Nepomniachtchi keeps the lead
Day two of the GCT Croatia Rapid & Blitz brought another exciting day of chess. The seven wildcard participants in this event are certainly keeping the tournament interesting and full of surprises. Though the day may have started off slow, as the time was running out for the players, many fumbles and surprises started to appear. Round 4 The first game to finish in round 4 of the GCT Croatia was the one between the World Championship Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi and his Russian compatriot Alexander Grischuk. In an equal position from an English Opening, Grischuk may have overpushed on move 18…d4 allowing Ian to activate his Bg2 and further transpose into an endgame which was slightly superior for White despite Black’s space advantage. Most likely due to the limited amount of time left, Grischuk misplaced and lost a pawn after which Nepo slowly converted extra material in the endgame. As the commentators put it: “It was a dominant performance by Nepo!” In the game between Jorden Van Forrest-Ivan and Ivan Saric, it was White that kept the pressure throughout finding an interesting piece sacrifice: 26. Bxg6!? trying to weaken Black’s king. The piece was shortly recouped by the young Dutch player. The attack wasn’t strong enough, but he was able to retain an extra pawn in a rook endgame, which Saric held to a draw without much trouble. It was a tough day at the office for the Ukrainian Grandmaster Anton Korobov and quite the comeback for the Duch player Anish Giri. In a Vienna Game, where it seemed that it was White who had a clearly better position, Korobov misplayed 18.Bd4?? failing to recover his pawn down from c6. 18.Bxc6! Had to be played instead. It was all that Giri needed to put pressure on White’s king, keep up the extra pawn and convert the rook and bishop endgame later on. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Viswanathan Anand played a line in the Ragozin, where Black emerged with an extra pawn. Though White had some pressure on Black’s king due to the doubled f-pawns, Anand defended well and soon it seemed that he was heading to a much better position. He ended up in a knight and bishop endgame with an extra pawn, but it wasn’t enough to win against the strong Azeri GM. The game between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Jan-Krzysztof Duda was the one that kept the audience breathless as it involved some interesting decisions and blunders from both sides. They played the Two-Knights Attack from the Caro-Kann which led to a balanced position. It was on move 28, where MVL chose to sacrifice a knight to open up Black’s king. It was a correct sacrifice, though it didn’t seem to bring him enough to build a mating attack. When Duda blundered with 33…Ne3??, the Frenchman found a way to win the queen for a rook and a bishop. The surprise happened when MVL chose to voluntarily (as he stated in the post-event interview) give back the queen with 40. Qf4?? and go into a rook endgame with an extra pawn and further a king and pawn endgame that should have normally ended in a draw. With little time on the clock and mistakes on both sides, Duda was the one that blundered last and lost the game. Round 5 Round 5 was the round of missed opportunities for many players. Four of the five games ended in a draw. The man of the round was certainly 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand who took down the Ukrainian Grandmaster Anton Korobov. The game was not without ups and downs, however. In the Steinitz Variation of the French Defense, Anand went directly for 11.h4 delaying to bring his king to b1, as it is often played in this type of positions. As the game was unfolding, it seemed that Korobov was able to stop White’s king side attack and build more powerful one of his own on the queenside. Apparently, Korobov outplayed Anand, but made a mistake with 26…Rcd8? and succumbed to 27. Nf5! that allowed White to steer into a slightly better queen and bishop endgame. They later traded the queens into an opposite color bishop endgame that could have been a draw, but after being able to win all of Black’s pawns on the queenside, Anand was able to convert the game masterfully. Both games of Ian Nepomniachtchi-Jan-Krzystof Duda and Alexander Grischuk- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were played correctly leading to equal