International online conference “Chess in Education” announced
FIDE is delighted to announce the International online conference “Chess in Education” to be held from November 20-21, 2021. The event is organized by FIDE Chess in Education Commission (EDU) and the “Chess” Scientific Research Institute of ASPU (Armenian State Pedagogical University). Attendees will have a chance to participate in vital discussions around teaching chess in preschool facilities, schools and universities. The conference agenda includes the following topics: PRE-SCHOOL CHESS Formation of prior knowledge for chess. Functions of prior knowledge for chess. Socio-pedagogical justifications for that prior knowledge. The problems of developing a preschooler’s thinking. The main manifestations of a preschooler’s development. CHESS IN SCHOOLS School chess models, especially differences between “chess for education” and “education for chess”. In-service training of teachers to teach chess. Problems with the quality of chess teaching in school. Chess in special needs education. School chess research results. Hybrid and online learning. CHESS IN UNIVERSITIES Issues of the training of chess teachers. Models of Chess 101 in Universities around the world. Chess as a means of promoting learning by university students. The working languages of the conference are English and Spanish with simultaneous translation. The conference will take place on the Zoom platform. More information about the event can be found here. Registration is open on the conference website https://edu.fide.com/english-registration/ (English language) or https://edu.fide.com/spanish-registration/ (Spanish language) until November 18. At the moment, there are more than 130 registrations.
Call of Interest for Arbiters in World Events 2022-2023
The FIDE Arbiters’ Commission is proud to release a new process for selecting Arbiters for World Events. Following the approval of the new B06.4 Handbook Chapter on the Selection of Arbiters in World Events by the FIDE Council, we are opening a call of interest to form panels of arbiters who may be selected for the World Championships. Who is eligible? All FIDE Arbiters and International Arbiters with a valid FIDE license. As we anticipate a large number of responses, applications from Arbiters who are not eligible may simply be disregarded without formal acknowledgement. How to apply? The process will consist of two steps: 1. Send an email from your address to secretary.arbiters@fide.com and chairman.arbiters@fide.com with your name, FIDE ID and federation or a link to your FIDE profile, with the subject Call of Interest 2022-2023. 2. A survey will be issued in Chamilo* to collect interest in a structured way. You will receive instructions on how to connect and answer. You may have to give your GDPR consent before completing the survey if you are new to the system. * Chamilo is the ARB Training Portal, which we are using to support the process. We will take advantage of the call of interest to include colleagues who haven’t followed training sessions yet under this new system. When to apply? The call of interest is open from November 10, 2021, to December 10, 2021, 23:59 CET. Any email received after the deadline will be disregarded. Further details will follow soon, with explanations on the new process: panels, selection process with GSC, EVE and organisers etc. In the meantime, you may wish to watch the webinar we hosted in 2020 about the same topic, sharing the overall vision of the commission. Gens una sumus
Fysiolatris’ Nikaia wins Greek Team Championship
The 2021 Greek Team Championships concluded last weekend, 6-7 November, in the Metropol Hotel in Larissa. The team of EOAO “Fysiolatris’ Nikaia winning won the Final 4 stage and their third consecutive title. The champions beat Evoiki ES in the final 6-4, after defeating the major rivals SO Kavalas by the same score in the semi-final. SO Kavalas won third place after besting team SA Sykeon-Neapolis in a rapid playoff. This year’s championship, traditionally held as a 34-team Swiss tournament, was split into two groups (North and South). Evoiki ES won group South, held in Athens in September, ahead of the eventual champions (whom they beat in the first round), while SO Kavalas dominated the North group in Thessaloniki in October. The top two teams of each group advanced to the Final 4. Twenty-nine clubs (out of 34 eligible) participated in the event, competing over ten boards (4 open, a woman, U20, U16, U12, G20, G16). Both preliminary groups were 7-round Swiss tournaments, while the Final 4 was a knock-out with rapid and blitz playoffs if needed. Results, standings and games: North: http://chess-results.com/tnr580755.aspx?lan=1 South: https://chess-results.com/tnr577022.aspx?lan=1 Final 4: http://chess-results.com/tnr587838.aspx?lan=1 Offical website: https:/www.chessfed.gr
Nur-Sultan to host World Rapid and Blitz 2021
