FIDE World Cups 2021: Players nomination
In accordance with Article 2.1.VIII of the updated recently FIDE World Cup Regulations, one hundred Federations are selected according to the average rating of their ten highest-rated players in the December 2020 FRL (not more than 40 per Continent). These Federations should nominate any player of their choice who is registered to their Federation by June 5th, 2021 (in addition to players already qualified through other paths). Note: nine Americas’ “Federation” spots are transferred to Continental events (see Article 2.1.V of the Regulations) in accordance with the Continental President’s request of February 22nd, 2020. Therefore, the list below consists of 91 Federations. N FEDERATION Avg of Top 10, FRL dec 2020 1 Russia 2735 2 United States of America 2713 3 China 2702 4 India 2670 5 Ukraine 2666 6 Armenia 2659 7 Azerbaijan 2656 8 Hungary 2645 9 France 2643 10 Poland 2632 11 Germany 2630 12 Netherlands 2628 13 England 2623 14 Spain 2623 15 Israel 2610 16 Czech Republic 2605 17 Norway 2581 18 Croatia 2576 19 Georgia 2575 20 Argentina 2571 21 Serbia 2567 22 Romania 2564 23 Greece 2559 24 Turkey 2555 25 Bulgaria 2549 26 Peru 2548 27 Belarus 2547 28 Iran 2547 29 Sweden 2547 30 Uzbekistan 2547 31 Denmark 2545 32 Cuba 2544 33 Brazil 2542 34 Latvia 2535 35 Canada 2534 36 Italy 2534 37 Switzerland 2526 38 Bosnia & Herzegovina 2518 39 Kazakhstan 2518 40 Slovenia 2512 41 Austria 2511 42 Australia 2505 43 Vietnam 2505 44 Belgium 2499 45 Iceland 2499 46 Slovakia 2498 47 Colombia 2488 48 Lithuania 2484 49 Egypt 2479 50 North Macedonia 2472 51 Philippines 2470 52 Mongolia 2461 53 Chile 2459 54 Moldova 2445 55 Montenegro 2443 56 Finland 2442 57 Estonia 2439 58 Indonesia 2431 59 Mexico 2421 60 Venezuela 2418 61 Portugal 2410 62 Paraguay 2407 63 Turkmenistan 2377 64 Algeria 2361 65 Uruguay 2356 66 Morocco 2349 67 Bangladesh 2346 68 Malaysia 2336 69 New Zealand 2329 70 Singapore 2329 71 Costa Rica 2328 72 Myanmar 2315 73 Zambia 2314 74 United Arab Emirates 2311 75 South Africa 2301 76 Kyrgyzstan 2287 77 Tunisia 2283 78 Japan 2275 79 Iraq 2273 80 Tajikistan 2266 81 Nigeria 2265 82 South Korea 2258 83 Angola 2242 84 Uganda 2217 85 Yemen 2216 86 Jordan 2214 87 Syria 2199 88 Lebanon 2197 89 Libya 2181 90 Sri Lanka 2156 91 Zimbabwe 2151 In accordance with Article 2.1.V of the updated recently FIDE Women’s World Cup Regulations, thirty-nine Federations are selected according to the average rating of their five highest-rated women players in the December 2020 FRL (not more than 15 per Continent). These Federations should nominate any player of their choice who is registered to their Federation by June 5th, 2021 (in addition to players already qualified through other paths). N FEDERATION Avg of Top 5, FRL dec 2020 1 China 2544 2 Russia 2516 3 Georgia 2473 4 Ukraine 2469 5 India 2455 6 United States of America 2406 7 Kazakhstan 2401 8 Poland 2395 9 France 2388 10 Spain 2371 11 Hungary 2364 12 Azerbaijan 2362 13 Bulgaria 2361 14 Germany 2356 15 Armenia 2345 16 Netherlands 2342 17 Romania 2336 18 Iran 2333 19 Mongolia 2328 20 Cuba 2322 21 Serbia 2318 22 Turkey 2315 23 Vietnam 2303 24 Indonesia 2284 25 Canada 2256 26 Argentina 2244 27 Uzbekistan 2206 28 Australia 2187 29 Colombia 2162 30 Brazil 2130 31 Philippines 2129 32 Mexico 2121 33 Peru 2096 34 Egypt 2084 35 Venezuela 2028 36 Chile 2016 37 Turkmenistan 2016 38 Saudi Arabia 2014 39 Malaysia 2012 As previously announced, FIDE World Cup and FIDE Women’s World Cup were expanded to 206 and 103 players, with prize funds in both competitions substantially increased.
