World Cup: Quarterfinals are set
The tie-breaks of Round 4 were played in the Ugra Chess Academy on September 22. Two out of five matches were decided in rapid chess. After Alexander Grischuk and Leinier Dominguez drew their first game, the Russian prevailed in the second one with White. Most likely his American vis-à-vis missed something in the complications arising after 24…c5. Grischuk emerged with a piece for two pawns, won the game and advanced to the quarters. Ding Liren defeated Kirill Alekseenko i both rapid games and also progressed to the quarterfinals. His next opponent is none other than Alexander Grischuk. Levon Aronian and Le Quang Liem drew both rapid games. Aronian, the defending champion of the World Cup, was at risk of losing the second game, but luck was on his side. Having caught the tailwind, the Armenian grandmaster was in full command in 10-minute games and advanced to the next round. The Azerbaijani derby Mamedyarov – Radjabov started with two draws in rapid chess, although in the first game Teimour was on the ropes. The first 10-minute game also ended in a draw, however, the streak was broken in the next encounter, won by Teimour Radjabov with Black. “It was probably the most annoying pairing. Whenever you win or lose, it is more or less the same. One of us had to qualify; this time it was me, but it was super-unpleasant pairing. We both had chances to get place for Azerbaijan in the upcoming Candidates if we would have been in the different brackets,” commented the winner on the psychological context of the match with his teammate and friend. Jeffrey Xiong and Jan-Krzysztof Duda did not lose their fighting spirit on the tie-break day and went virtually all the way. The opponents exchanged blows in both rapid games and 10-minute games with all victories coming to a player with the white pieces. The first blitz game ended in a draw, but in the second one Xiong scored the victory and scraped through to the next stage. The first games of the quarterfinals will be played on September 23. Quarterfinals: Grischuk – Ding Liren Xiong – Radjabov Aronian – Vachier-Lagrave Vitiugov – Yu Yangyi Photo Video The competition is organized by the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, International Chess Federation (FIDE), Ugra Chess Federation, and Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. Official website: https://khantymansiysk2019.fide.com/en/ General partner – Gazpromneft-Khantos LCC.Official airline – Utair.Official partners of the competition: OJSC Rostelecom, Ugra Chess Academy, Russian Chess Federation, AB InBev Efes and PJSC Rosneft.FIDE official partner – JSCo “RZD”.General media partner – News Agency TASS.Media partners – Match TV, World of Chess social network, OTRC “Ugra”, Ugra-news.ru News of Ugra regional newspaper, AIF-Ugra newspaper.
Kazakhstan reigns supreme in Asian Senior Championship
Talal Alzaim (Syria) and Tolegen Nukin (Kazakhstan) triumphed in the 50+ and 65+ categories, respectively, in the Asian Seniors Chess Championship organized by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. The event was held under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation from 8th to 18th of September 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Almaty hosted the Asian senior Championship for the first time: 70 chess players from 16 countries came to the largest Kazakhstan city. Local players took the entire pedestal in the 65+ category and won silver and bronze medals in the 50+ category. Elena Ankudinova from Pavlodar won the gold in the women’s section in the 50+ category for the former world champion among seniors. Nadezhda Iskichekova of Almaty took first place in the 65+ category.In the blitz and rapid championships, Kazakhstan swept a full set of medals. Serikbay Temirbayev took the gold in the category 50+ whereas Tolegen Nukin did the same in the 65+ category. In blitz 50+ and 65+ categories, the best results were shown by Jamshed Isaev from Tajikistan and Sabyr Syzdykov from Kazakhstan respectively. “I would like to note the high level of organization of the championship,” said the Australian participant Peter Frost, “It was one of the best tournaments of all ten Asian championships among seniors in history. We, for our part, will be happy to host Kazakhstan athletes and repay them with the same warm welcome.” Final results: Blitz 50+ Men 1. Jamshed Isaev (TJK) 2. Aziz Umarbekov (KGZ) 3. Serikbay Temirbayev (KAZ) Women 1. Yelena Ankudinova (KAZ) 2. Helen Milligan (NZL) 3. Nurgul Ilanbekova (KAZ) Blitz 65+ Men 1. Sabyr Syzdykov (KAZ) 2. Sergey Sidorov (KAZ) 3. Marat Primbetov (KAZ) Women 1. Iskichekova Nadezhda (KAZ) 2. Zinaida Yagunova (KAZ) 3. Panu Abdikasova (KAZ) Rapid 50+ Men 1. Serikbay Temirbayev (KAZ) 2. Oleg Golovchuk (KAZ) 3. Valeriy Min (KAZ) Women 1. Ankudinova Yelena (KAZ) 2. Milligan Helen (NZL) 3. Ilanbekova Nurgul (KAZ) Rapid 65+ Men 1. Tolegen Nukin (KAZ) 2. Marat Primbetov (KAZ) 3. Hanif Khusainov (KAZ) Women 1. Nadezhda Iskichekova (KAZ) 2. Zinaida Yagunova (KAZ) 3. Panu Abdikasova (KAZ) Standard 50+ Men 1. Talal Alzaim (SYR) 2. Serikbay Temirbayev (KAZ) 3. Almaz Asanov (KAZ) Women 1. Yelena Ankudinova (KAZ) 2. Nurgul Ilanbekova (KAZ) 3. Helen Milligan (NZL) Standard 65+ Men 1. Tolegen Nukin (KAZ) 2. Mikhail Kashkarov (KAZ) 3. Hanif Khusainov (KAZ) Women 1. Nadezhda Iskichekova (KAZ) 2. Panu Abdikasova (KAZ) 3. Zinaida Yagunova (KAZ)
