Duda comes from behind to win Oslo Esports Cup
Polish star Jan-Krzysztof Duda pulled off a stunning late charge to clinch the $210,000 Oslo Esports Cup, the first Major of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour season. The 24-year-old took full advantage as both World Champion Magnus Carlsen and India’s boy wonder Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – the two hot favourites – crashed dramatically at the final hurdle. On a day of high-pressure chess, Duda stayed calm as everyone around him panicked. Round 7 started with four players in with a chance, but out of them only Duda managed to win a match in regulation time. He takes home $35,000 – $2,500 per point scored – and the Oslo Esports Cup NFT trophy. Duda also has the honour of ending Carlsen’s run of Tour victories. Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa both lost in just three games as they came up against opponents in inspired form. That left Vietnam’s speed specialist Liem Quang Le with a last chance to take the title in a high-stakes final game that decided everything. Liem, who beat Duda earlier in the tournament, needed to win his match against Jorden van Foreest within the regulation 4 games to take the title. Tiebreaks weren’t enough. But Webster University’s chess coach could only manage a draw as van Foreest held firm to hand Duda the title. It was a blockbuster end to an event of the highest-quality. Duda said: “It’s very nice to win the tournament, actually, I didn’t believe I had a real chance before today, before now. I’m just happy to play good chess here, most of the time. It’s quite surprising to me to win this event, and I find it quite lucky because of today’s results. I’m just very happy and pleased with my play.” Liem was left fighting for second-place in a tiebreak worth $2,500. The managed it in style breaking through in the second blitz game with the brilliant 24.fxe6 offering a queen sacrifice. Liem secured his second runners-up spot of the Tour so far. Before that, Pragg and Carlsen falling out of the running had been a huge double shock. The two front-runners throughout the 7-day event were expected to decide the event between them. When Carlsen stumbled as he entered the arena for game 1, Grandmaster David Howell said it was a bad sign for superstitious chess players. And so it proved. Pragg, who led the field until Round 5, collapsed first losing his first two games to Dutch star Anish Giri. The youngster kept his hopes alive by hanging on for a draw in Game 3, but it was over when he lost the final game. Carlsen, meanwhile, came up against an opponent in inspired form and playing exceptional chess. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is one of the world’s most dangerous players and unstoppable when in the mood. This was one of those days. Carlsen found himself in massive trouble in game 2 after giving up a pawn in the endgame with 36.a5 as he pushed for the win. It was a risk that left Mamedyarov with doubled passed pawns on the a-file and the computer said the Azerbaijani was winning. With Carlsen’s knight tied down and Mamedyarov’s piece now dominating the board, the champ was in a hopeless position and crashed to a rare endgame defeat. It was a huge result for the tournament standings and Carlsen now needed a comeback. At this point, with 2 games played and 2 to go, Duda suddenly emerged in pole position to win. In Carlsen’s crucial third game, the champion found himself desperately trying to get up off the floor. Yet another big mistake with 41…d5 left his c-pawn hanging and his bishop boxed in. Mamedyarov capitalised and it was game, set and match. Carlsen resigned and offered a handshake. The Tour leader, stuck on 12 points, had almost-certainly failed to win a third event in a row. “It’s not nearly good enough,” he said. “I have no energy in my body whatsoever.” Over to Duda and Liem. A win for either of them could clinch it. At that moment Liem was locked in a chaotic third game with van Foreest that could have gone either way. Liem eventually escaped with