Jonny Hector wins Swedish Championship
Jonny Hector is a new Swedish champion. The 58-year-old native of Malmo claimed his second national title, twenty years after his first triumph back in 2002. The Swedish Chess Championship 2022 took place in Uppsala from July 1-10 and was played in several different classes – from a beginner’s tournament to the battle for the Swedish Championship gold in the Swedish Champion class, a round-robin with classical time control, featuring several Sweden’s best chess players. Hector grabbed the lead in the middle of tournament distance after stringing together three victories and was coming into the final round a full point ahead of Jung Min Seo and the defending champion Tiger Hillarp Persson with an excellent score of 6½/8. In the final round, the leader fell to GM Jonathan Westerberg with white pieces after his opponent made a brilliant breakthrough in the center and gave one of his rivals (they faced each other) a chance to catch up with him. Luckily for Hector, Hillarp Person and Seo drew their game and finished a half-point behind the new champion together with Westerberg. The tiebreaks favoured Jonathan Westerberg and Tiger Hillarp Persson, who took silver and bronze, respectively. Westerberg and Seo completed the event unbeaten. Final standings: 1 GM Hector, Jonny 2445 6½ 2 GM Westerberg, Jonathan 2485 6 3 GM Hillarp Persson, Tiger 2512 6 4 IM Seo, Jung Min 2483 6 5 GM Blomqvist, Erik 2523 5½ 6 IM Johansson, Linus 2451 4 7 GM Cramling, Pia 2458 4 8 GM Carlsson, Ludvig 2423 2½ 9 GM Smith, Axel 2421 2½ 10 FM Jogstad, Martin 2351 2 Check out full results in all categories Photo: Official website Official website: www.schack.se
Two FIDE Trainers Seminars in conjunction with 44th Chess Olympiad announced
The FIDE Trainers Commission is facilitating two FIDE Trainer Seminars in conjunction with the 44th FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India, from July 27 to August 10 2022. The first one is the online seminar organized by the Asian Chess Federation in partnership with the Asia Chess Academy from July 24-26 focuses on endgame training, tactics training, strategy training, a study of classical games and opening repertoire and will be conducted by GM and FST lecturers Alexander Khalifman, Aleksey Dreev, Vladimir Malakhov, Ivan Sokolov and Artur Jussupow. The registration deadline is July 20, 2022 The second seminar, organized by the All Indian Chess Federation together with FIDE Trainers’ Commission, will be held on-site during the 44th Chess Olympiad from July 30 to August 5 (see the complete information here ) and led by TRG Chairman, FST & GM Mikhail Kobalia. The lecturer will cover many aspects of chess self-improvement, including opening preparation, tactics and endgame training, calculation, etc. The registration deadline is July 27, 2022.
Dronavalli and Tan Zhongyi progress into quarterfinals
GM Harika Dronavalli (India) convincingly outplayed WGM Deysi Cori (Peru) in their round of 16 match of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship on Thursday and reached the quarterfinals. The Indian GM was a better player in all three segments, especially in the 3+1 blitz section of the match (which she won by a score of 6-3) and deservedly punched her ticket to the next stage of the competition. The next day, GM Tan Zhongyi defeated IM Polina Shuvalova and reached the quarterfinals as well. The 31-year-old GM from China grabbed the lead in the first 5+1 segment of the match and only extended it in the 1+1 section to notch up a comfortable 17-10 victory over her young opponent. The last quarterfinal spot in the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship will be contested in the match between Hou Yifan and Carissa Yip. 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.