Photo above: Alexey Tarakanov We are pleased to announce that the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz will take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The event will be held on its traditional dates: December 25-30, 2021. As in previous editions, the World Rapid and Blitz will have a total prize fund of 1,000,000 USD: $350,000 for the Open Rapid Championship$350,000 for the Open Blitz Championship$150,000 for the Women’s Rapid Championship$150,000 for the Women’s Blitz Championship The World Rapid and Blitz is one of the most awaited events in the chess calendar for most chess fans. After the force majeure cancellation in 2020, FIDE is happy to bring it back in cooperation with the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Just like in 2019, the Rapid and Blitz Championships will be Swiss tournaments (13 and 11 – rapid and 21 and 17 rounds – blitz respectively) with the time control 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1 (rapid) and 3 minutes + 2 seconds, starting from move 1 (blitz). Open competition eligibility Players rated at least 2550 in any FIDE rating lists (Standard, Rapid or Blitz) from January 1st to December 1st, 2021. The reigning National Champions representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating. The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Women’s competition eligibility Players rated at least 2250 in any FIDE rating lists (Standard, Rapid or Blitz) from January 1st to December 1st, 2021. The reigning National Champions representing their National Federation regardless of their title or rating The Organiser is entitled to invite up to 15 additional players of his/her own choice. Regulations for FIDE Open Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) Regulations for FIDE Women’s Rapid & Blitz World Championship (pdf) The last months of the year will be full of challenges for Magnus Carlsen. Will he be able to end the year holding the triple crown, as he did in 2019? For further information, please contact: worldrapidandblitz@fide.com
Kirill Shevchenko snatches victory in Lindores Abbey Blitz
Ukrainian GM has stunned the chess world with a surprise victory in the Lindores Abbey Blitz organized in honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Tal Kirill Shevchenko (19) scored 14 points out of 18 games in a nine-double-round tournament. The former contender for the title of World Champion, American Fabiano Caruana, finished second, and Arjun Erigaisi of India is third, both on 13.5 points. Shevchenko came out on top in a field of 120 leading world Grandmasters, including the likes of Fabiano Caruana (world number three and this year’s runner-up in the Grand Swiss), world number ten Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, David Navara as well as the former contender for the title of World Champion Boris Gelfand and Women’s Chess World Cup winner and former women’s World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk. Another big surprise of the event was 18-year-old Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi (pictured below), who dominated the tournament early on. Playing in the spirit of Mikhail Tal, with lots of combinations and sacrifices, the Indian secured 9.5 points out of 10 games, crushing along the way strong players such as Levon Aronian, David Howell and Rauf Mamedov with 2:0, and convincingly beating Fabiano Caruana in their first game of the match. But in the final rounds of the tournament, it was Shevchenko who took the spotlight, delivering a 2:0 blow to the Indian in their direct duel. In the final round, it was a three-way race between Caruana, Erigaisi and Shevchenko. Caruana drew his game with world heavy-weight Levon Aronian to finish on 13.5 points, hoping to be first on tie-breaks. Erigaisi also scored a victory, meaning that he was on 13.5/18 as well. Shevchenko now had to win to take first place. In a wild game with many ups and downs, he defeated the Armenian GM Martirosyan (who blundered a checkmate in one in a drawn position) and finished half a point ahead of everyone else. “I didn’t believe I could win this tournament with half a point advantage. The last game was a roller coaster… I would like to play much more Blitz tournaments than I do in my country [Ukraine]”, said Shevchenko, who is one of the most promising Ukrainian players. The winner will receive a 10,000 USD prize which he said he would give to his parents and then decide what to do with it. The total prize fund for the event was 6,000 USD. This includes a 10,000 USD fund provided by FIDE for prizes intended for female players only. With nine points, Batkhuyag Munguntuul from Mongolia won the prize for the highest-ranked female player in the tournament and pocketed a special prize of 3,000 USD. Dinara Saduakassova won second place among women, and Alexandra Kosteniuk was third. Final standings: 1 Shevchenko, Kirill UKR 2574 14 2 Caruana, Fabiano USA 2765 13½ 3 Erigaisi, Arjun IND 2616 13½ 4 Martirosyan, Haik M. ARM 2656 12½ 5 Navara, David CZE 2758 12½ 6 Xiong, Jeffery USA 2699 12 7 Dubov, Daniil RUS 2747 12 8 Aronian, Levon ARM 2767 12 9 Svidler, Peter RUS 2709 12 10 Sevian, Samuel USA 2668 12 Remembering “The Magician from Riga” The Blitz tournament was held in memory of the great Latvian chess player and eighth World Champion, Mikhail Tal (1936 – 1992), who would have turned 85 on the 9th of November. FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola reminded the players and guests of Tal’s spirit, echoed in his comment that “life would be very boring if you wait for luck to happen”. Speaking about the Magician from Riga, Reizniece-Ozola said that Tal left a great footprint in the chess world which should serve as inspiration to us all. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich revealed that he had the privilege of meeting Tal as a child, at one of the tournaments in Tallinn, Estonia. “I played chess with his daughter while our fathers were enjoying the evening”, Dvorkoich said. Dvorkovich said that the idea about this Blitz event came from Alexander Bakh, Mikhail Tal’s friend and a prolific chess tournament organizer from Russia, who was the guest in Riga on behalf of Lindores Abbey. The tournament was opened by Alexander Bakh, who said that this event is a part of the cycle of chess events organized by the Scottish company. “In 2019, Lindores Abbey organized its Chess Start tournament, and then we had the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge in 2020. This Blitz event is the next stage in our cycle of chess tournaments and we hope there will be more events to come”. Georgiy Tal, the son of Mikhail Tal, was supposed to be the guest of honour at the closing ceremony of the Blitz event but, at the last moment, was prevented from attending. The tournament took place in the same venue where the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss was held from the 27th of October to the 7th of November. The official page of the tournament: https://lindoresabbeyblitz.fide.com/. Complete final standings can be found here. Discover the Lindores Abbey chess initiative. Official Partners: Lindores AbbeyKaspersky
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Firouzja and Lei triumph in Riga
Alireza Firouzja and Lei Tingjie are the winners of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss After a draw in the final round game with Russia’s Grigoriy Oparin, naturalised Frenchman Alireza Firouzja won the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. With 8/11, he is half a point ahead of everyone else. With this victory, Firouzja also secured a prize of 70,000 USD as well as a pass for the 2022 Candidates tournament, which will determine the challenger for the title of the World Champion in chess. In an interview immediately after the final round, Firouzja said that this was a very tough tournament and that he didn’t see himself as a big contender for the top place. “Chess for me is a game I can never quit. When you learn chess, it’s finished – you go all the way, and even if you’re not a professional, you will be thinking about chess”, said Firouzja. World number three and former contender for the title of World Champion, Fabiano Caruana, is second, with 7.5/11. Caruana took the second ticket for the 2022 Candidates tournament and also pocketed a prize of 50,000 USD. The third place – and 40,000 USD – went to Grigoriy Oparin of Russia, who also has 7.5 points but has a weaker tiebreak. The three are followed by as many as 13 Grandmasters with seven points, in the following order: Yu Yangyi, Vincent Keymer, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexandr Predke, Alexei Shirov, David Howell, Gabriel Sargissian, David Anton, Anton Korobov, Samuel Sevian, Andrey Esipenko, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and Vladislav Artemiev. Those who won the 3rd to 8th place have all qualified for the 2022 Grand Prix series which will be held in Berlin and Belgrade in 2022. The inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss ended with a Chinese victory as Lei Tingjie claimed first place with nine points out of eleven games. The Chinese already knew she won the tournament the day before, having secured a 1.5 point advantage over everyone else in Round Ten. In the final round, she played a longer game and drew with compatriot Zhu Jiner. With this victory in the Grand Swiss, Lei has qualified for the 2022 Women’s Candidates tournament and has pocketed 20,000 USD in prize money. The second and third places in the women’s tournament were shared by Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany (who also secured her final GM norm) and Zhu Jiner of China, who both have 7.5/11. The German came in second because of a better tiebreak. With 7/11, four players share fourth to seventh place in the women’s section (in the following order): Mariya Muzychuk (the top seed in this tournament), Harika Dronavalli, Lela Javakhishvili and Olga Badelka. The top-4 in the final standings – Lei Tingjie, Elisabeth Paehtz, Zhu Jiner, and Mariya Muzychuk – have qualified for the next women’s Grand Prix cycle. Open Event Alireza Firouzja started the final day with half a point ahead of the