Carlsen first, Grischuk and Giri eliminated
The final day of the preliminary stage of Airthings Masters produced much more drama than the first two. It suffices to say that before the final round Magnus Carlsen secured his spot in the knockout stage, David Anton was out of the running but all the rest had a chance to qualify. After the dust settled, it’s Carlsen-Dubov, MVL-So, Nakamura-Aronian, and Radjabov-Nepomniachtchi in the Airthings Masters quarterfinals whereas heavyweights Alexander Grischuk and Anish Giri knocked out by the finest of margins. Grischuk missed a win (20.g4!) then lost a drawish rook ending to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who wrestled a spot in the quarterfinals from him. Most likely Anish Giri lived to regret going all-in against Hikaru Nakamura with Black. In the end, a draw would have been enough for him to clinch a quarterfinal spot but it did not happen. The final standings saw Carlsen, So and Nakamura tied for first place, with Magnus taking the top spot on the tiebreak of having won the mini-league between the three players by beating Hikaru in Round 10. The drama, however, was at the bottom, when it surprisingly turned out that -1, or 5/11, was the cut-off score for qualifying. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who seemed to be out of contention, was suddenly able to take 7th place after beating Grischuk with the black pieces, condemning the Russian to finish 10th after all the other games between players on 5/11 had been drawn. Daniil Dubov, who began the day in 1st place, only scraped through on the tiebreak of scoring more wins (2) than Harikrishna (0). The bottom four were eliminated, though after David Anton beat Levon Aronian in the final round the gap between 1st and last place was mere two points. Play will resume at 15:00 CET on Tuesday, with Day 1 quarterfinals consisting of mini-matches of four 15+10 games. On Wednesday another four games will be played, and only if the match score is then level at 1:1 will we get two 5+3 blitz games followed, if necessary, by Armageddon, where White has 5 minutes to Black’s 4 but a draw will see the player with the black pieces reach the semi-finals. Text: Colin McGourty (chess24) Official website: https://championschesstour.com/
FIDE expands the World Cups, increases number of players and prize fund
206 players will compete in a revamped FIDE World Cup for a record prize fund of $ 1,890,000. The Women’s World Cup is also expanded to 103 players, with a 50% increase in the prize fund: from $450,000 to $676,000. The FIDE World Cup is one of our flagship competitions, and in recent editions, it has clearly become one of the most followed events in the chess calendar. In view of this, the International Chess Federation has decided to expand it, increasing both the number of players and the prize fund. These significant improvements will affect both the World Cup and the Women’s World Cup, which will be organized in Russia in the second half of 2021. To begin with, the number of players in the World Cup will increase from 128 to 206. The reigning World Champion, Women’s World Champion, and Junior World Champion are directly invited, as well as the four semi-finalists from the 2019 edition. They will be joined by 80 players qualified through Continental Championships, with every continent being guaranteed a minimum quota, and 100 players nominated by the top hundred federations by average rating. The exact list of countries/federations which will be entitled to nominate a player will be published within the next few days. The field will be completed with the 12 highest-rated players who did not qualify by any of the previous criteria, as well as the highest-placed player of the ACP Tour 2021 as of June 2021. With such varied paths to qualification, which also involve a much larger number of countries (minimum 100), the number of wild cards is sharply reduced: these direct invitations will be limited to 3 nominees by the FIDE President, and 2 by the local organizer. To keep the length of the tournament within reasonable limits, 156 players will begin from Round 1, but the 50 top players will be seeded directly into Round 2. Besides, the length of the final is reduced from four games to just two. As for the Women’s World Cup, the number of players is increased from 64 to 103, while the prize fund is raised from $450,000 in the previous edition, to $676,000 in 2021. The qualification paths for the event are very similar and as varied as the ones for the FIDE World Cup. 51 players will qualify from the Continental Championships, and 39 National Federations will also have the right to nominate a player, while the wild cards are reduced in this case to one nominee by the FIDE President, and one by the local organizer. Apart from the substantial prizes, the FIDE Women’s World Cup will give three players the opportunity to qualify directly for the Women’s Candidates Tournament, to be held in the first half of 2022. “It seems to us that this format, coupled with the previously announced FIDE Grand Swiss in which almost all 2650+ players (and 2400+ for women) will be able to participate, creates a nearly perfect balance”, explains Emil Sutovsky, FIDE’s Director-General and Chairman of the Global Strategy Commission, which is responsible for all the events that are part of the World Championship cycle. The city of Sochi is the main candidate to host both World Cups, with the 10th of July as a tentative starting date, but this information is provisional and should be confirmed by the Chess Federation of Russia in the coming weeks. Sochi has already successfully hosted a very similar event, the 2015 Women’s World Championship which was played in a very similar format: a knockout with 64 players. Regulations for World Cup 2021 (pdf) Regulations for Women’s World Cup 2021 (pdf)
