia. Last year, a team of Serbian convicts from the Penal Correctional Facility in Belgrade (Padinska Skela) participated in the very first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. This year, Serbia will field four teams in the competition: men’s teams from Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela and Zabela Pozarevac, a women’s team representing Penal Correctional Facility for women in Pozarevac and a youth team from Juvenile Reformatory in Krusevac. As part of the preparatory activities, tournaments were held in several penitentiary institutions, and the first board of the Serbian national team, grandmaster Aleksandar Indjic, played a simultaneous exhibition on the premises of the Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela on September 7 2022. The warden of the Penal Correctional Facility, Vladimir Bukvic, wished the simultaneous game participants to give the most vigorous possible resistance to Grandmaster Indjic and use this opportunity to improve their chess skills. On behalf of the Chess Federation of Serbia, Nebojsa Baralic, Chief Advisor to the President of the Serbian Chess Federation and Director of the FIDE Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, expressed his gratitude for the hospitality. He told the attendees about all the activities that have been carried out since the beginning of the project. He also introduced them to the plans of FIDE and Serbia Chess Federation in this field, as well as the organisation of the upcoming Intercontinental Championship. The country’s four largest Penal Correctional Facility – Sremska Mitrovica, Pozarevac (Zabela), Nis and Belgrade have been having chess sections for many years, and all prisons regularly organise tournaments with more than 100 convicts participating. Chess tournaments and numerous sports activities have been regularly organised in the Penal Correctional Facility in Padinska Skela (Belgrade) since last year. The Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for prisoners is open for teams representing any correctional facility. Currently, 45 teams from 23 countries have already registered for the tournament. The registration deadline is September 21, 2022. Participation is free of charge. Tournament regulations (pdf) Registration form
Arvindh Chitambaram crowned champion of 22nd Dubai Open
Chitambaram finishes with 7.5 points, half a point ahead of Predke and Praggnanandhaa GM Arvindh Chitambaram of India was crowned as champion of the 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament during the awarding ceremony Sunday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Hall of the Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Al Mamzar. The closing ceremony was attended by His Excellency Khalid Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, Chairman of the club’s board of directors, His Excellency Tarim Matar, President of the UAE Chess Federation, and members of the club’s board of directors. The 22nd edition of the Dubai Chess Open 2022 took place from 27 August – 5 September at the Dubai Chess & Culture Club. The 9-round Swiss tournament with a total prize fund of $50,000 brought together 180 players from 35 federations. In a speech during the ceremony, tournament director Saeed Yousuf Shakari praised the strong support extended by the Dubai Sports Council to the club and its various chess programs and for supporting the development of Emirati chess talents and their participation in tournaments in the UAE and outside the country. He also commended all the participants for the high level of competition and exciting matches during the tournament, and the arbitration team, headed by the Emirati International Arbiter (I.A.) Mahdi Abdulrahim. Chitambaram, who started as the tournament’s 13th seed, came out on top scoring 7.5/9 after a draw in the final round with his compatriot GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. The top-seed GM Alexandr Predke and GM Praggnanandhaa finished on seven points, but Alexandr claimed second place thanks to better tiebreaks, relegating Praggnanandhaa to the third position. Predke had a chance to tie Chitambaram for first place and even win the tournament with a higher tiebreak score over the Indian, but could only manage a draw in his final round game against GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt. “It’s always nice playing in Dubai,” said Chitambaram, who had been a guest at a friend’s house during his stay in the emirate. “The conditions are great, and it’s a brilliant venue.” Chitambaram nursed a slight edge against Praggnanandhaa, but eventually conceded to a draw by repetition of moves when his fourth-seed opponent mounted a dangerous counterattack against the white king. “The position was equal, so I had to take a draw,” Chitambaram said. “I’ve not done too well in any of the Dubai tournaments before, but this one came out a surprise like I cannot believe that I won the championship.” His triumph in Dubai, in addition to winning the Indian blitz and rapid titles earlier this year and a tournament in Benasque, Spain, has helped Chitambaram rebound from a heartbreaking campaign in 2021, when he lost rating points and missed a chance to join the Indian teams to the World Chess Olympiad, which India hosted last month. “It’s always nice to win any tournament in general and I’m really happy with this win,” said the 2018 and 2019 Indian champion. Chitambaram received USD 13,000 and a championship trophy while the rest of the top 15 players also collected cash prizes. Three other players finished on seven points: the tournament’s 2011 champion GM. Abhijeet Gupta, IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete and former Asian champion GM. Sethuraman S.P., who finished fourth to sixth in that order. Final standings: 1 GM Aravindh Chithambaram IND 2614 7½ 2 GM Predke Alexandr FID 2692 7 3 GM Praggnanandhaa R IND 2661 7 4 GM Gupta Abhijeet IND 2631 7 5 IM Sammed Jaykumar Shete IND 2381 7 6 GM Sethuraman S.P. IND 2625 7 7 GM Erigaisi Arjun IND 2689 6½ 8 FM Poormosavi Seyed Kian IRI 2404 6½ 9 GM Indjic Aleksandar SRB 2613 6½ 10 GM Harsha Bharathakoti IND 2557 6½ Special Prizes I.M. Omran Al Hosani received the Best Emirati Player award, while India’s WGM Divya Deshmukh took the Best Female award. Indian players, meanwhile, took the rating category prizes: Panda Sambit (under 2400), Sanket Chakravarty (under 2300), Ayush Sharma (under 2200), Raghav Srivathsav V (under 2100), and Joel Paul Ganta (under 2000). Photo: Dubai Chess & Culture Club
Chess for Refugees project enters its second year
