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.
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 kilometers 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: Carlsen withdraws, So in the lead
The day started with shocking news as it was announced that World Champion Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the 2022 Sinquefield Cup prior to the start of his Round 4 game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Carlsen did not yet give a specific reason for his withdrawal, tweeting the following statement: Since Carlsen’s withdrawal from the event comes before the first half, his results will be annulled, and the tournament will proceed with nine players. Following the day’s round, Wesley So became the new leader of the event (2.5/4) after drawing with Ian Nepomniachtchi. In the remaining games, only Fabiano Caruana could score a victory, grinding a 92-move win in a queen ending against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Mamedyarov did not get a chance to play today. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Niemann – Firouzja | ½-½, 43 moves The game started out as a quiet Italian but got very sharp as Niemann offered an interesting piece sacrifice with 19.Qg3, which after a long thought, Firouzja declined, falling into a much worse position. A further exchange sacrifice left Niemann with a large advantage, but he failed to maintain his edge, allowing Firouzja to trade off one of White’s bishops. After that, it was Black who was slightly better, but Firouzja decided to give his extra exchange back and liquidate into a draw. After Niemann’s 19.Qg3!, offering the knight on c4–in case of 19…dxc4 20.Bxh6 g6 21.Bg5 f6! would leave things quite unclear. The battle of juniors, Niemann – Firouzja. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Caruana – Vachier-Lagrave | 1-0, 92 moves The longest game of the event so far started out in a topical line of the English Attack (6.Be3) in the Najdorf. Caruana came well-prepared and was nearly winning out of the opening, but missed his best opportunities and instead ended up in a queen endgame with an extra pawn. The position still offered excellent winning chances for White, and although the evaluation swung to 0.00 a few times, the defense was incredibly difficult for MVL to maintain, and Caruana eventually converted his way to a win. After 92.a7+, the final position of Caruana-MVL. If Black takes the pawn either way, White can force a winning king + pawn endgame. A marathon win for Caruana, who is now tied for 2nd place. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Aronian – Dominguez | ½-½, 35 moves An early Bc4 Sicilian left Aronian with a tiny plus out of the opening, but not enough to put serious pressure on Dominguez. Although White had a space advantage, Black’s control over the a-file gave him ample counterplay, and the players repeated moves shortly before move 40. Aronian was a bit better today but could not find a way to achieve more. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Nepomniachtchi – So | ½-½, 25 moves A highly theoretical Catalan saw Nepomniachtchi “testing” So’s preparation, going for a sharp line that leads to a forced draw if both sides play correctly. So “passed” the memory test, and the game was soon drawn by repetition. “Everyone was kind of distracted by the fact that Magnus didn’t show up today”, said So after the game. After 18…Qa7!, hanging the knight on c6, with idea 19.Qxc6 Rb6! forcing a repetition: 20.b3 Bf8 (20…Rxc6 21.Nxc6+=) 21.Qa4 Ra6 22.Qb5 Rb6= Wesley So had zero issues in today’s game. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Tuesday, September 6, 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.
2022 Sinquefield Cup: Niemann beat Carlsen to grab the lead
In a sensational upset GM Hans Niemann defeated World Champion Magnus Carlsen with the Black pieces in their first ever classical encounter, overtaking the sole lead in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup and crossing 2700 for the first time in his career. In the meantime, Alireza Firouzja won a brilliant game against Levon Aronian, while Wesley So jumped into clear second place thanks to an excellent win over Fabiano Caruana. CARLSEN – NIEMANN | 0-1, 57 moves In the clash between the two leaders, Carlsen tried the rare 4.g3 Nimzo, against which Niemann was unusually well-prepared for, having checked the line that morning. An early mistake by Carlsen landed him in an unpleasant endgame where it was only Niemann who could play for two results. Things quickly turned worse for Magnus as he tried to salvage a difficult rook and bishop vs. rook and knight ending but a further slip in time pressure left Niemann with a technical win. Niemann’s 13…Be6! was a powerful counter, forcing White into a slightly worse endgame, as 14.Qa4 is met with 14…Qa5! After the game, Niemann gave an honest interview where he discussed his ambitions to become World Champion, the difficulty of proving yourself as a player, and the importance of invites to elite events. Niemann: “I believe that these [first] three games have encapsulated my strength and potential as a player, but I’m still improving, I’m still learning…you don’t become World Champion in a day, it’s a gradual process. […] If I didn’t have this opportunity, who knows how long it would take me to show that I can beat top players. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes FIROUZJA – ARONIAN | 1-0, 38 moves An early contender for the event’s brilliancy prize, the game started in a quiet Italian with Aronian winning the pair of bishops early on. But an extremely risky decision by Levon (11…g5) allowed Firouzja a powerful piece sacrifice, completely exposing Black’s king. From there Firouzja just needed to bring all of his pieces into the attack, after which Aronian’s position became simply indefensible. 12.Nxg5! gave Firouzja two pawns and an irresistible attack for the piece. A fantastic comeback win for Firouzja, who got back to 50% with today’s victory. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes SO – CARUANA | 1-0, 67 moves So’s rare 5.Bd3 Petroff worked out rather well, as he gained an early lead on the clock as well as the more pleasant position in a symmetrical structure. Caruana did not seem comfortable with the situation, as he started to burn lots of time and soon sacrificed a pawn in exchange for some activity rather than having to defend a passive position. But Black’s counterplay wasn’t enough, as So expertly traded down to leave himself with queen and knight against queen and bishop, retaining the extra pawn. Caruana’s king was also quite weak as So slowly marched his kingside up the board, eventually weaving a deadly mating net around Black’s king. 57.Nh6! was a kill shot, leaving Black without a good defense to White’s mating attack. The current GCT leader took one step closer to winning the 2022 tour. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes DOMINGUEZ – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | ½-½, 42 moves Instead of his usual Petroff, Nepomniachtchi returned to his previous weapon, the Najdorf, for today’s battle. In response, Dominguez deviated from his main approach in the English Attack (6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3) with the more positional 7.Nf3, and quickly earned a clear strategic edge after Nepo misplayed the early middlegame. A further mistake allowed Dominguez a winning tactical sequence, but he couldn’t calculate the line until the end and chose a safer continuation, after which his winning chances were more or less gone. After 22…Bxd2, Dominguez underestimated the winning intermezzo 23.Bxd6!, with idea 23…Qxc4 24.Qxb7+, followed by Bxf8. Instead he played 23.Rxd2 and the game was later drawn. Dominguez let his opponent off the hook, missing a big chance to defeat Nepomniachtchi. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes MAMEDYAROV – VACHIER-LAGRAVE | ½-½, 36 moves Coming off of yesterday’s loss, Mamedyarov chose an ultra-safe variation against MVL’s Queen’s Gambit Accepted, exchanging queens right out of the opening. There was not much action in the game, as the players quickly traded down into a completely drawn rook endgame. A relatively quiet day at the office for Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Monday, September 5, 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.
Andrey Esipenko racks up huge score to win first Challengers Chess Tour event
Andrey Esipenko won this season’s first Challengers Chess Tour battle of the chess prodigies today with a dominant performance to take the Julius Baer Challenge. The 20-year-old top seed was undefeated as he racked up 41/45 points to blow away a field of super-strong youngsters in the $10,000 two-day round-robin event. Esipenko was congratulated afterward on chess24’s stream by chess legend Judit Polgar, who tutored all the players in the event. Full of compliments, she said he was “really very, very convincing”. “It was great fun,” Polgar said of the event. “It was great to see the players, the young talents, girls and boys, out there who are representing their countries, they are fighting so hard! She added: “They are really the best talents in the world right now aged under 20.” By winning the Julius Baer Challenge, Esipenko qualifies for the Challenger’s Chess Tour Final Four shootout on October 29-30 and takes home $2,000 in prize money. Esipenko finished 10 pts ahead of his nearest rival, 16-year-old Raunak Sadhwani who also gets a spot in the Final Four. Esipenko said: “It’s always nice to win a tournament like this, just to win the tournament!” Esipenko laughed when asked if his ultimate aim is to become World Champion. “For this year I’m just trying to be in good shape because in this year I have just played really badly,” he said, refusing to be drawn. “I lost, maybe, 50 points and it’s hard to accept, but I have to work harder and everything will be better.” The next event in the Challengers Chess Tour hosted by chess24 is the Magnus Academy Challenge which runs from October 8 to 9 and carries a similar $10,000 prize pot. For further comments contact: Leon Watson, Head of PR, Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+447786078770
2022 Sinquefield Cup – Day 2 Recap
