World Junior Championship crossed the halfway point
FIDE World Junior Championship in New Delhi crossed its halfway mark. The strongest teenagers from all over the world are enjoying the rest day before entering the second part of the tournament with 5 more rounds to go. After six rounds Evgeny Shtembuliak (Ukraine, 2577) and Aram Hakobyan (Armenia, 2561) are tied for the lead in the open section with 5 points each. They are paired to meet in round 7, with Shtembuliak having White. Both leaders have been undefeated so far. There is a big group of players a half-point behind, including the 14-year-old Indian prodigy, the winner of World Youth Chess Championship U18, Praggnanandhaa. Mobina Alinasab (Iran, 2239) is the sole leader in the girls’ section with 5.5 points. She conceded only half-a-point in the encounter with the World Youth Chess Championship U18 winner Polina Shuvalova (Russia, 2412) who is breathing down the leader’s neck with 5 points. Top-10 after 6 rounds: Open 1. Evgeny Shtembuliak (UKR) – 5.02. Aram Hakobyan (ARM) – 5.03. Praggnanandhaa R (IND) – 4.54. Miguel Santos Ruiz (ESP) – 4.55. Murali Karthikeyan (IND) – 4.56. Ravi Haria (ENG) – 4.57. Semen Khanin (RUS) – 4.58. Mihnea Costachi (ROU) – 4.59. Volodar Murzin (RUS) – 4.510. Shant Sargsyan (ARM) – 4.0 Girls 1. Mobina Alinasab (IRI) – 5.52. Polina Shuvalova (RUS) – 5.03. Rakshitta Ravi (IND) – 4.54. Vaishali R (IND) – 4.55. Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) – 4.56. Arpita Mukherjee (IND) – 4.57. Altantuya Boldbaatar (MNG) – 4.58. Divya Deshmukh (IND) – 4.59. Berdnyk Mariia (UKR) – 4.510. Antova Gabriela (BGR) – 4.5 Official site Photo: ChessBase India
Grand Swiss: Four at the top as Nakamura joins the leaders
Round nine of the Isle of Man Fide Grand Swiss saw one more player joining the leaders – Hikaru Nakamura. The American had a slow start to the tournament with four draws and one win in the first part of the event, but then he picked up speed and is now in the leading pack. Levon Aronian and David Anton drew their game on board one in what was a long and sharp battle. The most anticipated game of the day – between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and World No 2 Fabiano Caruana, ended in a draw after perpetual check. Carlsen is now on 6 points and shares fifth to 15th place in a group which is dominated by six Russians. Round nine of the Grand Swiss will be memorable for some of the youngest players at the event as Raunak Sadhwani (13), Vincent Keymer (14) and Jonas Buhl Bjerre (15) all confirmed they had qualified for GM title. One of the toughest battles of the 9th day of the Isle of Man Grand Swiss was on board one where Spaniard David Anton – who made his way to the leading three in round eight – played as Black against Levon Aronian. The opponents played sharply into the opening. It started as a battle of preparations in the Italian – with 19 moves being played in the first 20 minutes. There was even a novelty by Black – 17…c5 – but both played these first 19 moves so confidently that it seemed there were no surprises there. The game developed into a dynamic position with a material imbalance, where White had a knight and a bishop for a rook and two pawns. Black launched an attack on White’s king, but after exchanging pieces the position seemed even. Aronian, however, had two things in his favor: he spent considerably less time than his opponent and, he had a clearer path ahead in terms of play while Anton had to pay attention to several factors – development, control of the center and coordination of his attack on the White king. Aronian then offered an exchange of queens wishing to simplify but also significantly diminish the resources Anton could use in his attack. Black accepted the exchange and the game moved into an endgame. For the greater part of the game, it seemed that Black had to make more of an effort to maintain equality, struggling to coordinate his rooks. At the same time, Aronian did manage to stop Black’s pawn advance on the queenside. But Anton did not allow his position to deteriorate – after returning material in the later stage of the game (giving a rook for a pawn) he was aiming for a rook and knight vs. rook ending, which is a theoretical draw. In the final stage of the game, White was a piece up but Black had two pawns of compensation with the a-pawn on the third rank, supported by the rook from behind. Aronian eventually accepted that further attempts might lead to the tables being turned and the players agreed to draw after more than five hours of play. With this draw, the two maintain their position among the leaders of the tournament. (Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com) World Challenger vs World Champion: The derby of round nine The most anticipated game of the tournament was that between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and the challenger for his title, World No 2, Fabiano Caruana. The last time the two played was at the Sinquefield Cup, where they split a point. The game between the two