Condolences to the family of Mr. Shinzo Abe
Poland wins IX IBCA World Team Chess Championship
IX IBCA World Team Chess Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired took place in Ohrid, North Macedonia, from June 27 – July 08, 2022. The event was organized by the National Sports Federation of the Blind of North Macedonia in cooperation with the Chess Federation of North Macedonia. Every team featured four players and up to two reserves. Players used specialized Braille chess boards, talking clocks, and voice recording equipment. The competition followed the “trademark” IBCA format that combines round robin and double knockout, similar to some high-level football tournaments. Sixteen strongest teams, according to the results of the 2021 IBCA Olympiad, were seeded into two groups of eight teams each, where they played a seven-round RR. In the Yellow Group (Y), the top-3 finishers were Poland (13 match points), Ukraine (12 MP), and Hungary (11 MP). The Red Group (R) was won by Serbia (10 match points, 20 game points), followed by Spain (10 MP, 16 GP), and India (8 MP). On the rest day before the playoffs the organizers kindly arranged a free boat excursion on Lake Ohrid, a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which culminated in a visit to the Monastery of Saint Naum, an Eastern Orthodox holy site established in 905 AD. In the evening, players and officials got together to celebrate the life of Dr Ludwig Beutelhoff, the longest-serving past IBCA president (2005-2017), who passed away at the age of 74. The IBCA 2nd Vice-President, Ms Diana Tsypina (CAN), read a tribute on behalf of the IBCA that commemorated Dr Beutelhoff and outlined his numerous achievements in philosophy, governance, Braille chess, and the Deutscher Schachbund. Then, other IBCA Board members, coaches, and players shared personal stories live or via pre-recorded video messages and reflected on how the deceased acted as a patient mentor and a role model and touched their lives profoundly. Dr Beutelhoff’s widow, Christine, was the guest of honour at this commemorative ceremony. In the top-four semifinal bracket, Poland (Y1) prevailed over Spain (R2) 2.5-1.5, while Serbia (R1) defeated Ukraine (Y2) 3.5-0.5. The decisive matches were: For the bronze medal: Ukraine (SF2-L) – Spain (SF1-L) For the championship title: Serbia (SF2-W) – Poland (SF1-W) Both hard-fought matches ended in a 2-2 draw, so the winners were decided on the tiebreaks. Final standings: Champion – Team Poland (GM Marcin Tazbir, IM Jacek Stachanczyk, IM Piotr Dukaczewski. Ryszard Suder, Michal Wolanski, Andrzej Migala; captain Marcin Tazbir) Silver medal – Team Serbia (FM Pavle Dimic, CM Damjan Jandric, Stefan Janjic, Mile Bjelanovic, FM Sretko Avram; captain Nikola Ivanovic) Bronze medal – Team Ukraine (Vladyslav Kolpakov, Igor Shepelev, WIM Lubov Zsiltzova-Lisenko, Ivan Yatsishin; captain Oleksandr Frantsuzov) Individual board prizes were won by players from seven countries, with gold medals awarded to: First board GM Marcin Tazbir (POL) 2nd board Soundarya Kuman Pradhan (IND) 3rd board Stefan Janjic (SRB) 4th board Ivan Yatsishin (UKR) Reserve board Michal Wolanski (POL) The closing ceremony on July 07 became a huge celebration for Braille players and their supporters. Non-seeing players, their accompanying persons, captains, coaches, officials, and spectators gathered in the sumptuous Biljana Hall at the Metropol Luxury Resort Ohrid, which was exclusively adorned with national-motif posters, and the flags of all sixteeb participating nations. A real constellation of dignitaries attended, including authorized representatives from the Agency for Youth and Sports of the Republic of North Macedonia and from the Ohrid municipality; Dr Charudatta Jadhav (IND), the IBCA President; Ms Diana Tsypina (CAN), the IBCA 2nd Vice-President; Mr Sasha Bogdanovikj, President, the Chess Federation of North Macedonia; Mr Blagoj Mishevski, President, National Sports Federation of the Blind of North Macedonia; Mr Zarko Selkovski, President, Braille Chess Association of North Macedonia. In his opening speech, Mr Sasha Bogdanovikj, President of the Chess Federation of North Macedonia, stressed that the IX IBCA World Team Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired was the first world-level event for the non-seeing players organized in North Macedonia. The strategic thinking of Macedonian national and regional authorities, the excellent collaboration between the IBCA, the National Sports Federation of the Blind of North Macedonia, the Chess Federation of North Macedonia, the organizers, and local authorities made it possible for close to one hundred participants from about twenty countries to meet in person and enjoy chess. An extended address by the IBCA President Dr Charudatta Jadhav, summarized new accomplishments of the Braille chess community. He noted that the IX IBCA World