Chess, culture, music, football: Highlights from the Olympiad’s free day
The only free day at the Chess Olympiad offers a perfect opportunity to rest, recharge, and gather thoughts before the second half of the tournament. It’s also a wonderful chance to explore Budapest and participate in various chess activities. The day was filled with chess events across the city. In the morning, filming for Juga’s unreleased chess song, “Queen Trap,” took place at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts. Juga, renowned in the chess world for her hit songs with chess themes, embarked on an ambitious project to highlight the best female chess players and women in chess roles—organizers, streamers, photographers, and arbiters. Participants included Alexandra Kosteniuk, Pia Cramling, Jovanka Houska, Natalia Zhukova, and many others. This artistic project, in collaboration with the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, will result in a short music film to be released on Juga’s channels. During the filming, a heartwarming moment occurred when Jorge proposed to Maria, and she said yes. Both play for Panama’s national teams at the Chess Olympiad. They met and bonded over chess when Maria moved to Panama from Venezuela. This beautiful moment can be seen on the @fidewomen Instagram channel, with the witty comment, “The queen got trapped.” Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival opened at the National Gallery. Over the past ten years, it has become a must-attend event, offering a full-day family experience centered around chess. The festival features games, workshops, chess tournaments, and more. This year’s festival patron is Ernő Rubik, the famous Hungarian inventor known for the Rubik’s Cube. Judit Polgar played a simul against eight communities, featuring creators and representatives from various fields. The legendary Polgar sisters—Susan, Sofia, and Judit—held a popular autograph session. Argentine chess prodigy, 10-year-old Faustino Oro, an international master with a 2434 FIDE rating, also visited the festival and participated in the activities. The festival will continue on the second day with the Educational Chess Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel. While many chess players explored the city, world champion Ding Liren and challenger Gukesh D had a significant engagement—a photoshoot and filming session for the upcoming World Championship match in Singapore. Their paths may cross again soon, as they could face each other on the chessboard in the highly anticipated India vs. China match in Round 7! After the photoshoot, the world champion headed to the football field to participate in a friendly football tournament for chess players. Many Olympiad participants joined in, divided into six teams: Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Hungary, and FIDE. After intense matches, Team Europe emerged victorious, with the Americas finishing second, Asia third, and FIDE fourth. The highlight of this wonderful day was a concert by chess grandmaster and Hungarian legend Lajos Portisch. At 87, he still sings opera arias. From 6 pm, he performed German, Italian, and Hungarian opera arias at the Petőfi Museum of Literature. Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Mihály Nagy Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
Opera and chess – Lajos Portisch celebrated 45th Chess Olympiad with an aria evening
Lajos Portisch, the legendary Hungarian chess player who was awarded the title of the Sportsman of the Nation, held an aria evening on the free day of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, on September 17 at the Petőfi Museum of Literature. The grandmaster’s aria repertoire was accompanied by a unique painting, as Antti Favén’s world-famous work The Chess Players was also on display. In addition to his Olympic and National Athlete titles, the 87-year-old international grandmaster has won nine Hungarian championships and has come close to the individual world championship final on several occasions. He has sat at the chess board 260 times in 20 Chess Olympiads, scoring a total of 176.5 points. Last year, he was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame, along with Judit Polgár. But Lajos Portisch, also known as the Hungarian Botvinnik, has another passion besides chess: singing. On September 17, the versatile, veteran athlete’s unique heroic baritone voice was on display to a wider audience at an aria recital in the Károlyi Palace’s Ceremonial Hall, the seat of the Petőfi