FIDE Online Olympiad Base Division: Preview
FIDE Online Olympiad starts on July 25 with matches in the Base Division, where 30 teams divided into three pools will fight for 12 seats in Division 4 – the next stage of this competition, scheduled for July 29-31. A total of 163 teams registered for the tournament, but the strongest squads will engage in a battle in a few weeks. Usually, at live Olympiads, the teams that can’t boast of the world’s best players in their lineups are not in the spotlight, as the general chess audience focuses on favorites. The unique format of FIDE Online Olympiad gives us a chance to take a closer look at the teams bereft of chess stars but united by a sincere love for the game and a strong desire to develop and make progress. The qualifying format of tournaments in divisions also allows us to make some predictions and try to figure out the teams that will advance to the next stage. Base Division consists of the teams that either have not performed well at the last live Olympiads or did not participate at all (five teams are making a debut at FIDE Online Olympiad: Bhutan, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Laos, and Saint Lucia). Four teams from each Base Division pool will qualify for Division 4. Pool A (Brunei Darussalam, Bhutan, Guam, Laos, Oman, Macau, Somalia, Pakistan, Fiji, Myanmar) Myanmar is a clear favorite in this group – with 3 IM (Wynn Zaw Htun, Nay Oo Kyaw Tun and Myint Han) in its ranks, this team will most likely take first place and a spot in Division 4, in which it is going to be one of the favorites as well. Myanmar chessplayers have been playing online a lot lately and this format suits this rapidly growing chess country very well. Brunei Darussalam also looks like a strong contender for a slot in Division 4 – all the players of this team headed by FM Azahari Aliuddin have FIDE rating. Since the two main favorites of group A will clash in the first round this match promises to be the centerpiece of the starting day. As for the teams taking two other qualification spots, it is a tough call. If we use rating as the main reference, then Fiji, Guam, and Oman are going to contest for third and four places in this pool. On the other hand, it is hard to evaluate the level of players who have not participated in international tournaments and have no FIDE rating. It might be very interesting to follow the Pakistani team – chess has just begun to grow in this country, but who knows, maybe the local federation already managed to find some future champions. Pool B (Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Qatar, Burundi, San Marino, Liberia, Gambia, Gabon, Bahrain) There is a clear favorite in this group as well – Lebanon put together a strong, balanced team headed IM Eid Fadi with two WFMs on women’s boards. Two neighboring countries Qatar and Bahrain also have a very good chance to qualify for Division 4. Both teams are staffed with experienced players. With a well-known GM Hicham Hamdouchi as a coach, Qatar is headed by IM Nezd Husein Aziz. Burundi turned in the best performance among all Base Division teams at the last Olympiad in Batumi and will try to prove that it was not a fluke. One of the two European teams in Base Division – San Marino – enlisted just six players and will have to play all matches without substitutions. Pool С (Cyprus, Cayman Islands, Mauritania, Aruba, Libya, Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Cape Verde, Grenada) In this most unpredictable group three teams – Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, and Grenada (that registered at the last moment) – make debut in such a high-level competition. Most likely they will have a hard time fighting with, say, Haiti, on equal terms. Indeed, Haiti has no stars in its lineup but all the team members are quite experienced players with FIDE rating. Apart from Haiti, team Cyprus with the head of FIDE Social Commission FM Paris Klerides playing under its banner looks like a strong candidate to progress to Division 4. It will be interesting to watch Cape Verde in action – the highest-rated player in Base Division IM Ortega Amarelle Mariano competes for this island nation but his teammates lack chess experience. The matches in Base Division will be held over July 25-27 with three rounds of speed chess (15+5) played every day. FIDE.com and the official website of the FIDE Online Olympiad will be covering the competition daily. More information on the official website: https://olymp.fide.com
Legends of Chess: Carlsen and Svidler share top spot
