Joint statement by FIDE and the ECU
As you know, three major events are planned for April 2020 in Crete, Greece. 1. World Cadet & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 20202. World Amateur Chess Championship 20203. European School Championships 2020. These events involve the travel and presence of hundreds of players and others at the venue. Given the current health situation in Europe and worldwide with the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), recommendations and instructions of WHO, sports and national authorities, as also concerns expressed by many participants and national federations, both organizations believe that priority is the protection of the public health. In view of the above, and after consultation with the organizers, FIDE and ECU have decided that all three events listed above will be postponed. The events are rescheduled for after the 15th of June 2020 and the new dates and venue in Greece will be announced the next days. Bookings have been already made and deposits will be transferred to the new dates and in case that participants will not be able to attend will be fully refunded for their hotel bookings and registration fees. We would like to note that since that the reason for the postponement is force majeure and a recognized worldwide big threat for public health, neither FIDE, nor EСU, nor the organizers can be responsible for other expenses incurred by participants, including travel expenses and air tickets. Many companies decided to redirect to new dates/destinations or refund tickets that canceled due to the global threat of (COVID-19).
WGP Round 5: Dzagnidze wins; Goryachkina and Dronavalli still lead
The fifth round of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix in Lausanne features just one decisive game. World Champion Ju Wenjun escapes after more than 5 hours. The battle of the two leaders Harika Dronavalli and Aleksandra Goryachkina unfolded quietly, as the balance never significantly tilted for either side. Both remain in the lead, as none of their pursuers managed to win. In fact, as many as five games were tied on this fifth day. The only winner of the day was Nana Dzagnidze, who overcame Anna Muzychuk with Black. The Georgian confessed afterward that she misplayed the opening and ended up in a difficult position. She decided to sacrifice an exchange with 21…Be6 and could not understand why her opponent refused to take it. To be fair, White only erred later and collapsed in the complications. Mariya Muzychuk could have restored the balance in the family score by beating Ju Wenjun, but she failed to convert a decisive advantage in the endgame. The World Champion is visibly struggling to find her shape in Lausanne, but there is still a whole second tournament half to recover. The encounter between Zhansaya Abdumalik and Alina Kshalinskaya saw the advantage change hands. The Russian clearly got an upper hand around move 20 but slipped with 27…Rxe5, instead of 27…fxe5. The endgame seemed balanced afterward, but Black allowed the exchange of rooks, which could have cost her dearly. Zhansaya probably missed 43…b4 later on, which allowed Alina to escape. Alexandra Kosteniuk made a draw with Black against Antoaneta Stefanova and finally recovered from three defeats in a row. Pia Cramling and Marie Sebag played a balanced game and eventually reached a draw. Results of Round 5: Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) ½-½Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) ½-½Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) ½-½ Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) 0-1Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Ju Wenjun (CHN) ½-½Pia Cramling (SWE) – Marie Sebag (FRA) ½-½ Standings after Round 5: 1-2. Harika Dronavalli (IND) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – 3½ 3.-4. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 35.-8. Anna Muzychuk (UKR), Pia Cramling (SWE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 2½ 9.-11. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 2 12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – 1 Program of round 6, 7 March at 3 pm: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Marie Sebag (FRA)Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Pia Cramling (SWE)Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR)Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Harika Dronavalli (IND)Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
FIDE Trainer Seminar on teaching players with disabilities
The Competition for the disabled at the World Chess Olympiad 2020 will see a FIDE Trainer Seminar on teaching players with disabilities. This seminar will be held daily for one hour, starting 30 minutes after the start of play, during rounds one to five. All participating teams are invited to register one or more members to attend. Trainer license requirements are also waived for all team captains attending, who will all be awarded the Developmental Instructor title. Four FIDE Commissions have come together for this program – the FIDE Trainers Commission (TRG), the FIDE Commission for the Disabled (DIS), the FIDE Events Commission (EVE) and the FIDE Medical Commission (MED). The lead lecturer and moderator will be FIDE Senior Trainer and Grandmaster Thomas Luther, Chairman of the DIS commission. His expert co-lecturers will be FIDE International Organiser and International Arbiter Ozgur Solakoglu (Chairman of the Events Commission) and Dr. Amelia Hernandez (Member of the Medical Commission). The program coordinator will be Peter Long (Secretary of the Trainers Commission).
