Magnus Carlsen Tour Finals: Carlsen draws level with Ding
Magnus Carlsen got himself back on level terms in his signature Tour Finals semi today after a shock opening loss yesterday. The World Champion was in complete control as he raced into a 2-0 lead against Ding Liren and then got the draw he needed for a 2.5-0.5 win. It comes after a drama-filled match yesterday saw Carlsen suffer a technical glitch and go on to lose to Ding in a tense tiebreaker. Speaking about today’s quick result, Carlsen said: “I guess it’s good for our mental health!” Carlsen and Ding are now 1-1 in their best-of-five tie in the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals benefiting Kiva. The event carries a $140,000 top prize and is the climax of Carlsen’s $1 million signature tour, the richest and most prestigious online chess event ever. Asked if he had extra motivation today, Carlsen said afterward: “Obviously today was crucial in the sense that I couldn’t really afford to lose.” Carlsen, the winner of three of the four qualifying tournaments for this event, added: “In general, I played a good match today and I felt I was in control.” On yesterday’s loss, Carlsen said: “I lost one game by not registering that my opponent had moved.” In the other semi, Daniil Dubov and Hikaru Nakamura were neck-and-neck after two games until the popular American pulled away 2-1 in Game 3. With Nakamura needing just a draw in Game 4, it was a must-win for Dubov and the young Russian was forced to push. But Dubov’s risky play didn’t pay off and Nakamura rode out the attack to take the game and win the match by a convincing 3-1 margin. Nakamura now has 2 sets to 0 lead in the tie with just one more needed to book a place in the grand final. Day 3 of the Tour Finals starts at 16:00 CEST tomorrow with Carlsen-Ding and Nakamura-Dubov playing their third sets. Supporting Kiva Broadcaster chess24 has pledged 50 percent of new Premium memberships bought during its Tour Final to Kiva’s Global COVID-19 Response fund that aims to raise at least $50 million for entrepreneurs and small businesses impacted by COVID‑19. During the event, chess24 and Kiva will highlight stories where chess has changed people’s lives under the official tournament social media hashtag #ImpactChess. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the Tour Final and support small businesses impacted by COVID-19 by signing up for a premium subscription here. More details on the Finals The Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour was devised by Norway’s World Champion and chess24 after traditional over the board chess was halted suddenly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tour Final kicks off on August 9 and runs until August 20. It is the culmination of four elite-level super-tournaments that began in March as a way of getting chess started again while other sports worldwide were prohibited. The first four stages of the first Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour were: The Magnus Carlsen Invitational The Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge The Chessable Masters The chess24 Legends of Chess Four players have qualified for the final crescendo of chess after being the best performers during the preceding tour events. The winner of the Tour Final, which has a total prize pot of $300,000, will scoop a top prize of $140,000 and the title of Champion of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. Tournament rules and schedule The Tour Final will be a 12-day event running from August 9 to August 20. Time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. The semi-finals of the Tour Final tournament will be a best of 5 four-game mini-matches. The final will be a best of 7 mini-matches. As usual, play will start at 16:00 CEST. Highlights English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_QSmtZoiwL24EGuZSEmi1UR5j4hInR0u?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12mwKPkAfzeyfzd1Gay-FU5dJ8uU6OXMY?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Division 3: Day 3 Round-up