Team Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired was a complete success and a remarkable achievement for players, officials, and the organizers, made possible by the hospitality and friendliness of North Macedonia and its people. Fair play and good sportsmanship were demonstrated by everyone. Dr Jadhav thanked the Chief Arbiter and both Deputy Chief Arbiters for their excellent work. They always acted in the best interests of the competition and ensured the best conditions for the blind and visually impaired players. The CA and the DCAs also generously used their considerable skills in Braille chess to train local arbiters in the intricacies of these specialized type of competitions, thus ensuring cohesiveness and excellent functioning of the arbiter team for this event. The IBCA President told the audience that on July 03, the IBCA Board held a hybrid in-person/teleconference meeting from Ohrid and adopted several important documents that would strengthen the IBCA governance and allow the organization to advance in accordance with its strategic development plan for 2021-25. The IBCA and its national members – the organizations, specifically established for the promotion of Braille chess for the blind and visually impaired – work in harmony with respective countries’ governments, NGOs, national Paralympic Committees, the International Blind Sports Federation, FIDE, and other international associations as partners respecting each other’s core areas of expertise and advancing the goals set in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and similar documents. Mr Blagoj Mishevski, President National Sports Federation of the Blind of North Macedonia, reflected on the importance of government and societal support for players with disabilities and described how advanced North Macedonia has become
Koneru narrowly beats Dzagnidze to advance into the quarters
GM Humpy Koneru edged out GM Nana Dzagnidze in their round of 16 match of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. Their duel was a very close affair that came down to the wire in the end. Suffice it to say that the score was level with five minutes to go. The first 5+1 segment was drawn 4-4; Dzagnidze took the second 3+1 one by a narrow margin, but Koneru stormed back convincingly winning the final 1+1 portion by a score of 6.5-2.5 and pulled off the victory in the match. “It was a neck-to-neck match. Most of the time, Nana was up one point… But when the 3|1 segment started, I was down by three points, so the comeback was very important and crucial for me. Everything worked out in the bullet games,” said the winner in a short interview with GM Irina Krush and WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian after the match. The next round of 16 match, GM Harika Dronavalli vs WGM Deysi Cori, begins on Thursday, July 7, at 6:30 a.m. Pacific / 15:30 Central European. 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.
2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament came to a close in Madrid
Chess legends, players and Spanish dignitaries got together at the Four Seasons Hotel in Madrid to celebrate the end of the most important chess tournament of the year. During the past two weeks, eight players played 56 games altogether to determine who would be the challenger for the title of world champion in chess. The winner of the Candidates, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was greeted with a big round of applause as he got up to receive his prize. After FIDE President Dvorkovich placed a laurel wreath on Nepomniachtchi’s shoulders and gave him the trophy, Ian held it up high with a big smile on his face. As if Nepomniachtchi finally felt he could breathe out and fully embrace his great success. “A few days ago, I could not imagine there would be such an opportunity [to receive the trophy and give a speech], and, of course, I didn’t prepare anything,” said Nepomniachtchi. However, he added: ‘My previous memory of Madrid was getting stuck on New Year’s Eve for a day [at the airport], and I didn’t like it. Now, however, I found out that this is a beautiful city. I was really amused how chess is being celebrated here… and people being so emotional about chess which you normally don’t see very often’. In his speech, Nepomniachtchi thanked the former world champion Viswanathan Anand “for being an example” and helping him recover following his loss in the Dubai match for the world title Magnus Carlsen. After thanking his team and everyone who supported him, Nepomniachtchi ended with a message: ‘I really hope that the end of this year will be better than its beginning’. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich thanked the players and the organisers for a ‘fantastic event’. ‘From round one to the last round, it was a very big fight. I saw how much the players love chess, and this is what we all share – love for chess, playing chess and watching chess. I hope we will continue doing this for years’, Dvorkovich said. FIDE president also thanked the Spanish and international media for the wide coverage chess has received over the last two weeks. Among the special guests of the evening were former world champion Vishy Anand and the strongest woman player ever, Judit Polgar. Speaking on behalf of the regional government, Alberto Tomé thanked FIDE for choosing Madrid for the Candidates and pledged further support for future events. The sentiment was echoed by the president of the Spanish chess federation Javier Ochoa de Echagüen. “We thank FIDE for having trust in us, and we hope to collaborate in future tournaments. We’d like to see you again soon,” Ochoa de Echagüen said. Tournament Director and FIDE Managing Director, Dana Reizniece-Ozola gave paid tribute to her entire team organising the event. “Tonight we will celebrate, expressing our appreciation for the winners of the tournament. This is also a celebration of the great team who has been doing their utmost to make this a success. For the eight Candidates this has been an event saturated with emotions. For us this was a blitz game and a hand and brains game. Thank you to all the technical team who helped make this event happen.” The ceremony was followed by a gala dinner and a flamenco performance. The closing press conference Earlier in the day there was a press conference involving FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, and the top finishers of the event – Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren, and Teimour Radjabov. The press event was held at the Palacio de Santona, where the tournament took place. FIDE President announced the start of the process of organising the match for the title of world champion and the beginning of the next world championship cycle. The players answered questions about their play, the tournament, the impact of Covid, how engines have affected their play, and more. Video of the closing press conference is available on our YouTube. Text: Milan Dinic Photos: FIDE / Stev Bonhage and Maria Emelianova / Chess.com 2022 Candidates Tournament Partners:
On the way to Chennai for the Arbiters’ Team
July 3, 2022, became a historic day for the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission. The vision of the Commission has become a reality: the FIDE ARB is seeking opportunities to leverage the quality of Arbiters and support their growth worldwide, using FIDE Events as a development tool for a better player experience. With this in mind, a special preparation programme was set up for the Arbiters’ Team of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. The first session took place on July 3, bringing together almost 200 arbiters from nearly 100 federations. The team was welcomed by the Chief Arbiter and Chairman of the ARB, Laurent Freyd, before the ARB Councilor in charge of World Events Preparation, Omar Salama, introduced the team structure, arbiters’ roles and teamwork expected at the 44th Chess Olympiad. There was a good interaction during the session, and each of the 12 sectors will now form teams to prepare for the year’s main event together. A second online session is planned for July 17, before a final preparation day on July 28, at the Olympiad venue, to practice in real conditions.
Ian Nepomniachtchi wins the Candidates without a single loss
With a draw in the final game, Nepomniachtchi finished the tournament on 9.5/14. In a dramatic duel which lasted five hours, Ding Liren defeated Hikaru Nakamura to clinch second place The final, 14th round of the 2022 Candidates didn’t promise much initially. All four games were calm, the positions even, and it seemed as if we were heading for a day of draws. Instead, there was just one draw. In terms of results, today’s round did not matter for Ian Nepomniachtchi, who secured victory in the event following a draw in round 13. However, this game was psychologically important for him: Nepomniachtchi didn’t want a repeat of the previous Candidates, which he also won with a round to spare but then lost the final game, which gave a bitter aftertaste to his great success. Playing the Petrov, Nepomniachtchi was under psychological pressure from Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who seemed much more relaxed and comfortable in his bearing compared to how he had played in the rest of the tournament. All the time, the game was even. Duda was looking for chances, but Nepomniachtchi always responded adequately and confidently, bringing the game to a draw without much drama. Finishing the Candidates in the first place and without a single defeat is a strong statement for anyone vying for the title of world champion. A great achievement by Ian Nepomniachtchi. The 24-year-old Jan-Krzysztof Duda finished the tournament on 5.5/14, in shared seventh-eighth place. In