World Cup 2019 Qualifiers and Contract
FIDE published the list of players qualified for the World Cup 2019 and the player’s participation contract. The List of the Qualifiers (.pdf) Player’s Contract for Participation (.pdf) World Cup Regulations (.pdf) The list of players qualified for the World Cup: FIDE ID Name Title Fed. Rating* 1503014 Carlsen, Magnus GM NOR 2872 13300474 Aronian, Levon GM ARM 2756 8603677 Ding, Liren GM CHN 2812 623539 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime GM FRA 2775 5202213 So, Wesley GM USA 2763 8603006 Ju, Wenjun GM CHN 2595 1510045 Tari, Aryan GM NOR 2620 12539929 Maghsoodloo, Parham GM IRI 2656 2004887 Shankland, Sam GM USA 2713 108049 Flores, Diego GM ARG 2600 3802272 Cori, Jorge GM PER 2686 3801497 Cordova, Emilio GM PER 2615 8603405 Wei, Yi GM CHN 2737 12521213 Tabatabaei, M.amin GM IRI 2601 12401137 Le, Quang Liem GM VIE 2713 5002150 Ganguly, Surya Shekhar GM IND 2638 12401110 Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son GM VIE 2636 14508150 Saric, Ivan GM CRO 2681 1118358 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw GM POL 2737 4189302 Sjugirov, Sanan GM RUS 2667 409561 Jones, Gawain C B GM ENG 2692 4168003 Matlakov, Maxim GM RUS 2701 404853 McShane, Luke J GM ENG 2688 14105730 Korobov, Anton GM UKR 2687 13402129 Safarli, Eltaj GM AZE 2608 2809052 Nabaty, Tamir GM ISR 2678 4118987 Najer, Evgeniy GM RUS 2678 4160258 Demchenko, Anton GM RUS 2665 1710400 Grandelius, Nils GM SWE 2691 24131423 Yuffa, Daniil GM RUS 2582 309095 Navara, David GM CZE 2734 4162722 Inarkiev, Ernesto GM RUS 2693 13302507 Hovhannisyan, Robert GM ARM 2640 2905540 Cheparinov, Ivan GM GEO 2666 1017063 Bok, Benjamin GM NED 2645 22291482 Santos Ruiz, Miguel GM ESP 2567 13402960 Abasov, Nijat GM AZE 2641 13301578 Pashikian, Arman GM ARM 2601 24133795 Sarana, Alexey GM RUS 2640 2285525 Anton Guijarro, David GM ESP 2678 1204297 Parligras, Mircea-Emilian GM ROU 2638 10601457 Amin, Bassem GM EGY 2707 10600140 El Gindy, Essam GM EGY 2423 3901211 Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo GM VEN 2625 3503631 Delgado Ramirez, Neuris GM PAR 2605 3503321 Gonzalez Vidal, Yuri GM CUB 2547 6501311 Duran Vega, Sergio IM CRC 2364 5074452 Karthikeyan, Murali GM IND 2613 5021596 Sethuraman, S.P. GM IND 2630 5058422 Narayanan.S.L GM IND 2616 12573981 Firouzja, Alireza GM IRI 2685 5010608 Gupta, Abhijeet GM IND 2603 24101605 Artemiev, Vladislav GM RUS 2761 1130420 Piorun, Kacper GM POL 2656 2806851 Rodshtein, Maxim GM ISR 2685 718572 Berkes, Ferenc GM HUN 2681 1202758 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter GM GER 2672 310204 Movsesian, Sergei GM ARM 2649 24604747 Huschenbeth, Niclas GM GER 2620 24125890 Oparin, Grigoriy GM RUS 2660 1512668 Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian GM NOR 2548 13500139 Aleksandrov, Aleksej GM BLR 2571 12809390 Pultinevicius, Paulius IM LTU 2481 24175439 Esipenko, Andrey GM RUS 2621 4101286 Petrov, Nikita GM RUS 2600 2805677 Gelfand, Boris GM ISR 2676 712779 Gledura, Benjamin GM HUN 2654 24107581 Predke, Alexandr GM RUS 2632 4173708 Rakhmanov, Aleksandr GM RUS 2615 1112635 Bartel, Mateusz GM POL 2600 24126055 Dubov, Daniil GM RUS 2700 4150120 Lysyj, Igor GM RUS 2623 14103320 Ponomariov, Ruslan GM UKR 2675 1207822 Lupulescu, Constantin GM ROU 2649 696358 Bellahcene,Bilel GM ALG 2541 2016192 Nakamura, Hikaru GM USA 2754 3503240 Dominguez Perez, Leinier GM USA 2760 2020009 Caruana, Fabiano GM USA 2819 2040506 Sevian, Samuel GM USA 2667 2047640 Xiong, Jeffery GM USA 2691 12500739 Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan GM IRI 2544 10601619 Adly, Ahmed GM EGY 2618 4100140 Bareev, Evgeny GM CAN 2643 10207791 Mohammad Fahad, Rahman FM BAN 2271 13100050 Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina IM MAD 2419 4400801 Escobar Forero, Alder GM COL 2477 3518736 Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel GM CUB 2566 7101384 Megaranto, Susanto GM INA 2545 4902980 Gan-Erdene, Sugar MGL 2408 8504580 Anwuli, Daniel IM NGR 2295 3805662 Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo GM PER 2601 2107660 Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag GM BRA 2545 13702661 Jumabayev, Rinat GM KAZ 2633 14200244 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam GM UZB 2657 3409350 Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal GM CHI 2560 112275 Mareco, Sandro GM ARG 2641 8603332 Lu, Shanglei GM CHN 2619 8608288 Xu, Xiangyu GM CHN 2585 3205207 Illingworth, Max GM AUS 2493 5072786 Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. GM IND 2600 13401319 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar GM AZE 2765 24116068 