WGP Round 4: Goryachkina and Dronavalli win and lead in Lausanne
The participants of the Lausanne Women’s Grand Prix are clearly in full strength mode. All games featured hard battles and three of them ended with decisive results The symbolic first move was played on Thursday by Simon Fellus, General Secretary of the World Bridge Association. In the subsequent interview, he drew comparisons between the two mind games and praised FIDE for promoting the activity of women in chess. Two of the five leaders were pitted against each other in Round 4. Nana Dzagnidze tried a different version of the London System which had brought her success in round two. The outcome of the opening was clearly less satisfactory, as Harika Dronavalli quickly got a pleasant position. The Indian was ready to torture her opponent for a long time when Dzagnidze blundered a Rook and resigned on move 27. Dronavalli felt sorry for her opponent afterward and admitted that she is always reluctant to win in such an abrupt way. Another leader managed to win her game and keep pace with Dronavalli. Aleksandra Goryachkina admitted after the game that she was unhappy with her play overall, as she felt that she should have gained a definite advantage against Antoaneta Stefanova’s treatment of the Pirc Defence. Indeed, the game was about equal around move 15, and only the 23rd move by the Bulgarian paved the way to her demise. The tournament is not going well for Alexandra Kosteniuk, as she lost her third game in a row and is the clear last. The opening was a Ruy Lopez, where Zhansaya Abdumalik obtained a closed and balanced position. The key moment came on move 20 when Kosteniuk spurned 20.Ndc4, thus allowing Black to open the center with d5. The young Kazakhstani seized the initiative and did not look back. Her attack flowed and she eventually forced Kosteniuk’s resignation on move 37 due to imminent checkmate. Two draws were particularly exciting with both games finishing quite late in the evening. Alina Kashlinskaya tried a bold knight sacrifice on g7 and felt that the attack was decisive. However, Pia Cramling has seen all sorts of offensives from formidable opponents in her rich career. She remained calm, unimpressed, and repelled all White’s threats. The Russian should be praised for keeping as much tension as possible after that. As fatigue grew, Cramling failed to show the best technique and had settle for a half-point. Just like in Round 2, Ju Wenjun failed to demonstrate anything convincing against the Grunfeld Defense. The commentator Mikhail Gurevich opined that she should have played 11.e5, as after 11.Bd3, Anna Muzychuk quickly got a nice position. Shortly after, the Ukrainian went for the typical positional exchange sacrifice on f3. Was it really necessary? Did she think that Black would be better after this? In any case, the game remained in a dynamic balance until the endgame, where both players agreed to a draw. The encounter between Marie Sebag and Mariya Muzychuk followed the opening line of the second-round game between the French and Dronavalli. Black improved with 7…Bb7 and the position remained fairly equal throughout. Sebag sacrificed a pawn, but her activity was only sufficient for a draw. The 5th round on Friday features the battle of the leaders, as Harika Dronavalli will have white pieces against Aleksandra Goryachkina. Results of round 4: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½Marie Sebag (FRA) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Harika Dronavalli (IND) 0-1Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) 1-0Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 0-1 Standings after round 4: 1-2. Harika Dronavalli (IND) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – 3 points3.-4. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 2½ points.5.-8. Pia Cramling (SUE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 2 points9.-11. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 1½ points.12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – ½ point. Program of round 5, 6 March at 3 pm: Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Ju Wenjun (CHN)Pia Cramling (SWE) – Marie Sebag (FRA) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020 announced
FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG) is pleased to announce the FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020, which will recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the training industry. The FIDE Trainer Awards will be given in the following six categories, five for trainers and one for book authors: Mikhail Botvinnik Award to the best achievement by trainer(s) in Open Section competitions Vakhtang Karseladze Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in women’s and/or girl’s competitions Mark Dvoretsky Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in junior competitions Yuri Razuvaev Award for best contribution to grassroots education Yuri Averbakh/Isaac Boleslavsky Award for instructional material in a book Tigran Petrosian Award for special achievement/trainer education An important change is that the Razuvaev Award, which in previous years was awarded “for Contributions to Trainers Education”, will now go to a grassroots trainer. We believe that this role is extremely important and too often it doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves, so we would like to contribute to changing that. There are also some novelties regarding the panel of judges, which