Round 2 of the 2022 Sinquefield Cup saw tournament underdog Hans Niemann score his first win of the event, defeating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to join the early lead alongside Magnus Carlsen, who drew with Levon Aronian. Meanwhile the 2022 FIDE Candidates winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi bounced back from yesterday’s loss to defeat Alireza Firouzja in fine technical style. ARONIAN – CARLSEN | ½-½, 37 moves Surprised by the Bogo-Indian Defense, Aronian opted for the solid 4.Bd2 variation over the more ambitious 4.Nbd2. Carlsen exchanged dark-squared bishops and quickly played d7-d5, obtaining a slightly worse but very holdable position. Aronian did not manage to pose any significant problems in the middlegame and the players soon simplified into a drawn bishop endgame. Carlsen: “I think nobody really loves these games, but at this level they happen”. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes NEPOMNIACHTCHI – FIROUZJA | 1-0, 50 moves After sacrificing a pawn early in the Catalan, Nepomniachtchi put Firouzja under serious positional pressure, as it was not obvious how Black should untangle. Firouzja decided to give back the pawn in order to trade down into a rook ending, but the endgame proved more difficult for Black than anticipated. A further error gave Nepomniachtchi an extremely comfortable position, where he could calmly advance his kingside majority until his advantage was completely decisive. After 31.f4, Black’s position was practically lost, with no counterplay against White’s simple plan of pushing the e- and f-pawns. 1-0, 50 moves A nice comeback win for Ian, who is back on 50%. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes NIEMANN – MAMEDYAROV | 1-0, 49 moves A sharp line of the English left Mamedyarov in some danger out of the opening, as he deviated from known theory with the questionable 13…b6. However Niemann did not find the right way to capitalize, as Black managed to create serious counterplay against White’s king, soon winning an exchange. It was then Mamedyarov’s turn to go wrong, as he missed the strongest continuation and was forced to give back the exchange, leaving Niemann with an extra pawn. A further mistake left Mamedyarov in a lost queen and pawn endgame, which Niemann converted with good technique. After 30.Rb1!, the unnatural 30…Bxd5 might have held, but instead Black faltered with 30…Ba8, allowing 31.Rxb8 Qxb8 32.Bxa8 Qxa8 33.Qxd7!+- with a won queen endgame for White. 1-0, 49 moves The 19-year-old Niemann scored his first ever win over a 2750+ rated player. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes CARUANA – DOMINGUEZ | ½-½, 46 moves In a battle of Petroff specialists, the players entered an incredibly sharp middlegame where Caruana had sacrificed a pawn in order to establish a strong central grip. Dominguez started to spend lots of time, and went for complications where Caruana could sacrifice an exchange and force Black to walk a tightrope to survive. Caruana then missed two opportunities for a decisive advantage, eventually allowing Dominguez to escape with a draw. After Dominguez’s 26…Rf8, 27.Qd7! would have been very strong, where both 27…Rxf4 28.Nf7++- and 27…Qb6 28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Re7!+- would be winning for White. Instead Caruana played 27.Qe4, keeping a large advantage for the time being. ½-½, 46 moves Caruana missed some serious chances against Dominguez today. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes VACHIER-LAGRAVE – SO | ½-½, 43 moves A theoretical Berlin endgame that featured lots of early trades left the players with a rook and bishop each after twenty moves, with MVL having a small edge due to his slightly better structure. Facing a difficult defense, So chose to sacrifice a pawn in order to activate his rook – a decision that proved fruitful as the position soon simplified into a drawn rook ending. MVL was a bit better, but could not crack So’s Berlin. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Sunday, September 4, 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 – Day 1 Recap
The 2022 Sinquefield Cup kicked off with a bang today as World Champion Magnus Carlsen defeated World No.3 Ian Nepomniachtchi in a clean first round game. Meanwhile, all four other games in the round were drawn, netting Carlsen the early lead in the final stop of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour. CARLSEN – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | 1-0, 43 moves In a rematch of the 2021 World Championship, Carlsen chose a quiet line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined and did not achieve much out of the opening as the queens came off early. However the endgame seemed to suit Carlsen’s style, as he slowly put Nepo under pressure and started to improve his position. Nepomniachtchi tried to hold the draw by sacrificing a pawn, but it wasn’t enough as Magnus kept his initiative and a further mistake by Nepo left Black losing a second pawn and ending up in a hopeless position. After Carlsen’s 36.Bb1!, Black was losing a second pawn on d5 by force. | 1-0, 43 moves Carlsen: “I think I did well in creating a situation that was not pleasant for him but certainly he could have done better.” | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes FIROUZJA – CARUANA | ½-½, 34 moves In a Symmetrical English that featured the rare move 5.Qb3, things quickly got heated as at first it was Firouzja, then Caruana who fell into some difficulties. It seems as though Firouzja missed his chance to pose more serious problems later on, letting Caruana escape into a drawn rook endgame. Caruana: “After 16…f5, I started to get worried that I would get a very bad position, but then he surprised me with 17.Bh3 (instead of 17.Ke2)–after that I thought I should be OK.” World No. 4 Firouzja had Caruana sweating today, but could not maximize his chances. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes NIEMANN – ARONIAN | ½-½, 50 moves Tournament newcomer GM Hans Niemann, who replaced GM Richard Rapport at the last second before the event, started off well in his first game, catching Aronian in a rare line (6.a4) of the 5.Re1 Berlin. While Niemann gained a large strategic advantage on the board, thanks to his extra space and more active minor pieces, he fell behind on the clock and eventually lost his advantage, allowing Aronian off the hook with a three-fold repetition. After 26.Qe1, Hans’ position looked fantastic, but Aronian managed to wriggle out. | ½-½, 50 moves Despite being the lowest rated player in the field, GM Hans Niemann is off to a solid start. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes MAMEDYAROV – SO | ½-½, 65 moves An interesting strategic battle in the trendy 5…cxd4 line of the Semi-Tarrasch saw Mamedyarov with a small positional advantage, as he tried to make the most of his slightly superior structure. But So defended well, and Shakhriyar could only end up with an extra pawn in a drawish rook and knight vs. rook and bishop endgame, which soon ended peacefully. A long fight which nearly came down to bare kings in Mamedyarov – So. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes DOMINGUEZ – VACHIER-LAGRAVE | ½-½, 72 moves The last game of the round to finish featured the English Attack of the Najdorf, the same variation which earned Dominguez the brilliancy prize in last year’s Sinquefield Cup. Once again Dominguez was much better prepared, gaining nearly an hour edge on the clock, but he wasn’t able to fully capitalize on his advantage. An exchange sacrifice by Dominguez left him with enough compensation for equality, but not more, and the game eventually petered out into a draw. The 2021 Sinquefield Cup champion managed to defend a difficult position. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Today’s special guests included American rapper Logic, who stopped by to watch the games. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Professional hockey player Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues also showed up during Round 1. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Saturday, September 3, 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.
Kateryna Lagno wins FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship
GM Kateryna Lagno defeated the defending champion, GM Hou Yifan, in the final of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship on Friday, September 2. It was a riveting duel of two worthy opponents that came down to the wire in the end. Lagno pulled ahead in the first 5+1, but some connection problems coupled with Hou’s determination and resilience did not allow her to win this stage (4.5-4.5). It should be noted that Hou showed real sportsmanship and agreed to add her opponent two minutes on the clock after Katerina got disconnected. Hou Yifan grabbed the lead in the 3+1 portion in which the opponents exchanged heavy blows and kept it to the very end, winning the second segment by a minimal margin of 5.5-4.5. Lagno immediately levelled the score in the final 1+1 stretch and then stringed together three victories and broke away. Hou responded with two straight wins sending the match to the last decisive game. Needing a victory to reach Armageddon, she spent precious seconds in a very complicated endgame and eventually forfeited on time. In her short post-game interview with Alexandra Kosteniuk and Irina Krush, Lagno shared how she coped with the connectivity issue: “Everything was quite good from the start, but then I got disconnected, and somehow I just couldn’t put myself together after that. I understand that happens to Chinese players quite often, but I was like: ‘Not today! Not now!’ And then… it was always a very close match.” Kateryna also expressed gratitude to her husband, GM Alexander Grischuk, who helped with opening preparation. Lagno earned $9,214.29 in prize money for this victory and a total of $20,860.11 in this event. Hou collected $2,785.71 from this match, $14,399.85 in total. The FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online event where titled women players will play a series of blitz and bullet matches for a share of the $70,000 prize fund. More info of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
FIDE Congress 2022: Key decisions