Six leaders after quiet Day 2
Day 2 of Airthings Masters produced even fewer decisive outcomes comparing to the first day – just 3 in 24 games. The participants opted to tread carefully hoping to qualify for the knockout stage with minimum casualities. Magnus Carlsen wore down Daniil Dubov in a drawish endgame in Round 5 and joined a large group of leaders with 4½ out of 8 points. In the same round, Anish Giri prevailed over Pentala Harikrishna in tactical complications. To Daniil’s credit, he bounced back immediately by defeating Anish in the next round and returned to the +1 mark. The $200,000 event features a 3-day preliminary battle, with the top 8 players going through to the knockout stages that continue into the New Year. The participants play each other once at 15-minute rapid chess, with a 10-second increment after each move. The first prize is not only $60,000, double that on offer for the Skilling Open, but direct entry to the Grand Final next September. Official website: championschesstour.com/
Carlsen, Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi and So advance to semis
The second day of the Skilling Open quarterfinals was a day of comebacks. Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, and Teirmour Radjabov started the day with a significant advantage after winning their first quarterfinal matches and needed just a draw to advance. However, only the World Champion was up to the task drawing his match with Anish Giri, whereas Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Wesley So bounced back by beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Aronian, and Radjabov respectively and leveled the score. In tiebreaks, Nakamura was stretched thin as he lost the first game and was an exchange down in the second. To his credit, Hikaru did not give up, consolidated his position, and using the opponent’s inaccuracies tilted the balance in his favor. In Armageddon, the American chose to play with Black and reached so much needed draw. After So and Radjabov drew two blitz games it came down to Armageddon as well. Wesley opted for Black and easily sealed a draw in a won position after Teimour made a terrible mistake on move 22 that cost him a rook. Nepomiachtichi was simply unstoppable in the tiebreak blitz games – the Russian GM handily won both encounters and punched his ticket to the semifinals. The action resumes today with the first day of the semifinals. Skilling Open official website: https://championschesstour.com/
Five-way tie after Day 1
Day 1 of the Airthings Masters, the second leg of the Champions Chess tour, saw only 7 decisive outcomes in 24 games. Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian, Daniil Dubov, Teimour Radjabov, and Wesley So, all scored +1 (2½ out of 4) and now are tied for first place. Alexander Grishuk, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Pentala Harikrishna are sitting on 2 points just a half-point behind the top five. Even the worst performers of Day 1 Anish Giri and David Anton are trailing the leaders only by 1½ and still have a chance to make it into top-8 and qualify for the next stage. The $200,000 event features a 3-day preliminary battle, with only the top 8 players going through to the knockout stages that continue into the New Year. The participants play each other once at 15-minute rapid chess, with a 10-second increment after each move. The first prize is not only $60,000, double that on offer for the Skilling Open, but direct entry to the Grand Final next September. Official website: championschesstour.com/
Klara Shagenovna Kasparova (1937-2020)
Photo: Garry Kasparov’s Twitter, family archives It is with great sadness that we must share the sad news of the passing of Klara Shagenovna Kasparova (March 19, 1937 – December 25, 2020), mother of the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov. Klara was, however, much more than a mother to Garry: she was a long-life mentor, who played a pivotal role in his career and development as one of the greatest champions in the world of sports. To begin with, Garry learned the game by observing Klara and her husband, the late Kim Weinstein, solving chess puzzles from the newspapers. When it became obvious that ‘Garik’ was a very gifted kid, part of his family wanted him to study music, but it was Klara who pointed him in the direction of becoming a chess player. And in 1981 she quit her job for good, to devote herself completely to the task of helping Kasparov to become World Champion. From then on, she combined the roles of a team leader, sports manager, press attaché, and doctor. Kasparov himself broke the news with a moving message on his Twitter account: “With great sorrow, I share the news of the passing of my mother, Klara Shagenovna Kasparova. My role model, my greatest champion, my wise counsel, and the strongest person I will ever know. I love you, Mama.” Klara’s love and determination were an inspiration to anyone who had the chance to see the formidable duo that she made with her son. The International Chess Federation would like to extend its deepest condolences to Garry and his family during this difficult time.