progressed fast in the first nine moves of the English opening. Then Caruana got into a deep think and spent 19 minutes on what appeared on the surface to be a logical move. Carlsen made an interesting decision in the 11th move: despite a somewhat loose pawn structure on the queenside (pawns on a2, doubled pawns on c2 and c3, and with the Black bishop attacking the c3 spot from a5), the World Champion, placed his bishop on f4 (which was a novelty) and opted for castling long. The decision seemed like a sign of World Champion’s determination to go into a sharp play and seek a victory. (Until round 9, Carlsen had five draws and was clearly disappointed in Round 8 when Wang Hao forced a quick draw as White). Carlsen’s decision to castle on the queenside was also founded on a thorough analysis: Black was lacking in development. Nevertheless, it seemed like a risky choice against World No 2. Then, on move 17, after black played 16.Rfe8, Magnus went into a tank (47 minutes long!), and eventually played 17.Rhe1. It was then the American’s turn to think. Having had other choices which would have led to uncertainty, Caruana then decided to sacrifice his bishop on c3 and send his queen to harass the exposed white king. After perpetual checks by the black queen, a draw was sealed on the move 25. Apart from splitting a point and saving faces, both players got something else: Caruana maintained his place in the top leaders, while the World Champion added one more game to his unbeaten streak which is now just one game shy of one hundred. (Photo: David Llada) Anand finally reaches the top three boards After a surprise loss in Round one on board four, Viswanathan Anand was relegated to lower boards but in the past eight days managed to pull himself together, keep his head, and slowly but confidently progressed towards the top. In Round nine he was playing on board three as Black against Russia’s Kirill Alekseenko. The Italian opening was played, like on board two, but a variation in which White puts pressure on black’s e-5 pawn. Alekseenko got out of the opening with a pair of bishops and used them to test Black’s accuracy. Anand, however, defended very well and, in the process, activated his knight which dominated the center and pushed white’s strong pieces back. After 31 moves, in a balanced position, the opponents decided to bury the hatchet.
FIDE Executive Director holds meetings with the Serbian authorities
In early October FIDE Executive Director Victor Bologan paid a visit to Serbia to meet with Serbian sport and education officials. The first meeting was held at the Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sports, where he met with Mr. Predrag Peruničić, the Deputy Minister and a former world-class handball player. Among the key agenda points discussed at the meeting were the current state of chess in Serbia, its ability to host major chess events, and the possibilities of attracting funding and support for the Serbian Chess Federation. The next stop on Mr. Bologan’s busy schedule was the Institute for Education and Upbringing, where he was greeted by the Institute’s Director Zlatko Grušanović and his associates. Thirteen years ago the Institute played a pivotal role in introducing chess as an optional subject into the official primary school curriculum, spearheading the preparation and implementation of the entire project. The main topic of discussion was the current state of affairs in the education system of Serbia, its ongoing reforms and the status of chess therein. The Institute is currently in the process of forming a committee that will be in charge of creating the new chess curriculum, as well as the teacher training program. A working dinner ensued with representatives of the Serbian Chess Federation, where SCF President Dušan Cogoljević briefly informed Mr. Bologan of the future plans, stating that the main objective was to bring Serbian chess back on the world map by improving the national teams’ results and hosting major chess events. Another meeting took place on the next day, this time at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. The Deputy Minister Milan Pašić expressed his satisfaction with the support Serbia enjoys both from FIDE and the national authorities. The Ministry promised to provide its share of resources – a meeting of their representatives and the Institute for Education and Upbringing’s expert team is scheduled for the upcoming week, with the main goal to start working on the new chess curriculum. Serbian TV made a short report about Mr. Bologan’s visit and those meetings, which was shown in a morning show. It is no secret that people truly love chess in Serbia, missing all the elite level chess events that took place in Serbia and Belgrade many years ago. The general sentiment is that if someone follows in the footsteps of Gligorić, Matanović, Ivkov, Ljubojević, Milunka Lazarević, Vera Nedeljković and Alisa Marić he or she will enjoy great deal support from Serbian fans as a new hope and a harbinger of the renaissance of national chess.
