Chess community supports charity initiatives
This week FIDE Newsletter latest edition (#004) focused on a very important issue. The coronavirus pandemic goes well beyond a health crisis: the economic consequences are also catastrophic, and many families and health organizations are struggling. We are very proud of the response of the chess community, from chess celebrities to the not-so-famous: a lot of fund-raising initiatives have been launched over the past week. Viswanathan Anand, stranded in Germany after his return flight to India was canceled, has been especially active in this regard. Along with GMs Pentala Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi, Adhiban Baskaran, Humpy Koneru, and Harika Dronavalli, Anand took part in a charity simul held on Chess.com on April 16. “Team India” raised more than $6000 for India’s Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund. On Saturday, April 25, Vishy teamed up with Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, Tania Sachdev, and the popular YouTuber Antonio Radic, to play against a team of stand-up comedians in an online charity match. Also in India, the Kerala Chess Association and Chessbase India have put together a very interesting online tournament, to be played on May 2 on Playchess. The Grandmasters Alain Pichot (ARG, 2630), our very own FIDE Vice-President Nigel Short (ENG, 2626), Sunilduth Narayanan (IND, 2618) and Dommaraju Gukesh (IND, 2563) will be the top seeds, with all proceedings going again to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. The French Chess Federation has liaised with the Fondation de France, which fights against the coronavirus. A 24 hours chess marathon will be held, starting from May 2 at 15:00, in cooperation with Lichess, Blitzstream, Europe-Echecs, Chess24, Variantes, and Appredre-les-Echecs. The initiative will be supported by the most popular streamers in the country, who will try to mobilize the French-speaking chess community towards making online donations to the “Tous unis contre le virus” campaign run by the Fondation de France. The time control is blitz (5+2) and you can already register through this link to Lichess.org. As schools remain closed all across the United Kingdom, the charity Chess in Schools and Communities partnered with ChessKid, the world’s biggest online children’s chess platform, to offer one million free subscriptions to schools. The goal, as described in their press release, is to “make Britain smarter”. Every primary school in the UK can get involved by applying for up to 1,000 of the one million free ChessKid Gold subscriptions – giving unlimited access to the programme’s online lessons. By providing these, the organizations seek to add an extra-curricular dimension to every school’s remote teaching programme while children remain at home. Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) is a UK charity founded in 2009, whose mission is to improve children’s educational outcomes and social development by introducing them to the game of chess. They currently teach in over 300 schools and support 500 more nationwide. SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF FOR FIDE NEWSLETTER HERE
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FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup FIDE Seminars FIDE Candidates’ Countries Youth Tournament The chess community takes a step forward to support charity events “One Million ChessKids” project launched in the UK. Leela Zero defeats Stockfish at the TCEC Superfinal Donald Schultz (1936-2020) Anniversaries READ NEWSLETTER
Strongest Russian grandmasters in a charity tournament to benefit health workers
As the world goes through a global health crisis, chess stands out as a unique sport that has successfully resurfaced online to bring together professionals, amateurs, and fans around the world. Besides, chess can serve as an excellent platform for charity and collaboration. The Chess Federation of Russia and the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation will combine efforts to support the first charity online tournament, initiated by Russian chess players. The event, scheduled for May 12-14 will feature the country’s strongest grandmasters. The entire prize pool will be donated to regional hospitals and health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants will determine the recipients of the donations beforehand, depending on the needs of a particular institution. The entire prize fund is distributed equally among the regions, regardless of the final standings. The charity tournament features a stellar lineup: Vladimir KramnikIan Nepomniachtchi Alexander Grischuk Sergey Karjakin Peter Svidler Evgeny Tomashevsky Ernesto Inarkiev Alexander Riazantsev It will be a double round-robin blitz event with time control 5 minutes plus a 2-second increment per move. GMs will first play a double round-robin part to determine the best four to qualify for a knockout play-off. Tournament Schedule: May 12 – first half (7 rounds)May 13 – second half (7 rounds)May 14 – semifinals and a final. All the rounds start at 3 p.m. Moscow