Online chess saw a historic moment today as two of the world’s greatest ever players created a game full of finesse that was immediately branded a new “immortal”. India’s veteran former world champ Vishy Anand, 50, and fellow former title-holder Vladimir Kramnik, 45, astonished fans watching the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess with arguably the best game ever played in an online super-tournament. Former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov said the thrilling see-saw encounter was “history in the making” and “a legend in itself” as the action unfolded. On social media, fans tuning into the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event, broadcast online in 10 languages, said the epic was “truly the game of the year” and a “masterpiece”. However, the game – the first of today’s Round 3 – ended in heartbreak for the evergreen Anand as he missed his winning chance under time pressure and cracked. After being on the receiving end of Anand’s brilliance, Kramnik’s equally-inspired defensive play held out and he took the point. It didn’t stop fans and commentators alike proclaiming it one of Anand’s greatest games. International Master Tania Sachdev, speaking on chess24’s live show, said: “I don’t think this immoral was ruined by Vlad, I actually think Vlad contributed to making this because it takes two. Vishy showed excellent tactical ideas and big Vlag came up with immense resources.” The first-game loss was devastating for Anand who crumbled in game 2 and then couldn’t stop Kramnik getting the draw he needed to win the match 2.5-0.5. Kramnik said afterward: “It was fun and games in the first game, yeah.” Before he admitted: “I’m sure it was lost at some point.” He added: “I think it was difficult for Vishy to get back to his senses after the first game.” In the other matches, Russia’s number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi wrapped it up in three games against Anish Giri with a 2.5-0.5 score. Peter Leko, another one of the veterans taking part in the battle of the generations event, put up a strong fight against Magnus Carlsen. But in game 4 the reigning World Champion turned the screw against Leko and broke through to secure the tie 2.5-1.5 and stand equal top of the leaderboard. Carlsen admitted afterward that Leko, who came out of retirement to play in the tournament, had caused him serious problems. “For sure,” Carlsen said. “Especially of course in the third game because I was quite lost so overall winning this in regulation [time] was a big, big ask.” The Norwegian was joined on 9 points by eight-time Russian champion Peter Svidler who continued his excellent form with a 2.5-1.5 win over Boris Gelfand. Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Ding Liren‘s miserable streak continued as he was beaten 2.5-1.5 by Vasyl Ivanchuk. It was Ding’s third reverse in a row and puts him in serious danger of being knocked out. Today was the third day of the round-robin battle for four places in the Legends of Chess semi-finals. The event, the fourth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August. Tournament rules and schedule The time control will be a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed. The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST. Highlights in English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
163 countries take part in the Online Chess Olympiad
The International Chess Federation partners with Gazprom, Ugra, and Chess.com to launch the biggest online chess event of 2020 The International Chess Federation (FIDE), one of the oldest sporting bodies in the world, is about to launch its biggest online event since its foundation. Teams from 163 countries will battle over a virtual chessboard between July 24 and August 30 to win the first-ever Online Chess Olympiad. Each team will consist of six players, in a mixed format with a minimum of three female players and two junior players. The event is FIDE’s response to the postponement of the “traditional” Chess Olympiad, which was planned to take place between Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia) in August 2020. Involving more than 3,000 participants, the event was rescheduled to 2021, shortly after the IOC had also announced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games. With the support of Gazprom as General Partner, the government of the Ugra region as Official Partner, and Chess.com as the playing platform, the first FIDE Online Olympiad is the latest example of how chess has adapted to the coronavirus crisis. Despite having to cancel all official events played over the board -including flagship competitions like the Candidates Tournament and the World Championship match-, chess has thrived during the global lockdown. The initial ranking is topped by Russia, followed by China, USA, Armenia, and Ukraine. The Chinese, absolute winners of the 2018 Chess Olympiad both in the Open and Women’s sections, have also won the Online Nations Cup, played last May. Russia (2599) China (2595) USA (2535) Armenia (2453) Ukraine (2441) Azerbaijan (2434) India (2419) Germany (2419) Cuba (2413) Poland (2401)… 163 teams in total. Average rating including reserve players. The time control will be rapid, with 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move. The event will consist of two stages: the “Divisions stage”, and the Play-offs stage, from Round of 16 to the final. Since the Online Olympiad is a mixed event, for pairing purposes the ranking was established in accordance with the final standings of the last “Gaprindashvili Cup”, which combines the results in the open and women’s sections at the Batumi Chess Olympiad 2018. More information on the official website:https://olymp.fide.com