Grand Swiss: David Anton joins Caruana and Aronian at the top
After eight rounds on the Isle of Man Grand Swiss, there are now three players in the lead. The leaders after round seven, Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian drew their games, maintaining the top positions. As of round eight, they are joined by David Anton Guijarro, who defeated Alexander Grischuk after an excellently executed opening preparation, throwing his opponent into trouble from the very start. The second tier consists of 10 players who are on 5.5/8, which includes the World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Wang Hao of China who split a point in round eight. The highlight of the day, however, was on boards seven and eight where identical games were played until move 19, which drew a lot of attention from both other players and the public but also raised some questions for the arbiters. On board one Levon Aronian – who, with a late start, sprang up to the top in round seven – shared a point with the player who has been at the top from the very start, World No 2, Fabiano Caruana. In a balanced position, with the queens exchanged, White (Caruana) pushed the g-pawn in front of his king’s castle in an attempt to break a pesky f5-e4 pawn formation which threatened to develop into a dangerous advance for Black. Aronian responded with g7-g6, protecting the chain. This led to a series of exchanges in which Black planted his pawn on e3, pinning white’s e2-pawn. White secured a 2:1 pawn advantage on the queenside and then both sides wanted to take their chances: black to promote his e3-pawn, white to push his queenside runners, but the game was mostly even. The two players eventually agreed to a draw, not wanting to go for too much, but, also, probably having realized seen that most of the other top games had finished and that there was only one other player joining them at the top. The first game of the day to finish was an encounter between Wang Hao of China and World Champion Magnus Carlsen. After an hour and 15 minutes of play and 31 moves, the game ended in a draw. Wang decided to play an opening which resulted early on in the exchange of queens and a pair of bishops, quickly ending in an equal position. Carlsen was clearly disappointed – not with the position, but with the fact that his opponent played for a draw and forced a situation on the board in which he could maintain equality easily. After the game, Wang Hao told that he intentionally went for a draw as he was exhausted from the two previous games (round six where he managed to turn the tables on Luke McShane after more than six and a half hours of play, and the torturous round seven defeat to Levon Aronian). “El niño” Anton joins the leaders The game between David Anton and Candidates’ hopeful Alexander Grischuk brought more excitement than the top two boards but ended badly for the Russian. A somewhat unusual position developed in the first ten moves, with key action happening on the kingside where both white and black had to sacrifice their knights. Anton did not waste much time in the opening, demonstrating his clearly excellent preparation – for which he thanked his coach, David Martinez. On the other hand, Grischuk – who is known for entering into time trouble – was carefully assessing his moves but gradually moving into a dangerous zone. By move 16 there was a sharp position on the board with White having his queen centralized on d5, his rook on f4 and pieces ready for an active assault, while Black had most of his pieces on the back ranks. Instead of going for the exchange of queens, Grischuk pushed his f-pawn to the fifth rank, further exposing the king. White then offered a bishop sacrifice which Grischuk took, but from that moment on he was completely lost. At one point the situation was so dire that White could choose whether to take an extra rook or go for the king. Desperately low on time, 16 moves before the first control, Grischuk resigned. This win catapulted the Spaniard to the top of the rankings. With six points out of eight, he shares the top position with Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian. With five out of eight, Grischuk is now in the third tier of competitors. On board four Junior World Champion Parham Maghsoodloo was playing the Russian 2700-heavyweight Nikita Vitiugov. In an even position, after 23 moves, the two agreed to draw. With 5.5 out of 8 both players are still among the top 13, and with three more rounds to go still have strong chances to win the tournament. Wesley So had another (altogether, sixth) draw of the tournament, this time with Russian GM Kirill Alekseenko. After the cautious play by both sides, they ended with a bishop and knight and six pawns each in an even endgame, without chances of either side breaking through. A good day for Anand The eighth day at the Isle of Man Grand Swiss was a good day for Vishy Anand who was facing Vladimir Fedoseev. Anand, who was playing as white, immediately went on the offensive: by move 11 all of his pieces were developed and aiming for a kingside attack. One of the key moments of the game came when Anand played g4, launching an attack on the black’s kingside but at some point, after black had castled white lost momentum. Anand made an error, going for an exchange on the e-file and allowing the black rook on f8 to take command of the important f-file. The position was even, according to the computer, but Anand wanted to win: he pushed his remaining kingside pawns forward. Black tried to retaliate with bishop threats against white’s king, but Anand fended them off. By move 33 the Indian had black’s back ranks dangerously disturbed by a rook on c8 and the queen on h3, holding the h3-c8 diagonal under control. Fedoseev made the decisive blunder on the move 35 when he pushed his last
