Levon Aronian wins Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz
Levon Aronian is the sole winner of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, the 4th leg of the Grand Chess Tour. He takes home $37.500 and 13 GCT points, jumping to the third spot in the overall series standings, after Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Magnus Carlsen. This is his second victory in this event, that he already won in 2017. Both Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave rocketed in rapid, which brings twice as many points, and slowed down in blitz. However, in the end, Aronian was just a little more solid (despite being defeated by the Frenchman in the very last round!). Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished tied for second, just half a point behind the winner. In the event where “everything went wrong” for him, Magnus Carlsen lost as many as 10 games in rapid and blitz. “My confidence is long gone. You’re probably going to see more of the same tomorrow”, said the world champion in the interview after the first day of blitz. That is indeed what happened: 4,5 out of 9 on the final day and the place in the lower part of the table. The World Champion will have barely two days to restore his confidence and heal his wounds, since the action in Saint Louis will resume on August 17th with the Sinquefield Cup. Games, video replays and other info at the official website: Grand Chess Tour Levon Aronian. Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour.
FIDE abolishes entry fees for the World Senior Championship
The Presidential Board received the proposal of waiving the entry fee for the participants in the World Senior Championships. This proposal was met with unanimous approval at the 2nd quarter of 2019 meeting. In view of this, the FIDE President has decided: 1. To abolish the aforementioned fee, starting from the World Senior Championship 2019. 2. To request from the General Assembly to confirm the above decision of the President, making the necessary amendments to the FIDE Financial Regulations. 3. To issue a full refund to all participants who had already registered. We would like to take the chance to remind you that the registration deadline for this event is September 11th, 2019. Below you will find more information. Bucharest will host the 29th edition of World Senior Championship, from November 11th (arrival day) to November 24th (departure day). The initial prize fund of 16,000 Euro offered by the organizers was increased by the International Chess Federation with another 30,000, as part of FIDE’s strategy of supporting senior chess. Hence, the prize fund amounts to a very attractive 46,000 Euro. The venue is the four-star Rin Grand Hotel, and the playing hall is the 950 sqm “Bucharest” conference hall, located within the hotel. The organizers are preparing side activities with the aim to make participants enjoy their stay in Bucharest: city tours and visits to interesting places, a blitz tournament, wine tastings, and others. The 2019 edition of World Senior Championship is a great occasion for senior players (amateurs, retired and successful active players alike), to take part in a top chess tournament, to explore an attractive city like Bucharest, and to share some good moments with other chess friends. The event is sponsored by Orange, Turkish Airlines, Aqua Carpatica, BIC and Promotop, and it counts with the support of Agerpress, the national press agency. Official website: www.worldseniors2019.comFacebook page: www.facebook.com/fideseniors2019