Introducing Candidates: Wang Hao
Wang Hao (China)Born: August 04, 1989Rating: 2758 (14th position)This will be his first Candidates Tournament Wang Hao picked up the game of chess at the age of six and did it almost by accident, when he was going to learn Chinese chess. A young star from Kharbin (a big city in northeast China) he rose very early and became one of the prizewinners at the World Junior Championship U-10, competing with such whizzkids as Segey Karjakin, Magnus Carlsen and Ian Neponiachtchi. Playing for team China, he won two U-16 Olympiads in 2002 and 2004. In the latter, he scored 8 out of 9 points on the first board, winning the individual gold medal. His first major tournament victory came early, in 2005, at the Dubai Open. Still untitled, Wang Hao netted 7 out of 9 points and finished the clear first with a rating performance of 2731. Later the same year, the 15-year old Chinese player qualified for the World Cup from a zonal Asia tournament and earned the grandmaster title. Interestingly enough, he became grandmaster straight away, skipping over the FM and IM titles. In 2007, he took silver at the Asian Individual Championship and bronze at the World Junior Chess Championship in Yerevan. As a member of the Chinese national team, he has won the Asia Team Championship several times. In 2010 he finally won the China championship. Wang Hao enhanced his reputation as a real keeper for any team when playing for «SHSM-64» – he made a significant contribution to the team’s two titles in the Russia Team Championships. In 2011 Wang Hao assisted Levon Aronian in preparing for the Candidates Tournament as a sparring partner. At the peak of his chess career, Wang Hao rose above the 2750 rating mark, scoring victories against all elite players, including the two last World Champions, Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In 2011 he took silver at the World Team Championship with team China. In recent years, many thought that the Chinese GM was past his prime. Indeed, Wang Hao has not qualified for the national team anymore, giving way to his younger compatriots. In one interview, Wang Hao even confessed that he was tired of chess. Most likely, he just needed some time to recharge his batteries and rekindle motivation. Last fall the Chinese GM triumphantly returned to the chess elite – battling with the best of the best, Wang Hao won the strongest Swiss tournament ever on the Isle of Man and qualified for the Candidates. Ponomariov – Wang Hao (World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2007)25… Qxd1! 26. Qxd1 Nxb2 27. Qf1 Rd1 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qxe1 Rd8 30. Bd6 Bxc5 31. Bxc5 Rd1 32. Qxd1 Nxd1 33. Bd4 b5 34. axb5 cxb5 35. Kf1 b4 36. Ke2 Nc3+ 0-1
Ethics Commission Election
Dear chess community! According to the agenda of the Extraordinary General Assembly in Abu Dhabi, elections to the FIDE Ethics Commission will be held. FIDE invites candidates who feel prepared for such a responsible position to send appropriate notifications to the FIDE Secretariat. We would ask prospective candidates to provide basic information in such a notification that will help delegates make an informed choice, namely: Full nameGenderDate of birth & current agePlace of residenceFederation belonging toFormal qualificationsFluency in languages spoken & writtenLegal experience (if any) — number of years & nature thereofExperience in FIDE administration (if any) – number of years & nature thereofExperience in national federation administration (if any) – number of years & nature thereofOther relevant professional experience — number of years & nature thereofInformation about the holding of chess titles (as a player or arbiter) The notification should be signed by the prospective candidate, and the candidate is encouraged attach a recent photo and his / her CV. The prospective candidate should consent to his personal data, which he sent to Secretariat, being published as part of the electoral procedure. Please note that according to the current FIDE Statutes, a candidate is considered formally nominated only if he is supported by the FIDE President, the Continental President, or the FIDE Member Federation. Please attach the appropriate letter, if available. We would like to draw attention to the fact that, although nominees can be formally nominated no later than February 27 (subject to the support of those who are eligible to nominate), we encourage interested persons to submit their candidacies earlier, preferably no later than February 25, 2020.
