FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 3 Recap
After three rounds of games in Riga, out of 157 participants, naturalised Frenchman Alireza Firouzja became the only player – in the entire Grand Swiss – to have won all three games The third round of the Grand Swiss was opened by FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola, by making the first move on board one of the women’s tournament. This is the first time that the Grand Swiss is featuring a women’s section. “FIDE is strongly committed to improving women’s chess, and having the women’s tournament was very important. Also, Latvia – my home country – is a place where approximately half of the managerial positions are held by women, without any quotas, but naturally, so, this seems to be the natural place to launch a bigger fight for women in chess”, says Dana Reizniece-Ozola. The Open Tournament After three rounds of games, the Iranian-born rising chess star Alireza Firouzja has managed to distinguish himself as the sole leader in the Open section of the Grand Swiss. Playing on the first board, Firouzja was up against Alexandr Predke who had a spectacular win in the second round against Nodirbek Yakubboev. In the Ruy Lopez, Firouzja gradually arranged his pieces, slowly numbing Black’s resistance. With a strong bishop on b2 and an extra pawn in the centre, he exerted serious pressure on Black’s position. However, Alireza did not find the most precise moves and Alexandr managed to transpose into an even endgame at the cost of a pawn. Firouzja pressed on and, after a trade of the rooks in the 42nd move, White gradually regained the advantage making the most of Black’s inaccuracies. Predke continued to resist, but White’s b-passer became the decisive factor – Firouzja ultimately forced his opponent to resign, having played for nearly six hours. On board two, Fabiano Caruana was leading white pieces against Ivan Saric of Croatia (pictured below), who had an excellent start with two out of two. Before this game, the two met five times with Caruana leading two to one, with two draws. After dropping half a point in round two to Nihal Sarin, the world number two Caruana – who had white – was eager to win against Saric. Caruana managed to grab the initiative in the Four Knights Sicilian at the cost of being low on time. After Black castled on the queenside, White launched a dangerous attack on the left wing, which gave him an extra pawn and the decisive advantage. However, when the time came to rip the harvest White captured on g5 with a wrong piece and missed a clear win: Fabiano Caruana – Ivan Saric Most likely, Fabiano instinctively turned down 31.Nxg5, wary of 31…Rd2 but after 32.Bxe5 Rxg2+ 33. Kh3 White captures the f7-pawn, winning. Instead, 31.hxg5 was played and after 31…Rd4! 32.Rc7 Bxe4 33.Rc8+ Kb7 34.Rxf8 Bg6 the game transposed into an opposite-coloured bishop ending in which the Croatian defended well, and after nearly five hours, the two agreed to a draw. There was almost a big upset on board three in the game between Levon Aronian and Anton Demchenko. In the Four Knights opening, the game progressed normally, but after an imprecision in the middlegame by Aronian – who is the fifth strongest player in the world – White’s queen penetrated the queenside, leading to the loss of a pawn by Black. Demchenko gradually advanced his free runner on the a-file, and after the exchange of the queens, the game entered a rook endgame that looked extremely dangerous for Black. After a heroic effort and having shown patience and defiance, Aronian managed to save a draw but not without some help from his opponent, who missed a couple of winning continuations. One of the top seeds, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, drew as Black with Alexander Donchenko. With two out of three, the Frenchman still has strong chances to fight for the top. The first game with a decisive outcome in the Open section was one between Vasif Durarbayli and Daniil Dubov, in which the Russian instructively exploited his dominance over the light squares. Also among the top boards, Yu Yangyi was victorious against Matthias Bluebaum. There are now as many as six players trailing Alireza Firouzja by half a point: Yu Yangyi, Pavel Ponkratov, Robert Hovhannisyan, Nihal Sarin, Ivan Saric, and Evgeniy Najer. The Women’s Tournament After just three rounds, there are no more players with a maximum score in the Women’s section. The top group is made up of nine players with 2.5 points, led by Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia. Nana Dzagnidze, who had a perfect start with two out of two, found herself in trouble as White against Natalija Pogonina (pictured above). The Reti opening was played, where White plays slowly, trying to gradually outmanoeuvre the opponent. After 11.g4, the position quickly sharpened, and Pogonina came up with an interesting pawn sacrifice. Dzagnidze accepted the offer but fell under a vigorous attack. Caught on the backfoot, Nana had to give up her queen, and the position transpired into a rook and two bishops vs a queen and knight endgame. Nana built some sort of a fortress that did not look unassailable but using Black’s inaccuracies, the Georgian held her defence line, and the game was eventually drawn. On board two, Harika Dronavalli defeated the former World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova although, for the most part, Black was in no danger of losing. However, the Bulgarian made a wrong choice in a rook endgame that cost her half-point: Harika Dronavalli – Antoaneta Stefanova Being in some sort of zugzwang, Antoaneta decided to keep material equal and played 38…f5? but after 39.exf5 Kxf5 40.g4+ Kg6 40.Ke4! things went downhill for her. Black should have sacrificed a pawn instead (38…c5! 39.Rxc5 Rd1) to activate her rook with good drawing chances. Round 3 saw the – so far – shortest game of the tournament. On board four, after some 40 minutes of play, Elisabeth Paehtz drew as White against Lei Tingjie. The Ruy Lopez was played, and after massive exchanges in the centre, the two ended up in a drawish endgame. After 30 moves of play, the opponents decided to split a point. Shortly after this, another quick draw occurred – between Salome Melia and Olga Girya. As was noted by Anna Muzychuk, there are clear lines that lead to a