FIDE Trainer Awards 2018: Winners announced
Lausanne, October 18, 2019 The FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG) is pleased to announce the Trainer Awards results for the best achievements in 2018. The Mikhail Botvinnik Award, for best trainer of men or a team in an open event, goes to William John Donaldson. William John Donaldson (born in Los Angeles, 1958) has been the Captain of the US Open team for most of the Olympiads since 1986 – which equals to say, for most of his adult life. He retired from his job at San Francisco Mechanics’ Institute earlier in the year, but hopefully not from the US team. In the last two Olympiads, the US took Gold and Silver, with an identical lineup after paper-thin tie-break finishes. The Vakhtang Karseladze Award, for best trainer of women or a team in a women’s event, goes to Yu Shaoteng (余少腾). Yu Shaoteng (Guangzhou, 1979) became China’s 17th Grandmaster at the age of 25. As a coach, he has five World Championships under his belt as a coach: two with Hou Yifan, one with Tan Zhongyi, and two with Ju Wenjun. He is also the coach of the Chinese Women’s team that triumphed at the Batumi Chess Olympiad. Since Ju Wenjun won, not just one but two World Championship titles in 2018, Shaoteng was a clear favorite to win this award. The Mark Dvoretsky Award, for best trainer of juniors or a team in a juniors event, goes to Ramesh RB. Ramachandran Ramesh (born in Chennai, 1976) has coached a total of 39 Gold winners at Junior, Youth and Cadet World Championships, starting with Aarthie Ramesh in 1999, and lately the 14-year-old prodigy Praggnanandhaa, who just won the 2019 World Championship for players U18, and is now among the leaders in the World Junior Championship (U20). The Tigran Petrosian Award, for special achievements, goes to Michal Konopka. Michal Konopka (born in Prague, 1966) has been the captain of the Czech Men National Team, and since 2013 he has been the manager of both Men and Women National teams. Over the past decades, he has coached at many World and European Youth Championships, where his students won several medals. He has also been a second for elite players like David Navara and Viktor Laznicka. The Yuri Razuvaev Award, for Contributions to Trainers Education, goes to Adrian Mikhalchishin. Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin (born in Lviv, 1954) was the TRG chairman for a decade after the death of his mentor and predecessor, GM Yuri Razuvaev. With lots of hard and passionate work, Adrian’s dream of increasing the prestige of chess trainers is quickly becoming a reality. The Awards will be presented on five different dates and locations, according to the wishes of the winners. All the awardees will receive the trophy “The Tree of Chess”, designed by the famous Ukrainian sculptor Volodymyr Odrehivskyj. The final results were voted by the most qualified and diverse panel of judges ever, consisting of both experienced players and trainers. All continents were represented in a gender-balanced jury, which includes four world champions: Word Champion Vladimir KramnikWorld Champion & FIDE Senior Trainer Susan PolgarWorld Champion Zhu ChenWorld Champion & FIDE Senior Trainer Antoaneta StefanovaGM & FIDE Senior Trainer Eugene TorreGM & FIDE Senior Trainer Alonso ZapataGM & FIDE Senior Trainer Slim Bouaziz The Averbakh/Boleslavsky Award for Book of the Year is judged separately. This award has three judges: Nigel Short, Artur Yusupov, and the World’s oldest living grandmaster, Yuri Averbakh. The shortlist is expected out in early November, and the winner will be declared some weeks thereafter. The deadline for submission for the 2019 Awards will be Friday 3rd April 2020. The categories are likely to be slightly altered to reflect new priorities. Eligible to nominate are any FIDE Office Bearers, Continental Chess Federations, National Chess Federations, TRG Commission Members, and FIDE Endorsed Academies. Eligible are all FIDE trainers with a valid license for 2018 and 2019, except for the TRG Chairman (Jacob Aagaard) and Secretary (Peter Long). The same person can not be nominated in more than one category by the same eligible body. The 2020 Awards will be presented at the Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. Official site
Grand Swiss: Levon Aronian breaks through to the top