Chess for Refugees — an ongoing FIDE project run in the Northwestern region of Kenia — kicked off in August 2021. Its main activities are located in Kalobeyei refugee settlement, some 15 kilometres west of the main Kakuma camp, established to host unaccompanied minors who had fled the war in Sudan and from camps in Ethiopia. The camp is situated in one of the poorest counties in Kenya. Eight Kalobeyei primary schools participate in the project with 50 learners each, of whom the majority are girls. The Girls Club “Chess for protection” was launched by FIDE and UNHCR as part of the Chess for Refugees programme. Its goal was to offer valuable educational activities to refugee girls who would typically have stayed home to carry out daily chores like cooking and cleaning. The project started in Angelina Jolie primary school in Kakuma with an attendance of 40 students. Now it is run in 3 girls boarding schools in the region, with 150 refugee schoolgirls participating. “The idea of the Girls Club “Chess for protection” was born around two years ago. It is very important for girls in difficult life situations to meet role models and professional chess players and understand how important chess could be in their lives. Through chess, they can learn a lot of interesting things, find new friends, develop their logical thinking and other skills that can be very useful in their lives,” says the leader of the Girls Club “Chess for protection”, WIM Anastasia Sorokina. Female students attend online lessons by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich (UKR) and IM Salome Melia (GEO). Held once a week, these meetings are not only about chess. The vision is not just to improve the chess skills of refugee students but to spur creativity and broaden their horizons. The most important goal is a possibility for these girls to see, communicate and get support from inspiring role models. Through live communication, the project participants have a chance to develop personally and improve their problem-solving and decision-making skills. “They were super excited to be exposed to chess, as they know they will benefit greatly from this game. And they have already experienced these benefits. Some of them were not doing well in mathematics, and after they started attending chess classes, they improved their calculation skills,” says Kong’or Deng Maketh, the leader of chess for Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee youth project. Another ten schools in Kakuma will join the project later this year. By then, some 1600 children living in refugee camps will have participated and learned to play chess. “The Kakuma and Kalobeyei project is FIDE at its best, with chess at the core of a very meaningful project affecting many young learners, of which a majority are actually girls. It has been great to work with partners like UNHCR, Chess Kenya and the Lutheran World Federation. We are currently working to make the positive impacts sustainable, with chess activity in Kakuma and Kalobeyei to continue also in the years to come,” adds FIDE Social Commission Chairman Geir Nesheim. FIDE believes that education is a key for younger generations to obtain sustainable livelihoods and plan more similar projects in refugee settlements around the world to be launched in the years to come.
2022 Sinquefield Cup – Day 5 Recap
While all four games of the round were drawn it seems the biggest move of the day happened during the post-game interview with GM Hans Niemann, as he passionately responded to the recent speculations made about him following Carlsen’s departure from the Sinquefield Cup. Niemann admitted to cheating online in the past but claimed that he had learned his lesson and has never cheated in an over-the-board game. Niemann then accused Carlsen, Nakamura, and Chess.com of targeting him in the must-watch interview. Full Interview With Hans Heading into the rest day tomorrow, GM Wesley So continues to lead the event with 3.0/5, with four rounds left to play. DOMINGUEZ – NIEMANN | ½-½, 33 moves Another quiet Italian left Niemann a bit worse out of the opening, as he tried the unusual 11…c5 but ended up with a passive position. A further mistake (15…Bb8) by Niemann allowed Dominguez to seize a serious strategic plus, with more space and control over the c-file. Dominguez increased his advantage to a decisive one in the endgame, but a poor decision to trade off the knights allowed Niemann back into the game, as he then held the rook endgame with ease. After 36…Nb5, Dominguez gave up most of his advantage with 37.Nxb5 instead of the far stronger 27.Ne6+!, keeping a dominant knight on the board. A spirited Niemann fired back at both Carlsen and Nakamura and even revealed that he had been uninvited from Chess.com’s Global Chess Championship following his game against Magnus. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes MAMEDYAROV – CARUANA | ½-½, 43 moves Incredible “high-tech” preparation in the Ragozin Defense by Caruana left Mamedyarov nearly 50 minutes behind on time, as he tried to navigate through all the complications. The critical moment came on move 22 when Caruana offered a queen sacrifice (22…Qxf1+) with his full 90 minutes still on the clock. Mamedyarov declined the sacrifice, opting instead to go into a very drawish endgame a pawn down. After the game Mamedyarov explained his decision, indicating that “when your opponent knows everything”, “it is better to be down a pawn than with an extra queen.” After 22…Qxf1+, in case of 23.Nxf1 Bg4+ 24. Ke3 Rf4! provides Black full compensation for the queen. Instead, Mamedyarov chose the far safer 23.Qxf1, as the players soon liquidated everything into a draw. “Very good preparation by Caruana, very good defense by Mamedyarov” said Mamedyarov in jest after the game. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes VACHIER-LAGRAVE – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | ½-½, 33 moves A theoretical Petroff saw Nepomniachtchi demonstrate excellent preparation to neutralize MVL’s attempts for an advantage. While the endgame looked a bit worse optically for Black, in reality there were no issues and Nepo held without particular trouble. After the game, Vachier-Lagrave commented on the reaction to Carlsen’s withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup, referring to the recent treatment of Niemann as a “witch hunt”: SO – ARONIAN | ½-½, 43 moves A Catalan featuring 5…c5 saw the players head for a theoretical endgame, with a small edge for White but not more. Around move 17, Aronian decided to sacrifice a pawn, which So accepted but at the cost of his own development. As a result So was never able to fully mobilize, and eventually gave the pawn back to force a draw. Amidst all the drama, So continues to quietly lead the tournament. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Thursday, September 8, with live coverage from grandmasters Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan, and Alejandro Ramirez starting at 12:50 PM CT on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club September 02-12, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.