16th IBCA Chess Olympiad: Russia carries the day
The 16th Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired, organized under the auspices of the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), took place in Rhodes, Greece, from October 16-26, 2021, as part of the 2021 Rhodes Chess Festival. Despite the difficulties presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Olympiad was well-attended and featured teams from twenty-two countries on three continents, including, for the first time in the IBCA history, Team Canada-Québec that became the only one to make an exhausting and dangerous journey from the Americas. The Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired was a nine-round Swiss team tournament under the FIDE Olympiad rules. Each team featured four players and one reserve. A remarkable new sports record was set by Team Russia that won all its nine matches and became the champion scoring 18 match points. The silver medals (14 match points) went to team Poland thanks to better tiebreaks over team Serbia which earned bronze. The closing ceremony on October 26th became a massive celebration for Braille players and their supporters. Non-seeing players, their accompanying guides (human and canine), captains, coaches, officials, and spectators gathered in the sumptuous Jupiter Hall of the Rodos Palace Hotel, adorned with Greek national motifs. A real constellation of dignitaries attended the ceremony, including Mr Nikos Nikolis, Vice Governor of the Region of South Aegean, responsible for sports; Mr Giannis Papas, Member of the Parliament of Greece; Mr Antonis Kambourakis, Mayor of the Rhodes municipality; Mr, Stefanos Fasias, Vice-President of the Hellenic Sports Federation for Persons with Disabilities; Mr Efstathios Efstathopoulos, President of the Greek Chess Federation; Dr. Charudatta Jadhav, the IBCA President, and the newly elected members of the IBCA Presidential Board. In his opening speech, Mayor Kambourakis reminded that the IBCA Olympiad was one of five constituent events of the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival, along with the 2021 FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship, the 44th World Chess Solving Competition, and two Congresses. Greece became one of the pioneers in reopening chess life after the pandemic. The strategic thinking of Greek national and regional authorities, the excellent collaboration between FIDE, the IBCA, the WFCC, the organizers and local authorities made it possible for over three hundred participants from more than fifty countries to meet in person and enjoy chess. The people of Rhodes Island opened their hearts and minds to everyone. They especially welcomed the non-seeing players, displaying courtesy and friendliness that made the stay of people with disabilities especially enjoyable and memorable. An extended address by the IBCA President Dr Charudatta Jadhav summarized new achievements of the Braille chess community. He remarked that the 16th Olympiad Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired was a complete success and a remarkable achievement for players, officials and organizers, made possible with the unparallel hospitality of Rhodes and its people. Non-seeing players demonstrated bravery, focus, discipline and a high level of maturity. Everyone showed fair play and good sportsmanship. The strongest teams and the strongest players won their matches and games in an exemplary manner. Dr Jadhav thanked the Chief Arbiter and the Deputy Chief Arbiter for their excellent work. They always acted in the best interests of the competition and ensured the best conditions for the players with disabilities. The CA and the DCA also generously used their considerable skills in Braille chess arbitering to train a cadre of local arbiters in the intricacies of these specialized competitions, thus ensuring cohesiveness and excellent functioning of the arbiter team for the tournament with challenging time control. The IBCA President reminded that the quadrennial IBCA Congress was held during the Olympiad. The elections to the IBCA governing bodies achieved unprecedented diversity and gender balance. Congress adopted a new Constitution which strengthens the IBCA governance and makes the organization more democratic and transparent. The IBCA and its national members, the organizations, specifically established for the promotion of Braille chess for blind and visually impaired, work in harmony with respective countries’ governments, NGOs, national Paralympic Committees, FIDE, and other international associations as partners respecting each other’s core areas of expertise and advancing the goals set in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and similar documents. Dr Jadhav thanked the FIDE President, Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, for his personal attention to the needs of handicapped players and many new initiatives, such as the 2020 FIDE Online Olympiad for the Disabled and the 2020 FIDE Olympiad for