Underdogs set pace on first day of Charity Cup as UNICEF donations hit $17,000
Vietnamese star Liem Quang Le and the teenage American Hans Niemann set the pace on day 1 of the Charity Cup as more than $17,000 was donated to UNICEF. The two underdogs both racked up three wins and a draw to finish unbeaten on 10/12 points. World Champion Magnus Carlsen, meanwhile, ended on a sour note with a loss to the Chinese No.1 Ding Liren. The Norwegian suffered yet another slow start to a Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event as he closed on 7/12 and way down in sixth on the Prelim stage leaderboard. Carlsen had begun the Charity Cup supported by NEAR Foundation in solid form with a draw against the Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda and then a win over Indian star Pentala Harikrishna. Carlsen then won again in Round 3 against Eric Hansen – but only after the Canadian streamer made a one-move endgame mistake in time trouble. The World Champion then spoiled his day with a Round 4 hiccup against Ding. Just like the start of the last event, the Airthings Masters, Carlsen has left himself work to do. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Niemann – the third-lowest ranked player in the event – was overjoyed with his performance. Sporting a new shaven haircut, the world No.123 said: “With the experience from the first [event], I really didn’t feel any nerves at all.” He added: “When I’m relaxed, good things happen.” Next up for Niemann, it’s Carlsen in Round 5 tomorrow. The world No.1 will be looking to get moving quickly against his young opponent. As the games were going on, the event was raising money for UNICEF to help its humanitarian work in and around Ukraine. By the end of play, more than $17,000 had been donated including $1,100 from Grandmaster and Tour commentator David Howell auctioning off his “lucky” chess tie. Tour commentator Jovanka Houska thanked viewers for contributing the cause. She said: “It’s a wonderful thing to show we are part of a chess community and to help a country that is in need. “My heart goes out to every single one of you who donated and I hope we can raise even more in the next few days.” The Prelim stage ends at Round 15 on Monday. Eight will progress to the Knockout stage and eight will be eliminated. Tune in at 17:00 UTC / 18:00 CET tomorrow for day 2 of the Charity Cup. 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
FFE acquires “delegation” status in France
More than 20 years after obtaining ministerial approval (Chess recognized as a sport), the French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, granted French Chess Federation (Fédération Française des Échecs or FFE) the “delegation” status in accordance with the Sports Code. The delegation contract, signed by Jean-Michel Blanquer, French Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports and GM Éloi Relange, the President of FFE, on March 15, is a huge step forward in the recognition of chess as a sport discipline. The partnership between FFE and French State is deeply strengthened and the range of possibilities widened. From the legal point of view, this status means that newly delegated FFE receives prerogatives of public power: it is the only one authorized in the name of the State to enact the regulations of the competitions, to establish the selections of the French team, or to deliver the titles of national, regional, departmental champions. “We will benefit from increased support from our supervisory Ministry, which will provide us with Sports Technical Advisers. They will reinforce the team of employees in order to carry out all the projects of the term of office: professional chess players, training, increasing the participation of women, or even school development with in particular the Chess’Class project launched in partnership with the Ministry, the UNSS (national school sports union), l’USEP (school sports federation of the French primary school), l’Échiquier de la Réussite et le Crédit Mutuel Enseignant, on which I will have the opportunity to talk again soon,” reads the joint statement by the French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports and FFE. The delegation status is also placing chess among the recognized high-level disciplines. From now on all the competitions, projects and achievements will be registered on a ministerial list which gives the right to a real status: adaptation for school time or work contracts for sports practice, social coverage by the State for accidents, facilities for registration for exams and competitions, support for professional retraining after career. This recognition is the fruit of long-standing work, started under the mandate of Jean-Claude Moingt, during which two applications were filed. FFE had to build ambitious and coherent framework documents in order to earn the confidence of the Ministry of Sports. “I would like to thank all the people, employees and elected officials, who worked discreetly and efficiently for several months to put together our file, particularly Mathilde Choisy, Didier Pascal, Yves Marek and Bertrand Guyard,” said Mr Relange. The “delegation” comes with obligations for FFE, in line with the project that it has been carrying out for several years. The performance plan aims to consolidate a place among the top-5 chess nations, and to win a medal at the Olympiads by 2028. The contract also includes strong requirements of the democratic functioning and transparency of governance. In conclusion, Mr Éloi Relange expressed his gratitude to all involved: “Our federation is now entering a new dimension… This historic step forward for our Chess Sport is a collective success. For so many years, our discipline has been supported by all its volunteers. I am happy and proud that we have been able to make all these efforts come true, and I am particularly grateful to you.”