The seventh day of the Isle of Man Grand Swiss tournament was a Day of draws. On the top 20 boards, only four games ended with a decisive outcome (and in all four cases, White was victorious). One of them was particularly important – Levon Aronian defeated the leader of the tournament, Wang Hao of China and has now emerged at the top! The second leader – Fabiano Caruana – drew with black pieces against Alexander Grischuk in a very time-challenging game for both players. There are now two leaders at the top and they will face each other in round eight: World No 2, Fabiano Caruana, and Armenian Levon Aronian, for whom this tournament is likely the last chance to get on the Candidates’ boat and fight for the opportunity to become World Champion. A large number of draws in round seven made things more complicated in the upper ranks as those players who scored a victory managed to climb up the ladder and add to the pressure on the rest. On board one, it was a chance for another Russian, Alexander Grischuk, to try and bring down Fabiano Caruana from the top board, after Fedoseev failed in round six. Time seemed to be the key factor of the game as first Grischuk got into serious trouble only to be joined by Caruana at the end. In the English opening, White (Grischuk) played a system for which Caruana later said he wasn’t fully prepared. The Russian, however, quickly got into time trouble: after two and a half hours and just 17 moves played, Grischuk had less than 20 minutes on his clock. The situation looked pretty dangerous for the Russian GM. Things then got crazy on the board, with Grischuk pushing forward the g-pawn in front of his king, launching an attack on the Black’s monarch. With good control in the center and two bishops well aligned to support the advancement, it seemed that Caruana was in real trouble. The World No 2 however was defending well, snatched a pawn while preparing a counterattack. Grischuk – a pawn down and weaker on time – had to switch to defense. After the exchange of queens, Fabiano Caruana pushed his opponent towards a complicated endgame. Interestingly, Magnus Carlsen came over several times to check what’s going on. Grischuk had under 30 seconds on his clock when the game was on move 29 (!) but thanks to the 30-second increment per move, he managed to hold the balance and even forced Caruana to spend more time. Eventually, both players found themselves in time trouble. Just a few moves before the 40-move watermark, opponents had under a minute on their clock. At one point, Caruana had even less time than Grischuk! Some were wondering, could Grischuk – the three-times Blitz world champion – outplay the World No 2 in a blitz endgame? But Caruana held his nerve and played it steady. With 35 seconds on his clock, Girschuk made it to the 40th move and reached the first time control. At that point, he got up from the board for the first time. The game was, however, to last for just further two moves – Grischuk went for a repetition of checks and the two agreed to a draw. (Photo: David Llada) Aronian breaks through the hurdle On the second board, Levon Aronian, as white, was facing one of the leaders after round six, Wang Hao of China. After white secured better control in the center, Black tried to counter it by sacrificing a pawn to activate his queenside pieces. Aronian saw through black’s plans and by move 23 the extra pawn transformed into a passer on the a-file for White. Wang then pushed for the exchange of queens which Aronian eventually had to accept, leading into a four-rook endgame with an extra pawn for White. The computer was showing that the position is likely a draw. Aronian, however, pushed forward. By move 42 Levon’s a-pawn fell, but his king infiltrated to h6, endangering black’s pawns. By move 46, one set of rooks was exchanged, with White pressing black from the back-ranks. Wang was in time trouble and that was an important factor for Aronian who kept the pressure up. Wang Hao was down to 1 minute and – according to the computer – there was only one(!) move held the position – 56…Rd3. After the Chinese GM played 53…Ra3 instead, it was all over for him. Just two moves down the road Wang Hao resigned. (Photo: Maria Emelianova) Like after Round six, there are now two players at the top (with 5.5 points) with the other seven (now on five points) on their heels: Wang, Alekseenko, Grischuk, Maghsoodloo, Guijarro, the World Champion Carlsen, and Vitiugov. Aronian will be facing the World No 2, Fabiano Caruana, the central encounter of the round eight and probably one of the most important games in the tournament for the Armenian. In an interview with chess.com after the game, when asked about the forthcoming game against Caruana, Aronian said: “It is always good to play somebody you respect – somebody who forces you to respect him!” (Photo: Maria Emelianova) Alekseenko withstands Carlsen’s pressure On board three, Kirill Alekseenko (who, as of last round, joined the 2700-club) was playing as white against Magnus Carlsen. The position was even throughout the game, but it seemed that white had more opportunities for active play. The best chance Carlsen had was in creating a passed pawn on the a-file but white was able to control that. In a double-rook endgame, being a pawn down and having to play precisely to maintain balance, the World Champion pushed his pieces forward hoping for an offensive. It seems that Carlsen wasn’t happy with a draw, despite the position suggesting it, and he went on testing his luck and that of his opponent. The World Champion ended up with an extra pawn in a rook endgame but the evaluating of the position as drawish did not change. Nevertheless, Magnus declined a draw offered by
London will host the 2019 Grand Chess Tour Finals