Museum of Literature. The artist-player performed arias from operas by Mozart, Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Erkel, Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Lajos Portisch could not have sung in an unconventional setting: the imposing Ceremonial Hall of the Károlyi Palace is itself capable of evoking the world of cultural salons, but the unique evening was made complete by Antti Favén’s painting The Chess Players. The artwork, a true rarity in the history of art and sport, was provided by the Nemes Gallery. The painting is one of the most influential works of the Finnish artist’s Paris period and also the largest chess-themed painting in the world. It depicts a scene from everyday life at the Café de la Régence in Paris. The café was already a centre of French chess in the 18th century, and it was a must for any chess player visiting the city. Through a friend, Antti Favén was introduced to the café by American chess master Frank Marshall, where he made sketches of visiting celebrities and sketched on paper the scenes around the chess tables in quick sketches. The Chess Players isFavén’s summary composition, which he composed based on his decades of experience in the chess circle. The work features legendary players such as Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, David Janowsky, Amos Burn and Ossip Bernstein. The event was organized by the National Event Management Agency in cooperation with the Petőfi Museum of Literature and the Nemes Gallery, FIDE (International Chess Federation) and the Hungarian Chess Federation. Photos: Mihály Nagy
45th Chess Olympiad R07: India continues to shine, winning all matches
The first ceremonial move in the open section of 45th Chess Olympiad was made by Mr. László Bekefi, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, and Mr. Alexey Dmitrenko, Supply Chain Leader at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary. Coca-Cola, the official beverage partner, supplies the Olympiad with free soft drinks and water for players, media, and the organising team. This ceremonial move set in motion the most important match in the open section: India vs. China. The highly anticipated first board encounter between Gukesh D and Ding Liren did not happen. Although the two are set to play the world championship match in November, China allowed Ding Liren to rest for this match. Tournament commentator GM Peter Svidler had a strong opinion about this: “I don’t think you will find very many examples of the reigning World Champion not playing board 1 in an absolutely critical central match of the Chess Olympiad… If China wants to win this Olympiad, they need to win today. It is very difficult to take points off this Indian team. The fact that Ding Liren is not sitting down to play chess today after the rest day is, I think, quite significant.” The first game to finish in the match was a draw between Praggnanandhaa R and Yu Yangyi on board two. One of the intrigues of the round was whether Arjun Erigaisi, with a perfect 6/6 record so far, would continue his winning streak. Following the crazy complications in the middlegame, which were “all just forced”, as Arjun said after the game, Erigaisi, playing White, ended his winning streak by drawing with Bu Xiangzhi. It is worth noting that before going for a threefold repetition through a perpetual check, Bu thought for some 15 minutes, constantly checking on the other two games, trying to consider whether he might continue the game. “It’s only White who could, in fact, push,” commented Erigaisi. “If the situation on the other two boards was different, I might have needed to risk, but my teammates were doing fine.” As Pentala Harikrishna made a draw with Wang Yue, the game where India could hope for a win was Gukesh D vs. Wei Yi. For a long time, it looked like it would also finish in a draw. However, Black’s defending task was anything but easy. Finally, after an excruciating battle, on move 71, Black erred, and Gukesh didn’t let go of this chance. A narrow 2.5-1.5 win for India! “I thought I’ll press this forever and see what happens,” commented Gukesh after the game. “I couldn’t lose it, so there was no pressure on me.” Iran stopped the Vietnam miracle, confidently defeating them by 2.5-1.5. Three draws and Pouya Idani’s win on the last board elevated Iran to a clear second place. The team, headed by Parham Maaghsoodloo and Amin Tabatabaei, initially seeded 10th, will meet India in the next round. “They are a strong team, so we’ll just come and play some good chess!” said Gukesh. In the women’s section, the first move for Harika was made by H.E. Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Hussein Abdullah Khoury, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will host the 47th Chess Olympiad in 2028. With this, the crucial match between India and Georgia started. India has had an ideal tournament so far, winning all their matches. Divya Deshmukh, on board three, had been the hero of the team with 5.5 points in 6 games. This time, she made a draw, but her teammates Vaishali R and Vantika Agrawal took the flag and raised it high, winning their games. An amazing 3-1 victory against one of the favorites, Georgia, leaves no doubt that India means serious business to improve on their bronze finish in 2022! An important match between Poland and Ukraine in the women’s section ended in a draw. After Alina Kashlinskaya, on the first board, defeated Yuliia Osmak in a nerve-wracking time trouble, things looked bright for Poland. However, Ukraine struck back with a win by Nataliya Buksa against Oliwia Kiolbasa on the third board. It means that India is now two match points ahead of the pursuers. The Chess Olympiad broke another record in Round 7. Syria was the last team to arrive and get paired in the open section. It brings the total to 188 teams, setting an absolute record for the Chess Olympiads. In 2022 in Chennai, there were 186 teams in the open section. The women’s tournament also boasts the highest participation numbers: 169 teams are taking part, compared to 159 in Chennai. Position of the day: Yuliia Osmak (Ukraine, 2471) – Alina Kashlinskaya (Poland, 2490) Black to move 28…Be4! Black is winning, but really needs to simplify and extinguish White’s kingside attack. 29.Rxe4 Nxd2 30.Rf4 Qb8, and soon (not without more tactical complications) Black set her queenside pawns in motion and won the game. 0-1 Results of the top matches: Open: (12) India 2.5-1.5 China (11)(11) Iran 2.5-1.5 Vietnam (11)(10) Uzbekistan 3-1 Ukraine (10)(10) Serbia 3-1 Netherlands (10)(10) Armenia 2.5-1.5 England (10)(10) Lithuania 1.5-2.5 Hungary (10)(10) France 2-2 Georgia (10) Women: (12) India 3-1 Georgia (11)(10) Ukraine 2-2 Poland (11)(10) Azerbaijan 1-3 Kazakhstan (10)(10) Armenia 2-2 USA (10)(10) Mongolia 2-2 Germany (10)(10) Spain 1.5-2.5 France (10) Top standings after 7 rounds: Open: 1. India – 142. Iran – 133-6. Uzbekistan, Hungary, Armenia, Serbia – 12 Women 1. India – 14 2-4. Poland, Kazakhstan, France – 12 Full results and standings: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova See more Round 7 photos on FIDE Flickr Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
45th Chess Olympiad R06: India emerges as sole leader in both sections
India is going to the only rest day of the 45th Chess Olympiad as the sole leader, having won all matches in both the open and women’s sections. Both teams have been winning confidently, without experiencing tough matches so far—a strong statement on their path to the gold medals. Argentinian chess prodigy Faustino Oro, with a current rating of 2434 at just ten years old, made the first move in Round 6 for world champion Ding Liren, setting the games in motion. India continued their pursuit of gold medals, defeating Hungary 3-1. Arjun Erigaisi remains the only player with a perfect score in the open section. In Round 6, he won against Sanan Sjugirov, a recent addition to the Hungarian team. Erigaisi is gaining 13 rating points in the Olympiad, elevating him to a career-high of 2791. The second win in the match was delivered by Vidit Gujrathi, while the games on first two boards ended in draws. Incredible Vietnam halted China, tying the match 2-2. Wang Yue beat Tuan Minh Tran on the last board, but the leader of the Vietnamese team, Le Quang Liem, retaliated by defeating world champion Ding Liren. “This is the first time that after the first half of the tournament, we are among the leaders,” commented Liem on the official broadcast. “I am very happy with the result and proud of my teammates. We are playing fantastically this time. Coming into this tournament, we had no expectations. We were initially ranked #21. We have never been this close to the medals before. We will enjoy the games and see what happens.” Iran prevailed over Norway in a close match, thanks to a win on the fourth board, where Pouya Idani gained the upper hand over Frode Urkedal. Magnus Carlsen had a significant advantage in the middlegame against Parham Maghsoodloo but could only achieve a draw. Uzbekistan had a