Grand Chess Tour confirms event allocations for 2020
Saint Louis, MO, February 18, 2020 – The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is pleased to announce that all ten qualified players have confirmed their participation in the 2020 Tour and the event allocations have been finalized. The ten full tour participants will play in both the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest in May and in the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis in September. In addition, they will each participate in two of the three rapid and blitz events as indicated below. The full tour players will be joined by three wildcard invitees at the events in Paris and Zagreb and by four wildcard invitees in Saint Louis. Details of the wildcards for each of the events will be released later. The sixth edition of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) will feature five tournaments with the participants competing for a total prize fund of $1.275 million over the course of the season. The prize money on offer for two classical tournaments will be $325,000 per event while the prize fund for the rapid and blitz events will be $150,000 each. In addition, bonus prize fund totalling $175,000 will be awarded to the top three overall tour finishers.
Statement regarding the Chinese delegation for the Candidates tournament
Yesterday, the Russian Federation announced that the entry of travelers from the People’s Republic of China into their territory will be temporarily suspended, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Effective tomorrow, February 20, the ban will affect Chinese citizens traveling for “private, educational, working and tourist purposes”. This ban does NOT affect official, business and humanitarian visas, which for now will continue to be issued. The Chinese delegation for the Candidates tournament has been issued a humanitarian visa, which englobes travels with sport, cultural or scientific purposes. As such, they should find no impediments entering the Russian Federation, but they have been advised to travel well in advance. The Chinese Chess Association had planned to send their delegation on March 1, but now they consider arriving even earlier. At the present time, it is not expected that the Chinese delegation should undergo a mandatory quarantine, but the situation changes by the hour, and each territory applies different measures. To be on the safe side, we are studying the possibility of offering the Chinese delegation to occupy a country house in the Moscow region upon arrival, with medical assistance at their disposal. This observation period will ensure that they will be able to continue their trip to Yekaterinburg without any issues, even if the security measures in the Sverdlovsk region are tightened in the forthcoming days. FIDE will do everything in our hands to minimize the inconveniences to the Chinese delegation under these exceptional circumstances. It must be noted that Wang Hao will be traveling to Russia directly from Japan, where he has been for the past few weeks.
Women’s Grand Prix: Skolkovo and Monaco recap
In recent months FIDE has made a remarkable effort to make a new cycle of Women’s World Championship very similar to the open one. Currently, the cornerstone of the 2019-2021 cycle is the Women’s Grand Prix (WGP) series that consists of four round-robin tournaments with all the top players participating. The two winners of the WGP who score the greatest number of cumulative points qualify for the Candidates Tournament, which is scheduled for 2021. The reigning World Champion and the Challenger in the recent World Championship match Aleksandra Goryachkina also participate in the Grand Prix events but they fight only for the titles and prize money (both already qualified). In anticipation of the third leg of WGP, which takes place in Lausanne on 1-14 of March, FIDE.com looks back at two events in Skolkovo (Russia) and Monte Carlo. Skolkovo (Russia) The first leg of WGP that was held in a luxurious playing hall on the outskirts of Moscow, in Skolkovo, turned into an exciting race of three favorites – Humpy Koneru (India) and two participants of the Women’s World Championship match Ju Wenjun (China) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia). The World Champion was leading the field up to 9th round in which she suffered her only defeat at the hand of Kateryna Lagno (Russia). Humpy Koneru (India) who triumphantly returned to chess after 18-month hiatus due to family reasons, jumped on this opportunity and forged ahead. In Round 10 Ju Wenjun had a great chance to catch up with Koneru but failed to convert her huge advantage in a winning endgame against Goryachkina. In the final round, the leaders faced each other. All Humpy needed was a draw and she achieved the desired outcome. Meanwhile, Aleksandra Goryachkina scored an important victory and tied for second place with the Word Champion. Both Goryachkina and the champion did not lose a single game throughout the event. Monte Carlo The participants of the world championship match, which was just about a month away, chose different training schedules. Ju Wenjun opted to skip the leg in Monaco; Goriyachkina, on the contrary, decided to play in this tournament. In addition to Goriyachkina, the list of favorites included the winner of the first leg Humpy Koneru, the debutants of this WGP the Musychuk sisters and in-form Alexandra Kosteniuk who won both European Blitz and Rapid Championships in Monaco right before WGP. Comparing to the event in Skolkovo, the tournament scenario in Monaco was much more unpredictable. For one thing, none of the participants avoided defeat. Goriyachkina had a slow start, scoring just a half-point in two games; at some point many thought that Koneru would claim clear first place again and secure a slot in the Candidates (the Indian missed the previous one, as she was inactive for the biggest part of the year before the event) but in Round 9 Humpy suffered a surprise loss to Elizabeth Paehtz with white pieces. Meanwhile, Goryachkina reeled off 5.5/6 and grabbed the lead. Again, the last round saw the leaders’ clash. Goryachkina was fine with a draw, but it was not meant to be – Humpy prevailed and caught up with the leader. Somewhat unexpectedly they were joined by Alexandra Kosteniuk who won her two final games. Moreover, the former World Champion took the title thanks to better tiebreaks. Humpy Koneru and Aleksandra Goryachkina are comfortably sitting at the top of WGP standings. After another triumph at Cairns Cup in Saint Louis, the Indian GM, who basically punched her ticket for the Candidates, skips the competition in Lausanne. Since Goryachkina already qualified for the Candidates, the second slot most certainly will be hotly contested. Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra Goryachkina will meet over the board in Lausanne for the first time since their very close world championship match. It will be the final leg for Alexandra Kosteniuk – in order to qualify for the Candidates she has to take either first or second place. FIDE.com will be covering the event in Lausanne starting from March 1; there will be Livestream with commentary on FIDE’s YouTube channel as well.