the Disabled. The IBCA President highlighted the record set by the Braille players from Russia at the Olympiad and stated that several lessons can be learned from Russia’s magnificent performance. It took two components to achieve such a remarkable feat: the bravery, skills and dedication of Russian players plus exemplary institutional support provided by the Russian state and chess authorities. Federal and regional authorities in Russia understand the needs of disabled people and view sports, including chess, as an essential tool for their full and effective participation and inclusion in society. The leadership of the Chess Federation of Russia supports visually impaired players organizationally, financially and morally, and celebrates their successes widely, which is evident from the personal congratulations sent by the CFR President to the IBCA Olympiad winners. Other countries would do well if they studied the Russian model of government, NGO, and public support to adjust to their national conditions. The Vice-President of the Hellenic Sports Federation for Persons with Disabilities Mr Stefanos Fasias continued with the theme of the importance of government and societal support for players with disabilities and described the measures Greece takes in this direction. The President of the Greek Chess Federation, Mr Efstathios Efstathopoulos mentioned the importance of all constituent events of the Rhodes Festival for chess life in Europe and worldwide and congratulated the players, organizers, officials, arbiters, and volunteers from all events on their dedication and excellent conduct of the events. It was a big challenge to hold competitions of such magnitudes while strictly adhering to the health measures and COVID-19 protocols, but
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 2 Recap
After just two days of play, only three players have a maximum score at the Open Grand Swiss. In the Women’s event, two duos of Georgians and Chinese lead the group of altogether seven players with a maximum performance after the second round. Croatian player Ivan Saric cruised to the top of the scoreboard after winning in the second game in a row. Kirill Alekseenko’s choice of a rare line in the Marshall Attack backfired as Saric managed to neutralize Black’s initiative and emerged with an extra pawn. In an opposite-colour bishops were no help for the Russian as the Croatian promptly won a second pawn forcing Alekseenko’s resignation. Ivan Saric will play Fabiano Caruana in Round 3. In a fantastic game on board eight, Alexandr Predke of Russia introduced an amazing novelty in the King’s Indian Defence sacrificing his queen for two minor pieces a pawn against Nodirbek Yakubboev: Alexandr Predke – Nodirbek Yakubboev 12.hxg4!! Bxd4 13.Bxd4 – White got sufficient positional compensation and even a certain edge but stunned Yakubboev failed to put up resistance and crumbled after 13…Kh7 14.Be2 f5? 15.exf5 gxf5 16.Rh5 +- | 1-0, 34 moves. The Russian is on two points and he will be playing Alireza Firouzja who had some serious problems with Black against Dariusz Swiercz of the US at some point, but eventually his knights proved stronger than a rook and two connected passers of his opponent: Alireza Firouzja – Dariusz Swiercz 58…Nxh2! was a killer blow as 59.Qxh2 fails to 59…Ng3+ 60. Kg1 Ne2+ 61.Kh1 Qxh2+ 62.Kxh2 Rh4# | 0-1, 61 moves On board one 17-year-old Nihal Sarin managed to hold world number two Fabiano Caruana to a draw, despite later saying that he considered his own position to be “completely lost”. “I thought there was like 20% chance that I could save this game,” Sarin said. After a draw in the first round, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave secured a speedy victory as White against Amin M. Tabatabaei, after the Iranian made a mistake in the opening. In an interview following the game Vachier-Lagrave said he feels in his element and is in high hopes for the rest of the tournament. The last game to finish in the second round was that of Latvian Grandmaster Arturs Neiksans who played against England’s David Howell. In the Queen’s Indian Defence Neiksans made use of the opponent’s flub (17.Nd4? instead of a natural 17.e3) and achieved an absolutely won position. For a long time Howell was teetering the brink of defeat but his grit and determination paid off in the end as the Englishman held his ground and, in the late hours of the evening, forced his opponent to concede to a draw. In the Women’s event, Nana Dzagnidze demonstrated resourcefulness in an unbalanced position and defeated Iulija Osmak to maintain her lead in the tournament. On board two Alexandra Kosteniuk – dressed in a black and white squared dress – drew with Lela Javakhishvili, as did Polina Shuvalova against Olga Badelka. The second top game to end with a decisive outcome was between Lei Tingjie and Ekaterina Atalik. The Chinese prevailed in what might be the wildest game in the women’s tournament with advantage changing hands several times, and now will be facing Elisabeth Paehtz in Round 3 after the German was victorious against Leya Garifullina. Alongside Dzagnidze and Lei Tingjie, five more female players have a maximum score after the first two rounds. Round 3 Round 3 starts at 2 PM on the 29th of October. The pairings for Round 3 of the Open event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/open/ The pairings for Round 3 of the Women’s event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/ For more information about the tournament, please visit:https://grandswiss.fide.com/ Press enquiries: press@fide.com Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Mark Livshitz and Anna Shtourman