tough match against Israel, as Sindarov blundered and lost to Nabaty. However, thanks to the wins of Abdusattorov and Yakubboev, the defending champions clinched the match victory. The USA continues to struggle, with four draws against Romania despite being the favorites on every board—a result that is hardly satisfying for the team of Fabiano Caruana. After 6 rounds, India is the sole leader with 12 points, closely pursued by Vietnam, China, and Iran with 11 match points. In the women’s section, India continues to delight their fans too. A convincing victory over Armenia was secured by Divya Deshmukh, who defeated Elina Danielian. Draws on the other boards cemented the result. China, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive loss. Poland pulled off this important victory by 2½-1½, thanks to Oliwia Kiolbasa, the heroine of the previous Olympiad, who beat Guo Qi. The other three games ended in draws. Georgia narrowly won against Mongolia, thanks to Melia Salome’s victory on the fourth board. After six rounds, India leads with 12 match points, followed by Georgia and Poland with 11. The tournament halts for a one-day break and the competition will resume on September 18 with Round 7. Position of the day: Ding Liren (China, 2736) – Le Quang Liem (Vietnam, 2741) White to move In this position, White could have held a draw with precise play after 44.Rd8. The World Champion played 44.Ra8? only to find himself lost after 44…d5! Le Quang Liem: “The main challenge for White is that it is not clear where you should put your rook – behind the pawn or on the side – and where to put your king, so it’s a bit tricky.” Peter Svidler: “The rook needs to be on d8, it turns out. It is very important to keep it on d8.” Results of the top matches: Open: (10) China 2-2 Vietnam (10)(10) Hungary 1-3 India (10)(9) Norway 1.5-2.5 Iran (9)(8) USA 2-2 Romania (8)(8) Israel 1.5-2.5 Uzbekistan (8) Women: (10) India 2.5-1.5 Armenia (10)(9) Georgia 2.5-1.5 Mongolia (10)(9) Poland 2.5-1.5 China (8)(8) Ukraine 3-1 Serbia (8)(8) Vietnam 1.5-2.5 Azerbaijan (8) Full results: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova See more Round 7 photos on FIDE Flickr Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
FIDE WGP 2024-2025: Complete allocations published
FIDE has published the complete allocations for the WGP 2024–2025 series. Following consultations with renowned women chess players, the 2024–25 series introduced several notable format changes. The 2024-2025 season includes six tournaments (up from four previously) held across the world, with each of 20 elite female players participating in three events. The overall prize fund for the Women’s Grand Prix Series increased from 80,000 Euros to 120,000 Euros. The winner of the Grand Prix series will receive 30,000 Euros (up from 20,000 Euros), and the runner-up will be awarded 22,000 Euros (compared to the previous 16,000 Euros). The first leg of the 2024-2025 season held in Tbilisi, Georgia and saw the triumph of Alina Kashlinkaya, who took the lead in the overall standings. Shymkent, Kazakhstan will host the second tournament of the series from October 29 to November 9, 2024. FIDE WGP official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/
World Senior Championships 2024: Registration deadline extended
The organizing committee of the FIDE World Senior Chess Championships 2024, scheduled to take part in Porto Santo, Portugal, from November 16-29, 2024, announces that the deadline for registration has been extended to October 16, 2024. For useful information and details on how to get to Porto Santo, please visit the official webpage:https://worldsenior.fpx.pt/how-to-get-to-porto-santo/ There will be several options to reach the island: by ferry and by air, including a charter flight from Lisbon to Porto Santo on November 16, returning November 29. E-mail: worldsenior@fide.com Helpline via WhatsApp: +351937245507 (in English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages to assist you with information, Visas and travel arrangements) Regulations and invitation letter (PDF)
45th Chess Olympiad R05: Vietnam, Armenia and Mongolia deliver upsets