2020 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly Agenda and Executive Board Agenda
FIDE publishes the Agendas for the 2020 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly and Executive Board, scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 28-29 February 2020. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that all FIDE meetings including the EGA will be based on electronic desktop documentation. Kindly make your own arrangements should you prefer having printed documents. The missing annexes will be available for download in due course. 2020 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly Agenda and Annexes Download AGENDA (pdf) Annex 1.1 Admission of new federations Annex 1.2 Admission of new affiliated members Annex 2.1 Change of FIDE Statutes: new FIDE Charter Annex 3.1 New Financial Regulations 2020 FIDE Executive Board Agenda and Annexes Download AGENDA (pdf) Annex 3.1 Report of the FIDE Treasurer Annex 3.2 FIDE Financial Statements for 2018 Annex 3.3 Verification Commission report Annex 3.5 Budget 2020 Annex 4.1 Report of Continental Association for Europe Annex 4.2 Report of Continental Association for Americas Annex 4.4 Report of Continental Association for Africa Annex 5.2 Arbiters’ Commission report (ARB) Annex 5.3 Chess in Education Commission report (EDU) Annex 5.4 Commission for the Disabled report (DIS) Annex 5.5 Commission for Women’s Chess report (WOM) Annex 5.7 Ethics Commission report (ETH) Annex 5.8 Events Commission report (EVE) Annex 5.8.3 Bids for World Senior Team Championship 50+ and 65+ 2021 (Italy and Russia) Annex 5.8.4 Bids for World Senior Championships 2021 (Malta and Russia) Annex 5.8.5 Bids for World Amateur Championship 2021 (Italy and Malta)Annex 5.8.6 Bid for World Junior and Girls U-20 Championship 2021 (Italy) Annex 5.8.7 Bids for World Youth Championships U-14, U-16, U-18 2021 (Italy and Russia) Annex 5.8.8 Bid for World Cadet Championship U-8, U-10, U-12 2021 (Egypt) Annex 5.8.9 Bids for World Cadet & Youth Rapid and Blitz Championships U-8,10,12 2021 (Croatia and Georgia) Annex 5.9 Fair Play Commission report (FPL) Annex 5.10 Global Strategy Commission report (GSC) Annex 5.11 Medical Commission report (MED) Annex 5.12 Online Commission report (OLC) Annex 5.13 Planning and Development Commission report (PDC) Annex 5.14 Qualification Commission report (QC) Annex 5.15 Rules Commission report (RC) Annex 5.17 Systems of Pairings and Programs report (SPP) Annex 5.18 Technical Commission report (TEC) Annex 5.19 Trainers’ Commission report (TRG) Annex 5.20 Data protection GDPR Annex 8.1 Chess ID Annex 8.3 Fischer Random Chess Annex 8.4 Athletes Commission
Prague International Chess Festival: Vidit works magic with white
On the 11-22 of February, Don Giovanni Hotel in the capital of the Czech Republic is hosting the second edition of the Prague International Chess Festival that includes several tournaments. The inaugural festival was held a year earlier, in the spring of 2019. The organizers (the major one is Nový Bor Chess Club) who had nurtured the idea of such chess forum since 2017 formulated their mission on the official site: “One of the main ideas is to give top Czech players, national team pretenders and aspiring juniors a chance to face the world’s absolute top players on home soil. We also hope our festival and its format will encourage players’ fighting spirit, incite their will to win, strengthen self-confidence and motivate further personal chess growth in a healthy way. The long-term goal of the project is to establish a tradition of organizing a chess festival on par with the world’s finest events, at both tournament strength and organizational levels”. For the second time in a row, the main event called Masters brought together several 2700+ players who don’t get many invitations to elite tournaments. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) and Alireza Firouzja who substituted Wei Yi (the Chinese GM withdrew from the tournament at the last moment because of coronavirus epidemic) entered the competition as the favorites, but after 5 rounds they are chasing 25-year old Indian Vidit Santosh Gujrathi. The #26 in the rating list has recently become the second player in the Indian chess hierarchy. After this tournament, Vidit might come very close to a long time leader of Indian chess Vishy Anand. Vidit won three games with White routing Sam Shankland (USA) and one of his main competitors Alireza Firouzja. The 16-year old native of Iran rarely suffers a shellacking in the opening, but his encounter with the Indian was an exception. After this defeat Firouzja rolled back to 50% mark. Duda and Vitiugov are still in contention but they are a full point behind the leader. An even bigger sensation is brewing in a lower profile Challengers event. The tournament is featuring Jorden Van Foreest, who made a big splash in Wijk aan Zee last month and coming fresh from his tie for the first in Gibraltar Open Andrey Esipenko, but after 5 rounds the leader is a 47-year old GM from Iceland Hannes Stefansson (2529) with an excellent score 4/5 (no defeats). Esipenko and Mateusz Bartel (Poland) are a half-point behind, whereas Van Foreest drew all his five games. Young talents, including the highest-rated player in the U-10 category Vaclav Finek (Czech Republic, 2220), are fighting in the tournament called Futures. Predictably, the percentage of decisive outcomes in this event has been very high so far. As for the leader, the 11-year old Ediz Gurel from Turkey is ahead of the pack with 4/5. Play will resume on Tuesday with four rounds to go in all the events. FIDE.com will continue to follow the Prague International Chess Festival. Official site: https://praguechessfestival.com/ Photo: Petr Vrabec and Vladimir Jagr
Humpy Koneru wins Cairns Cup 2020
As the dust settled in a momentous final round, Humpy Koneru emerged as this year’s Cairns Cup Champion. She captured clear first with 6/9 points and will take home a sweet $45,000 in prize money. With all of the excitement seen throughout this tournament, it wasn’t a surprise that the final day offered even more drama with multiple storylines. In order to force a playoff, Alexandra Kosteniuk was in a must-win situation against Ju Wenjun. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as the reigning Women’s World Champion defeated Kosteniuk to finish in a clear second place. Meanwhile, Carissa Yip finished with a solid draw against Mariya Muzychuk. This caps off an incredible recovery for Yip who started the tournament with 0/4 but ended with 4/5. Hard-fought battles were seen in a number of other games as a lot of prize money was on the line. Harika Dronavalli – Humpy Koneru: ½ – ½ While this encounter was hugely crucial for the standings, the game itself didn’t offer much bloodshed. A balanced Four Knights Scotch led to an opposite-color bishop endgame and the players agreed to a draw before I could finish my chai latte. In the post-game interview, Humpy Koneru explained her strategy: “I felt like I needed to just draw today to be risk-free.” The quick draw propelled Koneru to 6/9. With Kosteniuk falling to Ju Wenjun, the score was enough for Koneru to be crowned champion. Given her slow start to the event, Koneru explained that she didn’t have the highest expectations: “After my second round loss, I did not expect to make it to the top.” She also admitted to struggling with jet lag for the first half of the tournament. However, this didn’t stop her from playing some of the best chess in the field and rising to the top. Alexandra Kosteniuk – Ju Wenjun: 0 – 1 With Alexandra Kosteniuk fighting for a first-place playoff, and Ju Wenjun fighting for second place, this battle was hotly contested. The opening featured a Berlin Defense which doesn’t have the most exciting reputation. However, a fascinating strategic battle ensued. Perhaps caused by the high stakes and pressure, Kosteniuk lost her thread in the middlegame. Ju emerged in the driver’s seat with a dominating bishop pair. In the endgame, Kosteniuk’s pair of knights were not enough to survive against Ju’s two powerful bishops. With this victory, Ju leapfrogged Alexandra to finish in second place with 5.5/9. She takes home $35,000 which is $10,000 more than what she would have gotten if the game was drawn. Given yesterday’s defeat against Yip, the World Champion was pleased to finish strong. “After yesterday, I didn’t have many expectations. After today’s win, 2nd place is good.” Irina Krush – Nana Dzagnidze: 1 – 0 Having endured several disappointments and missed opportunities in previous games, Irina Krush finally managed to score a victory. Nana Dzagnidze unleashed the dynamic Benoni Defense and was clearly playing for a win with the hopes of earning more prize money. Krush was well aware of her opponent’s situation and played a remarkably clean game. She obtained a pleasant positional edge which quickly transformed into a brutal kingside attack. Her middlegame rook lift was