his first appearance in the Candidates, Duda showed a strong fighting spirit and ability to put the more experienced players in an uncomfortable position. However, he probably needs to work more on his confidence and willpower. In a direct duel for second place, Ding Liren defeated Hikaru Nakamura, who was leading him by half a point. Ding needed to win if he wanted to come in second, while Nakamura only needed a draw. The two played the Semi-Tarrasch, which transposed into Queen’s Gambit Accepted. For the most part, the game was even. Black successfully stopped any advances from White, exchanging pieces and simplifying the position along the way. However, in the advanced stage of the middlegame, Nakamura made a blunder with 35…Bd8 allowing White to keep his rook to the seventh rank. From that moment on, it was all Ding. He played very tenaciously, not allowing Nakamura any chance of escaping. The American played till the very end, hoping for a miracle. But it never came. A great stroke of luck for Ding, who – having an abysmal start to the tournament – made an amazing comeback in the second half and, with this victory in the final round, clinched second place, with 8/14. The second place could be relevant if world champion Magnus Carlsen decides not to defend his title. In that case, he will be replaced by the player who finished second in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022. Nakamura finished in shared third-fourth place on 7.5/14. After today’s loss to Teimour Radjabov with white pieces, Hungarian Richard Rapport finishes the event in last place, on 5.5 points. In an even position in the Anti-Berlin, Rapport was overoptimistic when sacrificing a piece for an attack on the black king but ended up with nothing. Radjabov cold-bloodedly repelled the attack and scored a confident victory. Rapport had ups and downs in this event, and his place on the scoreboard is not a reflection of the play and strength he showed in the event. On the other hand, Radjabov – who spent the first part of the tournament in the lower ranks, finished with 7.5 points and in a great shared third to fourth place with Nakamura. Despite being written off by many, Radjabov proved to be a dangerous opponent and an amazing defender. One of the favourites to win the event, Fabiano Caruana, finished the tournament with a defeat. In a game which lasted for well over six hours, he lost as White against Alireza Firouzja. In the Berlin line of the Ruy Lopez, the position was mostly even until Caruana miscalculated in organising an attack on the black king and allowed Firouzja to take the initiative. Despite standing significantly better, Firouzja didn’t play very precisely, allowing Caruana chances to make a comeback. In the end, Caruana managed to narrow Black’s advantage and get into a position which was uncomfortable but where he could hold. Ultimately, on the move 60, just upon reaching time control, Caruana made a huge blunder in the endgame, and this time he wasn’t given another chance. Completely lost, he was forced to resign. A sad ending for Caruana, who had an excellent first part of the tournament, just a step behind Nepomniachtchi. However, he broke in the second part and didn’t recover until the end. With 6.5/14, Caruana finished the event in fifth place, well below his play and strength. The victory against Caruana was a silver lining for Firouzja, but overall – he had a poor tournament, playing tactlessly. After holding out in the early games, he crashed after the defeat from Ian Nepomniachtchi in round four and never really came back. One thing Firouzja needs and he cannot get with any preparation is maturity. How he approaches the experience from these Candidates and how he works on his character will be key to him showing his best in future events. The Frenchman finished the tournament in sixth place, with six points. Here follows a closer look at the games from the final, 14th round of the Candidates. Richard Rapport vs Teimour Radjabov: Worlds apart In the anti-Berlin, Rapport managed to gain the initiative following the opening taking full advantage of Radjabov’s imprecise play at this stage. Rapport prepared for attacking the kingside but here he overextended with 19.g5. Instead, Nh4, followed by Nf5 gradually increasing pressure on Black, was better. Luckily for Rapport, Radjabov took on g5 with the f-pawn instead of the h-pawn, immediately giving White the advantage. Instead of proceeding with 20.h4 opening lines on the kingside, Rapport went for a knight sacrifice – 20.Nxg5,
Checkmate Coronavirus: Road to Chennai