a draw, but he was playing with fire. While this was happening, Duda was 2-0 up against the lowest-rated player in the event, world number 237 Eric Hansen, and just needed just a draw to secure the match. As the tension rose, the Pole had to tread carefully in the endgame. He wobbled – a lot – but Hansen couldn’t convert what looked like an advantage and Duda saved the draw to take the match 2.5-0.5. It meant Liem, at that point level 1.5-1.5 with van Foreest, with one final game where everything would be decided. Win, and Liem was champion. Any other result, and Duda would take the title. Duda, watching from the sidelines, said he would sit back and “enjoy the show”. Liem pushed hard early on creating a chaotic position but van Foreest gradually took control before it ended in a draw. Not enough for Liem, but Duda was in dreamland. For further comments contact: Leon Watson leon@championschesstour.com About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com. About Play Magnus Group Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The
FIDE Candidates Tournament: Drawings of lots and pairings
The drawing of lots for the FIDE Candidates Tournament was carried out today during the FIDE Council in Abu Dhabi, in a ceremony organized by the Chief Arbiter for the event, Anastasia Sorokina. The seven players who have already qualified for the Candidates have signed the contracts and are getting ready for the tournament. The eight’s place is still subject to the final decisions regarding Sergey Karjakin’s appeal to the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich drew the lots for Ian Nepomniachtchi, who will play under the FIDE flag. FIDE Deputy president Bachar Kouatly drew the lots for Alireza Firouzja, Michael Khodarkovsky for Fabiano Caruana (a number was automatically assigned to Hikaru Nakamura), Mahir Mammedov for Teimour Radjabov, Zhu Chen for Richard Rapport, and Łukasz Turlej for Jan–Krzysztof Duda. Photo by Ezz These are the starting numbers: 1 GM Duda, Jan–Krzysztof2 GM Ding Liren3 GM Caruana, Fabiano4 GM Radjabov, Teimour5 GM Firouzja, Alireza6 GM Nakamura, Hikaru7 GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian8 GM Rapport, Richard Format & System: The 8 players play a double round robin tournament (14 rounds). The winner qualifies for the 2023 FIDE World Championship Match. Round–by–round pairings: Round 1, June 17 Duda – RapportDing Liren – NepomniachtchiCaruana – NakamuraRadjabov – Firouzja Round 2, June 18 Rapport – FirouzjaNakamura – RadjabovNepomniachtchi – CaruanaDuda – Ding Liren Round 3, June 19 Ding Liren – RapportCaruana – DudaRadjabov – NepomniachtchiFirouzja – Nakamura Round 4, June 21 Rapport – NakamuraNepomniachtchi – FirouzjaDuda – RadjabovDing Liren – Caruana Round 5, June 22 Caruana – RapportRadjabov – Ding LirenFirouzja – DudaNakamura – Nepomniachtchi Round 6, June 23 Radjabov – RapportFirouzja – CaruanaNakamura – Ding LirenNepomniachtchi – Duda Round 7, June 25 Rapport – NepomniachtchiDuda – NakamuraDing Liren – FirouzjaCaruana – Radjabov Round 8, June 26 Rapport – DudaNepomniachtchi – Ding LirenNakamura – CaruanaFirouzja – Radjabov Round 9, June 27 Firouzja – RapportRadjabov – NakamuraCaruana – NepomniachtchiDing Liren – Duda Round 10, June 29 Rapport, Richard – Ding LirenDuda – CaruanaNepomniachtchi – RadjabovNakamura – Firouzja Round 11, June 30 Nakamura – RapportFirouzja – NepomniachtchiRadjabov – DudaCaruana – Ding Liren Round 12, July 1 Rapport – CaruanaDing Liren – RadjabovDuda – FirouzjaNepomniachtchi – Nakamura Round 13, July 3 Nepomniachtchi – RapportNakamura – DudaFirouzja – Ding LirenRadjabov – Caruana Round 14, July 4 Rapport – RadjabovCaruana – FirouzjaDing Liren – NakamuraDuda – Nepomniachtchi
Grand Chess Tour becomes part of the World Championship Cycle
The FIDE Council has approved a cooperation agreement with the Grand Chess Tour. By virtue of this agreement, the two top finishers of the 2023 and 2025 Series will qualify for the Candidates 2024 and 2026 respectively. More details on the agreement and the format will follow in due time.