The fifth edition of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) will culminate at the beginning of December in Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington, London. The Tour Finals will be the part of the 11th London Chess Classic (November 29 – December 8) alongside the other festival events. The schedule of the GCT fifth season includes two classical (Zagreb and Sinquefield Cup) and five rapid and blitz tournaments. Twelve GCT-2019 participants play in both classical events and in three of the five rapid and blitz tournaments. The four top-scoring players will square off in London in two semi-finals and the final/3rd place play-off matches. Each match will consist of classical, rapid and blitz games and will see the players competing for an enhanced prize fund which totals USD 350,000 this year. The prize fund will be split amongst the four finalists as follows: 1st Place: USD 150,0002nd Place: USD 100,0003rd Place: USD 60,0004th Place: USD 40,000Total Prize Fund: USD 350,000 With two rapid and blitz tournaments to go (Bucharest, November 4-11 and Kolkata, November 20-27) World Champion Magnus Carlsen (54.5 points) leads the 2019 Grand Chess Tour standings and has already qualified for the Tour Finals. Ding Liren (37.8 points), who is currently second, has very good chances of making a trip to London. Most likely, the Chinese GM will improve his tally picking up some points in one of two remaining tournaments. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (36.8 points) occupies the third position the standings, but it is his final score after five events. In a large group of other potential semi-finalists Levon Aronian (25.5 points), Vishy Anand (24 points) and Wesley So (23.5 points) stand out from competitors as they have two more tournaments to play. (Image: Grand Chess Tour) The schedule for the GCT Finals:Dec 2: Semi-Final – Classical Game 1Dec 3: Semi-Final – Classical Game 2Dec 4: Semi-Final – Rapid & Blitz GamesDec 5: Corporate Day – Pro-Biz CupDec 6: Finals and match for 3rd place – Classical Game 1Dec 7: Finals and match for 3rd place – Classical Game 2Dec 8: Finals and match for 3rd place – Rapid & Blitz GamesDec 9: Prize Giving and Charity Dinner for Chess in Schools & Communities Charity Each match will consist of 2 classical games, 2 rapid games and 4 blitz games with points allocated to each game within the respective matches as follows: 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in the 2 Classic games.4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in the 2 Rapid games; and2 point for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in the 4 Blitz games. If tie-breaks are required, they will be contested over two rapid games followed by an Armageddon game if required.
Arkady Dvorkovich: “The real evaluation shall be made by the chess world”
During the first week of October, on the occasion of the first anniversary of Arkady Dvorkovich as FIDE President, we invited some representatives of the media to send questions to him. The result of this joint-interview offers some insight into the work of the new FIDE management along the past 365 days. Q: At the end of the first year of your work, which of your achievements would you list among the most important ones? I would say that the main achievement is the obvious change of attitude from the chess community, professionals and federations towards FIDE and our activities. This can be sensed from the meetings, the responses, the many suggestions we receive… This trust in FIDE management shall be used wisely for the benefit of chess. In particular, I would like to point out the following: – The successful organization of the top-level tournaments during this year: The World Rapid and Blitz, the World Cup, the Women’s Candidates tournament, several stages of the Grand Prix… We also reinstated the Women’s Grand Prix, and the first leg, played in Skolkovo, was a great success. The Grand Swiss is in full swing on the Isle of Man, and since we know the work done in previous editions by the organizers, we are sure it will be a fantastic event as well [this interview was conducted right before the start of this event]. – We regained rights over our flagship events, the FIDE World Championship cycle. This is of paramount importance in order to attract sponsors and to showcase the game of chess in the eyes of a global audience. – We implemented massive programs for chess development. About 50% of national Federations are developing such programs with our assistance, and the volume of this support has increased several-fold compared to previous years. – The internal FIDE organization. We built a new team with dozens of members, including full time, temporary employees, and volunteers. Of course, for this staff to perform like clockwork will still need some more time, but the team is already showing its determination and efficiency. Some other challenges, like agreements with sponsors and partners, are long term goals, but we have already taken some promising steps. We commissioned global marketing research to Nielsen, and the results of this research have us now in a position to talk to sponsors with a clear focus. We have established positive cooperation with the giant, Coca-Cola, and that speaks volumes. Many potential partners have started a dialogue with us, and we are now fully immersed in the sponsorship