Giri, Anish GM NED 2779 5000017 Anand, Viswanathan GM IND 2764 4126025 Grischuk, Alexander GM RUS 2766 4168119 Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM RUS 2775 4101588 Kramnik, Vladimir GM RUS 2753 8603820 Yu, Yangyi GM CHN 2736 13400924 Radjabov, Teimour GM AZE 2759 14109603 Karjakin, Sergey GM RUS 2748 4102142 Svidler, Peter GM RUS 2737 2900084 Topalov, Veselin GM BUL 2740 1170546 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM POL 2729 5007003 Harikrishna, Pentala GM IND 2734 738590 Rapport, Richard GM HUN 2735 4122356 Jakovenko, Dmitry GM RUS 2711 8601445 Bu, Xiangzhi GM CHN 2722 4152956 Vitiugov, Nikita GM RUS 2727 8602883 Wang, Hao GM CHN 2725 5018471 Adhiban, B. GM IND 2665 14117908 Kovalenko, Igor GM LAT 2654 9301348 Salem, A.R. Saleh GM UAE 2672 1506102 Urkedal, Frode Olav Olsen GM NOR 2566 7200595 Ziska, Helgi Dam GM FAI 2533 4127870 Pridorozhni, Aleksei GM RUS 2586 24105074 Iljiushenok, Ilia GM RUS 2520 * July 2019 standard rating
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins the Riga FIDE Grand Prix
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov stands as the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga. He beats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a nerve-wracking tie-break thanks to a win in the last Armaggedon game. With this victory in the second leg of the Grand Prix Series, he earns 24,000 euros and shares the lead with Alexander Grischuk in the overall standing with 10 points. After two weeks of captivating chess in the National Library of Latvia, both finalists sat for the last day of tie-break games on the stage of the Ziedonis Hall. The drawing of colors resulted in Shakhriyar Mamedyarov starting with the white pieces. As sometimes happens in matches, the players embarked on an opening debate by repeating the same variation as in their previous game. The Azeri decided to check Vachier-Lagrave’s homework by playing the same idea which had brought him success two days earlier. The verdict came instantly, as the Frenchman played an early 9…c5 and 10…Nc6 to put immediate pressure against the pawn d4. The game developed favorably for Black, but Vachier-Lagraveeventually accepted his opponent’s draw offer on move 23. He apparently underestimated his chances, as subsequent analysis showed that he would have had good reasons to play on. The second game featured the same Italian game as in the classical encounter on Tuesday. Vachier-Lagrave did not wait for his opponent’s improvement and deviated himself with 8.Nbd2. The opening proceeded quietly and Mamedyarov equalized. After the exchange of queens on move 23, the Frenchman showed very inspired play with the pawn sacrifice 27.h4, followed by the advance of the f-pawn. The position remained objectively equal, but the pressure shifted on Mamedyarov’s shoulders. Despite a long thought, he failed to react correctly and erred with 30…Nd7. Feeling the closeness of victory, Vachier-Lagrave possibly got nervous and missed two ways to reach a winning endgame. After the weak 34.Bd3, the balance was restored and the Azeri saved the draw. Colors alternated again for the next set of rapid games, played with a shorter time control of 10 minutes for each player, with an increment of 10 seconds per move. Mamedyarov went for the same line against Vachier-Lagrave’s Grunfeld. Without a doubt, the opening debate went beyond the frame of the playing hall, as both teams of trainers had worked out the nuances of this variation during the course of the first tie-break game. As it turned out, Mamedyarov deviated with 14.Re1, but Vachier-Lagrave reacted instantly with the astute f5. The game remained balanced throughout and ended in a draw. So far, the dynamic of the match clearly showed domination by the Frenchman, but the following game marked a change. Vachier-Lagrave misplayed an opening advantage in yet another Italian and suddenly put his castle in danger with the risky 16.g4. After maneuvering his knights around the white king, Mamedyarov could have exploited its vulnerability by pushing h5. But he preferred securing a draw by giving perpetual check. The Italian Opening stood again on the menu of the first blitz game. The fight remained balanced for a long time until Vachier-Lagrave surrendered the only open file. Mamedyarov piled up his heavy pieces, entered the white position and finished off with a mating attack. Needing a win with black in the second blitz, the Frenchman went all-in and chose a risky opening he had never tried before. This gamble paid off wonderfully. Vachier-Lagrave blitzed out his moves to gain a significant advantage on the clock, outplayed