American Cup: Day 8 Recap
The finals of the American Cup kicked off on April 27 with the first of two classical games in the matches between Aronian – Caruana and Krush – Lee. In the Open, Aronian managed to build up a winning endgame advantage but faltered at the last moment, allowing Caruana to escape with a draw. Meanwhile in the Women’s Field, Krush displayed her strategic skill once again, outplaying Lee in the early opening and middlegame to take a 1-0 lead in the match. CHAMPIONS BRACKET ARONIAN – CARUANA | ½-½ A quiet Italian Game quickly turned incredibly sharp as Caruana opted to sacrifice a pawn in exchange for long-term pressure against White’s kingside. After a complex struggle Aronian managed to trade the queens off and go into an endgame, where he then sacrificed an exchange in order to win a second pawn. Although the position was tenable for Black, Caruana soon erred and found himself in a dire straits. But a last ditch effort by Fabiano to create counterplay worked, as in time trouble Aronian missed his chance to achieve a winning ending and instead had to settle for a draw by repetition. After Caruana’s 45…Bh4, White’s only win was 46.Ne2 Kxd8 47.Rd3+! followed by 48.Rd4. Instead Aronian played 46.N8e6, but 46…Rg1+ 47.Ke2 Re1+ 48.Kd3 g6! saved the game for Black. | ½-½, 52 moves Aronian will have to defeat Caruana in two consecutive matches to earn the title. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Bryan Adams KRUSH – LEE | 1-0 In a repeat of the first game of their previous classical match, Krush achieved a serious positional advantage right from the opening, this time a Reverse Benoni where Black lost several tempi compared to the usual line. From there it was smooth sailing for Krush, who gradually improved her position until Black’s structure could no longer hold, and Lee’s kingside simply collapsed. After 26.Qb6, White’s pieces were simply dominant across the whole board. | 1-0, 39 moves Today’s win put Krush another step closer towards the $25,000 1st place prize. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Day 9 of the 2022 American Cup will take place Thursday, April 28 starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Cristian Chirila, and Alejandro Ramirez on uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo credit: Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes and Bryan Adams Dates & Location:April 20 – 29, 2022, Saint Louis Chess Club Web: uschesschamps.com | Twitter: @STLChessClub Instagram: @STLChessClub | Facebook: @STLChessClub YouTube: @STLChessClub | Twitch.tv: @STLChessClub Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Press Contact:Rebecca Buffington rbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)
Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa set up final day shootout
Magnus Carlsen and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will duke it out for the Oslo Esports Cup title tomorrow after India’s boy wonder finally cracked under pressure. Three points ahead going into the penultimate round of the $210,000 event, 16-year-old Pragg suffered a painful quickfire reverse against Poland’s World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda. It handed world No.1 Carlsen a golden opportunity to go level on points with the youngster and overtake him on the leaderboard due to their head-to-head score. Carlsen, as always, grabbed the opportunity with both hands by thrashing the lowest-ranked player in the field, Canadian streamer Eric Hansen. The Norwegian is now hot favourite to win the first Major of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour season. Duda also isn’t out of it, as he sits just one point behind on the leaderboard. However, the Pole needs a 3-point win against Hansen and defeats for both Carlsen and Pragg. Carlsen, meanwhile, faces the dangerous Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in Round 7 while Pragg is up against Anish Giri. Carlsen had the good fortune to face Hansen today – an opponent who felt seriously low on form and confidence. The 29-year-old Hansen blundered badly in the first game and was punished and then escaped with a draw in the second. Before the third game, Hansen said: “There’s something very off with my head right now. I’m missing so much, and in this game I was very lucky to come off with a draw.” But it didn’t get better for Hansen as Carlsen reeled off a fine game to retake the lead overall going into the final round. For Pragg, it was nowhere near as comfortable a day as he’d hoped. Game 1 started unconventionally as Duda played an English Opening with 6.e3 and then the ultra-rare 9.b3. Duda was allowed to advance a pawn on the f-file to the seventh rank and the result was inevitable. Pragg resigned on move 65. In the second game, the 16-year-old from Chennai overstretched with 24.c6 and from there Duda was ruthless. Pragg shook his head as he resigned in an impossible position on move 37. It left the youngster with an uphill struggle needing to win both remaining games on demand just to take it to tiebreaks. It wasn’t to be as the third game ended in a draw after the queens came