UPDATE: 1st workshop “Equal Opportunities”
Dear member federations, We would like to remind you that the 1st Online Workshop “Equal Opportunities” will be held 16-19 of May, 2021. Below you can find an updated programme for the workshop, which now includes the confirmed names of the 4 keynote speakers and 3 special guests that will make a brief presentation together with the lecturers: Arthur Kogan, Arkady Dvorkovich, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Sonja Johnson, Elias Mastoras, Dr Marape Marape, Victor Bologan, Sorin Lapadatou, David Cordover, and Jirina Prokopova. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce and explore important information about chess players with disabilities. We will demystify the concept of disability in chess and offer basic skills for interacting with and accommodating people with disabilities acting as Organizer, Trainer and Arbiter. The following are the goals of the workshop: Increase participant awareness of disability issues and disability culture. Educate Chess Arbiters, Trainers & Organizers providing special certificates of specialization. Inform about European programs and activities that National Chess Federations as also the rest of chess organizations can create or take part in. The workshop is organized by the FIDE Commission for the Disabled (DIS) together with the European Chess Union (ECU), and is supported by the FIDE development fund. Schedule: List of lecturers: Trainers: Thomas Luther, GM and FIDE Senior Trainer Organizers: Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, FM and International Organizer Arbiters: Carolina Muñoz Solis, WIM and International Arbiter Registration form: Information: secretariat@europechess.org(Ms Ismini Tzegka)
Shenzhen Road Primary School stages impressive chess scene
More than a thousand primary school students in Liaocheng played chess on the playground simultaneously, with the unfolding scene being reminiscent of a giant chessboard. Aiming to improve the intelligence and competitive level of the majority of children and to provide students with a chess exchange platform, on the morning of April 15th, the second “Liangzhi Cup” chess competition was held in Shenzhen Road Primary School, Liaocheng High-tech Zone, Shandong Province of China. More than a thousand elementary school students lined up in the playground, sitting face to face in pairs, competing with each other over chessboards. “Chess activities not only help develop children’s intelligence and improve thinking skills but also cultivate good habits of tenacity, unity, and courage to challenge.” Song Demin, principal of Shenzhen Road Primary School in the High-tech Zone, said in his opening speech. The school’s chess-based curriculum has been in place for 3 years. It was a massive chess competition held by the school. Hopefully, every student will be able to advance as a chess pawn and eventually get promoted to a queen, achieving his or her full potential. “Engage, think, and play” – inspired by this motto, the young players darted into the battle full of fighting spirit and self-confidence. Some kids are already quite experienced players. Take for example a fourth-grade student 11-year-old Luo Zihan. At her young age, she has already won the title of Alternate Chess Association Master. Influenced by her family, Zihan has been exposed to chess since her early childhood. She is going to work on chess even harder and play much more events striving for better results. After a morning competition, the prizes were awarded in course of a brief but eventful ceremony. Source: https://w.dzwww.com/p/8352925.html (includes a short video)
Qualification for FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022 announced
The FIDE Council has approved the qualifying path to the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022. The eight spots in the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022 will be allocated based on the following criteria: A. 1 spot – FIDE World Championship Match 2020, Runner-up GM Goryachkina B. 2 spots – FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20 The players who finish 1st and 2nd in the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20. If one or two of these players is/are GM Ju Wenjun and/or GM Goryachkina, the reserved spot(s) is (are) awarded to the next non-qualifying player(s) in the final ranking of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019-20. C. 3 spots – FIDE World Cup 2021 The three winners of the FIDE World Cup 2021. If GM Ju Wenjun and/or GM Goryachkina and/or one of the players qualified via event B is (are) among the three winners, one qualification spot is awarded to the fourth place of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021. D. 1 spot – FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament 2021 The winner of the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament 2021. If the winner is GM Ju Wenjun or GM Goryachkina, or one of the players qualified via events B or C, the reserved spot is awarded to the next non-qualifying player of the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament 2021. E. 1 spot – by Rating The player having the highest standard rating in the January 2022 FIDE rating list, provided she has at least 15 standard games rated in FIDE standard rating lists 2021 or participated in events C or D. Comments 1. If there are unawarded spots after event C, they shall go to event D, but can be awarded only to players who finish in 4th place or higher. 2. If there are unawarded spots after event D, they shall go to event B, but can be awarded only to players who finish in 4th place or higher. 3. If there are still unawarded spots, they shall be awarded by rating as described in clause E. Women’s World Championship Cycle events scheduled for 2021: WGP Series, 4th leg – May Women’s World Cup – July Women’s Grand Swiss – October-November In case of any schedule modification caused by force majeure/pandemic circumstances, the FIDE Council is entitled to adjust the qualification criteria accordingly.
