Day 2: Giri holds lead
Anish Giri drew all 5 games on Day 2 of the Skilling Open, but that was enough to retain the sole lead after Sergey Karjakin took down Magnus Carlsen in the final round of the day. Of the 8 highest classically rated players only Levon Aronian would currently miss out on the knockout stage, with his replacement a certain Hikaru Nakamura. Hikaru fell to a tactical blow from Liem Quang Le in the first game of the day but beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Round 10. Another frenetic day of five rounds of 15+10 rapid chess left the standings as follows before the final five rounds of the preliminary stage on Tuesday. The Top 8 players after the preliminary stage go forward to a knockout stage, where each match is held over two days. Text and photo: chess24.com Official site: https://championschesstour.com/
Ukraine wins Online Friendship Team Tournament
The Belarusian Chess Federation and FIDE Chess Academy in Belarus supported by FIDE joined efforts to organize the International Online Friendship Chess Team Tournament. The 7-round Swiss Team event with the time control of 10 minutes + 5 seconds was held on Tornelo online platform from 21st to 22nd of November 2020. 28 teams representing 26 federations took part in the tournament. Each squad consisted of 6 players (two players aged under 12, two players aged under 10, and two players aged under 8) plus a captain/representative. Ukraine, Latvia-Riga Chess School, and China entered the competition as the rating-favorites and two of them delivered on promises taking two top spots. The Ukrainian youngsters made just one draw winning six matches. By a twist of tournament fortune, the champion did not clash with the runner-up, team China that also won six matches but suffered one defeat. Team Greece took bronze. The finals standings are based on the match outcomes and an anti-cheating report by Tornelo. The winners were awarded free online lectures by Boris Gelfand, Ruslan Ponomariov and Antoaneta Stefanova. Final standings: 1. Ukraine – 13 out of 142. China – 123. Greece – 104. Armenia – 105. Belgium – 106. Belarus-Gomel – 97. Belarus-Minsk – 98. Lithuania – 99. Belarus-FIDE Chess Academy – 810. Slovakia – 8
InterContinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge announced
FIDE is proud to announce a partnership with ChessKid to launch what we expect to turn into the largest under-12 online event ever. The first Intercontinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge will take place on January 23, and it is open to children from anywhere in the world. To best accommodate as many time zones as possible and give everyone a chance to play, there will be two distinct tournaments, both taking place on the same day. Children can register for either the “Eastern Edition” (beginning at 9 AM UK) or the later “Western Edition” (beginning at 9 AM Pacific U.S.). They are eligible to play in either one or both, whichever is more convenient for them. Each of the two editions will be played in two sections: Ages 9-12 and 8 and Under. The ages are as of January 1, 2021. The time control will be 10+2 (10 minutes starting time plus 2 seconds added per move) and each of the two editions will be 7 rounds. The expected length for each tournament is three hours. The event will take place entirely on the ChessKid live server with fantastic prizes, including group lessons with former world champions Vishy Anand and Alexandra Kosteniuk, and current World Rapid Champion Humpy Koneru. The Intercontinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge will be focused mostly on participation and fun, and as such, the top prizes will be awarded in a unique way to take the pressure off of kids. For every half-point earned, a player receives one “raffle ticket” into a drawing. For every win, a ChessKid receives two “raffle tickets” into the drawing. In addition, any player finishing the tournament receives a bonus raffle ticket. You can find all the details at the ChessKid website: www.chesskid.com
Vahap Sanal wins 2020 Turkish Championship
Vahap Sanal is the 2020 Turkish chess Champion, after dominating the field in a 10-player round-robin tournament that took place from November 13-21. The event was held in Kemer, a seaside resort in the province of Antalya that has hosted multiple international chess events in recent years. Vahal was the defending champion, having won the title already in 2019. The 22-year-old GM from Izmir entered the competition as the rating favorite, and he dominated the field very convincingly, scoring five wins (including a victory over the runner-up) and four draws. IM Melih Yurtseven finished sole second, after a very strong finish, while Cem Kaan Gokerkan got third place. Final standings: 1. GM VAHAP ŞANAL (2557) – 72. IM MELİH YURTSEVEN (2391) – 6½3. IM GOKERKAN CEM KAAN (2461) – 64. GM KIVANÇ HAZNEDAROĞLU (2437) – 5½5. GM BURAK FIRAT (2474) – 4½6. FM EMİRHAN TARLABAŞI (2275) – 47. FM SEVGİ VOLKAN (2359) – 38. IM DENİZ ÖZEN (2412) – 39. IM EKATERINA ATALYK (2450) – 310. FM ATABERK EREN (23212) – ½ Official website: http://tr2020.tsf.org.tr
Day 1: Anish Giri shoots ahead