again we tried to keep as diverse as possible with all continents represented, and keeping a balance between both experienced players and trainers. For the Trainers Award, Vladimir Kramnik, Antoaneta Stefanova and Alonso Zapata repeat in their roles, but they are now joined by Ahmed Adly, Maia Chiburdanidze, Ramachandran Ramesh, and the World Champion’s trainer, Peter Heine Nielsen. It must be noted that when a coach is made a member of the panel, that means he is automatically out of the race for the award. That is one of the main reasons for this rotation. The awards must be for achievement in the year of the award 2019, but earlier achievements may be mentioned to strengthen a nomination. Eligible to nominate are FIDE Presidential Board members, Continental and National Chess Federations, TRG Commission members, Principals of FIDE Endorsed Academies, FIDE Senior Trainers and past winners. All Nominations must be sent to TRG Secretary Peter Long via email at trainers@fide.com and received by 1st April. The Averbakh/Boleslavsky Award for “Book of the Year” is again judged separately. Nigel Short and Artur Yusupov repeat as judges, being joined on this occasion by John Donaldson. Nominations will be made by leading chess book publishers by 31st March with the shortlist published by 1st July and the winner will be declared on 21st July. The trophies will be awarded at the Moscow Olympiad, along with the Svetozar Gligoric Award for Fair Play. Books nomination formTrainers nomination formRegulations for the Annual FIDE Trainer Awards 2020
WGP Round 3: The World Champion stumbles in Lausanne
Harika Dronavalli dominates Ju Wenjun and moves to shared first place with four other players. Every loss by a World Champion makes headlines and we shall not go against this rule. White’s position did not look that promising at first sight, but as Harika Dronavalli explained in her post-game interview, she had small elements to play for. Having the better Bishop, she maneuvered skillfully in order to get rid of her doubled pawns on the kingside. Her technique worked wonders as she managed to create a passed pawn, after which Ju Wenjun could only resign. With hindsight, it is hard to pinpoint any real mistake by the Chinese. Anna Muzychuk scored an easy victory after Marie Sebag erred in the opening. The decisive mistake came as early as on move 14, after which the French could not avoid material losses. The third winner of the day is Alina Kashlinskaya, who overcame her countrywoman Alexandra Kosteniuk. The latter appeared much better prepared, as witnessed the respective time consumption of both players in the opening phase. It is unclear whether Kosteniuk forgot the details of her preparation or got surprised by the exchange on g5 followed by 18…f6. In any case, it seems as if retreating the Bishop all the way to c1 in order to disrupt the later defensive resource Ne7 would have been better than 19.Bd2. Kashlinskaya took over and never looked back. The three winners of the day join Nana Dzagnidze and Aleksandra Goryachkina, who drew their games. The Georgian ventured upon a bold exchange sacrifice against Antoaneta Stefanova, which set the board on fire. The fight became very complicated with inevitable inaccuracies coming from both opponents. Nevertheless, one gets the impression that Dzagnidze is the one who got closer to a win. Zhansaya Abdumalik made a quick draw with White. She seemed surprised, perhaps even disappointed, that her opponent Aleksandra Goryachkina chose the Berlin Defense in Ruy Lopez. After her loss on the previous day, the youngest participant in Lausanne decided to play it safe and settled for a theoretical draw by repetition. The encounter between Mariya Muzychuk and Pia Cramling was fairly balanced, and both players agreed to a draw on move 45. Results of round 3: Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) 0-1Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) ½-½Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) ½-½Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Ju Wenjun (CHN) 1-0Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Marie Sebag (FRA) 1-0Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½ Standings after round 3: 1-5. Dronavalli Harika (IND), Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), Anna Muzychuk (UKR), Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 26.-8. Pia Cramling (SWE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) and Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – 1½9-11. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ), Ju Wenjun (CHN) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 112. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – ½ Program of Round 4, 5 March at 3 pm: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Pia Cramling (SWE)Marie Sebag (FRA) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR)Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Harika Dronavalli (IND)Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Antoaneta Stefanova(BLG)Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
WGP Round 2: Two leaders emerge in Lausanne