Chess becomes an official sport at XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games
The American Chess Confederation has shared the news that chess has been confirmed as an official sport at the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games, to be held in San Salvador from June 23 to July 8, 2023. It was possible thanks to the work of IA Erick Hernandez together with the local organizing committee and the enormous support received by Yamil Bukele, President ad Honorem of the National Sports Institute of El Salvador (INDES). In their announcement, the CCA expressed its gratitude to the National Olympic Committees that make up Centro Caribe Sports for all the support shown in favour of chess being on the official Games calendar. “We want to express our enormous satisfaction for this momentous news, which is undoubtedly a fundamental step in our dream of competing in the Olympic Games”, concludes the announcement. Centro Caribe Sports and the San Salvador 2023 Organizing Committee have established that 32 male athletes and 32 female athletes will take part in the competition. The classifications system is currently being discussed, and it will be announced soon. Having chess in the Central American and Caribbean Games is some great news that follows the inclusion of our sport in the ODESUR Games 2022, to be held in Asunción, Paraguay (October 1-15).
Isle of Man to host FIDE Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss 2023
Photo above: Richard Hoare The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is pleased to announce that the Isle of Man will host the 2023 edition of the FIDE Grand Swiss and the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss. The events will be held concurrently in the magnificent Royal Hall of the Villa Marina in Douglas from October 23 to November 5, 2023. The Grand Swiss is returning to the island after having to be moved from Douglas to Riga on its 2021 edition due to the strict travel restrictions affecting the Isle of Man during that period. With a total of 157 players from approximately 35 countries (114 in the open tournament and 50 in the women’s tournament), the combined prize fund has been raised to USD 600,000, thanks to the generosity of the Scheinberg family, patrons of the event. The 109 invitations to take part in the FIDE Grand Swiss (open) will be extended according to the following criteria: A. One hundred players qualify by rating, TPR, or other criteria devised by GSC and approved by the FIDE Council. The system shall be determined and announced by December 31 2022. B. One player from the ACP Tour 2022 standings as of December 31 2022. C. Women’s World Champion as of December 31 2022. D. Four Continent spots. Each spot shall be decided by the respective Continental President by August 31 2023. E. Three players nominated by the FIDE President. Photo: Fiona Steil-Antoni The Organizer is entitled to include five additional players of their own choice, with the total number of players being limited to a maximum of 114. The World Champion and Vice World Champion are entitled to play in the Grand Swiss if they meet the criteria of one of the above paths and shall receive the same financial terms as the other qualifiers. The 50 invitations to take part in the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss will be extended according to the following criteria: A. Forty players qualify by rating, TPR, or other criteria devised by GSC and approved by the FIDE Council. The system shall be determined and announced by December 31 2022. B. One player from the ACP Women’s Series 2022 standings as of December 31 2022. C. Four Continent spots. Each spot shall be decided by the respective Continental President by August 31 2023. D. Three players nominated by the FIDE President. The Organizer is entitled to include two additional players of their own choice, reaching a total maximum of 50 players. The World Women’s Champion and Vice World Champion are entitled to play in the Women’s Grand Swiss if they meet the criteria of one of the above paths and shall receive the same financial terms as the other qualifiers. As in the previous edition, the winner and the runner up of both competitions will qualify for the Candidates Tournament and Women’s Candidates Tournament, respectively.
FIDE Grand Prix: Esipenko replaces Andreikin in Berlin
GM Dmitry Andreikin withdrew from the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series, organized by World Chess, due to personal reasons. Following the FIDE President’s decision, and according to the regulations, he will be replaced by GM Andrey Esipenko, as the highest-rated eligible player in as of December 2021 list. OAnastasiia Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova The third and final leg of FIDE Grand Prix will take place in Berlin from March 21 to April 04.
Second workshop on increasing inner strength to be held on March 27
WGM Jana Krivec, a Doctor of Psychology and a university professor, author of a book titled “Improve Your Life By Playing A Game” and a seven-time winner of the Slovenian Women’s Championship, continues a series of monthly workshops “Increase your inner strength”, scheduled between February and November 2022. The project is a part of the Queens’ Festival, also under the umbrella of the Year of the Woman in Chess, that the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess prepared for this year. It aims to increase awareness of the power of the mind, help people to get to know themselves better, understand their inner world and learn some useful mental techniques to increase inner strength. “Within webinar 2 of the workshop “Increase your inner strength”, we will be the detectives of our own personality traits. We will discuss the concept of identity, self-awareness, personality, self-esteem and optimism. Participants will be asked to complete surveys, and we will discuss how to interpret the results. That is how we will begin our journey to our inner self,” Jana Krivec said about the second event of the project. The second workshop is scheduled for Sunday, March 27, at 15:00 CET. If you are interested, please fill out this form.
