FIDE Celebrates Centenary with FIDE100 Awards
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) proudly announces a series of awards to honor those who have made exceptional contributions to the world of chess in the past 100 years The aim of the FIDE100 awards is to recognize individuals and organizations who have significantly impacted the development and promotion of chess globally over the past century. The FIDE 100 Awards are aimed at different members of the chess community – players, arbiters, organizers, photographers, journalists, project leaders, authors, educators and others. By recognizing these contributions, FIDE wants to continue to support excellence and promote the cultural and intellectual values of chess worldwide. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: “As we celebrate our centennial, we wanted to give recognition to those who have made chess what it is today and what it represents for the future. We hope that these awards will inspire future generations to take up chess and bring the game to new heights.” The awards are given in 19 categories. Each category has a specified nomination and voting criteria. Where applicable, nomination submissions can be made on the official website. The deadline for nominations is August 15, midnight, CET. The awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Male Player Best Female Player Best Male Arbiter Best Female Arbiter FIDE Trainers’ 100 Years Award (male) FIDE Trainers’ 100 Years Award (female) Best Male Team Best Female Team Best Social Media Influencer Best Chess Journalist The Most Memorable FIDE Chess Tournament The Most Memorable Private Chess Tournament FIDE Book – 100 Years Best Photographer Best Educator Chess Social Impact Advocate for Women in Chess Inclusivity Presidential Award Each category has specific qualification criteria, nomination procedures, and selection processes. While some recipients will be chosen by a distinguished panel of chess grandmasters, historians, and educators, others will be determined through public voting. Self-nominations or nominations by national federations are open in several categories. They are: Best Chess Journalist 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-best-chess-journalist/ Best Photographer 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-best-photographer/ Best Educator 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-best-educator/ Chess Social Impact 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-chess-social-impact/ Advocate for Women in Chess 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-advocate-for-women-in-chess/ Besides, the best male and female players of all time will be chosen by a public vote. Voting for your favorite player is open via the following links: Best Male Player 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-best-male-player/ Best Female Player 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024-best-female-player/ The winners of the FIDE 100 Awards will be announced during the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September 2024. For more information about the FIDE100 Awards and to submit nominations, please visit 100.fide.com/fide-awards-2024/.
FIDE World Championships 2026: Call for bids
FIDE Events Commission announces “Call for Bids FIDE World Championships 2026” and invites FIDE member federations to participate. The bid deadline is September 15, 2024, 15:00 CET. There are eight competitions on the list: World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships World Junior U20 Chess Championships World Cadet & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships World Schools Team Chess Championships World Senior Chess Championships (50+, 65+ Individual) World Senior Team Chess Championships (50+, 65+) World Amateur Chess Championships World Disabled Chess Championships Dear bidders, you can find more details about the procedure including the Bid, Bid Form, Bid Form Annex, and Deposit Fees, HERE.
Belgian Championship: Daniel Dardha wins fourth title
GM Daniel Dardha emerged victorious in the 2024 Belgian Championship, capturing his fourth national title. The 2024 Belgian Championship, which included an invitational 10-player round-robin (expert tournament) and an open tournament, took place in the large refectory of the Sint-Gummarus College in Liege from July 06-13. The 18-year-old Dardha confirmed his status as a pre-tournament favorite to win the expert event, but it was a very close race with IM Stefan Beukema that came down to the wire. Going into the final round, Dardha and Beukema shared the lead with 6.5/8 each. Stefan made a quick draw with IM Steven Geirnaert, while Daniel jumped on this opportunity and defeated IM Alexander Alienkin with black pieces to clinch the title. The champion and the runner-up became the only unbeaten players in the event. Mher Hovhannisyan and Sim Maerevoet scored 5.5/9 and tied for third place, with the former completing the podium thanks to better tiebreak. Final standings: 1 GM Dardha, Daniel 2629 7½ 2 IM Beukema, Stefan 2411 7 3 GM Hovhannisyan, Mher 2405 5½ 4 IM Maerevoet, Sim 2436 5½ 5 IM Alienkin, Aleksander 2331 5 6 IM Geirnaert, Steven 2438 4 7 GM Dgebuadze, Alexandre 2442 4 8 FM De Waele, Warre 2365 3 9 Ruzhansky, Elias 2242 2 10 FM Dreelinck, Jacob 2310 1½ Photos: official website Official website: bk.schaakliga-antwerpen.be/en/main-event/