particularly impressive, as she maneuvered one of her major pieces all the way from a1 to h4. In the end, Dzagnidze was defenseless to the American grandmaster’s countless tactical blows. In the post-game interview, Irina did not hold back her joy: “I’m just so happy today!” She went on to reflect on her overall performance: “I never felt like I was having a bad tournament from the point of view of how I was playing.” She also cited time management and calculation as clear areas she needs to work on. As Krush will seek her 8th U.S. Women’s Championship this April, she will have a couple of months to work on her game. Valentina Gunina – Kateryna Lagno: ½ – ½ Although this game was not crucial for the top of the leaderboard, it did feature drama. Valentina Gunina achieved a completely winning position in the endgame, but was unable to convert. After a series of mistakes from Gunina, Kateryna Lagno came back from the dead to save the half-point. This game marks the end to a disappointing event for Gunina who finishes at the bottom of the standings with 2.5/9. As she won the event last year with 7/9, it goes to show how strong this tournament is. One’s overall form during the event is incredibly important and no game or winning position can be taken for granted. Carissa Yip – Mariya Muzychuk: ½ – ½ Carissa Yip capped off an incredible second half to her event with a draw against the Ukranian superstar. The game featured a Classical Variation of the Caro-Kann where Yip was pushing for the advantage. After a few hours into the round, the legendary Garry Kasparov called into the liveshow and provided some insights about this game. He recalled his game against Anand from Linares 2003 as the middlegame structure was incredibly similar. Yip placed her kingside pawns in the same fashion as Kasparov and relished a pleasant space advantage. After a slight inaccuracy from the youngster, Mariya Muzychuk was able to equalize and the players soon agreed to a draw. As Kasparov has worked with Yip in the past as part of the Young Stars program, he voiced his thoughts on the young phenom: “If there’s the real talent it shows, and the last time I saw her at this session a couple of months ago in New York I was truly impressed.” Yip finished in a tie for 7th place and will take home $8,000. With this tournament performance, she is now the youngest player in the world top-50 live rating list for females. With so many exciting games and storylines from this tournament, there will be a lot to reflect on. Many of the lessons for these top-level players can also be applicable for the casual viewers. All of the games and coverage can be reviewed at USChessChamps and stay tuned for many exciting events
Botswana hosts “Beyond Vision” project for visually impaired people
Chess is beneficial for everyone and it has no barriers for anyone to play. International Chess Federation is thankful for all the projects around the world that introduce chess as a tool for better socialization and use the benefits of this game for the good of various groups of people. An inclusive Limitless Minds Chess Academy in Botswana focuses on helping people with disabilities through chess. On 9-15 February, the Academy hosted an American Professional, Louis Holzman, for a project titled “Beyond Vision” that is aimed to help visually impaired people. The Botswana Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted became the partner of this initiative. Among other participants, 50 kids took part in the tournaments, workshops, and other activities of the project. The project not only helps its participants but serves to a wider purpose of promotion of Braille chess for visually challenged. The Academy introduced chess for the visually impaired in Botswana in 2017. The plan is to make “Beyond Vision” a long term project incorporating technology through the use of tablets with software and apps for visually impaired to benefit the participants better. Info and pictures via Keenese Neoyame Katisenge
Cairns Cup 2020: Koneru leads the field