Vladimir Trkaljanov wins Gazprom Brilliancy Prize
Vladimir Trkaljanov (North Macedonia) has been declared the winner of the Gazprom Brilliancy Prize for the best game played at the Online Chess Olympiad for people with Disabilities. Six out of thirteen judges gave their votes for his victory over Irina Ostry in the match North Macedonia – Kyrgyzstan. In a sharp line of the Sicilian, Vladimir sacrificed a rook, chased down the opponent’s king from e8 to g3, and delivered an elegant checkmate. Here you can find the game, analyzed by those judges who picked it as the winner: Daniel King (ENG): https://youtu.be/09kl7LEOiGc Bassem Amin (ENG): https://youtu.be/sRo0Vp6fFd0 Elisabeth Paehtz (ENG): https://youtu.be/IeqT1iLr1QM David Martinez (ESP): https://youtu.be/_la4mb4VTFw Michael Rahal (ESP): https://youtu.be/ynnMIdh9N24 Georgios Souleidis (GER): https://youtu.be/91BlqTslk_c
USA dominates medal tally
The final knockout stage of the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championships came to the end on December 22. The event held on Tornelo online platform, comprised five different age groups (U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18) with participants competing in two sections: girls and open. The USA dominated medal tally earning 8 medals (4 gold); India won 4 medals (2 gold); Russia also took 4 medals, but somewhat surprisingly no gold (1 silver and 3 bronze). During the online closing ceremony conducted by Kema Goryaeva, the participants of the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championships were greeted by FIDE Vice President Akaki Iashvili and FIDE Director General and former World Junior Champion (1996) Emil Sutovsky. Akaki Iashvili: “Youth chess is a priority of FIDE. On behalf of FIDE and the Georgian Chess Federation, I would like to welcome all the participants and congratulate the winners. They demonstrated exceptional skills. I am confident that this tournament will stand out in our minds for years.” Many participants sent video messages in which they shared holiday vibes and wished a happy New Year to all. Final standings: Open U10 1. Movahed Sina (IRI)2. Vaclav Finek (CZE)3. Rajkhowa Mrinmoy (IND) Movahed Sina Photo: https://medu.ir/ Girls U10 1. Omya Vidyarthi (USA)2. Elnaz Kaliakhmet (KAZ)3. Diana Preobrazhenskaya (RUS) Omya Vidyarthi Photo: https://news.harker.org/ Open U12 1. Dimitar Mardov (USA)2. Ihor Samunenkov (UKR)3. Ngo Bach (USA) Dimitar Mardov Photo: US Chess Federation Twitter Girls U12 1. Alice Lee (USA)2. Tang Zoey (USA)3. Valeria Kleymenova (RUS) Alice Lee Photo: US Chess Federation Facebook Open U14 1. Gukesh D (IND)2. Volodar Murzin (RUS)3. Christopher Woojin Yoo (USA) Gukesh D Photo: John Saunders Girls U14 1. Eline Roebers (NED)2. Zsoka Gaal (HUN)3. Laysa Latifah (INA) Eline Roebers Photo: Harry Gielen Open U16 1. Frederik Svane (GER)2. Agha Bala Amirreza Pour (IRI)3. Jose Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso (COL) Frederik Svane Photo: Skanderborg Skakklub Girls U16 1. Rakshitta Ravi (IND)2. Song Yuxin (CHN)3. Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) Rakshitta Ravi Photo: Frans Peeters Open U18 1. Nihal Sarin (IND)2. Shant Sargsyan (ARM)3. Francesco Sonis (ITA) Nihal Sarin Photo: Kirill Merkuryev Girls U18 1. Carissa Yip (USA)2. Thalia Cervantes Landeiro (USA)3. Elizaveta Solozhenkina (RUS) Carissa Yip Photo: Lennart Ootes
British Online Championships get underway
The Caplin British Online Championships kicked off on the Chess.com platform. The event stretches over two weeks from 18th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021. The Championships are being run by the English Chess Federation in collaboration with the Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Ulster, Jersey, Guernsey, and Isle of Man Chess Federations/Unions. The British Online includes separate Championships – Open, Women’s, Junior, Senior, and Rating Limited. The format is based on one week of qualifier events followed by a week of finals for each Championship. Each Championship consists of a qualifier and finals stage with a number of separate events at four different time controls (Standard, Rapid, Blitz, and Bullet) as shown in the table below. Players may take part in one or more championships for which they are eligible (e.g. Open, Women’s, Junior, etc), and one or more events within their selected championship(s) (e.g. Standard, Rapid, Blitz, etc), subject to the entry conditions and playing schedule. All standard play events will be based on a game a day with 7 rounds of qualifiers and 9 rounds of finals each in Swiss format. Standard play games will be based on direct challenge matches on Chess.com, started by an arbiter. Faster time controls (Rapidplay, Blitz, and Bullet) will be run as platform Swiss tournaments. The Open tournament brought together 37 players (7 GMs). In the Women’s tournament 20 participants, including GM Ketavan Arakhamia-Grant, are vying for the title. Official website: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/british-online-chess-championships/