2024 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: Caruana rules supreme
Fabiano Caruana clinched the 2024 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia title with a dominant performance, securing victory with five rounds to spare. Going into the blitz segment with a comfortable lead, Fabiano continued his hot run and matched Magnus Carlsen’s record by scoring 27 points. The American GM took the top position in the GCT overall standings, overtaking Alireza Firouzja. With Caruana dominating the field, Wesley So, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Alireza Firouzja battled for second place and ended up scoring 23 points and earning a $25,000 prize each. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Levon Aronian had good moments throughout the event, but their inconsistent performances in the blitz segment did not allow them to climb higher. Gukesh D, Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, and Ivan Saric finished at the bottom. Up next, the 2024 U.S. Juniors & Senior Championships from July 16–26. All three tournaments are by invitation-only to showcase America’s past and upcoming chess phenoms. The expert commentary team of GM’s Yasser Seirawan and Cristian Chirila and IM Nazi Paikidze will call the action live and provide game analysis daily online starting at 1:20 p.m. CT on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Photos: Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/
Warmerdam and Keetman win Dutch Championship
Max Warmerdam and Maaike Keetman are the new Dutch chess champions. The Dutch Chess Championships took place from July 6-13, 2024, at the Galgewaard football stadium in Utrecht. Both the open and women’s sections were 16-player knockout tournaments running simultaneously. Each match consisted of two classical games, with 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1, followed by a tiebreak in cases of a tie. Unfortunately, the defending champion Anish Giri and the last year runner-up Jorden van Foreest opted not to participate in the open event. Still the field was a good mix of young and experienced players featuring Jan Timman, Erwin L’Ami, Ivan Sokolov, Sergei Tiviakov and Max Warmerdam. Varmerdam advanced steadily into the final, convincingly defeating Liam Vrolijk, Leandro Slagboom and Benjamin Bok. Sergei Tiviakov’s path to the match for the national title was a hard-fought one, overcoming Erwin L’Ami and Ivan Sokolov in tiebreaks during the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The first game of the final was the decisive one. Warmerdam prevailed on the black side of the Sicilian Defense and took the lead. The second game became a formality – a short draw was agreed securing the second national title for Max Warmerdam. Without the defending champion and Dutch #1 woman Eline Roebers, five-time national women’s champion WGM Anne Haast and WFM Maaike Keetman cruised through the bracket to the final, needing no tiebreak. In a surprising turn of events, the final was a one-side battle, with the lower-rated Maaike Keetman winning both classical games to capture her maiden title. Photos: Harry Gielen Official website: nk.schaken.nl/
SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: Caruana wins rapid
Fabiano Caruana scored three straight victories on the final day of rapid and extended his lead over Wesley So to three points, going to the blitz segment of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia. Wesley delivered a solid performance netting 4/6, while Levon Aronian, who drew with So in Round 7, defeated Anish Giri and Gukesh D and climbed to third position. Round 7 In the key game of the round Fabiano Caruana comfortable equalized on the black side of Ragozin against Gukesh D but a single miss turned his position from fine to losing one. Gukesh D – Fabiano Caruana Fabiano just played 32…a5 which was met with 33. a4! White got rid of his a2-weakness and emerged clearly better thanks to his extra pawn in the center. However, the young Indian first threw his advantage away and then completely misplayed an equal position and eventually lost. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated Vidit Gujrathi, while Alireza Firouzja beat the home player Ivan Saric. Round 8 The leader did not get much out of the opening with white against Anish Giri, but the Dutchman’s decision to break through in the center with d6-d5 was refuted by Fabiano in a clinical fashion. Facing Gukesh D, Levon Aronian ventured upon a queen sacrifice frowned upon by chess engines, but it eventually worked out very well for him as his opponent did not demonstrate necessary accuracy. Vidit Gujrathi scored his first victory in the event over one of the leaders Alireza Firouzja after the Frenchman bungled an overwhelming position. Alireza Firouzja – Vidit Gujrathi After 36. Rf6+ Kg5 37. Bf7 Black is hopeless. Instead, Alireza played 36. e6? throwing most of his advantage. His troubles did not end there: 36…Rb3+ 37. Ke2 Rf3, Firouzja made another mistake 38. Rd1? Which proved to be the decisive one after precise 38…Kf6! | 0-1, 48 moves Ivan Saric got a dangerous attack against Wesley So but spoiled it with several mistakes and capitulated on move 42. Round 9 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went wrong in a topical line of Ruy Lopez against Fabiano Caruana and lost a pawn without compensation. Fabiano committed an inaccuracy at some point but eventually he converted his extra material. Levon Aronian scored his second straight victory after outplaying Anish Giri in a complicated middlegame. Ian Nepomniachtchi bested Vidit after the Indian went for an erroneous rook sacrifice in a much better attacking position. Vidit Gujrathi – Ian Nepomniachtchi After 28. Rh4 a5 29. c4 White has a dangerous pressure. Vidit however played 28. Rxf6?? Apparently missing that after 28…Rxf6 the planned 29. Rxf6, with the idea of 29…gxf6 30 Bxf6 checkmate, fails to 29…Nxd5! As a result White had to play 29. Bxf6, but resigned just three moves later. Day 4 of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia continues Saturday, July 13th, with live commentary from GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko, and IM Jovanka Houska, and starting at 8:00 AM CDT. Tune in to the Saint Louis Chess Club’s Twitch & YouTube channels. Photos: Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/
USA and England triumph in World Senior Team Championship 2024
The FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championship 2024 is in the books. This year, Polish Krakow, known for its iconic Market Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosted the event. The championship brought together 65 teams and 307 players (including 32 GMs) from all over the world, boasting the highest number of Grandmasters playing in a chess competition on Polish soil this year. The event was held in 50+ and 65+ categories, with women’s teams competing in the 9-round Swiss open tournaments with classical time control. In the 50+ competition, the USA (Jaan Ehlvest, Alexander Shabalov, Melikset Khachiyan, Igor Novikov, and Alex Yermolinsky) retained their title won last year in North Macedonia. The team’s only hiccup occurred in Round 5 when they narrowly lost to Italy. Going into Round 7, one point behind the leaders Iceland, team USA scored a convincing victory 3-1 and forged ahead. USA finished strong, whitewashing Israel (4-0) and defeating Slovakia (2.5-1.5) and capturing the title (16/18). Italy (pictured above), the only team to beat the champions, finished just a point behind (15/18) and took silver. England 1, led by Michael Adams, scored 14/18 and claimed bronze. Final standings 50+: 1 USA 16 2 Italy 15 3 England 1 14 4 Iceland 13 5 England 2 12 6 Slovakia 11 7 USA Too 11 8 Brazil 10 9 Estonia Women 10 10 Israel Rishon Lezion 10 Complete final standings 50+ The top seed England 1 (John Nunn, Anthony Kosten, Jonathan Mestel, Paul Littlewood, and Terry Chapman) emerged victorious in the fiercely competitive 65+ section, scoring an impressive 16/18. The team drew with their main rivals France and Israel 1 and won seven matches. Israel came second netting 15/18, while France, leading with three rounds to go had to settle for bronze after losing to England 2 in Round 7 and drawing with Italy in Round 9. Final standings 65+: 1 England 1 16 2 Israel 1 15 3 France Cercle d’Echecs de Strasbourg 14 4 England 2 12 5 Italy 11 6 Slovakia 11 7 Germany Eppingen 11 8 Germany Schachfreunde Mitteldeutschland 10 9 England 3 10 10 Finland 10 Complete final standings 65+ Photos: Mark Livshitz and Michal Walusza Official website: worldseniorteam2024.fide.com
SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: Caruana forges ahead
Fabiano Caruana emerged as the sole leader after Round 6 of the Superunited Rapid and Blitz Croatia. After defeating Levon Aronian and Ivan Saric the #1 American player drew with Wesley So to finish the day on 9/12. Wesley So, trailing the leader by just a single point, had a good second day, beating Vidit and making draws with Nepomniachtchi and Caruana. The current challenger Gukesh D picked up steam netting 5/6 on the second day of the competition. Alireza Firouzja turned in a solid performance winning one game and making two draws. The former leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave slowed down a bit, scoring just 2/6. All three are tied for third place sitting on 7/12. Round 4 The day started with a one-minute silence. The Grand Chess Tour commemorated the former world champion Magnus Carlsen’s mother who passed away at the age of 61. It has been the most combative round so for with all the games ending decisively. Nepomniachtchi, Firouzja and Gukesh D scored their first victories in the event. Even more importantly the young Indian toppled the leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a topsy-turvy game. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Gukesh D Maxime pressured his opponent most of the way, but after a series of mistakes he had to demonstrate accuracy with 43. Rf1! covering the critical f3-square. The Frenchman, however, played 43. Rh1?? and immediately resigned after 43… Qf3+ due to checkmate in four moves. Round 5 Fabiano Caruana continued his impressive run and grabbed the lead after beating Ivan Saric. The home player maintained balance for awhile but eventually cracked under pressure. Ivan Saric – Fabiano Caruana 32. g4? (32. h5 and 32. Rb1 were reasonable alternatives) 32… fxg4 33. Qxg4 Nc3 34. Nxc3? and after 34… bxc3 35. Qe2 Ra4 White’s position became hopeless. | 0-1, 38 moves. All other games were drawn. Gukesh D had an overwhelming position against his countryman Vidit, but completely misplayed it and was losing. Luckily for the current challenger, his opponent found the winning idea but chose a wrong move order and the game was drawn. Round 6 Wesley So had a great chance to swap places with Fabiano Caruana but failed to convert his sizable endgame advantage. Wesley So – Fabiano Caruana After 82… Kg4 83. Kf2 Ra2+ 84. Kf1 Rb2 85. Bc7 Rb4 86. Be5 Rb3 Black would have been in full control. Wesley however removed the prop from under his knight with 82… g4? and Fabiano escaped with a draw. Gukesh D scored his second win of the day after turning tables in a highly unpleasant position against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Photos: Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/
CAS announces its decision in the case of the Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022 vs FIDE
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the ultimate authority for resolving sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation, has ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the appeal launched by the Bulgarian Chess Federation against FIDE’s decision to reject its membership application. In 2016, the Bulgarian Chess Federation was suspended from FIDE and the ECU following corruption allegations, which were confirmed in an investigation conducted by the FIDE Ethics Commission. In October 2023, both the Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022 (BCF 2022) and the Bulgarian Sports Chess Federation (BCSF), created following the unification process in Bulgarian chess guided by FIDE and ECU, applied for membership in the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The FIDE Council rejected the BCF 2022 application on December 14, 2023. The decision was made on the grounds that the organization didn’t participate in the unification process within the Bulgarian Chess Federation, coordinated by FIDE and the ECU. At the same time, it was decided that the BSCF’s application would be moved forward to the General Assembly (GA) for a decision. On December 17, 2023, the FIDE GA decided to admit BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria. In January 2024, BCF 2022 appealed the GA decision to admit BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria. On July 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal filed by BCF 2022, which is a non-member, against the admission of BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria. According to the court, such a decision does not fall within the material scope of Article 35 of the FIDE Charter. Additionally, the court emphasized that BCF 2022 failed to name BSCF as a mandatory passive joiner to the appeal. About Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an institution independent of any sports organization which provides for services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world. The CAS was created in 1984 and is placed under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). The CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Around 300 cases are registered by the CAS every year. Official website: tas-cas.org/
SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: Vachier-Lagrave takes sole lead
Marking the midway point of the tour is the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, which started on July 10. Following the same format as the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, it offers the competitors a chance to display their skills under immense time pressure in a double round-robin tournament. Held in Zagreb, Croatia, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz continues to be one of the major stops in the Grand Chess Tour. The event features seven full-tour players and three wildcard players, Levon Aronian (USA), who replaced Magnus Carlsen (World #1 withdrew due to an urgent family matter), Vidit Gujrathi (India) and Ivan Saric (Croatia). By the end of Day 1, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave seized the sole lead in the competition after defeating Levon Aronian and Ivan Saric, while drawing his third-round game with Wesley So. Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So trail the French #2 by one point, sharing second place. Firouzja, Anish Giri, and Nepomniachtchi all started the tournament with three draws. Photos: Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/