Ian Nepomniachtchi: “The strategy was not to lose”
The winner of the FIDE Candidates Tournament answered Eteri Kublashvili’s questions in great detail. We publish this interview, courtesy of the official website of the Chess Federation of Russia, with some minor edits. The video version is available here. – Ian, you won one of the most important events in every chess player’s career and qualified for the World Championship Match. It’s a great achievement, congratulations! So, how do you feel now? – Thank you. I feel really exhausted because it was an incredible tournament in many, many senses of the word. First of all, I guess it took 400 days from start to finish, it is kind of outstanding. Well, when you read about chess history, players were travelling by sea, from America to Europe and so on… In our times, you know, it’s not romantic at all because of the global pandemic thing. I think the most difficult part was not playing chess, but these 13 months between the first and second legs, during which one somehow needed to keep one’s focus, needed to prepare constantly thinking about other guys: what were they doing, how did they prepare, what were they going to play, because basically, it’s one year between the tournaments and only seven games to prepare for. So, you should be ready that you’re going to face completely different players in a completely different situation. I believe, for instance, Ding played really poorly in the first leg, scoring –2, and now, in the second leg, he scored +2. He also beat me on the last day. It’s just one of the examples. – Yes, it was a very long and nervous period of expectation and negotiations, but still, in one of his interviews, Anatoly Karpov said that this one-year break would do you good because probably you would save more energy for the second part. Do you agree with this? – Well, especially now when I know the result – yes. Indeed, I’m not the person who should whine about this long break, since in the end, I won the whole thing. However, I’d say that this also would help other guys, because, you know, the Candidates Tournament is a very difficult competition, the stakes are very high, and there’s only one place, so it doesn’t matter if you finish on +1, or +2, or earn some rating: you should score the maximum amount of points, you should take the first place. Basically, you can earn some rating, you can play some good games, but all this will never make you happy unless you win the Candidates. If you remember the last year, everyone was afraid of the COVID-19. As for me, on my last training session before the tournament, I got a slight cold, but somehow it was going worse and worse and worse, and by the end of the tournament, I was feeling really bad. As far as I remember, in the last game of the first leg against Maxime, I actually skipped most of my preparation because I was feeling so bad that I just wanted to save as much energy as I could, but it produced the opposite effect. I just mixed up moves in the line that happened and quickly got a worse, almost lost position. After that game, the situation wasn’t that clear anymore. I was on a +3 score, in a commanding position, but then I ended up sharing first place on +2 with Vachier-Lagrave, and it was very bad news for me. Anyway, I was determined to show that this was just a random slump, and I was preparing hard for my next game against Anish… I was very shocked and disappointed when I learned that the tournament was stopped to be resumed “sometime in the future”. Then some time passed, and I understood that I was very far from my best conditions, so I guess this [stopping and resumption] made me a really big favourite. – What was your strategy before the second part? – The strategy was quite simple: not to lose (laughs). Because, well, it may sound funny, but in general, I had an opportunity to commentate on two last editions of the FIDE Candidates Tournament. In Moscow 2016, we commentated with Miroshnichenko, and it was only for one half of the tournament. I think I was also helping Svidler a little bit during the event but wasn’t really involved in it. In 2018, I covered the tournament fully on my Twitch channel. And I noticed that people were just going completely crazy for some reason. Perhaps the stakes are so high that they can’t help it… The smaller problem is they can’t play their best chess. They are affected by the strength of their opponents, their good preparation, and the pressure. But it goes without saying that the bigger problem is that sometimes you’re just going completely crazy, you play some moves or make some decisions you’d never make in any other circumstances. It was a big lesson for me, especially commentating on Kramnik’s games. I guess he’d played six or seven decisive games: win-loss, win-loss, win-loss… Well, OK, win and loss are the same as two draws, but they don’t bring you closer to the first place. At some point, I realized that as far as I scored +2, I was kind of lucky because the games against Wang Hao and Ding Liren at the start of the tournament went really well for me, I got something I prepared for, and I managed to convert, of course, not as smoothly as I wanted, but still. And I thought, all right, I have four White games in the second part of the tournament, while Maxime has four Blakc games. I feel that MVL is more a “white” player, he does want to push with White, it’s one of his strengths. On the other hand, his repertoire with Black is a little bit risky for such a tournament. I mean, people had one year to prepare… Last year, it