field. He needed a draw to punch his ticket to the Candidates. His opponent Grigoriy Oparin was leading the white pieces and playing what was probably the most important game of his life so far. In order to qualify for the Candidates, Oparin had to win, given that he had one of the lowest tiebreak scores among the top players. Oparin and Firouzja played only twice before: two online Blitz games, in 2018 and 2020, and the result is 1:1. This was, therefore, the first time they met in a propper, classical game. In Ruy Lopez, Oparin played the anti-Berlin, which suggested he was looking for a more complex game. Firouzja’s basic goal was to exchange all the pieces on the board and steer the position to calm waters. To that end, he forced an exchange of several pieces on the board, and the middlegame was largely even. It was Oparin who decided not to overplay the position and opted for a repetition leading to a draw. On board two, Fabiano Caruana was White against Alexandr Predke. With no losses, Caruana had a very solid tournament. Aside from Firouzja, Caruana was in the most comfortable position to secure the ticket for the Candidates. Following Firouzja’s draw, Caruana’s second place seemed closer, but it was still unclear – if Yu Yangyi won in his game, and the rest of the top boards ended in a draw, it would have been the Chinese and not the American who would have clinched the second place with the ticket for the Candidates. The players blitzed the Ruy Lopez, rattling off 20 moves in the first 20 minutes. White emerged slightly better, but after the queen exchange the position became equal. With a timely pawn thrust, e5-e4 Predke exchanged his e-pawn to the opponent’s c-pawn and created a free-runner on the a-file. That, however, did not change the evaluation of the position. Since neither side had clear chances, a draw was agreed on move 46. In the post-game interview, Fabiano Caruana said he was slightly weaker against Predke, adding that the Russian was ‘super well prepared’. Caruana said he thought a draw secured his qualification to the Candidates, noting that the most dangerous game for him was the duel between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Yu Yangyi. “I was very worried for both of them at some point. I was hoping for a draw, but Maxime’s position looked extremely suspicious, and near the end, I thought Yu Yangyi’s position was very dangerous”, said Caruana. On board three, Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played his favourite Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian against Yu Yangyi of China. As often happens in this system, the opponents castled to the opposite wings and started pushing their pawns. Black was first to open files for a potential attack, but White got a strong footing in the centre and snatched a weak d6-pawn. At this point, Maxim’s position looked dangerous, but Yu decided to part with one of his bishops and let his advantage slip away. On the move 30, Yu exchanged his queen for two rooks, but the position was still even. Neither side could find real chances on the board, and on move 39, the two agreed to a draw. With 7/11, this left
Liudmila Belavenets passes away
With the most profound sadness, we learned about the passing of Liudmila Belavenets. A well-known Russian player and coach, Liudmila Belavenets, died on the 7th of November due to a serious illness. Liudmila Belavenets was the winner of the USSR women’s championship (1975), the world women’s champion in correspondence chess (1990), and the three-time winner of the World Olympiads in correspondence chess as a member of the Soviet team. In 1973, Liudmila Belavenets began to work with young chess players at the Stadium of Young Pioneers in Moscow. She was invited to work there by Vladimir Yurkov, a renowned coach. Very soon, Liudmila Belavenets became one of the best trainers for juniors in Russia. She also became one of the most famous trainers after becoming a presentor in the Chess School TV show back in 1974. Hundreds of thousands of chess fans were among her distant students. Some of the most famous players trained by her directly are Alexey Vyzmanavin, Andrei Sokolov, and Alexander Morozevich. Liudmila Belavenets was famous for her ability to connect with any student. A teacher by nature, she was a talented and wise mentor who fostered many generations of young chess players. She trained several world champions, champions of Russia and Europe, masters and grandmasters, professionals, trainers, and journalists. She brought up even more chess fans, who have remembered her lessons for the rest of their lives. To the last days of her life, Liudmila Belavenets worked as a coach in the Youth of Moscow Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve in the T. Petrosian chess club and took part in the sessions of the Grandmasters school in Kostroma. She was awarded the CFR Golden Badge in April 2021. FIDE and the Chess Federation of Russia extend sincere condolences to Liudmila Belavenets’ relatives, friends, colleagues, and pupils.