recruitment phase. Q: Which of your campaign promises would you consider fulfilled? The reform of the Women’s World Championship cycle, which has been unified similarly to that of men. It is a consistent system that includes World Cup, Grand Prix, Candidate’s tournament and the title match. The prize fund has also been increased significantly. I believe it is important that the Grand Prix system is now back; its absence in recent years felt like an omission. By the way, should be there more women’s round-robin tournaments in the future calendar, the system might be replaced by knockout competitions, following men’s pattern. We don’t have Women Grand Swiss currently, but we are working on it and I hope that we will be able to add it to the calendar. The agenda of the General Assembly to be held in December includes a suggestion to make a major reduction of the FIDE fees. This one may have come later than we expected but it has been done finally. The packages are aimed at all countries and various social groups. FIDE veterans’ fees have been cancelled already, while we also allocated an additional €50.000 to support senior chess players [€20.000 as stipends, and €30.000 to reinforce the prize structure of the Senior World Championships]. Veterans, kids, and developing countries benefit the most from these decisions. Q: What were the mistakes made during this year? There are always certain mistakes in organizing tournaments and hosting events. We are putting in place a reporting system after each event, as a routine, in order to make sure that these mistakes are not repeated. It is really important for us to listen to criticism and we are doing our best to address all concerns. The World Fischer Random Chess Championship deserved somewhat more attention probably. On the whole, and speaking in chess terms, I would say that all mistakes were about tactics, not strategy. Q: How would you rate yourself after this first year? Would you like to specifically praise anybody based on his/her performance? I’d prefer not to praise anyone in particular because this is teamwork, and every member who has contributed to the implementation of our projects has my gratitude. As for my own self-evaluation, I have certainly made one, but rather for myself – not for public consumption. The real evaluation shall be made by the chess world and FIDE stakeholders. If the delegates support my suggestions regarding the new FIDE Charter, the budget and fees reduction at the General Assembly, then I would rate my activity as successful. Q: One of the first sports executives who congratulated you for your election in Batumi was Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA. Do you think that chess can experience in the next decades a boom comparable to that of football in the 20th century? I do not think that our beloved game of chess should be compared with the beautiful game of football. Our world needs both. To make chess a really universal game, FIDE should focus on two priorities: bringing chess to schools as one of the best possible tools to improve the intellectual capabilities of our kids, and expanding online chess playing and training. On top of that, finding ways to make chess interesting to watch is critical for success. And I am sure that new technologies would allow us to do so. Q: Before you got elected you promised strong cooperation with FIFA. What has materialized out of this in the first year? Any material collaboration requires proper preparation. While I am confident that
Grand Swiss: Favorites dominate Round 6
There were no quick draws in the sixth round of the Isle of Man Grand Swiss, as things got heated on the leading boards. With very sharp positions being played, there were several games in which top GMs played either with one or even two pieces down. This was also the day when the best of the best – the top world elite, made up of Carlsen, Caruana, Aronian, Nakamura, Anand – have not only won their games, but crushed their opponents. When the dust settled, there were two players in the lead: Wang Hao of China and World No 2, Fabiano Caruana, of the U.S, who are both on five points out of six. The World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, scored another victory and is trailing the top players by half a point, joined by six more players. With the key five rounds left to play and a rest day ahead, the scene is set for a ferocious battle at the top in what is one of the strongest chess tournaments in history. On the top board, Fabiano Caruana was playing as white against the Russian star Vladimir Fedoseev. Black played the Sicilian Defence which was met by the Rosollimo Attack. Fedoseev did not seem to be well prepared for the line played, choosing to castle his king earlier than he should have. Caruana managed to put enormous pressure on the queenside and pushed his pawn down to b6, pinning down Fedoseev’s pieces. Trying to break out, Fedoseev first gave up an exchange and then, in a desperate attempt to stop the advance of white’s dangerous b-pawn, had to make another sacrifice and ended up a full rook down. Vladimir continued, clinging to his last bit of hope – a pawn on d3. Any chance of the pawn progressing was efficiently stifled by Caruana who left his opponent no other options but to contemplate when to resign in the final