Russian Team Championships: Favorites shine in Sochi
The Russian Team Championships took place May 1-10 at the Hotel Zhemchuzhina in Sochi. The open competition (Premier League) was a 9-team round-robin, whereas the women’s event was held in a different format – a 9-round Swiss tournament. Both competitions saw the triumph of the rating favourites. Mednyi Vsadnik headed by Nikita Vitiugov (with Maxim Matlakov, Kirill Alekseenko and Andrey Esipenko on second, third and fourth boards respectively) simply crushed the competition, winning all the matches and sealing the title with a round to spare. The team from St-Petersburg survived just one tense moment in the encounter with KPRF in Round 4 but eventually prevailed thanks to the victory of Vladimir Fedoseev over Sergey Rublevsky. Moscow Chess Team turned in a very solid performance but after losing to Mednyi Vsadnik had no realistic chances for gold and finished second. Gogolevsky, 14 took bronze. Final standings: 1. Mednyi Vsadnik – 16 (team points)2. Moscow Chess Team – 133. Gogolevsky, 14 – 124. KPRF – 95. Wildberries Molodezhka – 76. Mikhail Botvinnik School – 57. Ladya – 58. SShOR – 39. Kimmeria – 2 The women’s competition was pretty much a carbon copy of the open tournament as the Moscow Chess Team that boasts of Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Polina Shuvalova in its lineup cruised through the tournament also scoring nine victories. Southern Ural-1 and Ugra earned silver and bronze respectively. Final standings: 1. Moscow Chess Team – 18 (team points)2. Southern Ural-1 – 153. Ugra – 134. SShOR-1 – 115. Moscow Region – 116. Kimmeria – 107. Southern Ural-2 – 108. Youth of Moscow – 99. SShOR-2 – 910. Amazonki ADDA – 9 Photo: Vladimir Barsky
“Chess Behind Bars”
This piece was originally published on the FIDE Newsletter #31 (May 10, 2021). If you want to receive this biweekly publication directly in your inbox, please subscribe here. One of the experts to take part in the “Chess for Freedom” online conference that was held on May 11, is our colleague Carl Portman, from Birmingham. Carl lived what we could describe as a rough childhood, and he often says that chess changed his life. He goes as far as to say that he could well have found himself in a prison, had chess not helped him to deviate from the wrong path. “It diverted my attention from any nefarious activities and made me use my time more productively (…). Truly, chess opened a happy world for me”. Thanks to chess, he received something that he had never experienced before, encouragement from the adults around him. After serving for 30 years in the Ministry of Defense (he represented the UK in the NATO Championships in France 2012), he co-founded, with his wife Susan, the limited company Caissa Consulting. He plays, organizes events, and teaches chess in schools. When the ECF announced a vacancy for the position of “Manager of Chess in Prisons”, he took it without hesitating. The famous book “The Grass Arena”, written by an ex-convict, had made a profound impact on him, and he “wanted to give something back” after chess had done so much for him. The first prison he visited was HMP Coldingley in Surrey, in the South East of England. In some of the initial visits, he was accompanied by IM Malcolm Pein. “Prison staff were amazed at how the inmates were so completely focused for three hours non-stop. No one wanted us to leave,” recalls Malcolm. Shortly afterwards, in 2015, Carl was awarded the ECF President’s award for services to chess. In 2018, after four years in which he had voluntarily visited 25 prisons up and down the country, he published “Chess Behind Bars” (Quality Chess, 2018), a book that charts his experiences. “Chess Behind Bars” is a beautiful tribute to chess, and it goes well beyond the topic of chess in prisons, bringing us many other examples of the transformative power of the game. Carl brings many examples of what he calls “the joys and redemptive qualities of chess”. “The game makes a difference because it is a fantastic metaphor for life. We must think before making our move, and accept that our decisions have consequences. It also teaches us to learn from our mistakes and to develop a more disciplined approach to problem-solving. Perhaps most importantly of all, it is a constructive use of time and helps to forge friendships. Chess makes us consider the other person’s point of view”, reads the book. “Learning how to channel aggression and lose gracefully are key benefits of the game”, he adds. “To me, Chess Behind Bars is saying that every time a prisoner pushes a pawn, they are doing much more than playing a chess game. They are taking part in a rehearsal for life,” said John Healy, a former prisoner and the author of the book “The Grass Arena”, which inspired Carl. “Portman has enlightened the society of criminals with the best of humanity,” wrote Dominic Lawson of the Daily Mail. You can listen to Carl, and all the other speakers participating in the “Chess for Freedom” online conference on the FIDE YouTube channel.