As it often happens, the FIDE presidential elections tend to overshadow everything else that happens in the congress. As everybody knows by now, Arkady Dvorkovich was reelected by a landslide vote (157:16), but there was much more to it than that. To begin with, the FIDE Council, the most important strategic and executive body within FIDE, had to be formed. Of course, the President himself and his Deputy, Viswanathan Anand, automatically became its first two members. The four elected Vice-Presidents were Sheikh Saud bin Adulaziz Al Mualla (UAE), Ms. Xie Jun (CHN), Mr. Georgios Makropoulos (GRE), and Mr. Michael Khodarkovsky (USA), by order of votes received. Next came the FIDE President’s nominations who, as he had previously announced, designated Mr. Mahir Mammedov (AZE) – Vice-President, Mr. Joran Aulin-Jansson (NOR) – Vice-President, Ms. Zhu Chen (QAT) – Treasurer, Mr. Olalekan Adeyemi (NGR) – Vice-President, and Mr. Mario Antonio Ramirez Barahas (MEX) – Vice-President and Secretary of the Council. Last but not least, the Council is completed with the Continental Presidents which, as of August 9, were Zurab Azmaiparashvili (Europe), Tshepiso Lopang (Recently elected as Continental President for Africa), Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nehyan (Asia) and Jorge Vega Fernandez (Americas). However, the Confederation of Chess for the Americas (CCA) will hold elections in October, while the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) will hold them in December. Depending on the results, the composition of the FIDE Council could change accordingly. Once the FIDE Council was established, the President proposed to its members the creation of a new body, the FIDE Advisory Board. Its main task will be to present its recommendations to the different governing bodies of FIDE regarding the most important issues of the organization of chess life. The first Chairman of this Advisory Board will be the General Secretary of the AICF, Bharat Singh Chauhan, and so far Gulkiz Tulay, Vladimir Kramnik, Darcy Lima, Patrick van Hoolandt and Abdullah Salem Alwahshi have accepted the invitation to be members of this panel. The brand new Tashkent City Congress Hall, proposed venue for the 2026 Chess Olympiad An important point on the agenda was the bid for the 2026 Chess Olympiad. The Uzbekistan Chess Federation announced the full support of its government to hold the event in their country and announced a budget of 12 million euros for the main competition, plus an additional 3 million for the Chess Olympiad for Players with Physical Disabilities. The proposed venue is the brand new Congress Hall which is part of the Tashkent City International Business Center, one of the largest urban development projects in the Republic of Uzbekistan that, when completed, will cover an area of 80 hectares. However, the world-renowned city of Samarkand was also mentioned as a possible alternative due to its tourist attraction. At the same time that the General Assembly approved the bid of Uzbekistan, their young team scored a dramatic victory against India B, a decisive result that allowed them to bring home the gold medal. Augusto de Muro, President of the Argentinian Federation… and FIDE? An interesting discussion was the one around the “missing FIDE President”, brought up by the FIDE Historical Committee. If we stick to the official records, Dutch lawyer Alexander Rueb was the first FIDE President, from 1924 to 1949. However, according to several sources, the President of the Argentinian Chess Federation Augusto de Muro was elected president of FIDE by the Congress held in Buenos Aires (1939) in the frame of the Tournament of Nations. Mr de Muro decided to accept this position, considering the war that had just broken in Europe. There is solid evidence to back up this story. However, the validity of the decision made at the 1939 FIDE Congress is also under question due to some legal formalisms. The FIDE Management and the Historical Committee have been instructed to gather more information on this topic, and consult with researchers and legal experts. The General Assembly has granted the FIDE Council the right to decide whether to officially recognize Mr. de Muro as FIDE president or not. The legendary GM Vlastimil Hort. Photo: Alina L’Ami Yet more recognitions: the General Assembly approved granting the title of FIDE Honorary Members to some important chess personalities: Slim Bouaziz (TUN), Vlastimil Hort (GER), Jorge Vega (GUA), Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (PHI) and Kurt Jungwirth (AUT). An important point on the agenda was the approval of new Rating Regulations for Rapid and Blitz Tournaments, which will be coming into force from October 1 2022. Following the proposal of Sabrina de San Vicente, Chair of the Qualification Commission, in the rating list published on October 1 2022, there will be a one-off change to the rapid and blitz ratings of players: If the player is unrated in rapid or blitz, then they remain unrated in rapid or blitz If the standard rating is more than 100 points higher than one of the other ratings, then that rating is moved up to: standard rating minus 100 points If the standard rating is 100 or fewer points higher than one of the ratings, then the player retains their rating Another important change is that the “K” (development coefficient) will no longer be =20 for all players. From October 1 onwards, K will vary between =10 and =40, following these rules: In the following links, you can find a comprehensive list of all the decisions made at the General Assembly and the FIDE Council meeting. If you click on the index, you can access all the attachments with the pertinent documents. List of decisions at the General Assembly List of decisions at the 2022 2nd FIDE Council Meeting