Lindores Abbey Blitz in honour of Mikhail Tal’s 85th birthday
In honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of the 8th World Chess Champion Mikhail Tal, FIDE is delighted to endorse The Lindores Abbey Blitz, which will take place on 8th November in the historical Hanzas Perons venue in Riga, Latvia A number of leading world Grandmasters – many of whom are taking part in the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss – have confirmed they will be playing in the Blitz tournament. The line-up includes leading world players such as the third-rated player in the world Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Yu Yangyi, Levon Aronian, David Navara, David Howell, the former contender for the title of World Champion Boris Gelfand, former world youth champions Jeffery Xiong and Parham Maghsoodloo, and others. Among female players, former Women’s World Champion and this year’s winner of the Women’s Chess World Cup, Alexandra Kosteniuk as well as top women GMs Nana Dzagnidze, Harika Dronavalli, Polina Shuvalova, and others will be playing. Altogether 120 players will be taking part in the tournament. The FIDE endorsed event is a part of a series of Lindores Abbey chess tournaments involving top-world Grandmasters following Lindores Abbey Chess Stars (2019) and Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge (2020). Georgiy Tal, the son of Mikhail Tal, will be the guest of honour at the Blitz event. In 2019 he visited Lindores Abbey and, together with the company’s General Manager Andrew McKenzie Smith, presented the World Champion Magnus Carlsen with a chess set made of amber. This amber chess set was presented by the Latvian Government to Mikhail Tal in 1960, following his victory in the World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik. Tournament rules and details: The tournament is organised by “RTU Sports” with the support of the Latvian Chess Federation and FIDE. The Swiss System tournament will have nine rounds. Each round will consist of two games played against the same opponent, one game with each colour. Players will be seeded based on their FIDE Blitz rating. In the absence of such a rating, the player’s FIDE standard rating will be used. The time control will be 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move, from move one. If the two or more players score the same points, the tie is decided by the following criteria, in order of priority: a) Buchholz; b) Most games won; c) Direct encounter between the players in tie. The total prize fund is 60,000 USD. This includes a 10,000 USD fund provided by FIDE for prizes intended for female players only. Regulations for the FIDE Endorsed Tournament Lindores Abbey Blitz (pdf) The official page of the tournament: https://lindoresabbeyblitz.fide.com/ The list of participants can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr588607.aspx?lan=1&art=0&flag=30 Discover the Lindores Abbey chess initiative.
2021 3rd FIDE Council Meeting: List of Decisions
List of FIDE Council Decisions 2021 3rd meeting 27 October 2021 CM3-2021/01 To note President’s report. CM3-2021/02 To note financial report presented by FIDE Treasurer. CM3-2021/03 To approve in principle the proposal of the FIDE Treasurer for a new format for budget presentations that includes data on income and expenses for the events organised by FIDE. To ask the FIDE Treasurer to provide the final version of the format. CM3-2021/04 To approve that the 2021 FIDE Congress shall be organized at the end of December 2021 in a hybrid format (concurrent with World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, provided it will take place as expected) according to the following schedule (tentative, to be confirmed): – FIDE Commissions meetings: November 20th – December 25th, 2021 – FIDE Council meeting: December 26-27th, 2021 – FIDE Zonal Council meeting: December 26-27th, 2021 – FIDE General Assembly: December 28th, 2021. CM3-2021/05 To note the report on the FIDE Handbook update. CM3-2021/06 To approve the regulations for World Championship Cycle structure. CM3-2021/07 To approve the regulations for Continental Championships and Zonal Championships. CM3-2021/08 To approve the updated Olympiad Pairing