rook endgames that ended in all draws. One of the tournament wildcards and local Grandmaster Ivan Saric had an interesting game against the French favorite Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Though it started as a Sicillian, the game transposed to a French pawn structure, where MVL went for the typical break 15…f6 which allowed some advantage for White. Saric played confidently and even made a beautiful and typical positional exchange sacrifice 20. Rxe4! Accuracy would have been important for White to be able to continue keeping the pressure, but MVL defended ferociously and the game ended in a draw. Another interesting game of the round was between the two Duch compatriots, Anish Giri and Jorden Van Foreest. It was towards the endgame that Jorden started making inaccuracies given his weaker pawn structure. Anish was able to get an upper hand in a rook endgame with better-placed rook and king. He missed a chance to win the rook endgame on move 41, where instead of capturing the a-pawn, he should have played 41.b6 creating a hiding spot for his king. As played, his king didn’t have a place to hide and it allowed Black to deliver checks. Despite the extra pawn, the rook endgame ended in a somewhat peaceful draw. Round 6 Round 6 certainly brought more excitement in the eyes of the fans, as the current leader was taken down by the local star Ivan Saric. After about 20 moves theory in the Sveshnikov variation, it was Ivan Saric who seemed more confident than Ian Nepomniachtchi. Ivan had barely used any of his time, while Ian had already spent about 10 minutes, which is quite important in rapid
Nornickel becomes FIDE’s youth and children global chess development partner
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and MMC Norilsk Nickel agreed on cooperation for 2021-2023. The company will be FIDE’s general partner in the global development of children’s and youth chess. “We gladly welcome one of the world’s largest mining and smelter companies among FIDE partners – a reliable partner that has been doing a lot for the development of sports in Russia and all over the world. For us, a long-term partnership with Nornickel is an opportunity to jointly conduct major projects and competitions to support and develop children’s and youth chess worldwide. This is an investment in young talented people, which will surely pay significant dividends for the world of chess. I am confident that our cooperation will enable both parties to achieve great results: FIDE – in the development of chess, and Nornickel – in the effective brand promotion on the global stage using sports marketing tools,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. As part of the cooperation, Nornickel will be a partner of the annual FIDE Junior World Championships, FIDE Under-20 Junior Chess Championships (both open and women), as well as some other major competitions, including the FIDE World Cup 2021, the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021 and the Chess Olympiad 2022. “Success in both chess and business heavily depends on the right strategy. Any project can be compared to a chess game in which making the right move is critical. Chess develops strategic thinking, memory, concentration, decision-making skills, imagination and creativity. All these skills are necessary for any sphere, including business. That is why Nornickel will support FIDE’s global development of children’s and youth chess projects. Special focus will be on children’s chess development programs in the company’s regions of the highest priority,” stressed Larisa Zelkova, Senior Vice President of Nornickel. The partnership also involves an effective program for the development of chess among children in the regions of the highest priority for the company’s business. Based on a comprehensive approach to online training with the involvement of international grandmasters, the program will reach a significant number of talented kids to unlock their potential. About Nornickel: Nornickel is a partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), International University Sports Federation (FISU), Russian Olympic Committee, Russian Futsal Association, Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Night Hockey League, and Russian Curling Federation. Nornickel also owns a professional basketball team CSKA and a futsal team Norilsk Nickel.
Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities starts on Tornelo
The Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities kicks off on July 9 on the Tornelo platform, with 30 players from 9 countries participating in the open and women’s sections. The Asian Online Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities is an open individual tournament for chess players who belong to any of the three disability categories (visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically disabled). The Asian Chess Federation invites National Federations in Asia to nominate two players each for the open section and two players each for the women’s section for the Asian Online Championship for Players with Disabilities. Players should be members of their national federation with a valid FIDE ID number. The event is a 5-round Swiss tournament with time control of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move starting from move 1 (10’ + 5” incr.). There is no default time. No penalty is imposed on a player if they are late for any of their games; their clock keeps running until the time forfeit. FIDE Rapid ratings as of July 1 2021 will be used for pairing purposes. Should a participant have no FIDE Rapid rating, their standard rating will be used, and if they have no standard rating, such a player will be considered unrated for seeding purposes. The tournament will take place from July 9-11. An online Technical Meeting will be held at 3 pm Dubai time on July 8 2021. Any request for a special arrangement, particularly a request to have an assistant, shall be communicated to the disabledasia@gmail.com address no later than two (2) days after the registration deadline. The organizers shall attempt to grant the request in good faith. Their decision shall be final and non-appealable. IA Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh will serve as a tournament director. IA Kausar Bauyrzhan is Chief Arbiter, whereas IA Jamie Kenmure, Chairman of the Asian Chess Federation Commission for Disabled Persons, is Appeals Committee Chairman. Official website: asianchess.com/
Ponkratov and Guseva win Higher League of Russian Championship
The Higher League of the 74th Russian Championship and the 71st Russian Women’s Championship ended in Cheboksary last Monday. Five best players of each Swiss tournament qualified for the 2021 Russian Championships Superfinals. Both competitions with classical time control were held from June 26 to July 5. Having scored 7 points out of 9, Pavel Ponkratov (pictured above) became the winner of the open event. Maksim Chigaev and Aleksandra Goryachkina finished a half-point behind and tied for second place. Aleksandr Rakhmanov and Alexander Motylev also secured their spots in the Superfinal netting 6 points each. Women’s vice-champion Aleksandra Goryachkina made a real splash in the event. Competing with an array of strong GMs she turned in an excellent performance and became the first woman to qualify for the Russian Championship Superfinal (open section). Aleksandra picked up 15 rating points and surpassed a 2600 mark in live rating. Marina Guseva came out on top in the women’s tournament scoring 8.5 points out of 9 – two points ahead of Anastasia Bodnaruk, Daria Voit, and Evgenija Ovod who shared second place. Alina Bivol (Moscow) is in fifth place with 6 points. Official website: https://ruchess.ru/en/ Photo: Anastasia Domchenkova
Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners announced
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, organized as a part of the Chess for Freedom program. The project, aimed at introducing chess as a tool for education and social inclusion in prisons of different countries, is carried out under the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov’s patronage. The first events of the Chess for Freedom program were held earlier this year. The FIDE Online Conference “Chess for Freedom” and the invitational Online Chess Demonstration Tournament for Prisoners from 4 countries – USA, Russia, Armenia and Spain – took place on May ’11. The first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners will be a continuation of the international championship first held in 2019. The event will be organized by FIDE and the Cook County (Chicago, IL, USA) Sheriff’s Office and is scheduled for October 13-14, 2021, on the International Day of Education in Prison. The championship, hosted by Chess.com, is open for teams made of 4 players representing any correctional facility (jail or prison) without any specification by age and gender of prisoners. Each country can have one team for the event. However, additional teams from the same country can be represented by prisoners of female and juvenoid (U20) correctional facilities. Up to three teams can represent every country. The championship consists of two stages: the preliminary tournament, a 7-round round-robin, held on October 13, 2021, and the Championship Round for top teams, which will occur on the second day of the event, October 14, 2021. Regulations for Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners (pdf) Chess for Freedom Presentation (pdf) The registration deadline is September 21, 2021, and there is no entry fee. Registration link: https://cutt.ly/kmgAbof About the Chess for Freedom program In recent years, we have witnessed the successful introduction of chess in prisons through different educative programs in the USA, Armenia, Norway, Russia, England, Brazil, Italy and Spain, with very positive outcomes. In prisons, just as in broader society, the impact of sport and games can be far-reaching. The experiences referred above demonstrate that chess improves behaviour, helping to reduce inmate violence and developing communication skills, while promoting positive use of leisure time. Chess also drastically improves the decision-making capabilities of a group of people that, very often due to the lack of opportunities and access to proper education, has ended up in jail after making a wrong choice in life. Besides, the game positively impacts the inmates’ overall health, fighting depression, stress and anxiety, and motivating them to change for the better. As a result, chess greatly contributes to efforts towards rehabilitation, and some studies have already proven it to reduce reoffending. It can be potentially life-changing, as many testimonies show. To support and promote this line of work, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) have signed a cooperation agreement and launched the “Chess for Freedom” program. Under the patronage of the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, this project kicked off in May 2021 with an online conference and an exhibition tournament with four participant countries. Later on, in October, the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners – a much larger competition with the participation of tens of prisons will be held.