off. The match ended 2.5-0.5 in Duda’s favour. Asked if he can win the tournament tomorrow, Pragg said: “I just want to play better chess tomorrow and then we’ll see.” So far, both matches had finished in three games and the third was no different as Liem Quang Le thrashed Play Magnus Group’s new ambassador, Dutch No.1 Anish Giri 2.5-0.5. The last match to finish was Mamedyarov vs Jorden van Foreest which went to a fourth game in which the Azeri needed to win to take it to tiebreaks. The game looked to be headed for a safe draw for van Foreest but the Dutchman let it slip and Mamedyarov went on to win. Tiebreaks beckoned. Van Foreest was clearly annoyed with himself and said afterwards: “To lose this game was pretty ridiculous.” The first blitz game followed the same pattern as the last rapid game as van Foreest was left furious with himself for letting the win go again with one hasty decision, this time in the endgame. The momentum appeared to be with Mamedyarov and in the second blitz game van Foreest fell apart. It ended in heartbreak for the 22-year-old as Mamedyarov took the match. The final round of the Oslo Esports Cup starts at 18:00 CEST on Thursday. Full coverage with commentary from the Oslo arena is available on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels. For further comments contact: Leon Watson leon@championschesstour.com About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com. About Play Magnus Group Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG. www.pmg.me
American Cup: Day 7 Recap
After defeating GM Leinier Dominguez in a dramatic playoff, GM Levon Aronian qualified for the finals of the 2022 American Cup, where he will face GM Fabiano Caruana for the 1st place prize of $50,000. In the women’s field, FM Alice Lee earned herself a rematch in the $25,000 final against GM Irina Krush, after winning an incredibly close match against WGM Tatev Abrahamyan that went all the way to Armageddon. The time control for the event is 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment for all games in the Champions Bracket, with a rapid time control of 25+10 for the Elimination Bracket and a 10+5 time control for all playoff matches. Open Field – Championship Match Women’s Field – Championship Match ELIMINATION BRACKET ARONIAN – DOMINGUEZ In a repeat of their Champions Bracket match, once again Dominguez played the Petroff and achieved a completely winning position as Black. Only this time instead of giving mate, he had a technically winning queen endgame, with two extra pawns. But Aronian managed to stay in the game, creating counterplay with his queen and a passed c-pawn. Trying to get out of the checks, Dominguez stepped on the wrong square with his king, and Aronian managed to swindle a draw. After 73.c6!, which saved the game for White. | ½-½, 83 moves The second game saw Aronian secure a small edge and start to press as Black, but Dominguez defended well and held the draw, leading to a playoff. In the first game of the playoff Aronian had Black again, and this time opted for a very risky setup against the Italian Game. Dominguez responded well but used up a lot of time to achieve a good setup. As the game sharpened up Dominguez lost control over the position, and a fantastic combination by Aronian decided the game. 32…Nc3!! won the game for Black, as after 33.Rxc3 Qxe4! the queen was untouchable due to back-rank mate. | 0-1 37 moves The final game was perhaps the wildest of the match. Just needing a draw to qualify, Aronian opted for the c3-Sicilian and quickly achieved a winning position. But a surprising blunder let Dominguez completely back into the game, with a queen and knight against Aronian’s two rooks and a bishop. Although it was a tricky situation for White, Aronian managed to sacrifice one of his rooks for Black’s knight and construct a fortress with his remaining rook and bishop, holding the draw and winning the match. The key first game of Aronian vs. Dominguez, saved by Levon. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes LEE – ABRAHAMYAN The Women’s Elimination Final saw a hotly contested match where White won every single game leading up to the Armageddon. First it was Lee who won a back-and-forth game by infiltrating with her queen and rook, then Abrahamyan struck back with the same combo in the next game, squeezing water from a stone in a symmetrical position. In the playoff, Abrahamyan received White in the first game and landed a powerful knight sacrifice that obliterated Lee’s kingside. 36.Nxh6+! left White with a crushing kingside attack. | 1-0, 48 moves This put Lee in a must-win situation for the next game, and she got her chance early on, as she spotted a nice zwischenzug tactic to win material and achieve a strategically won position. Abrahamyan tried to salvage things, but Lee’s technique was too good as she converted her advantage. 