India is excelling in both the open and women’s sections at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest. In the open section, team India defeated Azerbaijan by a strong 3-1 score, with two victories and two draws. Gukesh D and Arjun Erigaisi won their games, while Vidit Gujrathi came close to defeating Mamedyarov but missed his chance. In the women’s section, India triumphed over Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5. Both squads are displaying confident play and have avoided any close matches so far, unlike other favorites. Will they maintain this good pace through the second half of the tournament, and who will challenge them? In the next round, Gukesh and his team will face the hosts, Hungary. In round 5, this consistent team defeated Ukraine. Richard Rapport outplayed Vasyl Ivanchuk, and all other games ended in draws. Hungary has a glorious history of Olympiad victories, but all of them were achieved in the previous century: in 1927, 1928, and 1978. Altogether, Hungary has won 12 Olympic medals, the latest being silver in 2014. The team of Péter Lékó, Csaba Balogh, Zoltán Almási, Richárd Rapport, and Judit Polgár finished ahead of India, which took bronze. Fast forward ten years, and Richard Rapport is now leading the team, eager to exceed this result on home turf. China in the open section is also steadily winning but by narrow margins. Three draws and a victory by Wei Yi against David Anton secured them a win over Spain in round 5. In round 6, they will face the sensational team of Vietnam. After defeating Uzbekistan, Vietnam continued their hot streak by upsetting Poland. And again, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (2633) and Le Tuan Minh (2564) won their games, this time against Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2681) and Mateusz Bartel (2618), respectively. With 4.5/5, having defeated Sindarov and Bartel, Le Tuan Minh’s performance rating is currently 2810. The 27-year-old became Vietnam’s 13th grandmaster in 2022. He’s also a streamer who regularly plays online chess and has Titled Tuesday win under his belt. In the women’s section, the leaders alongside India are Armenia and Mongolia. Both teams toppled favorites in round 5. Armenia caused a sensation by beating China. Anna Sargsyan (2364) defeated 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi (2438), Elina Danielian (2393) drew with Ni Shiqun (2348), and after Mariam Mkrtchyan (2328) lost to Song Yuxin (2373), the score was 1.5-1.5. The outcome was decided by the first board game, where Lilit Mktchian (2366) was precise against Zhu Jiner (2487), who, looking at the other boards, pushed too hard for a win and ended up in an inferior position. Mongolia triumphed over the USA 2.5-1.5. Munkhzul Turmunkh (2256) bested Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (2380) on the top board to secure the win, as all other games ended in draws. While India will face Armenia in the next round, Mongolia will be put to the test by one of the tournament’s favorites, Georgia, who are trailing the leaders by one point. Position of the day: Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2635) – Richard Rapport (Hungary, 2715) Black to move The white king on e5 is quite exotic, but how to get to it? 24…Nb8! and after 25.Rd6 Qc4 26.Qf4 White resigned as 26…f6+ wins the queen. Results of the top matches: Open: (8) India 3-1 Azerbaijan (8)(8) Ukraine 1.5-2.5 Hungary (8)(8) Spain 1.5-2.5 China (8)(8) Vietnam 2.5-1.5 Poland (8)(7) Turkiye 1-3 Norway (7)(7) Iran 3.5-0.5 Canada (7) Women: (8) Kazakhstan 1.5-2.5 India (8)(8) China 1.5-2.5 Armenia (8)(8) Mongolia 2.5-1.5 USA (8)(8) Uzbekistan 1.5-2.5 Georgia (7)(7) Poland 3-1 Turkiye (7)(7) Azerbaijan 2-2 Ukraine (7) Full results: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
45th Chess Olympiad Round 4: Ukraine upsets USA, Vietnam beats Uzbekistan
Round 4 of the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest saw Ukraine triumph over the USA in a thrilling match. Fabiano Caruana was the first to score, defeating Andrei Volokitin. Leinier Dominguez and Ruslan Ponomariov drew on board three, and with Wesley So having a better position against Vasyl Ivanchuk, things looked promising for the Americans. However, So blundered, allowing the legendary Ivanchuk to create a mating net and win the game. By then, Anton Korobov was already winning against Ray Robson on the fourth board. He secured the victory, leading Ukraine to defeat the tournament’s top seed, by 2.5-1.5. When asked about the team’s chances following this brilliant performance, the hero of the day, Anton Korobov, joked bitterly: “There are seven rounds to go; it’s going to be a disaster! The average age of our team is like 70 years old.” Defending champions Uzbekistan, who hadn’t lost a single match in the 2022 Olympiad, surprisingly fell to the 21st-seeded Vietnam team. First, Le Tuan Minh (2564) defeated Javokhir Sindarov (2677), and then Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (2633) prevailed over Nodirbek Yakubboev (2666), who seemed to push too hard for a win. The other two games – Le Quang Liem (2741) vs. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2766), and Tran Tuan Minh (2434) vs. Jakhongir Vakhidov (2571) – ended in draws. India continues to perform strongly, with a 3.5-0.5 win against Serbia. In all 16 games, Gukesh and his team conceded only two draws to their opponents. Current world #4, Arjun Erigaisi (pictured below), with a rating of 2778, gained 7 rating points after his fourth victory, this time against Aleksandar Indjic, continuing to break his own records on the path to 2800. China narrowly defeated Armenia thanks to Yu Yangyi beating Gabriel Sargissian, while the other games ended in draws. From the leading pack, Poland, Hungary, Azerbaijan, and Spain also won their matches. Going into round 5, eight teams have 8 match points: India, Spain, China, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine (listed according to tiebreaks). Unlike their male counterparts, the Ukrainian women’s team has had a tough start. After a narrow win against Lithuania and conceding two board draws against Israel, the defending champions tied 2-2 against lower-rated Turkey in round 4. The top two boards drew their games, while the sides exchanged blows on the lower boards. Nataliya Buksa (2387) defeated Kubra Ozturk Orenli (2262), but Evgeniya Doluhanova (2304) lost to 18-year-old Gulenay Aydin (2202). Other favorites, namely India, China, USA, and Georgia, won their matches convincingly. The Spanish women’s team, usually not among the favorites, is now reinforced with IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, world #20, rated 2468, who switched federations from Iran in 2023. As a result, the team is the #9 seed in the tournament, but in round 4, Sarasadat’s teammates lost two games and conceded to Mongolia by 1.5-2.5. In a surprising turn of events, the Uzbekistan women’s squad upset Bulgaria. Afruza Khamdamova (2313; pictured below) defeated former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova (2416), while the other games ended in draws. Fifteen-year-old Afruza is Uzbekistan’s brightest young talent, the first woman in the country to break the 2300 rating. In 2023, she won the U14 Girls World Championship, scoring 10 points in 11 games. Her only “loss” occurred because she had to withdraw from the first round due to a cancelled flight, but she won all her subsequent games. After four rounds, seven teams have won all their matches: China, India, USA, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. The young Chinese squad has conceded only one draw to their opponents in 16 games. Position of the day: Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2635) – Wesley So (USA, 2752) White to move Black just played 44…Ra2-e2? – a terrible mistake. Seemingly out of the blue, White weaves a mating net: 45.Rb7 Re5 46.Rxf7 g5 47.h5 Kxh5 48.Rf6, and Black resigned. Results of the top matches: Open: USA 1.5-2.5 UkraineSerbia 0.5-3.5 IndiaChina 2.5-1.5 ArmeniaVietnam 3-1 UzbekistanHungary 2.5-1.5 ItalyPoland 2.5-1.5 LithuaniaMontenegro 1-3 AzerbaijanSweden 0.5-3.5 Spain Women: India 3.5-0.5 FranceEngland 0-4 ChinaUkraine 2-2 TurkeyUSA 3.5-0.5 NetherlandsSpain 1.5-2.5 MongoliaSerbia 1.5-2.5 KazakhstanArmenia 3-1 VietnamUzbekistan 2.5-1.5 Bulgaria Full results: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
45th Chess Olympiad R03: Netherlands and Germany fall, several favorites stumble
Round 3 of the 4th Chess Olympiad brought the biggest upsets so far, with two top teams losing their matches in the open section and a few others drawing. The Netherlands, seeded 5th, lost to 23rd-seeded Italy by 1-3. Lorenzo Lodici (2556) defeated Anish Giri (2724), Francesco Sonis (2554) won against Max Warmerdam (2679), and Sabino Brunello (2511) triumphed over Erwin L’Ami (2628). Jorden Van Foreest (2696) was the only Dutch player to win, defeating Luca Moroni (2558). Germany (#7) lost to Lithuania (#23) by 1.5-2.5 after Alexander Donchenko (2638) blundered away a winning position to Valery Kazakouski (2577). England (#8) only managed a draw with Denmark (#30), and Iran (#10) lost match points by drawing with Georgia (#32). India is going strong, defeating Hungary B by 3.5-0.5. So far, the team has conceded only 0.5 points to opponents in all 12 games. China also confidently won against Slovenia 3-1. The USA had no problems against