Nepomniachtchi enters top-3 Open in August 2022 rating list
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022 dominated the action in July and brought several changes at the top. The winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi, picked up 26 rating points, rose to #3 and entered the top 3 open for the first time in his career. Hikaru Nakamura earned 8 points in this competition and re-entered the top 10 at #8 after a three-year absence. Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com On the other end of the spectrum are Alireza Firouzja (-15) and Fabiano Caruana (-7), who lost some rating points and slid down to fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Other notable firsts were Sanan Sjugirov crossing 2700 and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa making the top 100, while the women’s top 10 remained mostly unchanged. Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Fataliyeva, Ulviyya WGM 2413 (+41) Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2792 (+26) Narva, Mai WGM 2405 (+20) Padmini, Rout IM 2391 (+17) Injac, Teodora WGM 2389 (+17) Gukesh D GM 2699 (+15) Eljanov, Pavel GM 2695 (+14) Shuvalova, Polina IM 2510 (+12) Kamsky, Gata GM 2666 (+11) Melamed, Tatjana WGM 2391 (+11) Esipenko, Andrey GM 2692 (+10) There were several traditional chess festivals across Europe in July, including the competitions in Dortmund, Biel and Belgrade. Those who made a mark in these events ended up on the biggest gains list. Photo: Lennart Ootes Ulviyya Fataliyeva (pictured above) won this nomination following her excellent performance in a strong Serbia Open Masters 2022, where she netted impressive 41 rating points. Several female players, namely Mai Narva, Rout Radmini and Teodora Injac, also did a very good job in this competition, substantially increasing their rating. Pavel Eljanov (pictured below), the winner of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2022 Deutschland Grand Prix, became the primary rating beneficiary of this event, earning 14 points. Photo: Biel International Chess Festival Gukesh D has been steadily accumulating rating points since March, and July was no exception. The talented youngster notched up another 15 rating points after good showings in Cerrado Ciudad de Gijon XIV and Biel and came at the touching distance to the 2700 mark. Gata Kamsky and Andrey Esipenko also delivered in Biel, earning 11 and 10 rating points, respectively.
FIDE Job Offer: Marketing Director
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the world governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999. Chess is nowadays a truly global sport, with dozens of millions of players in all the continents, and more than 100 million games on average played every day. We have an exciting opportunity in our marketing team, to identify commercial opportunities that will help the growth of FIDE and our official events, leveraging the current huge popularity of chess worldwide. FIDE MARKETING DIRECTOR Job information Contract type: Open ended Compensation: competitive salary + bonuses Start date: 1 November 2022 Location: preferably located/available to move to Lausanne (Switzerland), but not mandatory Working time: flexible Role The successful candidate would join our marketing team in the development and implementation of marketing plans, commercial partnerships, sponsorship acquisition and management. This person should be a competent professional, well-versed in marketing and commercial concepts, principles and tactics. The successful candidate should also be a very creative person, enthusiastic, highly energic and results-driven, able to detect and grasp new opportunities for chess and FIDE. Key responsibilities: Business development / working with sponsors, broadcasters and other commercial partners (proactively managing the sponsorship and other commercial rights sales process with each initiative to ensure financial and marketing goals are met; identifying potential sponsors and broadcasters; converting the leads into deals in close cooperation with FIDE Legal team; collaborating with FIDE Event Management team to ensure the fulfilment of FIDE commitments to sponsors, broadcasters and other commercial partners in relation to relevant FIDE events). Working in conjunction with other FIDE teams to develop innovative sponsorship proposals and packages Identifying market trends to drive to the development of innovative commercial rights sales strategies Developing and implementing specific aspects of FIDE marketing strategy, including branding, marketing communications and promotion of FIDE events, in close cooperation with other FIDE teams Developing and managing ad-hoc projects as assigned by FIDE Director General or other FIDE executives (FIDE President, FIDE Managing Director, FIDE Chief