Rules. CM3-2021/09 To approve the draft of FIDE Electoral Rules and prepare it for the approval of FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/10 To approve the provisional membership of St. Vincent and Grenadines Chess Federation and recommend its full membership for ratification by FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/11 To approve the provisional membership of Dominica Chess Federation, Niger Chess Federation, Belize Chess Federation pending the submission of the whole set of required documents. To recommend their full membership for ratification by the FIDE General Assembly provided the requested documents would be received. CM3-2021/12 To approve that World Rapid and Blitz Championships (2021) shall be organized in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 25-30 December 2021. CM3-2021/13 To approve the Regulations for FIDE World Team Chess Championship 2022. CM3-2021/14 To authorize FIDE Vice-President Mr. Iashvili together with the Chairman of FIDE Events Commission Mr. Solakoglu to continue consultations with Sri Lanka Chess Federation regarding potential organization of the 2021 World U-21 Online Rapid Chess Championship. CM3-2021/15 To note the Global Strategy Commission’s report. CM3-2021/16 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM3-2021/17 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the FIDE lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM3-2021/18 To approve the Arbiters’ Commission’s proposal for the FIDE Regulations for Appointments of Arbiters at World Events and Arbiters’ Selection Procedural Rules (with a transition period until the end of 2021). CM3-2021/19 To note the Constitutional Commission’s report. CM3-2021/20 To reiterate FIDE’s willingness to help the US Virgin Islands Chess Federation in changing their constitution and election procedures. To propose to the US Virgin Islands Chess Federation to prepare an updated draft in full cooperation with FIDE Constitutional Commission not later than November 17th. To entrust FIDE President to evaluate further steps after this deadline in accordance with the previous FIDE Council’s decision. CM3-2021/21 To note the Events Commission’s report. CM3-2021/22 To approve the recommendations of Events Commission on titles. CM3-2021/23 To approve the updated draft of the Ethics and Disciplinary Code and prepare it for the approval of FIDE General Assembly. CM3-2021/24 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM3-2021/25 To approve the Fair Play Commission’s Procedural Rules. CM3-2021/26 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report. CM3-2021/27 To note the Rules Commission’s report. CM3-2021/28 To request the Rules Commission to discuss the proposed changes to the Laws of Chess (Article 5.1.2) with the Athletes’, Arbiters’ and other relevant Commissions and come back with the consensus proposal. CM3-2021/29 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. CM3-2021/30 To approve the proposal of the Qualification Commission on the FIDE Rating Regulations and FIDE Titles Regulations effective from January 1st, 2022. CM3-2021/31 To approve the Resolution regarding the procedure for considering applications to move under FIDE flag. CM3-2021/32 To approve the Qualification Commission’s proposal to reject three individual requests to move under FIDE flag. CM3-2021/33 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and FIDE Academies. CM3-2021/34 To approve the proposals of the FIDE Data Protection Committee regarding the enhancement of the FIDE Database. CM3-2021/35 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM3-2021/36 To note Continental reports. CM3-2021/37 To recommend to the FIDE Qualification Commission to revoke the FM title of Mr. O. Prokhorov (UKR). Instruct the Constitutional Commission to submit an opinion on the issue of Mr. Prokhorov’s right to play under the flag of the federation. CM3-2021/38 To approve the main provisions of the contracts aimed at the implementation of a pilot NFT project and to entrust FIDE President to sign the respective contracts. CM3-2021/39 To organize the next FIDE Council meeting in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 26-27th of December 2021.