Anish Giri is a sole leader of the Skilling Open after scoring 4/5 on Day 1, and it could have been more, since he took a draw in a close to winning position against Hikaru Nakamura. Magnus Carlsen feared the worst after blundering his queen against Ian Nepomniachtchi and then letting a win slip against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The World Chess Champion needn’t have worried, however, as he bounced back to win the next three games. The surprise of the day was bottom seed David Anton, who beat Svidler, Nepomniachtichi and Radjabov to tie with Magnus for 2nd place. After a poor start, Magnus thought it might be a bad day at the office, but he stormed back to beat Teimour Radjabov, David Anton and Alireza Firouzja, saying of the 17-year-old prodigy, “It’s always good to beat him while I still can!” The win against David Anton was also important since the Spanish Champion still tied Magnus for 2nd place after beating Peter Svidler, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Teimour Radjabov. Meanwhile, almost everything went right for Anish Giri, who pointed out afterward he could have scored even more points. He explained that he took the draw against Hikaru Nakamura because he thought he’d squandered almost all his advantage, when in fact he was still doing very well. Text and photo: chess24.com Official site: https://championschesstour.com/
Athletes Commission 2020 Elections Candidatures: Deadline extended to December 03, 2020
Following some requests received by the Secretariat and bearing in mind that it will be the first elections for the newly established FIDE Athletes Commission and that the Covid-19 pandemic is creating additional difficulties in the contacts among athletes and Federations, the deadline for submitting candidatures is extended to 3th of December 2020. Candidatures must be sent by email to office@fide.com filling in the Candidature Nomination Form available on the FIDE website. The list of approved candidates will be published on the FIDE website on the 5th of December 2020. The confirmed elections period stretches from 11th to 18th of December 2020.
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John D. Rockefeller V donates $3 Million to US Chess FIDE Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities kicks off “Algorithms” Announcing the InterContinental ChessKid FIDE Challenge Brief news from National Federations ChessTech Conference 2020 announced Anniversaries READ NEWSLETTER
FIDE launches the First Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities
61 teams from 45 different countries are taking part in the first Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The event kicks off today and will run until December 3, a day recognized by the United Nations as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The competition brings together 400 players from all over the world (including reserves). Among them, there are two participants with the Grandmaster title, the highest distinction in chess. Poland, Germany, the Philippines, Israel, and Cuba are the favorites according to the initial rating, followed by other traditional “chess superpowers” like Russia and Ukraine. During a colorful and eventful opening ceremony, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich greeted the participants of the competition: “I am happy and proud to announce the opening of the first-ever FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities. It is a real honor to have it under FIDE’s auspices. Chess is winning against obstacles and challenges. You already won against your challenges, you are great people, and I wish you health and all the luck.” Chess, a tool for inclusion In chess, all that counts is how strong your ideas are. Physical differences due to age and sex are not an impediment to battle over the board, and of course, this has huge implications in the case of people with physical impairments. “I don’t let my disability define who I am. I let my mind, and what I can do, define who I am”, explained to CNN Anna Miller, an 11-year old participant in the 2019 FIDE World Junior Championship for People with Disabilities. “Just spread the word around: chess is for anybody. Anyone can play chess: girls, boys, people with disability”. “The potential of chess is quite big, not only in terms of leisure but also in terms of meeting the need for communication, cognitive development, and expanding communication capabilities of people with impairments”, explains Irina Mikhaylova, an Associate Professor at the Russian State Social University in Moscow. “It is a way to develop self-esteem and earn recognition” Grandmaster Thomas Luther is a three-time German Champion (1993, 2002, 2006), who reached the top 100 in the world ranking. Thomas became a world-class figure in an extremely competitive field despite the added challenge of being born with a physical disability. “Learning chess at an early age was key for me to succeed in life. The Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities will give a voice to disadvantaged people and will also help them to develop self-esteem and earn recognition. Chess is the only all-inclusive sport“, explains Thomas. “In these events, there are people who are facing challenges in life, and they will have the opportunity to meet other people facing similar chances. So there is a lot of communication, and friendships develop among the players. The social aspects are very important.” “Chess taught me to be more patient” Taking up chess has been life-changing