In an electrifying penultimate round, the hunt for first place shifted dramatically. Carissa Yip stole the show as she took down tournament co-leader Wenjun Ju in an absolute masterclass. Meanwhile, Humpy Koneru catapulted herself into clear first as she took down Valentina Gunina in a one-sided demolition. Alexandra Kosteniuk continued her roller-coaster tournament with a victory over Nana Dzagnidze and now stands in clear second place. Going into the final round, four players are still in contention for first place, but Koneru is the player to catch. Wenjun Ju – Carissa Yip: 0 – 1 Chess fans were treated to a show in the first ever clash between the young American talent and the reigning Women’s World Champion. Carissa Yip displayed some of her best chess of the tournament thus far. She outprepared Ju Wenjun from the black side of Morphy Defense in the Ruy Lopez and received a comfortable time advantage. In the middlegame, Yip’s play was nothing short of sensational. After a few inaccuracies from Ju, Yip harmonized her pieces beautifully, and created immense pressure on all areas of the board. In a series of tactical blows that seemed like punches, Ju’s position collapsed. Yasser Seirawan called this victory “an electrifying moment for American chess fans.” This game marks the first time an American female player has defeated Ju in classical chess. To put the icing on the cake for Yip, she has now entered the top 50 female players in the world according to the live rating list with today’s win. Ju now stands in a tie for 3rd place with 4.5/8 and will need a miracle tomorrow to have any chance at tying for first. Humpy Koneru – Valentina Gunina: 1 – 0 14 years ago, Humpy Koneru swiftly defeated Anatoly Karpov by achieving a winning position on move 16 in the Semi-Slav. Today, she achieved the same opening setup against Valentina Gunina and reached the identical winning position! Such an occurrence demonstrates the importance of researching all of your opponent’s games; even the older ones! After the opening, Koneru won without much of a fight. Gunina held off on resigning for many moves, but there was never any doubt about Koneru’s crushing advantage. Tomorrow, Koneru will have the black pieces against her compatriot Harika Dronavalli in a critical final game. A win for Koneru will clinch clear first, while a draw will guarantee at least a tie for first. Mariya Muzychuk – Harika Dronavalli: ½ – ½ In a highly strategic battle emerging from a Sicilian Najdorf, Mariya Muzychuk was pushing for a win most of the game. After an early queen trade in the opening, Harika Dronavalli had to defend a difficult endgame. She was up to the task however, and did not crack under pressure. One of the differences between these elite professionals and lower level players is the ability to avoid blundering in difficult situations. Harika showed her class and defended incredibly well to secure a half-point. With this draw, Muzychuk sits at 4.5/8 points and has very slim chances to tie for first. Kateryna Lagno – Irina Krush: ½ – ½ Irina Krush’s woes continued as she failed to convert an absolutely crushing advantage against Kateryna Lagno. Thanks to a sweet intermezzo, Krush obtained a substantial material advantage in the late middlegame. A few simple consolidating moves would have led to a simple win for the American grandmaster. Instead, Krush went for a forcing variation and ironically overlooked an in-between move herself (46.h4!) which allowed Lagno back in the game. In the end, Krush was up 3 pawns, but it was impossible to break Lagno’s fortress due to the nature of opposite-color bishops. Despite having so many better or winning positions throughout the event, Krush has yet to score a victory. While this performance is certainly disappointing, it points to a highly critical area of improvement. The ability to convert advantages is an essential skill at all levels and can make a huge difference for a tournament result. Nana Dzagnidze – Alexandra Kosteniuk: 0 – 1 After obtaining a better position from the rare 4.Bd2!? Nimzo Indian, Nana Dzagnidze let her advantage slip. Moreover, after a flurry of exchanges, Alexandra Kosteniuk emerged in the driver’s seat in the endgame. After the shift in evaluation, GM Seirawan exclaimed, “every time we think we understand the plot of the tournament, we get a huge change like this.” The Russian grandmaster proceeded to display exceptional endgame technique. She showed why having a passed pawn and an active king can be enough for victory. While she did suffer a couple tough losses earlier in the event, this win puts Kosteniuk in clear second place. When asked about her feelings going into tomorrow’s round, Kosteniuk calmly responded, “I’m happy that I’m doing fine… I cannot complain.” With all the drama that has unfolded so far, chess fans can surely expect an exciting finish in the final round of the Cairns Cup! Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/