Rafael Araque wins first hybrid tournament in the Americas
The chess federations of Panama, Puerto Rico, and Colombia joined efforts to run the Hybrid Invitational Chess Tournament of Puerto Rico (April 30 – May 02), the first competition in the Americas held in the hybrid format. This new format, presented and approved by FIDE at the beginning of the year, implies that the games are played online, but the participants are physically present in a public place like a club, federation headquarters, hotel, etc. It is expected to be a good alternative to keep chess players active and alleviate the negative impact caused by the global epidemic. The 5-round Swiss tournament with classical time control brought together 30 players (10 per federation). The rating favourite Rafael Araque (Colombia) rose to the occasion and came out on top netting 4 out of 5 points. A large group of players scored 3½ points and tied for second place with Diego Zilleruelo (Puerto Rico) finishing second thanks to a greater number of victories. Carlos Neira (Panama) is third on account of better Buchholz over his competitors. Final standings: 1. Araque, Rafael (COL) – 42. Zilleruelo, Irizarry Diego (PUR) – 3½3. Neira, Carlos (PAN) – 3½4. Mendez, Andre (PAN) – 3½5. Ramos, Efren Andres (PAN) – 3½6. Fellman, Mike (PUR) – 3½7. Diaz Montes, Edwin (PUR) – 3½8. Otalora Pacheco, Carlos Eduardo (COL) – 3½9. Rojas Castillo, Leibnitz Edison (COL) – 310. Oquendo, Abel (PAN) – 3 Photo: Courtesy of the Puerto Rico Chess Federation
Carlsen clinches first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title
Magnus Carlsen survived a fierce fightback from Hikaru Nakamura to clinch his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title on Sunday. The World Champion broke his duck in the $1.5 million Tour events at the fifth attempt with a 3-1 final set victory that sealed the New In Chess Classic. “I’m really, really relieved,” Carlsen said. “I’m just so happy to have won one of these tournaments, it feels really good.” Carlsen takes the $30,000 top prize, 50 Tour points to leapfrog Wesley So into first place, and the Norwegian gets bragging rights against his old rival. Nakamura, who fought valiantly, cashes in $15,000 for his second prize. The American, one set behind after the first day, had got off to the perfect start by dominating game 1 almost from start to finish. Nakamura dominated the second too as Carlsen looked like he might just crack. But ahead in the set, Nakamura allowed Carlsen a draw by repetition. The champ escaped and Nakamura missed an opportunity to turn the screw. It proved crucial. If Nakamura was left regretting that decision, he would have regretted being too aggressive in game 3 even more. Carlsen’s killer instinct kicked in as soon as he spotted a weakness and made Nakamura pay the consequences. Nakamura’s lead vanished and he found himself going into game 4 in a must-win situation with the black pieces. Needing just a draw, the game went Carlsen’s way from the start. Nakamura eventually conceded the inevitable and accepted a draw. Carlsen had won the New In Chess Classic and pumped his arms in relief. Meanwhile, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, playing in his first Tour event, won the battle for third place beating Levon Aronian 2.5-0.5. The Meltwater Champions Chess Tour will be back on May 23 with the sixth leg. There are four tournaments to go before the big final in San Francisco. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Nona Gaprindashvili celebrates her 80th birthday
Photo: livepress.ge/ Nona Gaprindashvili has turned 80. I’m writing this line but I can’t believe it. How can she be 80? She’s been around for ages it seems. Only 80? She’s still so expressive, so pugnacious in a good way, so energetic. Already 80? Indeed, the legend of Georgian, Soviet, and world chess is celebrating her anniversary today. If not for COVID-19 restrictions, she would solemnly walk up to the stage of the Rustaveli National Theater in Tbilisi just like in 1962 when she won the title of Women’s World Champion and many times later when she became the first woman to got the title of grandmaster when she and her teammates won the first Olympic gold to independent Georgia… Nona is not just a great chess player – she has been a role model for several generations. Without her, there would be no Maia, no Nana, no Nino. All her teammates and friends retired from competitive chess long ago, but Nona keeps fighting – she has won several senior world championships and continues challenging chess players young enough to be not only her granddaughters but also great-granddaughters. She is just as upset after a defeat as 50 years ago, just as fond of post-mortem analysis and blitz-games on backstage, and still literally breathes chess. Of course, there is still soccer she is a great fan of and talks about politics, but no, chess is her first and only true love. When Nona opens a sentence with “listen,” be ready for an expressive proof to follow up. Nona, like a truly great champion, stands up for what she believes using the full palette of the Russian language that so wonderfully sounds with her rumbling Georgian accent. She is a real queen. Sometimes she softens up a bit and looks like a queen mother. But not for long – her eyes sparkle and the champion from Zugdidi is talking with you again. Photo: Mark Livshitz Character is forged in childhood, and it was back then, racing with the boys and standing toe to toe with them little Nona took her first steps toward greatness. There are thousands of games and hundreds of competitions behind her. But neither these numerous chess battles, nor a glorious career, nor the love and respect of the whole country and the entire chess world changed Nona. She is still the same – hale and hearty, with burning, even if sometimes tired eyes and indomitable spirit. Happy birthday, Nona Terentievna! Stay always as you are! Emil Sutovsky, FIDE Director General