Communication & Marketing Officer) Reporting to: FIDE Director General Qualification and experience: Advanced education (university degree, preferably in business, marketing, advertising) Minimum 7 years of international experience in business development and/or marketing Demonstrable track record in sponsorship sales and management, preferably in a non-profit environment, as well as superior relationship development and account management skills Deep understanding of and experience within the international sports industry Experience in organising and managing events Strong PowerPoint expertise Willingness to travel internationally Knowledge of chess would be an advantage Languages: Fluent English required. Work proficiency in other languages is an advantage. Skills: Distinct sales and negotiation competencies Excellent presentation and communication skills (orally and in writing), including copywriting skills, as well as high attention to detail Strong interpersonal skills and ability in relationship building at a senior level Tech-savvy and well-versed with digital and online development trends in sports and media Strong analytical and project management skills Ability to adapt quickly to different environments and to work under tight deadlines If you have the necessary qualifications, skills and are keen to work for an international organisation, please send your CV with a cover letter in English to: hr@fide.com
Women’s Chess Olympiad: Mongolia stages a huge upset, favorites ease through
Twenty-eighth seed Mongolian women’s team caused the biggest upset in the Women’s Chess Olympiad, blanking seventh seed United States 3-1 in the third round of the Women’s Chess Olympiad here at the four points Sheraton. A determined effort on the top two boards helped the Mongolian eves keep the balance, and on the last two boards, they proved superior to cruise to what would be remembered as a remarkable victory. This early loss for the United States might prove crucial. With eight rounds still to come in the 11-round team event, as many as 19 teams remained unscathed and now share the lead on 6 points apiece from three matches. With each match won by a minimal score of 2.5 points counted as two points, sometimes the relevance of the individual games between players gets under wrap. The three Indian teams in the fray, including the top seed India A got into the winner’s bracket for the third day running, but most of the closest rivals also cruised home with victories. Second seed Ukraine scored an impressive 4-0 victory over Slovakia, wherein top board player Mariya Muzychuk shrugged off her second-round loss and prevailed over Zuzana Borosova. Third seed Georgia had to work hard for a full match point, but Nino Batsiashvili came to the team’s rescue scoring an important win over Joanna Worek to secure a 2.5-1.5 victory as all other games ended in draws. Showing the resolve they are known for, the Polish team had a field day against Vietnam and romped home with a 3-1 win, while Italian eves could only eke out one point out of four against fifth seed France winning by the same score. With each round worth two points and most of the top seeds still in there with a clean score, the battles are only going to get tougher in the coming days. Standings after Round 3 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Text: Vishal Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
All three Indian teams on 100% in Chennai
Italy takes down World Champions’ Norway in the third round of the chess Olympiad Organizing an event with more than 2500 players, coaches, captains, referees, and members of the organization is not easy at all. It requires an experienced management team, with the ability to foresee all kinds of adverse circumstances and have an accurate response for each case. This afternoon it became clear that the organizational teams of the International Chess Federation and the All Indian Chess Federation have been successful in this endeavour. One of the players in the secondary venue had an important medical emergency during the game. Arbiter Geert Bailleul, a trained nurse, immediately attended the player, with the help of sector managers Omar Salama and Nebojsa Baralic shortly afterwards. Less than ten minutes later, an ambulance was on location, ready to transport the player to the hospital. Rather than letting the clock run out of time and win the game on time, his opponent offered a draw which was accepted by the team captain. Gens una sumus! Having the World Champion in your team doesn’t guarantee the win. In their match-up against Italy, captain Loek van Wely’s strategy was clear: neutralize Carlsen on board one – Vocaturo played a solid exchange Caro-Kann and achieved a well-deserved draw – and take their chances on the other three boards. His strategy paid