Arkady Dvorkovich: “Chess life can continue even at a difficult time”
The First Round of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss started yesterday with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich making the first move on Board one, in the game between top-seed Fabiano Caruana and Maksim Chigaev of Russia. Later on, Mr Dvorkovich spoke about the event and the issues surrounding it – from the health and safety of players to the plans and ambitions of FIDE in the coming period, both in the Baltics and globally. – How difficult was it to organize this event in light of the current circumstances in Latvia? – Any event that we have been organizing in the course of the pandemic is a tough one at this one is not an exemption. I really appreciate the efforts of everyone in our team and our partners that help us to keep our calendar and our chess life intact and organize the Grand Swiss tournaments, the part of the World Championship cycle here in Riga. It is a very important event in the annual chess calendar as it determines participants of the Candidates Tournaments – two in the open cycle and one in the women’s cycle. For many players, it’s the only chance to get qualified; that’s why it was critically important to have it. We are thankful to the Latvian Government, Latvian Chess Federation, all our partners here in Latvia and our financial partners – the Sheinberg Family, Chess.com and other providers like Coca-Cola for the opportunity to have this event during the difficult pandemic period. We have a very good composition of players. While some players were unable to come, most of them kept their schedules and came to Riga and it’s going to be a fantastic tournament, a very strong one with great players participating and fighting for a chance to compete for the world championship crown. I think we took all the necessary steps and measures to control the health situation and to provide safety of players and all the people involved. I think this is also a sign of respect to the people of Latvia, who are now keeping themselves safe during the lockdown. Nevertheless, I think the situation here at the tournament is more secure than even in some countries where there are no quarantines or lockdowns. We took all the measures to ensure the strongest possible safety. – Let’ just take a step back. How did it come that this event was transferred from the Isle of Man to Riga? – Originally, this tournament had to take place at the Isle of Man; it was a tradition to hold these tournaments in partnership with the Scheinberg Family. We had this tournament two years ago, just an open one, as a part of our world championship cycle, and we were planning to repeat it this year, now with also women’s Grand Swiss tournament, but the restrictions that the Isle of Man still has would not allow the players to come without lengthy quarantines and many obstacles prohibitive for holding such events. So we were thinking about plan B, and in consultations with our partners – the Scheinberg Family and Chess.com – we came to the conclusion that Latvia could be the right place. The decision was based on many reasons like chess traditions in Latvia, a very good team of organizers, including Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE Managing Director, and also the desire of our partners to do this in the beautiful European country. At that point, Latvia was one of the safe places in terms of the pandemic. It is not now, but I think that the conditions here that we established, based on the medical protocol and all safety requirements, are even more secure for players and everyone involved than in many countries where formal rates of the pandemic are lower. I truly believe we made the right decision. If Riga was not the only best choice, then it was one of the best choices we could have for this tournament. Even with all the difficulties we have right now because of the covid, I think the whole team is very much capable of organizing this. I know that all players enjoy the hospitality and beauty of Riga and Latvia right now. – There are many people asking why this event haven’t been postponed or moved online. What is the position of FIDE? – We do believe that while the pandemic is still not over, chess life shall continue. It’s about profession; chess players want to compete and do their best to get the titles and continue their careers. Online is not a perfect substitute. It’s a good compliment to over-the-board chess but not a perfect substitute. We are talking about the world championship cycle, the classic one, where players qualify for major events like Candidates Tournaments through other major over-the-board events, and we decided to keep it, based on the evaluation of risks and our trust in the safety measures we take. Otherwise, the whole calendar would be destroyed, and we would end up with the world championship cycle postponed altogether. That would not make anyone better. It’s a balance of risks and benefits that we are looking at. It is an excellent opportunity to show that chess life can continue even at a difficult time. – FIDE has established a very strict health and safety protocol. How hard will that be to implement? – Every time there is a rule and common sense as well. Logic and common sense should also work. We insist that every player follows the rules. If anyone violates rules in a way that will create risks for other players and people around, for a person herself or himself, we will not tolerate it. – During the World Cup in Sochi, one of the players tested positive for Covid-19. What are you going to do in case it happens here in Riga? – We have a certain procedure that we will follow. Any unlikely case like that – I would put it this way as everyone