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 10 Recap
Alireza Firouzja is back as the sole leader in the Open Event, as Lei Tingjie wins the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss with a round to spare Open Event Alireza Firouzja has recovered from his loss to Fabiano Caruana on Friday by defeating David Howell in the crucial game of the tenth round of the Grand Swiss. With this victory, Firouzja has 7.5/10 and is entering the final round with a half-point advantage over everyone else. He is followed by Fabiano Caruana and Grigoriy Oparin, who are on 7/10. In the Italian Game, Firouzja spent significantly more time on the opening, presumably having been caught out by Howell’s preparation. It was surprising as Howell is known for getting into time trouble early. However, by move 19, both had similar time on their clocks, and with all the pieces on the board, the pressure on both was mounting. The tension was released in the centre in White’s favour as Firouzja aligned his pieces for an attack on the black king’s fortress. Howell, shorter on time, played 27…Be5 allowing White to sacrifice a knight on h6 (most likely 28.Rxe5 was even better), ending with an extra pawn and breaking through Black’s defences. However, in a better position, Firouzja hastily played 31.Qf3, to which Black responded with 23…Qc6 and the game was wide open again, although White still had an edge. Firouzja was visibly unhappy with the oversight. After reassessing the situation, Alireza went for an exchange of queens simplifying the position and moving towards a four-bishop ending with an extra pawn. Howell had to be precise to keep his hopes alive but was under serious time pressure for the first time control. He slipped on move 35 by playing a tempting but erroneous 35…d4. When the time control was reached, White had a decisive advantage and steered the game to a clean victory. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana drew their game on board two. In the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, both sides played quickly in the opening. The Frenchman ended with isolated pawns on d3 and d5, but was holding the a-file with the queen and rook and had a more active knight. After exchanges in the centre, the players moved to a rook endgame where Caruana was a pawn down, but a draw was the most likely outcome. The Frenchman decided to play on and test Black. The American had to proceed carefully but was essentially safe, and the two called it a draw. This outcome puts pressure on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to win in the final round of the Grand Swiss if he wishes to have chances to get his pass for the 2022 Candidates tournament. In the Russian duel on board three, Nikita Vitiugov and Grigoriy Oparin tested each other in the Sämisch Variation of the Nimzo-Indian. Oparin called it a ‘wild game’. In a blocked position that appeared early in the centre, Black surprised his opponent and the audience with an odd-looking but logical novelty: Nikita Vitiugov – Grigoriy Oparin 11…Kd7!? “Overall, it’s a typical idea to bring the king to c7, and 11…Kd7 is a very nice move. For me, it was the most logical move, because the point is that we don’t really want to move our queen on d8 or bishop on c8 yet,” said Grigory after the game. Having two bishops, White naturally tried to open the position, but Black created a stronghold on e5 and managed to keep it closed. Vitiugov opted for a push on the d-file, but this approach backfired just a few moves later as following the mistake on move 27, he ended down a pawn down and with the key pieces hanging. Black won an exchange only to return it later, releasing a free runner on the c-file and securing victory. Oparin is now on 7/10 and in the race for the top two spots leading to the Candidates. Alexei Shirov’s good run in the Grand Swiss has continued as he managed to save a lost position from Yu Yangyi. In a rare variation in the Sicilian with d4 and a double fianchetto for White, Black launched a push on the b-file and Shirov carefully flanked it. After 14.a4 White seemed to have halted Black’s attack on the queenside, enabling him to safely castle to the left wing. Black, however, managed to deflect White’s attempts on the kingside, realign his pieces and activate the bishops. After several piece exchanges in the centre, Black got rid of his backward d-pawn and created an advanced pawn on the e-file. Later on, Yu made the most of White’s mistakes to advance it to e2 and play for a win. Shirov put up stubborn resistance at the last line of defence, but it wouldn’t have been enough hadn’t Yangyi failed to find the best continuations and allowed Shirov to reactivate. The game ended in a draw after six hours of play and 64 moves. Both are now on 6.5/10. Krishnan Sasikiran, the last of the players with 6/9, lost as Black to Andrey Esipenko. In the Canal Attack of the Sicilian, Black was standing slightly better coming into the middlegame. However, Sasikiran made a mistake when transitioning to a four-rook endgame as his position immediately turned from slightly better to inferior. Being in his element, Esipenko instructively activated his king and created a passer on the a-file supported by his rooks. Several moves down the and he collected a few more of Black’s pawns and advanced his own dangerously close to the last rank. In the face of further material losses, Sasikiran threw in the towel. With this victory, Esipenko is on 6.5 points. Samuel Sevian, Gabriel Sargissian, Alexandr Predke and David Anton – who were also among players with 6/9 – all finished their games in draws and are now further behind in their chances of reaching the top spots. One of the most interesting games of the round was played on one of the lower boards. In a clash of generations, chess veteran Kiril Georgiev (55) lost to 15-year-old Indian star D Gukesh. In the Ragozin Variation of the Nimzo Indian, Gukesh managed to create a so-called Octopus – a strongly