12.Nxf5! won a clean pawn for White, due to the threat of Nxe7+ | 1-0, 35 moves In the Armageddon match, Abrahamyan won the coin-toss and chose the White pieces. This decision paid off as she had a chance to win a full piece out of the opening, but missed it in favor of just completing her development. This allowed Lee to get back in the game and fend off White’s initiative. Abrahamyan soon lost the thread and blundered an exchange, after which her position was simply dead lost. Lee grabbed the chance and even went on to win as Abrahamyan exhausted all of her resources. Abrahamyan vs. Lee in Armageddon | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The finals of the 2022 American Cup will begin Wednesday, April 27 starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Cristian Chirila, and Alejandro Ramirez on uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo credit: Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Dates & Location:April 20 – 29, 2022, Saint Louis Chess Club Web: uschesschamps.com | Twitter: @STLChessClub Instagram: @STLChessClub | Facebook: @STLChessClub YouTube: @STLChessClub | Twitch.tv: @STLChessClub Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Press Contact:Rebecca Buffington rbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)
Teen star Praggnanandhaa in pole position
A day of thrilling all-action chess from every player saw boy wonder Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa regain the lead as Magnus Carlsen suffered a shock loss in the Oslo Esports Cup. With just two rounds to go, 16-year-old Pragg kept up the pressure with a dominant 3-point win against the lowest-ranked player in the event Eric Hansen. Carlsen, meanwhile, lost for the first time to the dangerous Dutchman Jorden van Foreest, a player once jokingly described as the World Champion’s “punching bag”. It leaves Pragg as the sole leader in the first Major in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour season. The youngster was the first to finish and his 2.5-0.5 win sent a clear message that, despite losing to Carlsen in their head-to-head yesterday, Pragg is a major threat to the champ. Explaining his mindset going into today’s match after his setback against Carlsen, the boy from Chennai said: “It’s ok because I played well, and let me play my best chess in the remaining tournament.” The youngster has now won four of five matches in the event, having lost only to Carlsen. Pragg has also picked up $30,000 in prize money. Incredibly, all Pragg’s matches so far have ended with a game to spare. In contrast, Carlsen did not exude his normal confidence against a player he has never lost to. It didn’t help that Van Foreest, who acted as an advisor to Carlsen at the last World Championship, showed the Tour leader absolutely no respect and took the fight to his former boss right from the word go. Carlsen quickly found himself in trouble after a blunder lost him the second game left him 1.5-0.5 down. The Norwegian shook his head in disgust when he realised he’d missed the winning move 20.Bxa6! “It turns out the World Champion is apparently human!” said IM Tania Sachdev, commentating. Carlsen again found himself on the defensive in the third before the game ended in a second draw. Now 2-1 behind going into the final game, Carlsen was left in the unfamiliar territory of being a must-win situation. It didn’t happen as van Foreest got the draw to secure the match. The Dutchman said: “It’s just complete shock right now. I didn’t expect I would beat Magnus in a game let alone in a match. So it’s just shock. “I was definitely very lucky, I was lost in I think three of the four games but he has been feeling ill here and he blundered a rook in one game. “Of course, you need a lot of luck to beat Magnus but still it’s a major achievement in my career and I would rate it very highly.” The two other matches in Round 5 went to tiebreaks with Shakrhiyar Mamedyarov launching a big comeback to beat Anish Giri. Birthday boy Jan-Krzysztof Duda, 24 today, had his party ruined by Vietnam’s Liem Quang Le who won both blitz games in the tiebreaker. Round 6 of 7 starts at 18:00 CEST on Tuesday. Full coverage with commentary from the Oslo arena is available on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels. For further comments contact: Leon Watson leon@championschesstour.com About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com. About Play Magnus Group Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG. www.pmg.me
Invitation: 44th Chess Olympiad & FIDE Congress 2022
Dear Member Federations, Please find enclosed the official invitation to the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, as well as the FIDE Congress 2022. DOWNLOAD INVITATION: Along with welcome messages by Tournament Director Bharat Singh Chauhan and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, in this document prepared by the All India Chess Federation you will find all the basic information regarding this event: Venue, schedule, hotels, tournament regulations, dress code, travel subsidies for participants of the Olympiad and delegates of the FIDE Congress. The document also includes practical information on how to get to Chennai, climate, currency, transportation, visa information, et cetera. All this information, along with the registration for players, arbiters, and participants in the FIDE