FIDE events postponed until 2022 due to COVID restrictions
Due to the many travel restrictions still in force all around the world, the FIDE Council has approved postponing several events, initially scheduled for 2021. With multiple states across the world still under lockdown and uncertainty remaining around border controls, the FIDE Council decided to postpone the following international tournaments until 2022: World School Individual Championships 2021 Panama City, Panama World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships 2021 Mamaia, Romania World Cadet U8, U10, U12 Championships 2021 Batumi, Georgia World Senior Championship 2021 Assisi, Italy World Senior Team Championship 2021 Acqui Terme, Italy World Youth U14, U16, U18 Rapid & Blitz Championships 2021 Greece World Cadet U8, U10, U12 Rapid Blitz Championships 2021 Greece The decision was made following the recommendations of the World Health Organization, national sports authorities in the hosting countries, and concerns expressed by many participants and national federations. As for the World Amateur Championship 2021, which is scheduled to take place in Rhodes, Greece, from October 17th to October 27th 2021, the dates will remain unchanged. However, the tournament organiser is obliged to require the participants to get fully vaccinated with any COVID-19 vaccines or provide a valid negative COVID-19 test and run regular testing as COVID-safety measures. FIDE is also considering postponing some remaining 2021 competitions to 2022. We will keep monitoring the situation, and an announcement will be made as early as possible.
Proposals to change FIDE’s rating and title regulations
Dear Member Federations, The Qualification Commission would like to invite Federation representatives, FIDE officials and other interested parties to attend two open meetings discussing proposals to change FIDE’s rating and title regulations. The following meetings will be held via Zoom: FIDE Rating Regulationshttps://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B022017Monday, 19th July, 12:30 – 15:00 UTC FIDE Title Regulationshttps://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01Regulations2017Wednesday, 21st July, 12:30 – 15:00 UTC If you are interested in attending one or more of these meetings, then please fill out and submit the following form: The link and meeting details will be sent to the email address provided on the form when you register for the day of the meeting. Alex HolowczakSecretary, FIDE Qualification Commission
Aronian wins his first Meltwater Champions Tour title
Levon Aronian has won his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title on Independence Day – just before he’s due to switch to the US. The 38-year-old breezed through the second match of the $100,000 Goldmoney Asian Rapid final to put to bed the challenge of Vladislav Artemiev. Russia’s young speed demon, who made the final on his Tour debut, needed a swift comeback to stand any chance of beating the vastly experienced Aronian. It didn’t come as Artemiev was simply outclassed on the ninth day of an exhausting online event. The 23-year-old went deeper into the tournament than anyone expected and will be rightly pleased with his performance. Artemiev showed he belongs at this elite level. Aronian, meanwhile, has played the Goldmoney Asian Rapid from Paris, where he is staying before a planned move across the Atlantic next month. The switch of the federation is coinciding with a stunning return to form for the world number 5. Aronian dominated the prelim stage of this event, topping the leaderboard for the first time in a Tour event. He then calmly knocked out Indian wunderkid Arjun Erigaisi in the quarters before downing World Champion Magnus Carlsen to get to the final. “I have to say at first that I was lucky against Magnus,” Aronian said. “I think, though, that I only played well today.” The tournament champion said he would “allow myself a glass of wine” to celebrate. Having comfortably beaten Artemiev in the first match of the final yesterday, Aronian was supreme again in the second. Aronian raced into a 1-0 lead as Artemiev desperately sacrificed pieces and got into time-trouble. It meant Artemiev now couldn’t lose the next game as he would be unable to win the second match. But the young gun rushed and Aronian stayed cool and calm to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. It left Aronian the winner of the seventh leg of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour and $30,000 richer. Aronian also picks up valuable Tour points in the quest to make the flagship Tour Finals event in September. The Goldmoney Asian Rapid was broadcast live on Norwegian TV station TV 2 and streamed with commentary in several languages on chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Highlights will are be available in 60 countries on the Eurosport app. All games were played on the chess24.com playzone. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Aronian on brink of first Meltwater Champions title