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss Riga: Round 1 Recap
The first day of what is set to be one of the strongest Swiss tournaments ever held saw very tough games in the open section, with the majority of the encounters resulting in draws. The inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss delivered significantly more decisive outcomes. At about half-past one local time in Riga, most of the players taking part in the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss gathered at the Hansas Perons playing hall, eager for the round to begin. By two, the participants were at their designated tables, face to face with their opponents in the first round of what is promising to be one of the strongest Swiss tournaments ever held in the history of chess. The opening of the round was preceded by a minute of silence to honour the deceased Latvian chess coach and former director of the Riga Chess School Aivars Stašāns (1954 – 2021), who passed away on Tuesday evening. After a detailed address by the acting arbiter Ana Srebrnic, asking the players to carefully read and strictly follow the Health Protocol and the dress code, the clocks were allowed to start. The first move on the top board in the open event was made by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich in the game Caruana vs Chigaev. Open tournament The first day did not bring many surprises, with most of the games on the top boards in the Open event ending in a draw. Out of the top ten players in that section, only three won their games: world number two and former contender for the title of World Champion Fabiano Caruana, the promising naturalised Frenchmen Alireza Firouzja and the rising Russian star Kirill Alekseenko. World number two, Fabiano Caruana played the Sicilian Keres Attack, gradually building up the pressure on his opponent before making a thematic knight sacrifice on d5. Maksim Chigaev maintained balance for a while but slipped with 27…Rg6? and had to resign seven moves down the road. Firouzja’s charge to victory over Nijat Abasov went via the Steinitz attack in the Petroff, which led to a sharp position with opposite-side castling. After energetic 17.g4! Nijat snatched a poisoned pawn, which was a poor choice – Alireza’s pieces jumped into action and quickly got to Black’s king. Kirill Alekseenko, who was the wild-card at the previous Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, scored a convincing victory over his Ukrainian namesake, Kirill Shevchenko, setting the base for a promising start in the event. The other top-ten ranked players in the Open event – Levon Aronian (pictured below), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Nikita Vitiugov, Andrey Esipenko, Pentala Harikrishna, Daniil Dubov, Vladimir Fedoseev – all finished their games with a draw. The only woman who decided to participate in the open event – Aleksandra Goryachkina – drew her game against the Peruvian chess prodigy, Jorge Cori. Goryachkina has already qualified for the Candidates as the runner-up of the World Championship match in 2020, so she has decided to take part in the Open event and see how high she can reach. Playing until the late hours of the evening, the former contender for the title of World Champion, Boris Gelfand, lost as White against Dmitrij Kollars of Germany. After the first round of the Grand Swiss, out of 103 players in the Open section, only 20 have started with a victory. Women’s Grand Swiss The first round of the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss saw many more decisive outcomes than the open section. Former Women’s World Champion and top-seeded player in the Women’s Grand Swiss, Mariya Muzychuk, drew her game Aleksandra Maltsevskaya of Russia on board one. Not even the support of her sister Anna, who is a commentator with the Chess.com broadcast team of the event, could help her claim victory against an over hundred-points lower-rated opponent. Second-ranked Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia staged an unpleasant start for Olga Girya, defeating her in the Catalan. In a queen vs queen endgame, Dzagnidze’s conversion was not optimal, but eventually, she secured a free-running pawn on c-file, which gradually made its way forward, followed by her king pushed ahead by the desperate checks from Girya. Former Women’s World Champion and the winner of this year’s inaugural Women’s Chess World Cup, Alexandra Kosteniuk, also started with authority, winning as Black against Sophie Milliet of France. In Round 1, 18 of 50 players in the Women’s event have started the tournament with a victory. Round Two Round Two starts at 2 PM on the 28th of October. The pairings for the second round for the Open event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/open/ The pairings for the second round of the Women’s event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/ For more information about the tournament, please visit:https://grandswiss.fide.com/ Press enquiries: press@fide.com Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Anna Shtourman
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss officially opened in Latvia