Koneru heads into the final round on top of the leaderboard
Koneru Humpy made a quick draw and guaranteed herself a place in the top three. Ju Wenjun missed a chance to defeat her Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina in a theoretical endgame. The last round will be decisive, as Koneru and Ju are facing each other. The sole leader of the tournament, Humpy Koneru, and the two times European Women Champion, Kateryna Lagno, made draw just in 23 moves. Lagno used her “main weapon” again: the Petrov’s Defense. Koneru successfully managed to avoid her opponent’s home preparation; she surprised her with a queen’s transfer to the edge of the board, from where it supported her own bishops and guaranteed the draw. The first clash in classical chess between the current World Champion Ju Wenjun and her Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina ended in a draw. Ju chose 1.c4, the English Opening, and obtained a significant advantage in the middle game. After a powerful tactical blow 22.f4 it became more tangible and Ju went to the endgame with an extra pawn. The Chinese player demonstrated an excellent technique in the rook endgame up to some point; however, she missed her best chance on move 57 in a theoretical position, and let the victory slip. This encounter was just a warm-up for the upcoming Women’s World Chess Championship match, which will be split between Shanghai, China, and Vladivostok, Russia, during January 2020. Alina Kashlinskaya won a nice game against the former World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova. The Russian went for a Queens Gambit Accepted, and then offered her rival a “poisoned pawn” on b7 that the Bulgarian accepted. In return, Alina got important central squares, better development, the white king trapped in the center. Again in this tournament, Stefanova fell into time trouble and failed to find the best defense, resigning on move 31. Valentina Gunina outplayed her opponent Harika Dronavalli in a Classical Queen’s Gambit. Harika’s pawn structure went from “hanging pawns” to an “isolated pawn”, and Gunina played precisely to exploit this weakness. Pia Cramling made yet another blunder in this tournament: on this occasion, she resigned prematurely thinking that she was losing a piece after Alexandra Kosteniuk‘s 34…Qa1 move. At first sight, it seems like the Knight on a6 is trapped; however, Cramling could have defended her piece with the indirect attack 35.b4. The little trick was enough to have kept the balance, according to chess engines. German number one female player Elisabeth Paethz split the point with two time French women Champion Marie Sebag. A very sharp position arose from the modern version (4.Ba4) of the Moscow variation. Sebag started a queenside attack and gained space as well as an advantage. However, Paethz reacted just on time, sacrificing an exchange in order to destroy the black king’s defense, and got away with a perpetual check. The last will be played on September 22, one hour earlier than the usual schedule: at 1 pm local time (GMT +3). Spectators can follow the games with English and Russian commentaries: www.youtube.com/fidechannel Official website: https://wgp2019.fide.com
Central Asia Junior Chess Festival started in Tashkent
Central Asia Junior Chess Festival is underway in Tashkent from September 20th to September 30th, 2019. The festival is organized by the Uzbekistan Chess Federation with the support of RosAtom Corporation, FIDE and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. There are three tournaments on the schedule of the festival, including the main event, Central Asian Junior Championship under 20. A special international FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar is also will be held in the course of Central Asia Junior Chess Festival. More than 200 participants from 6 countries – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan – are participating. Funding for the tournament organization, prize fund and various expenses was allocated by the RosAtom Corporation. The champions and prizewinners will be able to complete grandmaster, international master, and FIDE master norms. The first four rating favorites in the main tournament – Central Asia Junior Championship – are Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2608), Nodirbek Yakubboev (2598), Shamsuddin Vokhidov (2519) and Javokhir Sindarov (2513). As the members of the Uzbekistan team, they are the reigning champions of the World Youth Chess Olympiad (2018). The opening ceremony took place on September 21st at 13:30 local time at the International Chess Academy in Tashkent. The ceremony was attended by Aziz Abdukhakimov (Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan), Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov (President of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan), Berik Balgabaev (Advisor to the FIDE President), Vyacheslav Pak (Deputy Director of the National Agency for Project Management under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan), Husan Turdialiev (First Vice President of the Chess Federation of Uzbekistan) and many other honorable guests. Central Asia Junior Chess Festival is the first collaboration between the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, FIDE and RosAtom Corporation.