Levon Aronian has raced ahead in the Goldmoney Asian Rapid final, leaving Vladislav Artemiev with a mountain to climb tomorrow. The 38-year-old Armenian declined to celebrate at the halfway point as he clinched up a comfortable 2.5-1.5 first match win over the Russian. Artemiev now needs a comeback to take the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event final to a blitz playoff. The odds are heavily stacked against him. “I am sure Vladislav is going to bring everything he has,” Aronian said before tomorrow’s second half. “Because he is a great player. I have to be ready.” Artemiev is renowned for his prowess in speed chess but seemed out-of-sorts as he found himself struggling on the clock. After a draw in game 1, the 2019 European Champ had a golden opportunity to hit Aronian with an early win. Artemiev was streets ahead but let the advantage slip. Aronian used all his wily experience to pull off what he later described as a “miracle” save. With momentum behind him, Aronian then crashed through in game 3 to take the lead with just one game to go. Artemiev needed a win, but it was Aronian who attacked in game 4. The Russian tried hard but couldn’t lay a glove on Aronian, and the final game ended in a draw. Artemiev afterwards said it had been a “difficult day” but that he hoped to bounce back. He said: “Ok, I’m not very good today, but I have a chance to fight tomorrow.” Meanwhile, the two losing semi-finalists, World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren of China were battling it out in the third-place playoff match. At the halfway stage, Carlsen is ahead after a 2.5-1.5 win. The champ looked back to himself after a bad day at the office when he lost against Aronian. Carlsen, who is playing from Oslo, revealed that he has been in quarantine throughout the tournament and barely left his room. On having to play in the third-place match, Carlsen said: “Everyone knows it’s not where I want to be, but sometimes you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt or dealt yourself.” The Goldmoney Asian Rapid is broadcast live on Norwegian TV station TV 2 and streamed with commentary in several languages on chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Highlights will also be available in 60 countries on the Eurosport app. Play begins tomorrow at 13:00 CEST. All games will be played on the chess24.com playzone. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Hou Yifan wins Women’s Speed Chess Championship
Hou Yifan is the winner of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship. In a roller-coaster final match with tension running high to the very end, she defeated Harika Dronavalli 15-13. Both opponents showed a great fighting spirit. The winner picked up the $20,000 first prize, whereas the runner-up took home $12,000 for her efforts. The Indian star was off to a flying start grabbing the lead in the 5+1 section, but the world’s #1 stormed back in the 3+1 segment levelling the score after a series of wins. It was back and forth in the bullet portion before Hou Yifan claimed the championship by winning the last two games. Internet connectivity problems on Harika’s side also affected the 1+1 part of the match. “In-between bullet, my Internet connection troubled me today. It never happened to me before, so I was a little disturbed. At the same time, I can’t give such reasons; my opponent played much stronger. I tried to fight until the end,” said Dronavalli. Hou Yifan also noted her opponent’s strength and unfortunate connectivity issues: “Harika had a very good performance, especially in a segment of 5+1. At some point, I was behind 2 or 3 points. I think the turning point was when Harika got some Internet connection problems. It is not only a technical issue but also bad psychologically. I had a similar experience before, and it can be annoying, to be honest.” “In the bullet segment, my opponent played very well, very fast… At any point, it could have gone either way. I was just lucky at some moments to win this match,” the champion added. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event run from June 10 to July 3. Players battled for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.