off. With two wins on the lower boards – Lodici and Sonis took down Hammer and Christiansen respectively – Italy pulled off the main surprise of the round, defeating seed three by 2.5-1.5. A huge result for the Mediterranean’s, who were extremely happy in the postgame interview. Meanwhile, all three Indian teams won their matches. India A defeated Greece by a clear 3-1 score, with Pentala Harikrishna and Arjun Erigaisi as local heroes of the day, while India B, filled to the brim with top youngsters, destroyed Switzerland by 4-0. Team C took down Iceland also by a 3-1 score. India B now leads the tournament as they are the only team to have won all twelve of their games. Playing third board for India B this afternoon, RameshBabu Praggnanandhaa, wriggled out of a totally lost position against seasoned swiss GM Yannick Pelletier. The teenager kept posing problems in a tough position, making it difficult for his opponent to find a clear winning line. Eventually, Pelletier, short on time, lost on move 67. Demonstrating once again his learning mentality, “Prag” declared: “I have played badly, and this point doesn’t give me any joy. I struggled throughout this game in a bad position and I feel sorry for my opponent”. In a more pragmatic fashion, his team B captain R B Ramesh said “In any professional sport one has to be ready any type of position and situations. It’s actually better that this situation has happened sooner than later in the event”. Both Prag and Ramesh briefly gave their thoughts to FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal at the end of the round. Team USA continued their winning streak in round three against Georgia, notching up a final 3-1 score, thanks to Levon Aronian’s masterful exploit of his space advantage against a tough opponent. His teammate San Shankland also slowly but surely pushed his opponent off the board, scoring his second win of the series, while both Fabiano Caruana and Lenier Dominguez kept their opponent’s at bay with the black pieces. It’s already twelve years since Caruana last came to India: “It’s good to be in India. I don’t have the chance to come very often to this country; my last time was 12 years ago. It’s very good to be here! It’s a beautiful country.” See the rest of his postgame interview here. Twenty teams still have a 100% score and will face each other in tomorrow’s fourth round match-ups. All encounters will surely be fast and furious but special attention should be paid to France – India A on match one and USA – Uzbekistan on match two. Uzbekistan is a very young but very strong team, still undefeated on all five boards. India C – Spain on match three will be a huge test for both teams, while India B will have a chance to put Italy to a stop after their stunning victory today over Carlsen’s Norway. Games will begin at 3 pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photos: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
Favourites have a field day in Round 2 of Women’s Chess Olympiad
Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey stole the limelight, cruising past the defences of former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian eves had the last laugh as the second-seeded team romped home with a 3-1 victory in the second round of the Women’s Chess Olympiad. Muzychuk was not the only one among the top-ranked women players in the world to suffer; the top-rated Humpy Koneru, leading the top seed India’ A’, was also forced to split a point with much lower-rated Marisa Zuriel of Argentina. Here too, Humpy’s draw did not impact the team in any way as the rest of the squad won their games putting 3.5-0.5 victory on the scoreboard. If this was not enough, the former gold medalist Georgian women’s team had to work really hard as they could only pull off a victory by a minimal margin of 2.5-1.5 over much lower ranked Lithuania. Meri Arabidze of Georgia was shocked by the little-known Gabija Simkunaite, while the other Georgian Lela Javakhishvili had to settle for a draw against Kamil Baginskaite. While there were a lot of interesting battles, the day belonged to the higher-ranked teams again, and there were no major upsets as far as the team’s overall results are concerned. After the end of the second round of this mega event, as many as 40 teams have a perfect four points from two matches. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Text: Vishal Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
44th Chess Olympiad: Magnus Carlsen wins on his debut