Congress, will be soon available at the official website. You can contact the Organizing Committee at olympiad@aicf.in, and they also have a dedicated support line for visa enquiries: visa@aicf.in. A call centre will be operating two months before the Olympiad, just after the closing of the registration system, at +91-8100003030. The working hours for this hotline will be from 10:00 to 18:00 (GMT +5:30), and then, during the Olympiad, it will be operational 24/7. However, the Organizers request that federations use the call centre only in case of strict necessity or emergencies. Otherwise, the preferred way to contact the organizers will still be the email indicated above. Looking forward to seeing you in Chennai, International Chess Federation & Olympiad Organizing Committee DOWNLOAD INVITATION:
American Cup: Day 6 Recap
Both GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Irina Krush managed to qualify to the finals of the American Cup, after drawing the second game and avoiding a playoff in their Champions Bracket matches against GM Leinier Dominguez and FM Alice Lee. In the Elimination Bracket, GM Levon Aronian defeated GM Ray Robson 2-0, while WGM Tatev Abrahamyan ended up winning a playoff against WGM Begim Tokhirjonova. Taking place tomorrow will be the finals of the Elimination Bracket, with Aronian facing Dominguez and Lee taking on Abrahamyan for one more chance at overall tournament victory. The time control for the event is 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment for all games in the Champions Bracket, with a rapid time control of 25+10 for the Elimination Bracket and a 10+5 time control for all playoff matches. CHAMPIONS BRACKET DOMINGUEZ – CARUANA 1/2-1/2 After winning the first game, Fabiano Caruana needed just a draw to win the match, but a good preparation by Dominguez in the Italian Game earned him a serious advantage on the clock, as well as a clearly better position where he could play against Black’s isolated pawn. But a very practical pawn sacrifice by Caruana changed the character of the game, not letting Dominguez to simply improve his position. Dominguez was then unable to keep his edge as the players entered a rook and knight endgame where Black always had enough counterplay to survive. Further good defense by Caruana allowed him to hold the game, clinching the classical match 1.5-0.5. 23…e3! threw a wrench into White’s plans, as there was no comfortable way to capture the pawn. | ½-½, 56 moves GM Fabiano Caruana | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes LEE – KRUSH 1/2-1/2 Also needing just a draw to clinch the match was Krush, who opted for the solid Cambridge Springs Variation against her young opponent. Lee played quite solidly in the middlegame, but wasn’t able to outplay Krush, who slowly managed to trade down into a drawish heavy piece endgame. Krush even ended up with an extra pawn in a rook endging, but the position offered no winning chances for Black and the players soon repeated moves to draw the game. GM Irina Krush | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes ELIMINATION BRACKET ARONIAN – ROBSON | 2-0 In a rematch of the Champions Bracket, Aronian started out the first playoff game with an interesting setup in a Reverse Benoni, forcing Robson to burn a lot of time in the opening. Unfortunately for Robson, his time-trouble would end up being the deciding factor in the match, as he eventually went down to 1 minute versus 15 and couldn’t maintain his accuracy. A few moves later, Aronian setup a nice tactic to win the exchange and converted the first game with ease. 37.Nxc5! was Aronian’s winning trick, with idea 37…Qxc5 38.d4 and 37…Qxf4 38.Nxd7+ | 1-0, 45 moves In the second game Robson again started spending a lot of time out of the opening, looking to keep the position as complicated as possible. But Aronian played quickly and confidently, even sacrificing an exchange for a strong initiative on the kingside. Robson was then forced to enter a position with two rooks for the queen, but his king was too exposed and a further blunder allowed Aronian to win the second game as well. GM Levon Aronian | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes TOKHIRJONOVA – ABRAHAMYAN | 1-3 The initial two games in the Elimination Match both came down to a complicated rook endgame. First Abrahamyan missed a serious chance to win as Black, allowing a draw–then Tokhirjonova was better in the next game but couldn’t make anything of her advantage, leading to a 1-1 tie and forcing a playoff. The first game of the playoff was quite a sharp struggle in the Italian Game, with very few pieces getting traded before the players entered time-trouble. As the clocks ticked down, the position opened up, with many possible tactics under the surface. A strategic blunder by Tokhirjonova allowed Abrahamyan to trade off the light-squared bishops, leaving Black’s kingside extremely vulnerable. Abrahamyan pounced on the chance and immediately decided the game with a powerful attack. 