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Announcing the winners of the FIDE Trainer Awards “Chess Behind Bars” FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship First Preparation of Teachers course Brief news from National Federations READ NEWSLETTER
Dante Beukes and Lishen Mentile win Namibia Championship 2021
IM Dante Beukes cemented his position as one of his country’s top players when he won the 2021 Namibian Closed Chess Championship with a perfect score of 9/9. It is his third national title. He won his first Namibian Championship at the age of 14 in 2017, and his second in 2019. Khoa Goodwill who was the 2013 Champion finished a distant second with 6 points. CM Charles Eichab, the seven-time Namibia Chess Champion ended up in third place with 5½ points. WCM Lishen Mentile, on the other hand, emerged as the winner of the Ladies section of the 2021 Namibian Closed Chess Championship. She won the event with a score of 6 points out of 7 rounds. Lishen Mentile is one of Namibia’s top lady players. She has represented her country in 3 Olympiads (2012, 2016 and 2018). In addition, she has won the Namibian Chess Championship in 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017. WFM Rauha Shipindo was second with 5½ points; Van Wyk Keisha came in third with 4.5 points. The charming Windhoek Country Club Resort was one of the sponsors and the venue for the hotly contested competition. Three Dimension Printing CC and MNE Accounting Services were the other sponsors of the event. Text: Kenya Chess Masala Photo: Namibia Chess Federation
Wojtaszek and Kulon clinch Polish Championship 2021
Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Klaudia Kulon are Polish Champions 2021. The 78th Lotto Polish Championship took place from April 28 to May 05 in Bydgoszcz. The open and women’s sections and were played over the board in two different formats. The open section brought together the best Polish players except for Jan-Krzysztof Duda, battling in a knockout tournament. The rating favourite Radoslaw Wojtaszek was up to the task and reached the final where he faced Wojciech Moranda. Wojciech Moranda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek With his back against the wall after losing the first game, Radoslaw managed to level the score in the second one and then prevailed on tiebreak. It is his fourth national title. In the match for the bronze medal, Bartosz Socko defeated the revelation of the tournament 17-year old Pawel Teclaf. The women’s tournament was an old good 10-player round-robin. IM Klaudia Kulon won the last four blitz championships (the 2020 one also in Bydgoszcz), and finally, the time has come for the classic time control. Klaudia leapfrogged Jolanta Zawadzka in the final round by a half-point after beating Joanna Dworakowska, whereas her main rival fell to Iweta Rajlich and had to settle for silver. Karina Cyfka took bronze thanks to better tiebreaks over Joanna Majdan. Julia Antolak and Klaudia Kulon Final standings: 1. IM Klaudia Kulon (2347) – 62. WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (2399) – 5½3. IM Karina Cyfka (2415) – 5½4. WGM Joanna Majdan (2325) – 5½5. IM Iweta Rajlich (2394) – 56. GM Monika Soćko (2421) – 4½7. IM Joanna Dworakowska (2322) – 48. WIM Julia Antolak (2306) – 49. WFM Michalina Rudzińska (2251) – 2½10. WIM Alicja Śliwicka (2346) – 2½ Photo: Weronika Poczwardowska Official website: mp2021.pzszach.pl/
African Individual Chess Championships announced
The Chess Association of Malawi is pleased to invite all African Chess Federations affiliated to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to the 2021 African Individual Chess Championships. The Championships will be held at the Crossroads Hotel in the City of Lilongwe in Malawi from May 17, 2021 (arrival) to May 28, 2021 (departure). The event includes an Open Section and a Women’s Section. Each National Federation is entitled to delegate a maximum of five (5) players to each Section. Both events are 9-round Swiss tournaments tournament played with the time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one for each player. All participants will be required to adhere to the specific local Covid-19 guidelines as communicated by the host Federation. The specific ruling guidelines at the time of the event will be communicated by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) prior to the commencement of the tournament. The 2021 African Individual Championships are a qualification event for the FIDE World Cup 2021. The top 4 placed players in the Open Section will qualify for the FIDE World Cup 2021 which will take place in Sochi, Russia from July 10, 2021, to August 3, 2021. Entry Forms must be completed and returned to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) no later than May 10, 2021. Regulations, Schedule and Entry Form (pdf)
FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship announced
The International Chess Federation and Chess.com announce the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, an online competition to be held between May 28th and July 3rd. The first edition of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship was held in summer 2020, right in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. With participants like Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Anna Ushenina, Valentina Gunina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kateryna Lagno and others the event was a big success both among audience and participants. The event will consist of two stages: the qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28 till June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 till July 3 with the semifinals on July 01 and 02, and the finals on July 03. The first stage will comprise a total of eight Swiss tournaments open to any titled women player (WCM/WFM/WIM/WGM/CM/FM/IM/GM). Organizers expect to have participants from around 100 countries. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. The main event of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship will consist of a 16-player bracket, one match per day. Eight players will be invited directly to the knockout bracket, while a qualification system will determine the eight remaining spots. In the 16-player brackets players will face each other under three different time controls – rapid, blitz and bullet. The closer they will be getting to the end of their matches, the less time they will have to make decisions – the more thrilling the games will become. The FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship features one of the biggest prize pools in the history of online women’s chess tournaments. $58,000 will be allocated to the main event with $20,000 going to the winner and $12,000 to the runner-up. The total prize fund of the event is $66,000. All the games from the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship will be broadcast live with multilingual expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. Fans will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page. All the information about the Championship can be found here: https://www.chess.com/article/view/2021-womens-speed-chess-championship-all-the-information