In 2020 chess was affected by the pandemic like any other sport, with tournaments postponed or cancelled and clubs temporarily closed. Yet the nature of chess helped players, fans, and enthusiasts of the game to stay active and involved during this crisis, whereas online chess got an unprecedented boost. In May 2020, FIDE launched a massive online project, Checkmate Coronavirus, a marathon of 720 non-stop hours and 2,762 tournaments played by 120,000 unique participants from at least 140 countries. The aftermath of the project is no less exciting than the chess battles in its tournaments. Winners of the event received mini-matches and master classes with top GMs, 800 souvenir prizes with FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus memorabilia. The main prize winners were invited to the Chess Olympiad 2022. 6-nights trip to Chennai with paid air tickets, full board and a chance to meet the greatest chess players of our times were awarded to the chess amateurs representing Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden and Thailand. Very soon, they will go to Chennai to enjoy the mecca of Indian chess, and to attend the FIDE flagship event with 187 open and 162 women teams participating. We have received many stories from the main prize winners, some of them are heart-warming. 44-year-old Nicolas Noel is from France but lives in Thailand. He started playing chess for fun in the 2000s in France with friends, never in a club, and played his first classical FIDE-rated tournament in Bangkok in 2012. During the pandemic, he played online a lot on many platforms. He played in hundreds of Checkmate Coronavirus tournaments! Still, he was very surprised to realize he had won a trip to the Chess Olympiad. “I checked your Facebook page and could not believe my eyes. I nearly dropped my coffee mug!” he says. “I mainly want to enjoy the Chess Olympiad and play as many side events as possible. If there’s some free time between chess games, I will be glad to enjoy a walk in the city. I’m a very basic tourist and like to enjoy cities by myself. Not much a big fan of touristic attractions.” Elshad Abdullayev is 30; he lives in Baku, Azerbaijan. He started to learn chess when he was ten years old. Now he is a chess coach and an International Arbiter. Elshad has profiles on Chess.com, Lichess, Chess24. He played around 15 tournaments and got two tickets without even knowing about it. He never could imagine that he could win the first prize. “I saw publication on FB profile of Emil Sutovsky, he said, that we have winners from Algeria, Azerbaijan and….. and I got curious. Who was the winner from Azerbaijan? I found the Checkmate Coronavirus page and saw my name there. First I didn’t believe that it could be me! I am very happy. And I am already waiting for this Olympiad!” Alan Borda is 35 and from the city of El Alto, Bolivia. Alan has played chess since he was 14 and participated in several international tournaments representing Bolivia. In 2010 Alan took part with the Bolivian team in the World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansysk, Russia. “I usually played online every once in a while, but since I saw the news of the FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus program, I played a lot more”, – he says. Alan was watching the broadcast of the draw in the living room of his house. “I was absent for a moment, and when I returned to the room, they were just saying my nick YODITA, and I was very happy because I thought I had won the mini-match with a top GM, but a few minutes later, I went to the FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus Facebook page and there I could see that I had won the invitation to the Chess Olympiad. I couldn’t believe it! An amazing feeling of happiness! I celebrated by raising my hands in victory.” Víctor Pérez Díez is 28, he lives in Madrid, Spain. His father taught him how to play chess when he was 6, but he started with chess classes and playing tournaments when he was 11.” I usually play online chess. During this lockdown, I’ve been alone and with few things to do, so I have been playing online chess more often. I think I have played more than 100 tournaments during this lockdown. Checkmate Coronavirus has been great news for me,” – says Victor, – “I was watching the draw with Anish Giri on Youtube, and he took my number. I couldn’t believe it. I started to jump and shout, I sent a capture with my name and the prize to my family and my friends. It was an amazing moment. I still can’t believe it. After almost three months alone, it was something wonderful for me. It was a great surprise and a lot of joy”. Victor has never been to a top chess tournament. “I want to see how an elite tournament works, and to meet some of these players, who are my idols, would be incredible,” he adds. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, will be the host city for the 44th Chess Olympiad, which will take place from July 28 to August 10. Situated in the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, this city of 7 million inhabitants is home to the legendary World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the first-ever Grandmaster from India.