Bulgaria, winning the match 3.5-0.5. Levon Aronian opened the scoring and shared some thoughts on his games in an interview. Reflecting on Game 1, which caused his fans a lot of anxiety, he said he was ready to resign but kept going and creating tricks because he was playing for the team. World #1 Magnus Carlsen played his first game, arriving at the hall 10 minutes late. His journey to face Colombian GM Roberto Garcia Pantoja was somewhat of an adventure. He arrived by bike in the rain, rushed to the venue, got confused about the entrance, and was finally taken through the media doors. Despite this, he defeated his opponent with the black pieces, contributing to his team’s 3.5-0.5 win. After the game, he commented: “It was a bit of a mess. I am in a different hotel from the others, so they were supposed to pick me up. Then, they suddenly told me that traffic was horrible and they would be at my hotel at five to three. At that point, I thought I couldn’t get there in time by car, so I decided biking might be faster.” Upsets also occurred in the women’s section. One of the favorites, Georgia, drew their match with Romania. Dzagnidze (2508) and Batsiashvili (2461) on boards 1 and 3 won their games against Bulmaga (2406) and Voicu-Jagodzinsky (2271), but on the other two boards, the Romanian players reached their opponents’ kings. Javakhishvili (2446) got caught in an unexpected mating net in the endgame against Sandu (2248), and Khotenashvili (2432) blundered mate in two moves to Ciolacu (2160). Greece surprised everyone, drawing with one of the favorites, Poland. Pavlidou (2141) won a rollercoaster game against Maltsevskaya (2404), which ended with three queens on the board and the black king on d3. The best performer of the previous Olympiad, Kiolbasa (2348), struck back with a win against Makropoulou (2103). The other two games finished in a draw. Other favorites, namely India, China, and Ukraine, did not face major problems in their respective matches but lost some board points along the way. Sixteen teams in the open section have won all three matches so far: India, USA, Uzbekistan, China, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, Armenia, Lithuania, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, and Serbia (listed in order of tiebreaks). In the women’s section, sixteen teams are in the lead with 6 match points: USA, Spain, England, China, Bulgaria, France, India, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Serbia, Vietnam, Armenia, Turkey, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia (listed in order of tiebreaks). Going into the third round, only India, Slovenia, and Germany managed to win both matches with a 4-0 score in the open section. In the women’s tournament, six teams—Poland, China, Spain, Armenia, Argentina, and Iran—achieved this feat. However, none of them could maintain their perfect streak! Position of the day: Arjun Erigaisi (India, 2778) – Peter Prohaszka (Hungary B, 2542) White to move 32.Qxh6!+ gxh6+ 33.Rxh6 Qh7 34.Rxh7# Results of the top matches: Open: Bulgaria 0.5-3.5 USAIndia 3.5-0.5 Hungary BSlovenia 1-3 ChinaUzbekistan 3.5-0.5 CroatiaItaly 3-1 Netherlands Women: Switzerland 1-3 IndiaGeorgia 2-2 RomaniaGreece 2-2 PolandChina 3.5-0.5 ItalyIsrael 1-3 Ukraine Full results: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz, Maria Emelianova and Anna Shtourman Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com
FIDE and DGT extend partnership for another four years
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Digital Game Technology B.V. (DGT) have agreed to renew their long-standing partnership. DGT is well known in the chess world for providing innovative chess products such as e-boards, computers and chess clocks to players and organizers across the globe. The new agreement formalizes their continued collaboration to promote chess globally. The agreement is signed for a period of four years. DGT will continue to provide FIDE with its clocks, particularly the DGT 2500 and DGT 3000 models. The DGT 3000 chess clock will be used exclusively at all top FIDE events, including the World Chess Championship, Candidates Tournament, and World Cup. DGT will provide FIDE with 4000 DGT 2500 clocks, 680 DGT 3000 clocks and 680 electronic chess boards. FIDE retains the right to review the quality of DGT products annually to ensure they meet FIDE’s standards. Under the agreement, FIDE grants DGT exclusive rights to use FIDE’s trademarks, such as “FIDE Championship Clock” and “Official FIDE Clock,” on DGT chess clocks.