The world’s chess elite gathered in Riga’s Hansas Perons centre for the opening of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss. Altogether 158 strong players from all over the world are taking part in the event, which will decide the qualifiers for the 2022 Candidates Tournament that will produce the challenger for the title of the World Champion Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE Managing Director and a Latvian native, noted that it is a great honour for her country to be hosting an event of such importance. Commenting on the current situation in Latvia, where a four-week Covid-lockdown was recently introduced, Reizniece-Ozola said she shares the concerns of players and that she feels the frustration caused by the pandemic. “When all of this was developing, I felt like playing a chess game against COVID and taking it on myself”, said Reizniece-Ozola, who is also a Woman Grandmaster. In his speech at the opening ceremony, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich noted that the Grand Swiss is “the most important FIDE tournament and not just the qualifying event” as he thanked the players for coming. By reiterating that FIDE and the organisers have imposed strict health and safety measures for all, Dvorkovich has said that the international chess body wanted to “show our respect to all people in Latvia and everyone involved in this event” concerning the current situation. FIDE President thanked the Scheinberg Family and Chess.com as well as Coca Cola and the Latvian Chess Federation for sponsoring the event. He expressed FIDE’s gratitude to the Latvian government and the mayor of Riga for hosting the Grand Swiss, as well as to Dana Reizniece-Ozola, “who made this event happen”. “Chess life continues whatever happens. We will do everything possible to ensure the safe conduct of the tournament so that you are free to focus on your games and play well”, Dvorkovich said. “Thank you, good luck and stay healthy”, FIDE President concluded. The guests were also greeted by pre-recorded messaged by the Latvian Minister for Education and Science, Anita Muižniece, as well as the mayor of Riga, Mārtiņš Staķis. Both noted the legacy of Mikhail Tal and how important this event is for Riga and Latvia, inviting players to experience the city and thanking them for their participation. The President of the Latvian Chess Federation, Rejs Mundi, reminded the participants that in 2019 Riga hosted the FIDE Grand Prix, which was won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after a suspenseful Armageddon game in the tie-break against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. “In the spirit of the 2019 event, I wish for this tournament to be a thriller until the end”. He wished players luck but noted that it could only apply to “exactly half of the players, as you can’t all be lucky”. The drawing of lots Following the performance of two singers who sang Latvian folk songs wearing traditional attire, the drawing of lots took place. Arkady Dvorkovich drew white pieces for the open tournament’s top-seed and world number two, Fabiano Caruana. The top player in the women’s section, Mariya Muzychuk, drew black pieces for herself. The 2021 Grand Swiss The first round of the Grand Swiss will start on the 27th of October at 2 PM local time. The open event will have one of the longest time controls ever used in chess: each player will have 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, plus 15 minutes for the remaining moves, with 30 seconds added per move from the start of the game. The time control for the Women’s Grand Swiss will be slightly shorter: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Both tournaments are part of the qualifications for the 2021-23 World Championship cycle, with the top two players in the open event qualifying for the 2022 Candidates Tournament and the following six securing spots in the Grand Prix. The winner of the Women’s Grand Swiss will qualify directly for the Women Candidates and the four best players will qualify for the next year’s Women’s Grand Prix. The pairings for the first round of the Grand Swiss can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr587230.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=1&flag=30 The pairings for the first round of the Women’s Grand Swiss can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr587231.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=1&flag=30 Information about the event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/general-information/ Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Mark Livshitz Official website: grandswiss.fide.com
Winners crowned at FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship
2021-10-26ADDENDUM: The FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships 2021 were held in Rhodes, Greece between 16th and 26th of October 2021. During the awarding ceremony on 25th of October, the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in U2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly. It must be noted that since the number of female players didn’t reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both – this is the detail the CA misinterpreted. The prize distribution has been adjusted accordingly: below you can find the final prize list at the bottom of this article. ############# The 2021 FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship was one of the first over-the-board World Championship in nearly two years and a big step in returning to normal life after the pandemic. It ran as part of the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival from October 17-25. The closing ceremony held on October 25 featured Mr Nikos Nikolis, Vice Governor of the Region of South Aegean, responsible for sports; Dr Charudatta Jadhav, the IBCA President; Mr Benard Wanjala, Chairman of Chess Kenya, and a representative from the Rhodes municipality and the local chess club Ippotis. FIDE representative Mr Ozgur Solakoglu recalled the greetings to the participants sent by the FIDE President, Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, and expressed satisfaction that the amateur players of all ages who came to Rhodes demonstrated love for the beautiful game, good sportsmanship, and courtesy to each other. Mr Solakoglu highlighted no COVID-related health emergencies during the ten days of the championship because everyone adhered to the strictest health protocols as set by the regulators in the host country Greece. He thanked organizers and arbiters for the excellent teamwork that made this tournament a success. Secretary-General of the European Chess Union Mr Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou explained that FIDE and the continental associations treat amateur chess as a base of the pyramid that allows the game to grow organically and involve players of all ages and skill levels. He congratulated everyone on resuming over-the-board events and promised that 2022 would feature many exciting World and European competitions. The excitement in the audience was palpable when the world-renowned singer Juga was introduced and a clip of her famous Oh, Capablanca song was played on screen. Juga made a passionate speech defending real women, wonderful role models like Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, Judith Polgar, against the pop-culture fictional Beth Harmon character. Juga is currently working on the Chess Divas series that will be devoted to those brave real-life women. To the delight of all assembled, the singer gave an avant-première of her new song from the series called Shakhmatistka, created in collaboration with the Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. After such an emotional high, the festivities concluded. Chief Arbiter Vadim Tsypin read the award lists in all categories, the assembled dignitaries presented cups and medals to happy players, and Juga generously gifted her exclusive CDs. The champions came from six different countries on three continents: Women U-1700 Glenda Madelta (KEN) Open U-1700 Mukhtar Ainakul (KAZ) Women U-2000 Marigje Degrande (BEL) Open U-2000 Peter Anand (IND) Women U-2300 Alexandra Zherebtsova (RUS) Open U-2300 Dimitrios Ladopoulos (GRE) During the awarding ceremony the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in the U-2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly: Under-2000 Category Gold medal Peter Anand A (IND) €1,000 Silver medal Degrande, Marigje (BEL) €900 Silver medal Celik, Berkay (TUR) €600 Bronze medal WCM Sultanbek, Zeinep (KAZ) €800 Bronze medal CM Mohamed, Saeed Laily (UAE) €400 Tarnowska, Aleksandra (POL) €700 Under-2000 Women Category Gold medal Degrande, Marigje (BEL) Silver medal WCM Sultanbek, Zeinep (KAZ) Bronze medal Tarnowska, Aleksandra (POL) It must be noted that since the number of female players didn’t reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both – this is the detail the CA misinterpreted At the end of the ceremony, the Tournament Director Nikolaos Kalesis called upon amateur players of the world to come together in Malta for the next FIDE World Amateur Championship in October 2022. The complete results of the event can be found here. Information and photos by the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival press service
FIDE Candidates Tournaments and Women’s Grand Prix Series 2022-23: Call for bids
1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Women’s Grand Prix Series from August 2022 to June 2023 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. The federation’s letter of support may be provided later when the bid’s evaluation procedure is launched. 1.3 The bid may contain special proposals on financial and commercial conditions. The FIDE Council shall decide whether these conditions are admissible. 1.4 Bid Forms shall be filled in by an Applicant. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 6 October to 6 December 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has the right to extend this deadline). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.5 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.6 Once the Organiser is granted the right to organise one of the four Women’s GP tournaments, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC. 1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Candidates Tournament in June-July 2022 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. The federation’s letter of support may be provided later, when the bid’s evaluation procedure will be launched. 1.3 The bid may contain special proposals on financial and commercial conditions. The FIDE Council shall decide whether these conditions are admissible. 1.4 Bid Forms shall be filled in by an Applicant. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 6 October to 20 November 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has the right to extend this deadline). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.5 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.6 Once the Organiser is granted the right to organise the event, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC. 1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Women’s Candidates Tournament in the first part of 2022 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. 1.3 Any Applicant shall fill in the Bidding Form. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 16 August to 15 September 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has a right to extend this deadline ). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.4 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.5 Once the Organiser is granted the right to host the event, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC.
