44th Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress will not take place in Russia
FIDE Council has decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities, as well as the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia. We will do our utmost to find another organizer for the Olympiad and, in due time, provide information on the location and dates of FIDE Congress 2022.
2022 Chess Olympiad to be moved from Moscow
The International Chess Federation has announced today its decision that the 44th Chess Olympiad, one of its flagship events, will not take place in Russia. This championship, in which teams from approximately 190 countries compete for two weeks, was supposed to take place in Moscow from July 26 July to August 8. Additionally, this year’s edition of the Chess Olympiad was supposed to include the first chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, to be played in Khanty-Mansiysk, a well-known skiing and alpine centre of global importance that annually hosts the Biathlon World Cup. Another event that will be moved away from Russia is the 93rd FIDE Congress, which was planned to take place alongside the Chess Olympiad. This year, the Congress should also include an electoral procedure, since the first term of the current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich is coming to an end. Dvorkovich was elected in Batumi (Georgia), in September 2018.Chess in Russia remains extremely popular, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and despite the fact that Russia has not won a Chess Olympiad since Bled (Slovenia) 2002. There are tens of millions of fans, and the sport is enthusiastically supported by its institutions and also by its private sector. The country often hosts top-level chess competitions, including official ones, like the previous Candidates Tournament that took place in Yekaterinburg amidst the pandemic. However, the rapidly deteriorating geopolitical situation has forced the FIDE Council to make this difficult move. During its extraordinary meeting, held today, Friday, February 25, it was decided that all official competitions planned would be moved from Russia. FIDE is already working on finding alternative dates and locations for these events.
Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi set up final
Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi set up a repeat of their world title battle in the Airthings Masters final on a day overshadowed by outside events. Nepo was among three Russians who had made it through to the last four of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event before their country’s invasion of Ukraine overnight. Despite the turmoil, all three expressed the desire to continue in the competition. However, it was clear world events had affected them. There was a sombre mood among all the players as Nepo finished his quarter-final against his fellow Russian, the 19-year-old Andrey Esipenko. In chess terms, he did it with a flourish, but there was little celebration. Ian, appearing from his home in Moscow, said his play was “very, very bad because I can’t think”. He added that he had to “just rely on intuition”. “Every day is a challenge, and today, yes, I would say especially.” Carlsen, meanwhile, had a dream start with two wins against Vladislav Artemiev and then secured the draw he needed to go through. Artemiev barely had a chance. Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi now face each other again after their World Championship match in Dubai, which Carlsen won. Carlsen said he’d also been following world events and described himself as a “concerned bystander”. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch 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.
FIDE PDC continental meeting held in Kampala, Uganda
The FIDE Planning and Development Commission had its second continental meeting on February 22 at Protea Hotel by Marriott, Kampala, Uganda under the competent supervisión of the Uganda Chess Federation President and PDC member, Emmanuel Mwaka. FIDE PDC was also happy to partner with Ethiopian Airlines. The event was attended by the FIDE President Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, Mr Victor Bologan (FIDE Executive Director), Mrs Dana Reizniece-Ozola (FIDE Managing Director), Mr Lewis Ncube (ACC President), Mrs Sonja Johnson (PDC Chair), Ms Tshepiso Lopang (PDC Councillor- Africa) and the representatives of 37 countries. Also, we were honoured to have the Minister of State for Sport in Uganda, Hon. Denis Hamson Obua. The objective of this continental meeting was to share insights into the funding programme over the past three years. The status of the development fund in Africa during the years 2019-2021 and the FIDE 2022 projects were presented. The participants also saw the presentation of the sponsorship proposal template as a key tool to help federations engage other partners in a bid towards sustainability. The delegates focused on improving Project proposals for funding to facilitate more efficient processing of applications; they also had productive discussions on various social projects across the region, such as Chess for Protection. The Planning and Development Commission will utilise the rich feedback and suggestions shared during the meeting to create programmes and initiatives to support the development of the federations in Africa and other continents throughout FIDE.