Five-time World Champion and Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand addresses hundreds of Indian kids in the side-event The second round of the Olympiad featured the debut of World Champion Magnus Carlsen, playing on board one for Norway. One minute before the start of the round all players were seated and ready, including Carlsen, with the exception of the other three Norway teammates, delayed outside due to the overgrowing level of chess enthusiasts filling the playing hall every day. Nonetheless, the convincing 4-0 win against the strong Uruguayan team, led by former German player GM George Meier, left no doubt that they have come to give their best. The day began with a very special side act: five-times World Champion and Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand addressed hundreds of children who had come from different parts of India to witness their first Olympiad. “Vishy the King” answered numerous questions and signed hundreds of chess boards for the aspiring grandmasters. One of the questions came from two 8-year-old twin sisters from Delhi. They asked how pieces could be “distracted”, meaning moved, which was lost in translation. Anand’s witty answer was received with a huge round of applause: “My pieces never get distracted. It’s the opponent you should aim to distract, not your pieces!” Although the United States of America are the top seeds, they are located on board two due to the fact that India (second seed) is playing at home. This afternoon they dropped 1,5 game points against seed 47, Paraguay. As fate would have it, former Cuban player GM Lenier Dominguez secured the match win in a clean vcitory in Kalashnikov Sicilian against GM José Fernando Cubas: a key win to keep their aspirations intact. Birthday boy GM Fabiano Caruana, who turned 30 today, was unable to celebrate with a win. His seasoned opponent GM Axel Bachman tried out a very solid side-line on the Ruy Lopez and managed a compfortable draw with Black. Two other draws by GM’s Wesley So and Sam Shankland (GM Levon Aronian rested today after yesterday’s shaky performance) left the final score USA 2.5 – Paraguay 1.5, a Pyrrhic victory for the South American team. Second seed and fan favourite India A, playing on home turf, scored a very convincing 3.5-1.5 win against a tough Moldova team, substantially weakened by the absences of Iordachescu and Bologan (spotted by yours truly outside the playing venue but essentially retired from competitive chess). Second board Erigaisi Arjun, although an outstanding player, couldn’t find his form and was only able to draw with White against IM Andrei Macovei, who was arguably slightly better during most of the game. In other top matches, Spain scored a very convincing 3.5-0.5 win against Belgium, headed by junior GM Daniel Dardha. A key victory in this match was scored by GM Vallejo Pons beheading the Sicilian Dragon – his opponent IM Stefan Docx had defeated Spain’s number one in their previous encounter in Gibraltar some years ago. Poland, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Ukraine also progressed to 4/4 but only the Ukrainians, fielding bon oard one GM Anton Korobov for the first time, went go all the way with a stunning 4-0 against Albania. Slightly lower down, but still in favourite area, Germany, England, Armenia, Iran and France have all won their first two matches, but I would dare to say that all eyes are on team India B. 2600+ GM’s Gukesh, Sarin, Praggnanandhaa, Adhiban and Sadhwani (all under 18 except Adhiban) have already won their eight games and are making their claim for the surprise team of the event. Under the watchful eye of “sensei” coach Ramesh, the “kids” are in great form – Estonia fell under their sword this afternoon. Of course, in the second round there are bound to be some surprises on the lower boards. Bulgaria (seeded 63) scored a huge win against 17th seed Croatia 3.5-0.5 but the main upset of the round was seed 73 Zambia (rated 2216-2396) defeating seed 27 Denmark, who fielded three 2500-2600 seasoned grandmasters. And of course, a chess Olympiad (184 teams!) wouldn’t be complete without hundreds of enthusiasts from countries all over the world, most of them non-titled players. 25-year-old Kenyan champion Martin Njoroge (rated 1973) is clearly a standard bearer for these teams. In an interview with FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal, Njoroge summed up his team’s philosophy: “We are here to win! We are “simbas”, which means lions. We are here to roar and win… The Olympiad is the dream of every chess player, so I am super excited to be playing in this tournament!” Tomorrow’s third-round pairings include some interesting match-ups such as Spain-Brazil, Italy-Norway and Ukraine-Cuba. Games resume at 3pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
No surprises at 44th Women’s Chess Olympiad, as top teams have an easy ride