Dutch Championship: Anne Haast clinches her fifth title
Anne Haast came as the winner of the 2021 Dutch Women’s Championship. It is her fifth national title (she previously won this event in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017). The 2021 open and women’s Dutch championship were held in Hoogeveen had different formulas. The women’s event was a classical 8-player round, while men competed in a preliminary knockout stage to qualify for the final four who will return over the board in November to determine the champion. With several top players missing in the open competition, Roeland Pruijssers, Max Warmerdam, Robin Swinkels and Hing Ting Lai made it to the final stage that will take place in Rotterdam. Haast had a shaky start as she lost in Roun 2 to Tea Lanchava but after scoring three victories in a row, the resident of Tilburg and a happy mom of a one-year-old daughter was coming into the final round sharing the lead with Eline Roberts. Anne quickly dismantled the hedgehog formation of Machteld Van Foreest (Jorden and Lukas’ sister) to score a full point, while Eline fell in a sharp battle with Maaike Keetman. The 15-year old Eline Roberts (pictured below) tied for second with GM Peng Zhaoqin and settled for bronze but showed great promise. “If she continues like this, she will certainly succeed one day,” the five-time Dutch Women’s champion said. Final standings: 1 WGM Haast, Anne 2318 5 2 GM Peng, Zhaoqin 2359 4 3 Roebers, Eline 2297 4 4 WIM Ratsma, Rosa 2306 3½ 5 WFM Keetman, Maaike 2136 3½ 6 IM Lanchava, Tea 2214 3 7 FM Kazarian, Anna-Maja 2125 3 8 Van Foreest, Machteld 2132 2 Official website: schaken.nl/ Photo: Frans Peters
Allan Stig Rasmussen wins 2021 Danish Championship
GM Allan Stig Rasmussen came out on top of the 2021 Danish Championship, earning his fifth national title. The 2021 Danish Chess Championship, a 10-player round-robin with classical time control, was held in Svendborg from October 16-24. As the tournament fate would have it, the winner of the event was determined in the final round in the game between the leader Rasmussen and GM Sune Berg Hansen, who was a half-point behind. Trying to complicate matters, Hansen opted for a risky line of Alekhine Defence with Black only to find himself in a precarious position by move 18. Apparently, Rasmussen was not in the mood to take any chances as he forced a draw by threefold repetition to secure the title. Hansen and Rasmussen engaged in a post mortem GM Jesper Sondergaard Thybo, the only participant to beat the champion, was in the run for the top position in the standings for most of the event, but the penultimate round defeat at the hands of IM Nikolaj Borge left him out in the cold. To his credit, Jesper pulled himself together and clinched silver after crushing IM Jens Ove Fries-Nielsen in the final round. Jesper Sondergaard Thybo won silver Sune Berg Hansen scored an equal amount of points with Thybo but had to settle for bronze due to inferior tiebreaks. Final standings: 1 GM Rasmussen, Allan Stig 2566 7 2 GM Thybo, Jesper Sondergaard 2602 6½ 3 GM Hansen, Sune Berg 2528 6½ 4 GM Schandorff, Lars 2458 6 5 IM Borge, Nikolaj 2381 4 6 GM Chatalbashev, Boris 2536 4 7 IM Fries-Nielsen, Jens Ove 2378 4 8 IM Haubro, Martin 2426 3 9 IM Antonsen, Mikkel 2409 2½ 10 FM Rewitz, Poul 2264 1½ Official website: skak-dm.dk/Photo: Mads Boe