for many people with physical impediments: “I was more vulnerable before I started playing chess. But then I took up chess and the game made me stronger. Soon I learned to not give up after defeats, and this is one of the defining characteristics of my personality”, says Handenur Şahin. Handenur, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), will defend the first board of the Turkish team at the upcoming Olympiad. “Chess also taught me to be more patient. Due to my disability, this feature of being more determined about my goals is crucial. Most things are more difficult to achieve for me and it is so important to know not to give up when you encounter any obstacle which comes from physical problems, or from other people’s prejudices.” The first-ever inclusive sport Chess became the first-ever inclusive sport in 1848 when, for the first time in history, a chess set was specially adapted to enable visually impaired players to recognize the position of the pieces by touching them. Theodore Tylor was among England´s leading players in the 1930s, and despite being nearly blind he managed to score a draw against Alekhine and Capablanca, two of the best players in the first half of the XX century. Currently, there are three international associations for blind players (IBCA), for physically impaired players (IPCA), and deaf players (ICCD). Each one of them is affiliated to FIDE and, traditionally, each one of these three organizations would have a team representing them at the World Chess Olympiad. Now, FIDE has materialized the ambitious project of organizing a dedicated Chess Olympiad exclusively for people with disabilities, to be held every two years. This event will give more players with disabilities the opportunity to compete at an international event, representing their country. Format, facts and figures This is a team competition, played on four boards, where at least one of the players has to be a woman. The event consists of two stages. The first one is a 7 round Swiss System, from which the best 4 teams will qualify to play a double-round semifinal (November 29-30). The two best teams will advance to the finals, while the two others will compete for the third prize. The time control in all stages is 25 minutes + 10 seconds. 61 teams, totaling 396 players (including reserve players) 45 countries represented: 21 teams from Asia, 20 from Europe, 13 from the Americas, and 7 from Africa. Youngest player: Nguyen Tran, from the USA, born in 2011. Oldest player: Aldric Gomez, from France, born in 1941. Top players: GM Marcin Tazbir (Poland, 2513)Alexey Smirnov (Russia, 2436)IM Igor Yarmonov (Ukraine, 2391)FM Stanislav Babarykin (Russia, 2387) About Gazprom Gazprom is a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power. Gazprom is the global leader measured by the amount of reserves and volumes of gas production. Gazprom sells gas to Russian consumers and exports gas to over 30 countries within and beyond the former Soviet Union. Gazprom
SCC quarterfinals: So defeats Duda
GM Wesley So defeated GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda in a Speed Chess Championship quarterfinal match that was tight in the beginning and tight in the end, but it was a tour de force by So in the middle. With the exception of World Champion Magnus Carlsen and GM Hikaru Nakamura, So is the most accomplished player in Speed Chess Championship history, and with this victory, he has advanced to the semifinals where he will face the winner of the match between Nakamura and GM Vladimir Fedoseev. So and Duda had played one previous Speed Chess Championship match in 2018, and So won convincingly, 20-7. Two years later, Duda is a considerably more accomplished player and no longer a junior. Would his performance against the reigning U.S. champion be superior this time around? In general, Duda performed much better. The final score of 16-10 was certainly closer, and Jan-Krzysztof even leaped out to an early lead of 2.5-0.5. He ultimately drew the 5+1 time control (4-4) and won the 1+1 time control 5-4, but in the 3+1 portion of the match, So was simply untouchable. He won seven games and drew only two for a point total of 8-1. As the match advanced to 1|1, Duda was almost mathematically out of contention, but he did start well with a victory. After the two grandmasters exchanged a series of blows, Duda’s consecutive wins in games five and six gave him the edge in the time control, and he ultimately won it 5-4. Text: Sam Copeland Photo: chess.com
2020 Open Ukrainian Championship kicks off
The 2020 Open Ukrainian Chess Championship got underway in Omelnyk village (Poltava region). The event includes classical chess, rapid and blitz Swiss tournaments, and stretches throughout November 17-29. Among 38 participants there are 15 Grandmasters, 2 Woman Grandmasters, and 12 International Masters. Six female players are taking part. With several top players missing (including the last-year champion Evgeny Shtembuliak) the #3 in the Ukrainian rating list Anton Korobov (2683), #8 Yuriy Kuzubov (2641), and #9 Vladimir Onischuk (2633) are considered to be the main favorites. The first round had no surprises in store as all the rating favorites convincingly won their games. Official site: http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/Archive/Ukr_Champ/open_2020/teh.html