Led by Koneru Humpy on the top board, the top-seeded Indian Women’s team asserted their supremacy on the lower-ranked Tajikistan in the first round of the 44th Chess Olympiad that got underway after a glittering opening ceremony on Thursday. In what turned out to be a short hassle due to huge media present to cover the event, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Mr. Anurag Thakur – The Union Cabinet Minister for the Information and Broadcasting as well as Sports in India, Mr S Meyyanathan, Sports Minister Tamil Nadu, Dr Sanjay Kapoor, President AICF made the symbolic first moves on a few boards. Meanwhile, there were no upsets on the opening day as almost all the seasoned teams scored identical 4-0 victories. Notable among them were second seed Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, France, Azerbaijan and USA. Teams like Germany, Armenia and Kazakhstan also whitewashed their opponents, winning all the games on all four boards. If the Indian eves were stretched a little by the Tajik women, second seed Ukraine was quite brutal in stamping their authority over South Africa. Anna Muzychuk was up to the challenge against Jesse February, a popular steamer and the current African champion, and Anna Ushenine coasted to a crushing victory over Chloe Badenhorst. On the remaining two boards, it was also smooth sailing for the Ukrainian ladies that reminded them of their strong presence here in the absence of Russia and China. The Women’s Chess Olympiad is an 11-round team Swiss competition with the winner awarded based on the match points (two points for a match win and one for a draw). Each team includes four main players plus one reserved player. The winner of the last Olympiad, China, skipped the event without giving many reasons, but most likely, it was the impact of Covid that stalled the chess activities and tournaments for almost 18-20 months across the globe. Russian women are the other notable absentees due to the sanctions by FIDE after the war with Ukraine. With China and Russia out of the fray, the focus is on the Indian team that is the top seed for the first time in the event ever. Apart from Humpy, a lot has been spoken about 8-month pregnant Harika, who decided to play. A real challenge could also come from the Georgia team lead by Nino Batsiashvili (pictured above), a four-time champion with some seasoned campaigners in the line-up. “This is the biggest platform in the world for chess players, and it gives me immense pleasure to launch the first move of the event. I have been Chairman of the last FIFA world cup in Russia, but Chess remains my first love. It is indeed a pleasure to see that the organization has made some great efforts to ensure maximum comfort in stay, a fantastic venue and some brilliant facilities,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich in a private conversation with the team. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Text: Vishal Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
44th Chess Olympiad: Favorites start strongly
In the absence of arch-rivals Russia and China, only the Indian team, playing on home turf, seem capable of depriving the USA of the gold medal Five-times World Champion and Indian chess superstar Vishy Anand opened the first round of the 44th Chess Olympiad at 3 pm sharp this afternoon in the main hall of the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort & Convention Center. Anand played the first move for GM Anna Muzychuk on board one of the Ukraine-South Africa match in the women’s section, while on the other boards, Sports Minister Mr Anurag Thakur led the dance on board one of India’s A-team. After a few last-minute withdrawals, a total of 188 teams began the round in the open section of the event – at four players per team, 752 players, including thirteen women – broke all the previously existing participation records. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, All India Chess Federation President Dr Sanjay Kapoor and Tournament Director Bharat Singh Chauhan were also present on the occasion, heading a massive entourage of security, press and chess enthusiasts. As usual in the first round of the Chess Olympiad, most of the favourites had an excellent start – the top three teams, the United States, India and Norway, scored solid victories. Top seed USA defeated Angola by a clear 3.5-0.5 to start their campaign on a positive note. As has long been the norm for most of the top teams in the first round, where there is often a big disparity in the strengths of teams, the number one USA player, GM Fabiana Caruana, decided to save energy and gave up his seat to GM Sam Shankland, the team’s reserve player. GM Levon Aronian, therefore, moved up to the first board, but the three-time Olympian for Armenia quickly drifted into trouble with some over-enterprising opening play. However, luck was on his side when his opponent, Angola’s board one IM David Silva, accepted a draw in an arguably won position. The rest of the top teams defeated their opponents