moves of the game. [Photo: David Llada/FIDE] On board two, the Junior World Champion (2018) Parham Maghsoodloo had white pieces against Alexander Grischuk of Russia. The opponents played Rui Lopez and after what was a pretty sharp set of moves the position became even. The game ended in a draw on move 24, after repetition. A solid outcome for both players who, having finished within two hours and having secured a spot among the leaders of the tournament, also gained more time to relax and prepare for the decisive showdown which follows after the rest day. On the third board, Wang Hao was facing Luke McShane, who found himself in a difficult position by the middlegame. Englishman who was stripped of victory by Fabiano Caruana the day before, after almost seven hours of play, had another tough opponent. Wang dominated throughout, putting Luke in a psychologically challenging situation. After the exchange of queens and further simplifications, they reached the endgame which seemed less difficult for Black, but still problematic: white was a pawn up and after further exchanges, he ended up with the knight, bishop and an extra pawn in the center, against black’s two knights. Wang pushed forward with his king and coordinated the pieces in such a way that there was no counterplay for McShane. With this victory, Wang Hao joined Fabiano Caruana on the top position after the first part of the tournament. Glorious sacrifices and smoke and mirrors After obtaining a solid position as white on board five, Sergey Karjakin got into trouble with Yuriy Kryvoruchko who took the initiative from move 20. By move 26, Karjakin was in dire straights: with five minutes on his clock, he needed to quickly make 14 moves in order to reach the first time control. Further problems followed before move 40, as Black launched an onslaught on White’s position, eventually collecting his castle-pawns and dangerously exposing Karjaking’s king. Just as the opponents reached the first time control, on move 40, Kryvoruchko had a queen and four pawns against Sergey’s queen and a knight. However, Yuriy’s king was also exposed. Eventually, Yuriy emerged two pawns up in the queens ending but luckily for Karjakin, Black’s king was unable to escape a perpetual check. On the sixth board, Levon Aronian was playing Aleksey Dreev in what was an unusual game. The opponents had a discussion in a very sharp line, with threats from both sides. The critical moment of the game came when Aronian moved his pawn from f2 to f4, exposing his king on f1. Black decided to castle and allowed his bishop to be trapped and later taken. Dreev was counting on a sharp attack and sacrificed another piece to create some threats which turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors. With two pieces down and with no more checks to give, Dreev resigned, putting Aronian on 4.5/6. [Photo: John Saunders] One of the most exciting games of the day was played on board seven, between the Russian Nikita Vitiugov and Matthias Bluebaum of Germany. In an even position, after an ordinary 16…c6 move, White came up with an inspiring bishop sacrifice on f7, removing a pawn off black’s castle and exposing his monarch. Once Black missed the best defensive move which would have assured the security of his position he was immediately lost. Threatening checkmate, White got into black’s back ranks (where undeveloped pieces on the queenside laid exposed) and secured a winning endgame. Carlsen ‘catching fire’ as he scores his seventh victory over Shirov Board four saw a duel between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and the World No2 from 25 years ago, Alexei Shirov. The two played each other 16 times in classical games, from 2005 to 2011 (with Carlsen winning six, losing two and drawing eight). Carlsen had a good score even before he reached his prime, but the duel on the Isle of Man was their first encounter in 8 years! The World Champion outmaneuvered Shirov by the middlegame, timely sacrificed an exchange and zeroed in on a dangerously exposed opponent’s king. Alexei had just over five minutes to make 12 moves and was – by all means – lost, having to return material (Carlsen had a dangerous bishop for
World Junior Championship 2019 kicks off in New Delhi
FIDE World Junior Chess Championship (U20) 2019 started in the Indian capital New Delhi. The open section of the tournament brought together 94 players, including 15 grandmasters. The girls’ section attracted 95 participants. Amin Tabatabaei (2642) and Zhu Jiner (2507, top-rated U20 women player in the world, featured at ratings.fide.com frontpage) entered the competition as the rating favorites in the respective sections. The newly-minted World Youth Chess Championship winners U18 Open and Girls category 14-year old Praggnanandhaa and Polina Shuvalova came to New Delhi and will try to repeat their Mumbai success. The participants will play 11 rounds (Swiss system); the champions will be crowned on October 25. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich took part in the opening ceremony. In his eloquent speech, FIDE President congratulated the Indian Chess Federation on the successful organization of the recently completed World Youth Championship and stressed the importance of youth and junior chess. Official site Photo: Niklesh Jain ChessBase India