Workshop: How to Teach Pawn Endings by Artur Jussupow
The FIDE Trainers’ Commission announced a new workshop “How to Teach Pawn Endings” by GM Artur Jussupow, a World Championship Candidate who has been ranked as high as third behind legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov at their peak. The seminar will be held in English via Zoom. Photo: Vladimir Jagr Here are several most important topics to be discussed at the workshop: 1. Correct approach to the study of pawn endgames, all the necessary elementary positions2. Classification of pawn endgames into two types3. Description of typical pawn endgame ideas4. Difficulties that our students may encounter when studying the opposition.5. Using the pawn endgame to train calculating variations, to develop strategic thinking, to develop logical thinking6. Forms of training used in studying the pawn endgame7. Other challenges for the trainer. Answers to the questions “This wonderful study by M. Zinar from 1987 will help you get rid of the inappropriate overestimation of the role of the opposition in the pawn endgame. We will discuss this study on March 26,” Artur Yussupow said, introducing his seminar. White to play and draw Fee: €50 for Licensed Trainers, €80 for others. Current licensed FIDE Trainer title-holders will be given credits towards potential title upgrades at attendance in a future seminar. Artur decided that all proceeds from the workshop are to be given to the FIDE Ukraine Support Fund. You can also join this great initiative of providing support to the Ukrainian chess players by making your donation here. Please download and complete the following registration form and email at: trainers@fide.com *Female Participants are Free – FIDE’s The Year of the Women in Chess – with Nomination or Endorsement of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess.
Russia and Belarus teams suspended from FIDE competitions
Taking into account the current recommendations of the IOC, the FIDE Council suspends the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participation in official FIDE tournaments until further notice. In the individual tournaments of the FIDE World Championship cycle, players from these countries will be able to participate under the FIDE flag.
Chennai to host the 2022 Chess Olympiad
The FIDE Council has approved today the bid presented by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to host the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, the capital of the Tamil Nadu state. The exact schedule is still being discussed and will be announced in the coming days, but the event will take place between the end of July and the beginning of August, not very far off from the dates originally planned. The venue will be the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, located in the Mahabalipuram area, one of the main touristic destinations in southern India. Situated in the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, this city of 7 million inhabitants is also home to the legendary World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the first-ever Grandmaster from India. But the chess tradition of Chennai goes even further back, as the first Indian player to ever achieve the International Master title, Manuel Aaron, also grew up in the city. And, of course, Chennai previously hosted the 2013 World Championship, where Magnus Carlsen was first crowned World Champion, defeating Vishy Anand. The AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan, who is also a Chairman of the FIDE Technical Commission (TEC), underlined the importance of the experience already gained by him and his team in recent years. “The experience with Delhi Chess Open, the largest event of its kind in the world, will be a big help, as we have already dealt with large numbers. But Olympiad is a big game. I am sure we will make it the best,” he said. The 44th Olympiad, which was supposed to take place in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk, was shifted out of Russia following FIDE’s reaction to the war in Ukraine.
The winners of FIDE Grand Prix crowned in Belgrade
The second leg of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series organized by World Chess was concluded in Belgrade’s Crowne Plaza hotel, with the closing ceremony attended by local and international chess representatives, players, and distinguished guests from Serbia and abroad Following the intonation of the Serbian national anthem, the guests were shown a short video recapping the events which took place in Belgrade over the past 14 days. The president of the Serbian Chess Federation, Dragan Lazic, said that Serbia was honoured to play host to such an important and big global chess event. “We have not had a chess event like this in Serbia for over 25 years… We are pleased that all the participants and guests were happy with the conditions and that everything went smoothly. We would like to express our gratitude to FIDE and Mr Arkady Dvorkovich for their support… I wish grandmasters Rapport and Andreikin lots of success in further tournaments, and we in Serbia will be rooting for them”, Lazic concluded. In a pre-recorded statement, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich congratulated Serbia and its chess federation on organising the event and providing the players and guests with excellent conditions. “Congratulations to the winners, Richard Rapport and Dmitry Andreikin. Stay healthy, and best regards to you and your families. See you in the next tournaments”, Dvorkovich said. FIDE Deputy – President Bachar Kouatly thanked the president of Serbia, the government and the Serbian chess federation for supporting the event. Speaking about Richard Rapport, Kouatly said that he is “representing the creativity in chess we all like when we look at his games”. Both Richard Rapport and runner-up Dmitry Andreikin were awarded medals for their success. Andreikin thanked his family for the support and complimented the organisers for providing good playing conditions. The final speech was by the winner of the second leg of the Grand Prix series, Richard Rapport, who praised Belgrade and Serbia for the help and support he received in the country. “I had a great time in Belgrade since I’ve started living here eight years ago. I’d like to thank the people of Belgrade who welcomed me many years ago and helped me develop and grow as a person. Of course, the crown jewel of these people is my wife, so I’d like to thank her. I really hope that chess will keep on growing in Serbia as it should. I know for a fact that the culture is craving for it. Let’s hope there will be many big tournaments of such magnitude as the Grand Prix here in Serbia”, said Rapport before adding that he hopes he qualifies for the Candidates. Following Rapport’s speech, the national anthem of Hungary – the winner’s nation – was played, and the ceremony was closed. Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 include: Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner; Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner; Prytek as the Technology Transfer Partner; FIDE Online Arena as the official Partner Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Mark Livshitz Official Photo FIDE Grand Prix Belgrade Press kit