The second round of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix witnesses two decisive games, so that Vice-World Champion Aleksandra Goryachkina and Nana Dzagnidze lead with 1,5 points. The symbolic first move of the day was made by Gérald Béroud, Executive Vice-President of the Swiss-Chinese Association. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Switzerland and China, the sinologist was naturally asked to execute the starting move for Ju Wenjun. The World Champion indicated 1.d4, the opening which Mr. Béroud used to prefer in his youth when playing chess actively. Despite this lucky hand, Ju Wenjun did not manage to put real pressure on Antoaneta Stefanova’s Grunfeld and even had to find some precise moves to hold a draw. The first victory in this tournament came from Nana Dzagnidze, who beat newcomer Zhansaya Abdumalik after launching a mating attack. According to the Georgian, her opponent committed the lethal mistake quite early on. Indeed, 13..a6 allowed Dzagnidze to place her Bishop on the dangerous diagonal b1-h7, which later paved the way for the white Queen to h7. The other decisive game of this round occurred in the Russian duel between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alexandra Kosteniuk. The vice-World Champion obtained some pressure from the opening, but things only became clear after Kosteniuk blundered with 23…Rc4. This allowed Goryachkina to exchange Black’s powerful e4-knight, after which the Kosteniuk’s position collapsed. The remaining encounters all ended in draws. Alina Kashlinskaya did not manage to cause any problems to Mariya Muzychuk. Queens came off the board early on and the game remained balanced until both players agreed to a draw on move 30. Marie Sebag got a definite advantage in her opening against Harika Dronavalli and won a pawn on move 13. Unfortunately for her, the multiple French champion blundered her exra pawn back with 25.b4, after which the draw was inevitable. The longest game of the day featured a 5-hour battle between Pia Cramling and Anna Muzychuk. The advantage slowly shifted toward the Ukrainian, who won a pawn on move 34. But the Swedish legend defended well – by sacrificing a second pawn Pia transposed into an endgame with opposite-colored bishops in which she secured a draw. Results of Round 2: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½ – ½Pia Cramling (SWE) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ½ – ½Marie Sebag (FRA) – Harika Dronavalli (IND) ½ – ½Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) ½ – ½Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 1-0Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) 1-0 Standings after round 2: 1-2. Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) and Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – 1½ points3-10. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Harika Dronavalli (IND), Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr), Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR), Pia Cramling (SUE) et Marie Sebag (FRA) – 111-12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – ½ Program of Round 3, 4 March at 3 pm: Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Ju Wenjun (CHN)Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Marie Sebag (FRA)Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Pia Cramling (SWE) All the action can be followed live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
Prague welcomes World Senior Team Chess Championship
World Senior Team Chess Championship starts in Prague on March 5. The competition is held in two age categories: 65+ with 61 registered teams and 50+ with 57 teams. Last year’s champions in the elder section, the Russian team is the rating favorite with 2452 average. GMs Yuri Balashov and Evgeny Sveshnikov (who just celebrated his 70s anniversary) are the leaders of this squad. Photo: Mark Livshitz The defending champion and the rating favorite (2536) in the 50+ category is bringing to Prague its winning lineup. All the players are 2500+ grandmasters: Alexander Shabalov, Gregory Kaidanov, Larry Christiansen, Joel Benjamin, and Igor Novikov. Photo: https://new.uschess.org The tournament’s list of participants boasts of such legendary names as John Nunn, Ulf Andersson, Anatoly Vaisser, Vlastimil Hort, Alexander Graf, Artur Jussupow, Tamaz Giorgadze, Jonathan Speelman, Zbynek Hracek, and Lubomir Ftacnik to name a few. Although this event does not have a separate women’s section, it traditionally attracts a perceptible number of female players. The 50+ team of Scotland has Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant at its helm; Russia, Mongolia, England, Germany, and the Czech Republic brought teams made up entirely of women. The Russian women’s team put the former world senior champion Galina Strutinskaia on board one. Recently FIDE has made several important steps towards supporting senior chess: starting in 2019, all veteran fees were waived and the championships’ prizes were increased. Official website: http://www.wstcc2020.net/#chess #SeniorChess #ChessForAll #Prague
WGP Lausanne Round 1: A peaceful start