Statement of FIDE Council regarding official competitions and events in Russia
FIDE Council expresses its grave concern regarding the current rapidly deteriorating geopolitical situation. During its extraordinary meeting, FIDE Council will review holding all the planned FIDE official chess competitions and events in Russia. The member federations and the responsible FIDE Commissions will be consulted in order to make the most appropriate decision.
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Three Russians power into semis of Airthings Masters
Russia dominated the Airthings Masters today as three of its top stars made it through to the semi-finals, with only World Champion Magnus Carlsen now being able to break the great chess superpower’s stranglehold on the event. First through to the final four was Russia’s number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi, who scored a decisive third-game point to secure a 3-1 win in his match against German prodigy Vincent Keymer. It continued Ian’s hot streak of form in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour that has seen him installed as the tournament favourite on the back of losing only twice in 19 games. Nepomniachtchi now faces fellow Russian Andrey Esipenko, who ended the dream of world number 237, a popular Canadian chess streamer Eric Hansen. Hansen, the tournament underdog, had played brilliantly to beat Carlsen and Nepo in the prelims, but there was no fairytale end against the highly-rated 19-year-old Esipenko. On the other side of the draw, Carlsen, seemingly recovered from Covid-19, made it through to the semis against Vietnam’s speed chess specialist Liem Quang Le. The World Champion won the first game against the dangerous Liem and then played out three draws for a 3-1 match score. On settling for a draw in the final game, Carlsen said: “I have not come to value the tour rating that high that I’d forgo absolute certain qualification to go for more!” In the other quarter-final, China’s Ding Liren missed several knockout blows in his match against Vladislav Artemiev and was eventually punished by the Russian. Ding played brilliantly in game 3, but Artemiev hung in there for a draw and then took the final game to win 2.5-1.5. It made it a clean sweep for the Russian competitors – but can one of them now down the world number and reigning Tour champ Magnus Carlsen? The semis start tomorrow. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch 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.
Kosteniuk halts losing streak as Nepomniachtchi dominates
The prelim stage of the Airthings Masters reached its climax with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi crowning a dominating display and the relief of the first win for chess queen Alexandra Kosteniuk. Ian booked his place in the knockout starting tomorrow with ease as he racked up a total of 29 points that included an impressive eight wins. Meanwhile, Kosteniuk, the only woman in the field, halted a streak of 13 defeats in her Meltwater Champions Chess Tour debut when she beat the in-form Canadian streamer, Eric Hansen. At the end of the play, she tweeted: I never knew that scoring 1 out of 15 could be such a relief. Thank you so much for your support! Your messages meant a lot!” The round-robin prelims finished with plenty of surprises over its four days of play. Hansen, the world number 237 and rank outsider, confounded all predictions to make it through – and along the way took the scalps of both Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen, last year’s two World Championship competitors. “It’s been a bit of a dream,” Hansen said afterwards. “I’m still taking it all in.” Having also beaten Carlsen in Round 8, India’s teen sensation Praggnanandhaa failed to make the cut, having finished in 11th place. Big names also crashed out, notably the winner of last season’s Goldmoney Asian Rapid Levon Aronian and the Magnus Carlsen Invitational champion Anish Giri. Carlsen, who revealed he is suffering from the after-effects of Covid-19, secured his place with two wins and two draws. He was, however, unhappy with his form. Carlsen said: “I think I played pretty badly today, so I will have to play a lot better in the knockouts. But at least I’m there, which is the most important thing. “I didn’t expect to play particularly well, but I hoped to play better. But it doesn’t matter now. I’m through, and I have the chance to fight regardless of who I’m going to face.” By the final round, only three were assured of a spot in the last 8, with 11 fighting it out for the remaining 5 places. China’s Ding Liren, the leader on Day 1 who has been playing through the night in his timezone, scraped through in 6th, while Vietnam’s speed chess specialist Liem Quang Le finished 7th. The final place was taken by the German teen prodigy Vincent Keymer, who has largely gone under the radar in this event but is an intriguing prospect for the knockout. The top eight now go through to the quarter-finals starting at 18:00 CET tomorrow. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch 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.