effortlessly, with India A crushing Zimbabwe by 4-0, the same result as Spain – Wales, Azerbaijan – Algeria and Poland – Syria, arguably three other favourites for the medals. Although Ukraine isn’t fielding their best players this year – Vassily Ivanchuk is a classic that will be dearly missed – they still started off strongly whitewashing Thailand. A glimpse over the results panel shows a startling statistic: no underdog was able to score a tie in any match: that is quite unbelievable in Swiss System events, in which most favourites usually win, but there are always a few surprises. Tomorrow’s second round will feature some exciting clashes: USA vs Paraguay and Moldova vs India will put the two top teams to the test, while there is a very good chance that World Champion Magnus Carlsen – who was spotted playing soccer this afternoon near the venue – will make his debut against Uruguay’s lucky first board. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
Hou Yifan eliminates Kosteniuk to reach semifinals
GM Hou Yifan defeated GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in the quarterfinals of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship to reach semifinals. This clash of two worthy opponents produced many exciting tactical battles. The last year champion, Hou, took an early lead and despite Kosteniuk’s stubborn resistance won the first 5+1 segment by a score of 6-3. Alexandra did not lose her heart and after scoring two victories in a row made up ground, but Hou responded with three straight wins to seal the second 3+1 stage of the match (5.5-3.5). Kosteniuk reduced the gap at the start of the 1+1 games but Hou struck back and clinched the match despite eventually losing the third segment. Hou earned $3,115.38 in prize money for her victory while Kosteniuk picked up $884.62 for her efforts. In the post-match interview, Hou told about her warm-up for the match: “The only preparation I’ve done was just trying to play some practice games with friends or students. But to be honest, in those games, I was actually performing very poorly, giving away pieces or making blunders. I remember one of my friends said that ‘you’ll do better in a real match.’ Maybe that helps, you know.” 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. To follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, watch a live broadcast of the event with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com Twitch Channel. More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Queen’s Pavilion and Social Pavilion are Open
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and Managing Director Dana Reizniece Ozola opened the Queen’s and Social Pavilions on the first day of the 44th Chess Olympiad. Sonja Johnson, Chairperson of the Planning and Development Commission, welcomed Dana to the stage, and Dana addressed the audience. “188 Men’s teams, 162 Women’s teams are participating; it seems like the whole world is participating! Such diversity, such enthusiasm! We make the world round by putting together these little elements, and this is something that very much connects with our social initiatives,” said Dana, further adding, “Chess is not only about professional sports: it’s about using our great game for the benefit of society, embracing its diversity.” Deputy President Bachar Kouatly, Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola, and President Arkady Dvorkovich opened the Social and Queens’ Pavillions. Photo: Lennart Ootes Dana also explained how these two Queen’s and Social pavilions would be telling the stories of the projects that FIDE has launched. There will be special days dedicated to Women in Chess, Chess in Prisons, Chess for Refugees, Chess for ageing people and more! These pavilions will celebrate the beauty, minds and achievements of the women chess players. Strong women, getting stronger! She also thanked the men in the audience for being there and supporting the Year of the Women in Chess. Sonja Jhonson welcomed the attendants. Photo: Lennart Ootes President Arkady Dvorkovich thanked the All India Chess Federation, the host association of the 44th Chess Olympiad, for pulling off the biggest festival of chess in such a short time. He also extended his gratitude to every chess federation that has been involved in FIDE’s social initiatives. Arkady said “I would like to thank the people who devoted their hearts and time and their lives (partially at least!) to chess!” He added, “Human capital is not just a word; it’s a real thing! You have to put your hearts to make these projects a success story.” A Bharatanatyam dance closed the event. Photo: Lennart Ootes How can a splash of colour and joy not be added to such a beautiful and important project by FIDE? The event ended with a Bharatanatyam dance piece by two professional dancers.