The 2020 Candidates Tournament officially opened in Yekaterinburg
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is pleased to announce the opening of the 2020 Candidates Tournament, which is taking place in Yekaterinburg (Russia) The eight-player Candidates tournament is one of the most prestigious global chess events, held every two years. The event will determine who will challenge the defender Magnus Carlsen for the title of the World Chess Champion. This year’s event has a prize fund of 500,000 Euros, which is the highest ever in the history of the Candidates tournaments. The players taking part in the Candidates are Fabiano Caruana (USA), Ding Liren (China), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Anish Giri (The Netherlands), Wang Hao (China) and Kirill Alekseenko (Russia). The opening ceremony took place at the “Ekaterinburg Expo” congress center. Speakers at the Opening Ceremony were Evgeny Kuyvashev (Governor of the Sverdlovsk Oblast (Region)), FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the President of the Sverdlovsk Chess Federation Andrey Simanovsky as well as the Regional Corporate Sales Head at Kaspersky Marina Usova. Evgeny Kuyvashev, the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Oblast (Region) said that it is the first time this region is hosting a FIDE Candidates tournament and added: “Our region considers itself one of the leaders of the home [Russian] chess movement and the center for the development of “the chess thought”. Today some 20,000 people professionally play chess in the Sverdlovsk Region, including 2.500 children and teenagers. We are proud of our chess masters and our young chess talents”. Congratulating the players and chess fans across the world on the start of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich pointed to this event being the most important stage in the qualifying cycle for the World Chess Championship, as it will determine the opponent of the current world champion Magnus Carlsen. “In the coming weeks, we will witness epic battles between eight world’s leading chess players. They went through the toughest selection process in the previous few months to compete for the right to challenge for the world chess crown in Yekaterinburg”. FIDE president also reflected on the fact that the Tournament is held in the environment of an alarming situation with the spread of COVID-19. “I would like to note that in terms of medical safety measures, the Tournament organizing Committee fully follows the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the IOC and Rospotrebnadzor and fulfills all the prescribed requirements. We also ask for maximum support from the chess community, the media, and all of you”. “Once again, I would like to welcome the participants of the FIDE Candidates Tournament and wish them memorable combinations and spectacular victories. And let the Tournament bring only joy and new positive emotions to all the fans”, Dvorkovich concluded. The mayor of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Vysokinsky highlighted the importance of this event for the local community, adding “we will try to do everything in our power so that this event is held according to highest standards, so everyone could enjoy!” One of the speakers at the ceremony was Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov, the 12th World Champion in chess, who himself comes from the Ural region. Karpov emphasized the uniqueness of the tournament for the region and spoke about efforts made to develop chess education, including at the Ural Federal University. The President of the Sverdlovsk Chess Federation Andrey Simanovsky, as well as the Regional Corporate Sales Head at Kaspersky Marina Usova joined the speakers in wishing the players good luck in the tournament. This year’s Candidates Tournament is held from March 16 to April 3. The First Round starts on March 17 at 4 PM local time (noon CET; 11 AM GMT). The pairings for the First Round: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) – Fabiano Caruana (USA)Ding Liren (China) – Wang Hao (China)Anish Giri (The Netherlands) – Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)Alexander Grischuk (Russia) – Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) More information about the event can be found here. The Partners: Sima Land – the title sponsor of the FIDE Candidates TournamentAlgorand – official blockchain partnerKaspersky – official cybersecurity partnerPJSC PhosAgro – General partner of the CFRMercedes-Benz Russia – Official car partnerPine Creek Golf Resort and SILA International Lawyers – partners Relevant links and contacts: Official website: https://en.candidates-2020.com/ FIDE website: https://www.fide.com Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region: http://www.ural-chess.com Information about the partners: https://en.candidates-2020.com/partners Press inquiries: press@fide.com
Arkady Dvorkovich: Safety is our priority
A pre-press event for the 2020 Candidates took place earlier today at the Sverdlovsk Journalists’ Union, where the organisers, local officials, the public and Russian media were introduced to the programme and the organisation of the upcoming tournament. Present at the conference were the Sverdlovsk Region Deputy Governor Alexey Orlov, the president of the International Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich, the former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and the President of the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region Andrey Simanovsky. They were joined by the Regional Corporate Sales Head at Kaspersky Marina Usova, as well as one of the participants of the Candidates, Russian GM Kirill Alekseenko. Speaking on behalf of the regional authorities, Deputy Governor Alexey Orlov said that it is a “great honour for Sverdlovsk to be hosting the Candidates Tournament”. He added that the Sverdlovsk Region has “thoroughly prepared for the event” and that they are “putting a lot of effort into ensuring that all competitive events are organised to the highest safety standards necessary today”. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich thanked the regional government as well as the Chess Federation of Russia on organising the tournament: “This is a big event not just for the chess world but, possibly, for the whole sporting community since almost all international competitions have been cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus”. Dvorkovich added that the International Chess Federation put special emphasis on minimising all health risks for the participants and everyone involved in the event: “We cleared all the health safety issues including medical screenings and tests with the Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), and the Ministry of Public Health. We took precautionary measures, following recommendations by WHO, IOC, and Rospotrebnadzor. The participants, media, organizers, and spectators will be separated, and the latter will not be permitted to enter the playing hall. We expect these measures to be sufficient for the players’ safety, bearing in mind that this is not a mass event.” Dvorkovich added that, due to the concerns, all additional mass events (tournaments, simuls) planned for the Candidates have been cancelled. Despite the spectators not being able to attend the playing hall, Dvorkovich pointed out that there will be live commentary, in English, Russian and Chinese, which will be streamed online. Andrey Simanovsky, who heads the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region, emphasized there has never been an event of such magnitude in Yekaterinburg, adding that this will be “a good impulse to promoting chess in the region”. “I became a president of the regional chess federation rather recently, but already I recognize how exciting the chess world is, and how many extraordinary people are here. In my opinion, chess is the most peaceful, intelligent, and prestigious sport”, he added. Afterwards, Simanovsky showed medals which will be awarded to the top three players of the Candidates Tournament. Cybersecurity and chess The official cyber-security partner of the Candidates Tournament is Kaspersky. Marina Usova, Head of Corporate Sales at Kaspersky, has said that her company is “happy to be involved in a mind sport like chess, which cannot be imagined without the use of computer algorithms”. She drew on similarities between chess and the IT security industry: “There are constant challenges and they require strategic thinking. In cybersecurity, the ability to defend is crucial, as every detail matters. In chess – also. One wrong move can change the course of the game.” W. Sean Ford, COO of Algorand, another sponsor of the event, sent the following message to the participants: “As one of the leading blockchain organizations, we are honoured to join a lineup of other industry-leading partners in supporting chess. We look forward to being a part of the Candidates Tournament in Russia, where chess has been a longstanding tradition and produced some of the most skilled chess players in the world.” Anatoly Karpov: “Energy, health and calm nerves” The 12th World Champion and one of the key people in the Sverdlovsk chess federation, Anatoly Karpov also took spoke at the pre-press event. He shared his thoughts and advice to the players: “In order to win such tournament, one needs energy, health, and steady nerves. Tournament-specific preparation and general opening knowledge as well. The participants of this event won many tournaments during their careers – they are truly cream of the chess world.” Karpov also reflected on the history of chess development in the Urals. “We have never had such a high-level competition in Sverdlovsk Region or in Yekaterinburg. However, the Ural chess school has been developing rapidly in recent years, and the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region is now one of the most active in Russia. I believe this tournament will be held at the highest level. The players have ideal conditions and they will live and play in the same hotel”. One of the Candidates, Kirill Alekseenko: Playing for a win Kirill Alekseenko, the wild-card participant of the Candidates, was also present at the pre-press event. He expressed his gratitude for being invited, adding: “Naturally, I will be playing for a win, as only the first place gives a chance to challenge Magnus Carlsen.” The official Opening Ceremony of the Yekaterinburg 2020 Candidates Tournament will take place at 7 PM local time on March 16 at the Congress Centre – Ekaterinburg Expo. First games are played on March 17.
Introducing Candidates: Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Caruana (USA)Born: June 30, 1992 (27 years old)Rating: 2842Qualified as the Challenger in the World Championship match 2018 The third child in a large Italian family, Fabiano Caruana was born in Miami and spent his childhood in the US. Fabiano’s remarkable chess abilities became evident from an early age, and his father, a club-level player, dedicated his life to his son and made everything possible to realize his potential. In America, Fabiano was trained by Miron Sher. At the age of 12, the young chess player, together with his parents, moved to Europe. First, they settled in Spain, where Fabiano was trained by Boris Zlotnik for several years. Then, Caruana’s family put down their roots in Budapest, so that Fabiano could work with Alexander Chernin. The young chess player wasn’t even 15 when he became a grandmaster. Fabiano changed his federation to Italian and started steadily improving his tournament record, participating in numerous events (Biel, in New Delhi, Reykjavik, Dortmund, Zurich, and Wijk aan Zee). A new partnership with Vladimir Chuchelov proved to be very fruitful as the Italian grandmaster advanced rapidly. He firmly established himself in the top 10 players in the world and after a victory in Dortmund (2014), surpassed the 2800 rating mark. Fabiano did not stop there. Playing the Sinquefield Cup, an event featuring six of the world’s top-10 players, Caruana turned in a phenomenal result – he scored 8.5 points out of 10 and overtook the second-place finisher, the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, by three points, adding 30 rating points along the way with a first-place finish. In 2015, Caruana returned under the American banner and qualified for the Candidates Tournament held in Moscow in March 2016. Fabiano was in contention for first place until the final round in which he lost the winner-takes-all game to Sergey Karjakin. The same year he won the Olympiad (Baku 2016) with his new team playing on the first board. Caruana is a very versatile chess player equally good in openings, positional maneuvering, and endgames. His distinguishing feature is unparalleled concentration over the board. Fabiano’s second attempt to qualify for the match with the World Champion was successful – after winning the Candidates tournament in Berlin (2018) Caruana crossed swords with Magnus Carlsen. The World Championship match in London was a very close one: after all 12 games with classical time control were drawn, the Word Champion prevailed only in a tiebreak. At the beginning of this year, Fabiano reached a new high after delivering an extraordinary performance in the Tata Steel Masters 2020. Caruana finished a clear first, two points ahead of Magnus Carlsen. The American enters the Candidates Tournament as the rating favorite. Will he succeed one more time? We will find out in three weeks. Caruana – Ponomariov (Dortmund 2014) 39. Re7! Qxe7 40. Ba6! Kxa6 41. Qa8# (“One of the mostsatisfying combinations I have ever played!” – Fabiano Caruana)
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FIDE Candidates Tournament opens today in Yekaterinburg Dzagnidze clinches victory in Lausanne New FIDE Charter approved USA (+50) and Russia (+65) win gold at the World Senior Team Championship Mercedes-Benz is the official auto partner of the Candidates Tournament READ NEWSLETTER