Carlsen edges ahead in tense New In Chess Classic final
A nerve-jangling start to the $100,000 New In Chess Classic final saw World Champion Magnus Carlsen take an overnight lead over Hikaru Nakamura. The World Champion broke through in game 3 after two close draws against his big rival. Then, with Nakamura needing a win in the final fourth game, the momentum appeared to rock in the American’s favour. Was a comeback on? Not so as a mistake let Carlsen in and Nakamura resigned immediately. It meant the champ sealed Saturday’s match 3-1. A relieved Carlsen said after: “It was one of those days when neither of us was at our best, but we had great fighting spirit.” Carlsen and Nakamura face each other again tomorrow for the decisive second encounter. Nakamura, the US speed demon, needs to win that to take it to a tiebreaker. Anything less and Carlsen will win his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title. Speaking about his plan for tomorrow, Carlsen said: “I will try to be solid tomorrow, not score any own goals and take my chances.” Carlsen had put Nakamura under intense pressure in game 1 and the American was relieved to escape with a draw. Game 3 was where the match turned. Carlsen appeared to sacrifice a bishop – a move he later described as a “blunder” – and then crushed his opponent in an epic 90-move endgame. Meanwhile, the third-place play-off match between Levon Aronian and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was marked by an odd quirk. Aronian and Mamedyarov finished 2-2 after exchanging heavy blows of attacking chess. But very much against the odds, the winner in each game played with the black pieces. Play begins again at 19:00 CEST when the New In Chess Classic winner will be found. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Gretarsson wins Icelandic Championship
The Icelandic Championship, a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control took place from 22-30 April 2021 in Kópavogur. This tournament was a very exciting event with a keenly contested final round that did not disappoint the participants and chess fans. The rating-favourite Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson was a half-point ahead of Jóhann Hjartarson but the veteran put tremendous pressure on the leader by defeating Hannes Hlífar with black pieces. To his credit, Hjörvar did not flinch – he gradually outplayed Sigurbjörn Björnsson to score a full point in an endgame and took his first national title. Gudmundur Kjartansson finished third and earned bronze. Final standings: 1. Gretarsson, Hjorvar Steinn (2588) – 72. Hjartarson, Johann (2523) – 6½3. Kjartansson, Gudmundur (2503) – 64. Thorfinnsson, Bragi (2432) – 5½5. Stefansson, Vignir Vatnar (2327) – 56. Gretarsson, Helgi Ass (2437) – 57. Stefansson, Hannes (2532) – 48. Thorfinnsson, Bjorn (2384) – 3½9. Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn (2327) – 210. Mai, Alexander Oliver (2025) – ½ Photo: Ingibjörg Edda Official website: skak.is/skakthing/
Dream final as Nakamura and Carlsen win semis
The two big beasts in online chess, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, will meet in a dream final of the New In Chess Classic. Norway’s World Champion and America’s speed demon overcame spirited challenges to win through from the semis on Friday. Levon Aronian gave Carlsen an almighty battle but sunk 3-1 in Friday’s second set. In the end, it was a smooth win for 30-year-old Carlsen and a sad end to what has been an impressive tournament for Aronian. Asked if this could be his tournament, Carlsen said: “It could be, but I still feel I need to up my level for the final.” Meanwhile, Shakhriyar Memedyarov inflicted a rare 3-0 shut-out on Nakamura in the second set to level the tie. But then the Azeri number 1 collapsed under pressure in the Armageddon tiebreaker. Nakamura, a master at tiebreak situations, admitted after it was “quite dramatic”. On how both himself and Carlsen have disappointed on the Tour so far, he added: “We both have a chance to redeem ourselves!” Carlsen and Nakamura are long-time rivals who have battled each other for supremacy in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour’s rapid format. But neither Carlsen nor Nakamura have won a Tour event this season. The last time they met in a final, it was the epic climax of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour last August. Tomorrow they will go head-to-head for the $30,000 top prize and a first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title. Play begins at 19:00 CEST. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770