Mamedyarov in the middle-game and won a pawn. His endgame technique was far from perfect, but Mamedyarov was simply too low on time to hold the draw. It all came down to an ultimate Armaggedon blitz, where White has 5 minutes against Black’s 4 minutes but needs to win the game to clinch the match. Vachier-Lagrave drew the white pieces and decided to refrain from his usual 1.e4 to play in a less forcing way. This strategy backfired, as he quickly caught up Mamedyarov on the clock and failed to put pressure on his opponent’s position. On the contrary, Black took over the initiative and never risked losing. With a few seconds left on the clock and a bad position, Vachier-Lagrave admitted defeat. The Closing Ceremony took place shortly after the games were over, and was attended by Anastasia Sorokina, FIDE Vice President, and Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Vice President of the European Chess Union – as well as Grandmaster. During his intervention, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov thanked all who contributed to making this beautiful event happen in Riga. He felt particularly happy to win a tournament again after almost a year of low performance. He said that this final had been incredibly hard and congratulated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on his amazing play during the past two weeks. This victory in Riga nets Mamedyarov 24,000 euros and propels him to the shared lead in the FIDE Grand Prix Series. He and the Russian Alexander Grischuk total 10 points from the two events they took part in. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave earned 14,000 euros in Riga and is also in good shape in the Grand Prix race, as he occupies the fourth place with 8 points just behind Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia. It must be noted that these two players will be able to gain points from the last two Grand Prix events in Hamburg and Tel Aviv, unlike Mamedyarov and Grischuk who will take part in only one of these. At the end of the four Grand Prix tournaments in December, the best two finishers will qualify to next year’s Candidates Tournament. The winner of that event will become the challenger of Magnus Carlsen in the 2020 World Championhip match. Final, overall result: Mamedyarov – Vachier-Lagrave 5 – 4 Pictures can be downloaded from Dropbox. Text by Press Officer Yannick Pelletier; Photo courtesy: World Chess Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Riga 2019 include: EG Capital Advisors as the Official Partner PhosAgro as the Official Strategic Partner Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain Partner Information for the press: https://worldchess.com/news/2189Official website https://worldchess.com/news/2089 About FIDEThe International Chess Federation (FIDE), is recognized by its members and the International
FIDE President met with Dr. Latif Bahand, Afghan Ambassador to Russia
On July 23rd, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich met with Dr. Latif Bahand, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Russian Federation. A thorough dialogue took place on how to strengthen cooperation between FIDE and this Asian country. At present, there are about 1800 registered players in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, including 5 FM, 6 CM players, although, according to unofficial data, the total number of chess fans reaches 10000. It was noted that the first Trainers’ and Arbiters’ seminars will be organized on August 1-3 in Kabul. This was made possible thanks to FIDE financial assistance through projects of the Global Strategy Commission. August 21st marks 100 years’ anniversary of Afghanistan independence. This year also commemorates the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Afghanistan. In this regard, the FIDE President proposed to organize a match between the young chess players of the two countries. Also the issue of Afghan youth referral to study chess specialization in the Russian universities and other aspects of bilateral cooperation were discussed. Arkady Dvorkovich stressed that FIDE is ready to sign an agreement with the national federation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on the above areas of cooperation. Berik Balgabaev, Advisor to FIDE President, Mr. Mohtaat Homayoun, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Afghanistan, and Mr. Ajmal Mangal took part in the conversation. Incidentally, before arriving in Moscow, Mr. Khomayun was a technical adviser to the Afghanistan Сhess Federation. Ambassador Latif Bahand is a great connoisseur and translator of Russian poetry and literature.