The first round of the Lausanne Grand Prix witnesses six balanced encounters, which all end in a draw. The event is gaining in popularity worldwide. The third leg of the Series is taking place in the Mövenpick Hotel in Ouchy, a beautiful area by the lake in Lausanne. Quite a few spectators gathered at the venue for the start of the first round, but the organizers are particularly enthusiastic about the growing interest which arouses from the online broadcast. Live commentary, interviews with guests and players, everything is made to satisfy the audience online. The games of the inaugural round were mostly tense, even though all of them ended in a draw. World Champion Ju Wenjun played the Berlin Defense against newcomer Zhansaya Abdumalik. In spite of the symmetrical pawn structure which appeared early on, things were anything but clear. The talented Kazakhstani got a slight initiative at the cost of misplacing her rook on the f file. The strategic battle turned around this awkward piece, and it slowly looked as if the Chinese would be able to outplay her young opponent. Yet, Abdumalik sensed the right moment to simplify and offer a draw. Aleksandra Goryachkina, the other proclaimed favorite of the event, played an interesting game with white pieces against her countrywoman Alina Kashlinskaya. She could have secured an edge with 21.Bb5, with the idea to use her passed pawn later on. She simplified instead and had to suffer a little to make a draw. The first ceremonial move in the game Kosteniuk – Dzagnidze was made by Renato Frick, Vice-President and General Secretary of the Liechtenstein Chess Federation. The winner of the second Grand Prix leg in Monaco, Alexandra Kosteniuk, somewhat misplayed the opening. The Russian soon lagged in development, and Nana Dzagnidze might have played in a more forceful way to try and use her initiative. After the exchange of some pieces, the game dried up and both players agreed to a draw on the move 42. The encounter between Harika Dronavalli and Pia Cramling was quite balanced. True to her typical classical style, the Swedish legend got a solid position with the black pieces. The apparent passivity was compensated for by the long-term asset of the two bishops. As both grandmasters played with care, none of them managed to outfox the other and the game ended peacefully. In hindsight, Marie Sebag regretted accepting her opponent´s draw offer. It is true that Antoaneta Stefanova kept some pressure throughout the game, but after simplifications, the French suddenly emerged with a better ending. As usual, the Muzychuk sisters opted not to fight in a classical tournament game and quickly repeated moves after the opening. Results of the first round: Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) ½-½Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) ½-½Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Ju Wenjun (CHN) ½-½Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Marie Sebag (FRA) ½-½Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½ Program of round 2, 3 March at 3 pm: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)Pia Cramling (SWE) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR)Marie Sebag (FRA) – Harika Dronavalli (IND)Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG)Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ)Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) All the action can be followed live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com . Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick Pelletier Photos: David Llada Contact: press@fide.com
Women’s Grand Prix launched in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne
The third leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2020 is officially open. The tournament, running until March 14 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Lausanne features the strongest female chess players in the world. The event has been launched on the evening of March 1st on the premises of the prestigious Olympic Museum, on the shore of Geneva Lake. The same venue had already hosted the FIDE Knockout World Championship Final 1998 between Anatoly Karpov and Viswanathan Anand. The opening ceremony was attended by some prestigious guests, such as Lausanne Mayor Grégoire Junod and Andrew Hoffer of the International Olympic Committee. In his speech, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich expressed his gratitude to the Olympic Museum and stressed the importance of presenting chess in world-famous places such as this one. Barely a year after settling into Lausanne, the International Chess Federation stages one of its major events in the Olympic Capital. The President of the Swiss Chess Federation Peter Wyss stated that the Women Grand Prix was a worthy addition to the long list of historic chess tournaments held in the country. Lausanne is the third of the four-event Grand Prix Series. The leader of the race, Indian grandmaster Humpy Koneru, has a rest during the Swiss leg. This will certainly allow her nearest pursuers to close in and position themselves advantageously before the final event in Sardinia in May. Two qualifying places for the Candidates Tournament are stake in Women’s Grand Prix. Out of contention for qualification are of course the reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun and her challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina, who appear in Lausanne as the two clear favorites. The first round starts on March 2 at 3 pm at the Mövenpick Hotel. Round 01 pairings: Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) – Alina Kashlinskaya (Rus)Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) – Nana Dzagnidze (Geo)Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kaz) – Ju Wenjun (Chn)Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) – Marie Sebag (Fra)Harika Dronavalli (Ind) – Pia Cramling (Swe)Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) – Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) All the action can be followed live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Photo: David Llada Contact:Press officer: Yannick Pelletier+35 2691760922press@fide.com