time. The tournament is supported by the Ramax group of companies. Match TV, a media partner of the tournament, will provide the coverage and live broadcast. The tournament will be played on Lichess.org, one of the most popular online chess platforms. The amount raised so far: 2,505,000 rubles As the world goes through a global health crisis, chess stands out as a unique sport that has successfully resurfaced online to bring together professionals, amateurs, and fans around the world. Besides, chess can serve as an excellent platform for charity and collaboration. We invite all chess lovers to support this event! Official information and details for bank transfers The 14th world champion Vladimir Kramnik gave an interview to Alexey Dospekhov, an observer of the Kommersant newspaper: “Of course, we’ve discussed the current situation with fellow chess players and decided to organize a charity event. For well-known reasons, there are no sports competitions at the moment. Chess is one of the few sports, which can exist even in the present circumstances. There are a lot of online tournaments going on. But we wanted to organize not a commercial but a purely charitable competition. Our country is big and it is difficult to help everybody. Nevertheless, we want to do all we can. We see that large cities and regional centers are doing more or less OK. But the situation in the outlying regions is often much worse. In general, we want to help hospitals and doctors with protective suits, equipment, pharmaceuticals, and so on. This is how this tournament came into being.” Vladimir Kramnik’s interview to Kommersant (in Russian) CFR President Andrey Filatov: “Cooperation and help are very important in these times. I am very glad that the Russian chess players came up with such a wonderful initiative and will practically support the doctors, who are working in an emergency mode and fighting the virus on the frontline. This tournament will not only become an interesting event for chess fans, but also an important social activity. I wish the best of luck to our grandmasters!” Official website of the Chess Federation of Russia Photo: Lennart Ootes Contact information: Eteri Kublashvili, Press service of the Chess Federation of Russia
ChessAgainstCovid Singapore charity raises over 30,000 SGD for families in need
The social aspect has always been one of the strong sides of chess and it is especially noticeable during the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. Chess community does not want to stay aside and idle. Many players and clubs around the world do their best to change the situation for the better by holding online tournaments, offering free workshops and lessons, and starting charity initiatives. Kevin Goh is a GM from Singapore who humbly calls himself an “amateur chess player”. He’s the man behind the #ChessAgainstCovid charity – an initiative that raises money to help families badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. It started with a target of 10,000 SGD and quickly turned to a more ambitious aim of collecting 100,000 SGD (about 70,000 USD). “The drive has raised over 31,000 in just a week since it began on April 11,” writes the “The Straits Times”, the biggest newspaper in the country, one of the mainstream media that featured #ChessAgainstCovid initiative. The movement raises money through a series of online events such as simultaneous exhibitions, team competitions, and “banter blitz” style matches. GM Andrey Kvon who has worked in Singapore for many years, South East Asian Games gold medalist WGM Gong Qianyun, the current national champion IM Tin Jingyao came forward to help the families in need. Many of Singapore’s best young players and volunteers have also contributed their time in many ways to drive this initiative forward. The first week of the campaign was concluded with an online simultaneous exhibition by a Uzbekistani GM Andrey Kvon held on April 19. He took on 16 youngsters, most of them placing within the top 10 in their age groups and even three national champions. The grandmaster fought well, eventually winning 13 games and losing just three: to Ethan Sim, Elliott Wong, and the 2019 National U-15 champion Goh Sean Christian who was the strongest player of the simul. You can check the games and results here. Two more simuls take place on the weekend of 25-26 April as Singapore IMs Hsu Li Yang and Ravindran Shanmugam join the movement. The participation in the simuls is free, but everyone can consider a donation to the charity. Besides, the series of “Young Masters” simuls with young Singaporean titled players taking on juniors has already seen five editions in just two weeks. Under the umbrella of the charity, an international friendly match between 20 of the best young players from Singapore and Kazakhstan will be held on the Lichess website on May 3. Kazakhstani superstar GM Rinat Jumabayev and GM Kevin Goh will be providing live commentary on Twitch. The International Chess Federation welcomes such noble initiatives contributing to a great cause and wishes all the best to all players and organizers.
FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup Rosters: Team China
The Chinese team, winner of a historic double gold in the last Chess Olympiad, will be the top-seed at the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, which will take place May 5-10. Captain: Ye Jiangchuan The second Chinese grandmaster Ye Jiangchuan became the first representative of his country to surpass the 2600 rating mark. His record includes participation in numerous Olympiads and Asian Team Championships two FIDE World Cups and the World Championship (2001). In 2000 Ye Jiangchuan became the chief coach of both national teams – the position he has held ever since. Ding Liren (Std. 2791 Rpd. 2836) The highest-rated Chinese player in history Ding Liren reached the final of the FIDE World Cup twice but lost on both occasions. Currently ranked 3d in the world, he took part in two Candidates Tournaments. In his stellar year 2019, Ding Liren won Sinquefield Cup after beating the World Champion in a tiebreaker and the Grand Chess Tour final. Wang Hao (Std. 2763 Rpd. 2750) In early 2010s Wang Hao overcame the 2750 rating mark, scoring victories against all elite players, including two last World Champions Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. His chess career got a second wind in 2019 – after winning a very prestigious Grand Swiss tournament the Chinese GM qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2020. Wei Yi (Std. 2732 Rpd. 2752) The fifth-youngest GM in the history of chess, Wei Yi became the youngest player ever to reach a 2700 rating mark. Considered by many to be one of the most talented players of his generation, the Chinese GM is currently ranked 20th in the world. His chess resume includes the victory in the 8th Danzhou Super-GM tournament (2017) and the final of the FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem (2019). Hou Yifan (Std. 2658 Rpd. 2621) The youngest female player ever to achieve the grandmaster title Hou Yifan is the four-time World Champion. After winning the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University she put her career on hold. A temporary return of the #1 of the women’s rating strengthened team China before the event. Yu Yangyi (Std. 2709 Rpd. 2738) One of the youngest GMs ever, Yu Yangyi was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese team at the Chess Olympiad (2014) and the World Team Chess Championship (2015). The winner of the first Qatar Open he had a very good run in the FIDE World Cup 2019 in which he reached semifinals. The Chinese GM is currently ranked 33d in the world. Ju Wenjun (Std. 2560 Rpd. 2610) The reigning Women World Chess Champion, Ju Wenjun is one of few women to cross a 2600 rating barrier. A member of the gold-winning Chinese team at two Olympiads (2016 and 2018) she has successfully defended her World Champion title twice (2018 and 2020).
Ratings analytics: Top 10 in the retrospect 2001-2020 Part 1
Kaspars Migla is the creator and founder of a chess website chessratings.top. In his column, he analyzes FIDE standard rating changes, career-highs, rating distribution by country, continent, region, and other rating-related statistics. In the first part of his historical research, he looks at the Top 10 for both Open and Women ratings over the 19-year period. Almost 20 years ago, on January 1, 2001, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) published the first downloadable rating list. From this moment on any person has had an opportunity to delve into deep analysis of chess ratings by sorting out and breaking down this data. Up to 2009 rating lists were published every four months; from January 2010 to June 2012 – quarterly; from July 2012 rating lists have been updated monthly. 146 downloadable lists published so far provide a fertile ground for various types of statistical analysis. In this edition, Chessratings.top looks at chess elite – the Top 10 active players with classical time control (both open and women). Here is the Top 10 Open January 01, 2001: 1. Garry Kasparov (RUS) 2849, Age 382. Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2790, Age 323. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, 2772, Age 264. Michael Adams (ENG) 2746, Age 305. Alexander Morozevich (RUS) 2745, Age 246. Peter Leko (HUN) 2745, Age 227. Alexei Shirov (ESP) 2718, Age 298. Veselin Topalov (BUL) 2718, Age 269. Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) 2717, Age 3210. Boris Gelfand (ISR) 2712, Age 33 The average age (how old a player became in a particular year) was 29,2 years, whereas an average rating – 2751. Only 12 players had rating 2700+ back then, i.e. the TOP 10 plus Evgeny Bareev (RUS, 2709) and Loek Van Wely (NED, 2700). Photo: Lennart Ootes Although active professional life in chess lasts longer compared to other sports, none of the players from this top appeared on the same list on April 1, 2020. Top 10 Open April 1, 2020 1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2863, Age 302. Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2835, Age 283. Liren Ding (CHN) 2791, Age 284. Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) 2784, Age 305. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2778, Age 306. Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2777, Age 377. Levon Aronian (ARM) 2773, Age 388. Wesley So (USA) 2770, Age 279. Teimour Radjabov (AZE) 2765, Age 3310. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2764, Age 3510. Anish Giri (NED) 2764, Age 26 Photo: Maria Emelianova At present, the average rating is 2788 which is 37 points higher than 20 years ago. The percentage difference is small (only 1,3%) especially considering the inflation of ratings. Moreover, three people from the 2001 list would be in the current top with Kasparov comfortably sitting on the second position. Despite the persistent feeling of young stars breaking into the chess elite, the average age in the current top 10 is 31.1 years – almost two years higher than in 2001. Why is that? You will find out a little bit later. Top 10 Women January 1, 2001 1. Judit Polgar (HUN) 2676, Age 252. Jun Xie (CHN) 2557, Age 313. Alisa Galliamova (RUS) 2554, Age 294. Chen Zhu (CHN) 2538, Age 255. Maia Chiburdanidze (GEO) 2525, Age 406. Pin Wang (CHN) 2506, Age 277. Yuhua Xu (CHN) 2500, Age 258. Nana Ioseliani (GEO) 2499, Age 399. Pia Cramling (SWE) 2492, Age 3810. Kanying Qin (CHN) 2489, Age 27 Average age – 30.6 years. Average rating – 2533. Photo: Chessvibes We see the same picture on the women’s side – no player from the Top 10 of January 2001 made her way into the current Top 10. Top 10 Women April 1, 2020 1. Yifan Hou (CHN) 2658, Age 262. Humpy Koneru (IND) 2586, Age 333. Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) 2582, Age 224. Wenjun Ju (CHN) 2560, Age 295. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) 2546, Age 316. Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) 2544, Age 287. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) 2535, Age 308. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) 2524, Age 339. Dronavalli Harika (IND) 2515, Age 2910. Zhongyi Tan (CHN) 2510, Age 29 Average age – 29.0 years, average rating – 2556. Photo: Frans Peeters Comparing to the year 2001, the average rating increased by 23 points or 0.9%. Since this gain is smaller than in the open category, whole 5 players from the “old” list would have qualified for the new one. Eight players out of the Top 10 Open of 2001 are still active. All of them with just one exception are in the current Top 100, whereas Anand and Topalov are not far away from the Top 10. On the women’s side, only two players from the Top 10 of 2001 are still active. Here are these eight players mentioned above: 16. Viswanathan Anand (IND) 275319. Veselin Topalov (BUL) 273537. Michael Adams (ENG) 270158. Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) 267862. Boris Gelfand (ISR) 267677. Peter Leko (HUN) 266383. Alexander Morozevich (RUS) 2659104. Alexei Shirov (ESP) 2647 Since the oldest in this group is Boris Gelfand (born in 1968), maybe even ten years down the road all of them will be among active players. Only two World Champions Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik are missing. Kasparov played his last tournament game back in 2005, whereas Kramnik retired from professional chess at the beginning of the last year. Photo: Niki Riga Here are two still active players from the Top 10 Women 2001: 22. Pia Cramling (SWE) 246433. Alisa Galliamova (RUS) 2438 It is just another evidence of a shorter and less intense period of activity in women’s chess. However, Pia Cramling (born in 1963) has been doing a great job undermining this doctrine. Last year the GM from Sweden became the most active player in the Top 100 Women playing 133 games! Photo: David Llada Let’s have a look at the players who made their way into the Top 10 Open after January 1, 2001 – particularly at the age they first did it, the countries they represented back then and the rating they had at that moment. The player from the current Top 10 Open and Women are marked with an asterisk. Open: 1. Evgeny Bareev (RUS) 2709, Age 35, 20012. Loek Van Wely (NED) 2714, Age 29, 20013. Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) 2727, Age 19, 20024. Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2712, Age 20, 2003*5. Peter Svidler
Rosters revealed for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup
The Chinese team, winner of a historic double gold in the last Chess Olympiad, will be the top-seed at the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, which will take place May 5-10. The field for the event includes six players who have held the title of World Chess Champion, plus twelve others who have been Candidates to the throne at some point. China, with an average rating of 2717, is followed in the initial ranking by Europe (2687), Russia (2662), USA (2641), India (2605), and the “Rest of the World” team (2597). The Chinese team is headed by Ding Liren and Wang Hao, the world’s numbers three and twelve respectively. They are two of the eight players who are currently a part of the Candidates tournament – the final stage which decides who will be the