34.Qc2+! was the game-winner, taking control over the light-squares on the kingside. After 34…f5 35.Ne5+ Black could not go 35…Kf6 in view of 36.Nh5 mate! | 1-0, 36 moves In the second game Tokhirjonova got a bit of pressure as White out of the opening, but it was quickly neutralized as Abrahamyan generated decent counterplay on the queenside. The players then traded down into a heavy-piece endgame where only Black (Abrahamyan) had chances to push for the win. In the ensuing time scramble Tokhirjonova ended up blundering her queen, and was forced to resign on the spot. Abrahamyan vs. Tokhirjonova during their Elimination Match | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Austin Fuller Day 7 of the 2022 American Cup will take place Tuesday April 26 starting at 12:50 PM CT. Catch all the action live with grandmaster commentators Yasser Seirawan, Cristian Chirila, and Alejandro Ramirez on uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo credit: Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes and Austin Fuller Dates & Location:April 20 – 29, 2022, Saint Louis Chess Club Web: uschesschamps.com | Twitter: @STLChessClub Instagram: @STLChessClub | Facebook: @STLChessClub YouTube: @STLChessClub | Twitch.tv: @STLChessClub Photo Credits:Photos and appropriate credits available on Flickr Press Contact:Rebecca Buffington rbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)
Carlsen beats Praggnanandhaa to go joint-top of leaderboard
Magnus Carlsen upped his game for the big occasion today as he ended young pretender Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa’s unbeaten streak to go level at the top of the Oslo Esports Cup leaderboard. The World Champion shrugged off the illness he has suffered since the start of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event to brush aside the challenge of the in-form Indian teen with a dominant 3-0 win. With a game to spare, Carlsen grabbed the maximum 3 points and $7,500 win bonus to move alongside Praggnanandhaa on 9/12. It also took the Norwegian to five straight wins in rapid chess. Carlsen, when asked whether he was feeling extra determination playing Praggnanandhaa, said: “I am the best — I don’t have any doubt about that, but you gotta prove it when you play!” Praggnanandhaa had gone into the Round 4 match ahead of Carlsen having played fantastic chess on his way to three match-wins in a row. In doing so, Rameshbabu had also chalked up $22,500 in earnings and ignited hope he could win the first Major of the Tour season overall. But against world No.1 Carlsen, the supremely-talented 16-year-old found himself up against next-level opposition. Carlsen went into the match with a spring in his step that has been missing over the last couple of days during which he has complained about feeling under the weather. In the first game, the young Indian showed no fear whatsoever as he opted for a Sicilian. But it was Carlsen who went on to take first blood. The champ overcame Pragg in a brilliant game that went right down to the wire when the champ showed his endgame prowess with the excellent 60.Qd6! Magnus Carlsen – Praggnanandhaa RWhite advances his pawn to a6 as both 60…Qxa5 and 60…Qe3+ fail to 61.Qe6+| 1-0, 76 moves In between games, Carlsen said he was feeling “quite a lot better” – and it showed. Pragg had to hit back. The youngster pushed aggressively in the second but then suffered an agonising mistake with 31.Bxd8 that lost a rook for a piece. It was a killer blow that lost the game and left him in a must-win situation going into the third game. Try as he might, Pragg could not hold back the tide and Carlsen broke through to finish him off in style. The champ shook his young opponent’s hand when the victory was secured before saying Pragg still has a “great chance” to win the event. Pragg said: “I think my play in the first and second games was good, but then in less time I started to play bad moves. Then in the third game I just didn’t get the position. “But I think it’s a great experience for me and I always enjoy playing top players.” He added: “Next time I’d like to put up more resistance against Magnus!” Vietnam’s Liem Quang Le also won his match against Eric Hansen with a game to spare, recording two wins in a 2.5-0.5 victory. The two other R4 matches both went to nervy tiebreaks after the regular matches finished 2-2. Poland’s World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda, moved into contention after he beat Shakrhiyar Mamedyarov in a close match that went to tiebreaks. It was Duda’s third win in a row and took him to 7/12. Meanwhile, the tiebreak in the all-Dutch encounter between Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest started dramatically as a mouse-slip from Giri in the first blitz game left him behind. Giri then made a huge blunder in the second to hand the match to his countryman. Round 5 of 7 starts at 18:00 CEST on Tuesday. Full coverage with commentary from the Oslo arena is available on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels. For further comments contact: Leon Watson leon@championschesstour.com About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com. About Play Magnus Group Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG. www.pmg.me