Chicago hosts 2021 North American Youth Championship
With the relaxing restrictions and Chicago’s goal of reopening by July 4, the organizers of the 2021 North American Youth Chess Championship (NAYCC) are excited to announce they are moving forward with a tournament in Chicago from August 16 – 21, 2021. The tournament will take place at the Hilton Chicago, a centrally located luxury hotel in downtown Chicago that overlooks Lake Michigan, Grant Park, and the Museum Campus. The Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, the International Chess School, the United States Chess Federation, the Confederation of Chess for America, and the International Chess Federation (FIDE), are pleased to invite players under 18 years old (as of Jan 1, 2021) from the USA, Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas to the 17th Annual North American Youth Championship. Players will participate in the following categories: Under 8 years old, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16, and under 18; Open and Girls sections. This is an international tournament where FIDE Titles and norms will be awarded to the top 3 players in each section. Trophies will also be awarded to the top players in each section. This will be a FIDE and US Chess rated tournament. Players may register online through the event website. The early entry fee is $150.00 thru June 15 (This includes $25 for FIDE America and all rating fees). The tournament is a 9-Round, Swiss with a time control of 90 minutes plus 30-second increment per move. The tournament schedule allows players and their parents the time to enjoy all Chicago has to offer. Arrival day is Monday, August 16 with a Blitz tournament scheduled at 5 PM. There will be two rounds each day from August 17 – 20. At 10 AM & 4 PM. On Saturday, August 21, the final round is at 9 AM and the closing ceremony is at 3 PM. The organizers have arranged with the hotel a special rate of $165 (USD) for single/double occupancy, triple $189, quad $214; plus tax. This rate is good for three days pre and post-event for those who want to arrive early or stay after the tournament to enjoy all the city has to offer. The organizers recognize the challenges presented by COVID-19 and are implementing precautionary measures to prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 among players and guest at the tournament. Details can be found on the event website. To register for the tournament, make hotel reservations, or for more details visit www.naycc2021.com Contact: info@naycc2021.com FIDE Official Chess Learning Partner FIDE General Partner
Intercontinental ChessKid/FIDE Challenge Returns
Following the tremendous success of the first edition, the Intercontinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge returns in the first month of summer. The second edition, open to any child aged 12 and younger, will be held on June 19, 2021. Over 1900 kids from 86 countries competed in the first edition that took place in January 2021. Let’s try to get 100+ countries participating! The prizes for the winners include group lessons localized to winning kids’ language and time zone. For the last event, GM Humpy Koneru and GM Vishy Anand taught in English, GM Irina Krush – in Russian, GM Jorge Cori – in Spanish, GM Stelios Halkias – in Greek, and IM Hongjin Ahn – in Korean. To accommodate as many time zones as possible, there will be two different tournaments. Children are eligible to play in either one or both, whichever is more convenient for them. Each of the two events will be played in two sections: Age 9-12 and 8 & Under. Both will be broadcasted on Chess.com/TV with FunMasterMike and his guests commentating on the games. Both editions will be 7-round Swiss tournaments with the time control 10+2 (10 minutes starting time plus 2 seconds added per move). The expected length for each tournament is about three hours. Although the Intercontinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge is first of all about involvement and fun, every child will have a chance to win a prize. For every half-point earned, a player receives one “raffle ticket” (two “raffle tickets” for every win). In addition, any player finishing the tournament receives a bonus raffle ticket. The prize draw for both events will take place on June 26, 2021. To join the tournaments, register here: The Eastern Hemisphere edition (starts at 9 am UK):https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=1367 The Western Hemisphere edition (starts at 9 am Pacific U.S.):https://www.events4chess.com/events/?event_ID=1366 FIDE invites you to join this worldwide initiative and hopes kids from all over the world will enjoy the challenge. You can find all the details at the ChessKid website: www.chesskid.com
Russian juniors and trainers awarded in Sirius
The award ceremony for the Russian juniors and trainers, the members of the Russian national team, which jointly won the first FIDE Online Olympiad, took place in the Main Media Centre of the Educational Centre “Sirius” in Sochi. Andrey Esipenko, Polina Shuvalova, Alexey Sarana, and Margarita Potapova are the graduates of the chess section of Surius. All of them contributed a lot to the victory of the Russian team. Dmitry Savin, the Deputy Director of Sirius, greeted the chess players and guests before the ceremony and showed them around the exhibition halls. Andrey Filatov, President of the Chess Federation of Russia, thanked the Educational Centre “Sirius” and personally its director Elena Shmeleva for the great contribution to the preparation of the Russian chess players, future members of the national team. In his speech, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich recalled how the Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested creating a chess section in the Education Centre while visiting Sirius in 2015 and a year later in 2016, this idea had come to fruition. Arkady Dvorkovich presented the FIDE gold medals to the juniors and the trainers Andrey Filatov, Alexander Motylev, and Sergei Rublevsky. Other team members have already received their medals during the ceremony held in the Central Chess Club in Moscow in December 2020. The leading Russian players were also given high state awards. Photos: Education Centre “Sirius”