finalist in the World Championship Match. But the main news is the return of Hou Yifan to the Chinese national team. The four-time World Champion is a former prodigy and the youngest female player ever to achieve the Grandmaster title. Two years ago Hou won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University and put her career on hold, but she is still the highest-ranked female player in ranking. Hou Yifan’s temporary return to the board might imply that the reigning Women’s World Champion, Ju Wenjun, is sent to the bench. CHINA Captain: Ye Jiangchuan Std. Rpd. Ding Liren 2791 2836 Wang Hao 2763 2750 Wei Yi 2732 2752 Hou Yifan 2658 2621 Yu Yangyi 2709 2738 Ju Wenjun 2560 2610 2.702,17 2.717,83 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, from France, will be leading a super-strong European team that also includes Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, and Anna Muzychuk, with Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Nana Dzagnidze as reserve players. But even the best players of the moment are slightly overshadowed when the team captain is a living legend like Garry Kasparov. The multiple-time world champion, who ruled the world of chess for two decades, put an end to his career in 2005 and has barely taken part in any competitive chess activity ever since. His presence in this event, even if only as a team captain, has been a pleasant surprise to chess fans all over the world. EUROPE Captain: Garry Kasparov Std. Rpd. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2778 2860 Levon Aronian 2773 2778 Anish Giri 2764 2731 Anna Muzychuk 2535 2533 Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2753 2774 Nana Dzagnidze 2524 2447 2.687,83 2.687,17 Russia no longer dominates the chess world as it once did, but even with the absence of some important players – like Alexander Grischuk and Kateryna Largo – the Russian team cannot be ruled out as a possible winner. Ian Nepomniachtchi has proven to be in great shape recently, and he will be defending the first board, along with Vladislav Artemiev, Sergey Karjakin, and Aleksandra Goryachkina. With Dmitry Andreikin and Olga Girya as reserve players, Russian is still a formidable rival, with great team spirit. RUSSIA Captain: Alexander Motylev Std. Rpd. Ian Nepomniachtchi 2784 2778 Vladislav Artemiev 2716 2769 Sergey Karjakin 2752 2709 Aleksandra Goryachkina 2582 2502 Dmitry Andreikin 2726 2740 Olga Girya 2469 2471 2.671,50 2.661,50 The USA, winners of the 2016 Olympiad, brings to the competition all their top guns, starting with the world’s number two Fabiano Caruana. With him, Hikaru Nakamura, who is considered one of the biggest specialists in fast time controls, and the Fischer Random World Champion Wesley So. The team is completed by two experienced female players – Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, plus the Cuban-born Leinier Dominguez, who has represented the US Chess Federation since 2018. USA Captain: John Donaldson Std. Rpd. Fabiano Caruana 2835 2773 Hikaru Nakamura 2736 2829 Wesley So 2770 2741 Irina Krush 2429 2392 Leinier Dominguez Perez 2758 2786 Anna Zatonskih 2420 2327 2.658,00 2.641,33 India will be led one more time by the legendary Viswanathan Anand who, despite having reached the age of 50 in November, is still one among the top 15 players in the world – and remains as dangerous as ever when it comes to rapid play. It is a bit paradoxical that the average age of this team is the highest in the event when India is producing more young chess prodigies than any other country in the world. But the young Indian cubs are not ready yet to make it into the national team: the generational changeover will have to wait a bit more. INDIA Adviser to the team:Vladimir Kramnik Std. Rpd. Viswanathan Anand 2753 2751 Vidit Gujrathi 2726 2636 Pentala Harikrishna 2719 2690 Humpy Koneru 2586 2483 Adhiban Baskaran 2659 2624 Harika Dronavalli 2515 2450 2.659,67 2.605,67 The “Rest of the World Team” is, as it would be expected, the most colorful one, including players from Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt, Peru, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. On top of the list, the winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup, Teimour Radjabov. With him, one of the main attractions of the event, the 16-year-old prodigy from Iran, Alireza Firouzja. The teenager is developing a rivalry with the World Champion Magnus Carlsen that is becoming more and more serious by the day, and probably all eyes will be on him, as he will be taking on some of the very top players in the world during this event. The team also features the best African player of all times, Bassem Amin, one of the biggest talents from South America, Jorge Cori, a former Women’s World Champion, Mariya Muzychuk, and the Kazakhstani star Dinara Saduakassova. The FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, will be acting as a captain for this team. REST OF THE WORLD Captain: Arkady Dvorkovich Std. Rpd. Teimour Radjabov 2765 2758 Alireza Firouzja 2728 2703 Bassem Amin 2686 2608 Mariya Muzychuk 2544 2506 Jorge Cori 2652 2599 Dinara Saduakassova 2500 2412 2.645,83 2.597,67 The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE’s and Chess.com’s own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, and Polish. More information in our initial press release about the event. FIDEwww.fide.comDavid Lladapress@fide.com+34 623 021 120 CHESS.comwww.chess.comNick Bartonnick@chess.com
FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup Rosters: Team Europe
Team Europe for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup is confirmed: Captain: Garry Kasparov The 13th World Champion, Garry Kasparov is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. During his career, Kasparov was ranked #1 for 255 months. His highest rating of 2851(achieved in 1999) was surpassed only by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. He also holds the record for the consecutive tournament victories and number of Chess Oscars. Maxim Vachier-Lagrave (France Std. 2778 Rpd. 2860) The highest-rated French player, the five-time winner of the Biel Grandmaster Tournament and one of the leaders of the Candidates Tournament 2020, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is currently ranked #5 in the world. He reached his peak rating (2819) in August 2016. Levon Aronian (Armenia Std. 2773 Rpd. 2778) The fourth highest-ranked player in the history of chess, a true celebrity in Armenia, Levon Aronian won FIDE World Cup in 2005 and 2017. Levon led the national team to the gold medals in three Olympiads in 2006, 2008, and 2012. Aronian is currently ranked #7 in the world. Anish Giri (Netherlands Std. 2764 Rpd. 2731) A four-time Dutch champion, the winner of several prestigious tournaments Anish Kumar Giri is currently ranked #10 in the world. He reached his peak rating (2798) in January 2016. Fluent in Russian, English, and Dutch, Giri has qualified for the Candidates Tournament twice (2016 and 2020). Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine Std. 2535 Rpd. 2533) The winner of Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship (2016) and the Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship (2014 and 2016) Anna Muzychuk became the fourth woman to cross a 2600 rating mark in classical chess. The participant of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, she is currently ranked #7 in the world. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland Std. 2753 Rpd. 2774) One of the most promising and talented young players Jan-Krzysztof Duda is already ranked #16 in the world. He achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15. The winner of the Polish championship (2018), last November Duda reached the final in the FIDE Grand Prix (Hamburg 2019) facing a very strong competition. Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia Std. 2524 Rpd. 2447) A member of the gold medal-winning Georgia team at the Women’s Olympiad (2008) and the winner of the Women’s Blitz Championship (2017) Nana Dzagnidze currently occupies 8th position in the women’s rating list. This March the mother of two reached a milestone in her career after winning FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Lausanne. The Online Nations Cup is a team competition that will be held on May 5-10 with teams Russia, USA, Europe, China, India & the Rest of the World taking part.
Don Schultz (1936 – 2020)
This week brought the sad news of the passing of Don Schultz, a former member of the FIDE Executive Board (1982-1990), and US Chess President (1996-1999). He was 83. Don worked full time for IBM, so he was never able to devote himself entirely to chess – and yet his contributions to promoting the game in the US were remarkable. His “day job” had him move to different states across the US (and even abroad), so he ended up being President of the NYS Chess Association, the North Carolina Chess Association, the Georgia Chess Association, and the Florida Chess Association. One of the first events he organized was the 1963 New York State Open, which Bobby Fischer won with a perfect score. It was there that Bobby played 9.Nh3 against Bisguier in a game that found its way into “My 60 Memorable Games”. He also organized the 1990 World Youth Championship in Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) where Judit Polgar won the Boys (!) Under 14 World Championship. Schultz was also a well-known chess journalist, and the author of two chess books: “ChessDon” (1999) and “Fischer, Kasparov and the others” (2005). A close friend of Fischer, Schultz accidentally became one of the three members of his delegation during the 1972 match, an event that he was only planning to attend as a mere supporter. From then on, he would get involved in international chess affairs. He represented our institution as co-chair of the FIDE-UNESCO Commission during the years 1981-82, and he was a member of the FIDE Executive Board between 1982 and 1990. In total, he attended no less than 21 FIDE Congresses, in different capacities, between 1972 and 2005. FIDE extends its condolences to the US chess family, and most of all, to Don’s family and loved ones.