Andrea Nicole Garcia wins Honduran Championship
Andrea Nicole Garcia came out on top of the Honduran Women’s Chess Championship after seven exciting rounds played at the Multipurpose Hall of the Autonomous Sports Confederation of Honduras. The champion completed the tournament undefeated and scored impressive 6½ points out of 7. It was the first over-the-board national event since last December. No surprise, the tournament, organized by FENAH (Federación Nacional de Ajedrez de Honduras) attracted sixteen best female players from all over the country. An up-and-coming talent Valeria Viana from San Pedro Sula, demonstrated significant progress and tied for second place with a former national champion Alejandra García Reyes. Both netted 5/7, but Valeria earned silver thanks to the victory in their direct encounter. Both medal-winners secured spots in the national team. The Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports of Honduras, Ms Anarella Velez, took part in the closing ceremony and awarded the trophies to the winners. It was another evidence of the strong support that chess enjoys in Honduras. Final standings: 1 Garcia, Andrea Nicole 1609 6½ 2 Viana, Valeria 1399 5 3 Garcia Reyes, Alejandra 1538 5 4 Mejia, Camila 1264 4½ 5 Maradiaga, Cesia 1582 4½ 6 Cruz, Bitia 1552 4 7 Menocal, Nicole 1416 3½ 8 Gamez, Paola Tatiana 1365 3½ 9 Oseguera, Suhey 0 3 10 Murcia Fuentes, Nemesis 0 3 Text and photo: Juan Carlos Hernández, President of FENAH
Nepomniachtchi continues to lead, Carlsen is joint-second
Magnus Carlsen revealed he’s suffering the after-effects of Covid-19 as the Norwegian’s former world title challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi continued his Airthings Masters charge. The Russia’s number 1 went 11 games unbeaten since the first round of the elite online super-tournament. He is now a dead-cert for the knockout stage, while Carlsen – by his own admission – faces a battle to get through. Today, Ian scored wins against the young American star Hans Niemann and Indian prodigy Praggnanandaa, the 16-year-old who hit the headlines overnight for his shock win over Carlsen. The World Champion’s form has been patchy since Day 1, and in an interview, after play, he revealed why – he tested positive for Covid-19 before the start of the tournament and is still feeling the effects. Carlsen scored two wins and a draw but suffered a catastrophic loss to the tournament underdog Eric Hansen. The champ appeared to blunder horribly with 30. Rb1 and was forced to resign moments later. Afterwards, Carlsen revealed the mistake wasn’t a mouse-slip: “Rb1 was insane. I calculated some long lines there when he takes the a3 pawn. They don’t even work, which I’d seen. But I thought, whatever, I’ll try it. I just hallucinated, no, I didn’t hallucinate, I just missed that he can go to c3 with the queen.” Hansen – the rank outsider – has taken the $1.6 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event by storm and nearly signed off with another win. But he had to be content with 19 points and 6th on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Carlsen finished on an upbeat note with a dominant 20-move win in Round 12 over Poland’s World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda. On his stuttering start to the Airthings Masters, Carlsen said: “It’s been pretty bad. I played a couple of decent games, but the rest of them have been poor. I need to do a lot better than that.” Asked how Covid-19 has affected him, Carlsen said: “It’s been a little bit better today, but the first couple of days I was feeling like I’m ok, but I didn’t have the energy, which made it hard to focus because every time I tried to think I blundered. It was a little bit better today, but still pretty bad.” Carlsen did, however, manage to lift himself to joint-second on the leaderboard – despite his poor form. However, the champ, who has made the cut in every Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event he’s entered, refused to accept he is nearly through to the knockout with 20 points. “It’s not certain at all,” he said. “I have to do well tomorrow to be safe. I’ll try to play as well as I can and be focused. Hopefully, my form will get better day by day.” Eight make the cut from the round-robin Prelim stage to the knockout, which begins on Wednesday. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch 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.