FIDE and Chess.com announce Online Nations Cup
The International Chess Federation and Chess.com announce the Online Nations Cup, a team competition held May 5-10, 2020. Six teams are due to take part in this competition: Russia, USA, Europe, China, India, plus a team representing the “Rest of the World.” This epoch-making battle draws some similarities with golf’s Ryder Cup, or with the 1970 “USSR vs. Rest of the World” chess match-up that made headlines in Bobby Fischer’s heyday. But the new “match of the century” will be more global, entirely online, and also gender-inclusive, since the team line-ups must include at least one female player. A retired legend, Garry Kasparov, will be the captain for the European team, while his former world championship rival, Vishwanathan Anand, will defend the first board of the Indian team. The Online Nations Cup is a team championship showdown, where six teams of four players each will fight under a rapid play format, for a prize fund of USD 180.000. The event, co-organized by the International Chess Federation and the leading chess-playing platform Chess.com, is expected to feature nearly all the top players on the planet, representing China, India, Russia, the USA, Europe, and “Rest of the World”. The first stage, a double round-robin with the six teams, will take place on May 5-9. The top two teams will then play in a Superfinal on Sunday, May 10, to determine the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup champion. The games will be played in a rapid format, where each player begins the game with 25 minutes on their clock, plus 10 seconds of extra time added after each move. The exact composition of the teams will be confirmed tomorrow (April 22). The preliminary entry list includes three generations of the best players: from 50-year-old Viswanathan Anand (multiple-time World Champion and still in the world’s top-20) to the newest chess phenomenon, the 16-year-old Iranian Alireza Firouzja. The regulations stipulate that in every match the line-up of the teams must include at least one female player, and the best women’s players in the world have already expressed their readiness to take part in the tournament. In order to guarantee fair play in an entirely online event, during their games, players will be observed by FIDE-affiliated international arbiters via a video conference call. To ensure that the participants don’t receive any kind of external help from a computer, their webcam, computer screen and the room in which they are playing will be under supervision. The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE’s and Chess.com’s own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish and Polish. “This is a unique event that will combine competitive chess at the highest level, with a top-notch online spectacle”, says Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation. “The reasons why an official tournament like this has to be conducted online are very unfortunate – but we are happy to see that chess is providing solace to millions of people who are under a home lockdown: they can play themselves, and they can also enjoy the thrill of a first-class sporting event”. The move represents the latest initiative by FIDE to shift its activities to the online arena. Like every other sport, the International Chess Federation has seen its activities disrupted amid the coronavirus shutdown: one of its flagship events, the Candidates Tournament, had to be halted midway, while the Chess Olympiad, which was supposed to take place in Russia this summer, had to be postponed to 2021. However, chess has an advantage over other sports: fully competitive chess can be played online, with no compromise on quality. And in fact, this sport is experiencing a boom when it comes to casual players: chess clubs online have witnessed a record number of games being played. An estimated 16 million games are being played online every day since the lockdown began – 9 million of them on Chess.com alone. “We are currently experiencing significant accelerated growth”, says Nick Barton, Director of Business Development for Chess.com. “While we wish the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this groundbreaking event were different, we are pleased to be working with FIDE in bringing a major championship to the online landscape for fans around the world.” The FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup is the first in a series of competitive online events to be organized by FIDE in cooperation with various partners. The governing body of Chess has also launched a number of online workshops and lectures for its members and affiliates. 1.Regulations for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup (pdf). Annex 1. Player Requirements. Annex 2. Captain Requirements. Annex 3. Officials for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup More information: FIDEwww.fide.comDavid Lladapress@fide.com+34 623 021 120 CHESS.comwww.chess.comNick Bartonnick@chess.com