Intrigue remained till the last round in virtually all the pools of Division 3, but as it often happens, we saw the most unpredictable and breathtaking ending in the groups where things had been quiet over the first two days. Pool A The script in this pool seemed quite trivial – Singapore and Albania would advance, whereas the third spot would be on the stake in the match between Malaysia and Monaco that recovered after a disastrous start. However, Ireland had its own agenda – not only football players from this country are known for their obstinacy and determination. Ireland was on a fire on Sunday. First, the players from Emerald Island unexpectedly beat Albania 4:2 (both Albanian IMs were defeated), then routed two underdogs and punched the second ticket to Division 2 after the leader, team Singapore. On the contrary, Albania nearly missed its spot in Division 2 that seemed guaranteed. After losing to Ireland the team drew with Syria, but the competitors did not seize this opportunity – in Round 8 both Malaysia and Monaco suffered unexpected defeats. By winning the last-round match Albania secured the third place whereas Malaysia’s wiping out Monaco 5:1 did not help the Asian team. The biggest surprise in this pool is Monaco’s setback. The Monegasques lacked strong young players whereas leaders turned in a patchy performance. Pool B The surprises began from the very start of the final day in this pool. In Round 7 Sri Lanka prevailed over IPCA and took the lead. Unfortunately, the team stumbled in the match against Portugal. Isuru Alahakoon (White) playing for the island nation on second board lost the position below: Isuru Alahakoon – Jose Guilherme Santos As a result, Sri Lanka lost this decisive match by a minimal margin, then feeling upset got beaten by Botswana and finished just fifth. As for Portugal, with this Round 8 victory, the team pretty much secured the first place in the final standings. Scotland scored three confident wins and came second. The third spot was at stake in the match Tajikistan – IPCA. The Tajik players badly needed a victory and they quickly pulled ahead 2:0, but failed to hold the lead – after IPCA won three games even a full point on the first board could not change anything for Tajikistan. Team IPCA will continue its quest in Division 2. Pool С The situation took a dramatic turn in this group with the third team advancing to Division 2 only thanks to better tiebreaks after the first two spots were booked by the rating-favorites Belgium and Jordan. Many thought that the third team to qualify had been determined in Round 8, when Thailand clobbered Kosovo 5.5:0.5. Prin Laohawirapap, a revelation of the event, carried out another brutal, although semi-correct attack. However, the team lacks experience and overall consistency. Indeed, in the last round match in which Thailand was OK with a draw, the Thai players started crumbling. It became clear soon enough, that Thailand would lose to Wales which meant that а victory over Lebanon would promote Zambia in Division 2. The Zambians quickly earned three points, but did not manage to pull it off – Chitumbo Mwali, who had won all the games before that, blundered in a slightly inferior but drawing endgame, whereas on the first board we saw a real tragedy: Richmond Phiri – Fadi Eid Black has compensation that is sufficient for a draw but hardly more. However, IM Fadi Eid pushed for a win and played 39…Nb2? Had the leader of team Zambia Richmond Phiri found a spectacular 40.с5! we would have seen this interesting African team in the next stage. Unfortunately, he opted for 40.Bf3?? and after 40…Nxc4 White found himself in a hopeless position. Zambia forfeited three points in the first two rounds and deserved better than fourth place, but it is really hard not to rejoice in Thailand’s success (the only team that managed to make all the way from Division 4 to Division 2). The upcoming encounters against grandmasters in Division 2 will be an invaluable experience for the Thai players. Pool D The only intrigue remaining in this pool was Denmark’s fighting for the third qualifying spot. It looked like the Danes would advance smoothly thanks to weaker opponents in last rounds, but in reality, it came down to the wire in the end. Denmark completed its mission by scoring three confident victories, but Venezuela’s win over an ex-leader Bolivia in Round 8, could have cast the Scandinavian team overboard. In order to take third place, Venezuela had to beat Uruguay in the last round match. In all fairness, Venezuela had no winning chances – the match ended 3:3 with one of the Uruguayan players losing on the clock in a winning position. As a result, Denmark caught up with Venezuela on match points but overtook it on board points. Chile and Bolivia took first and second places respectively. Pool E The situation in this pool seemed to be the most complicated but surprisingly enough the dust settled quickly. Mexico demolished the opponents in three matches and mounted to its “legit” first position. Costa-Rica also progressed into Division 2 although the team had to grind out points in all the final day matches. Guatemala also scored three match victories and took third place, but did it by the skin of its teeth. In the match with Nicaragua, the Guatemalans had hopeless positions on almost all the boards, but fortune favored them on Sunday. As a result, three highest-rated teams occupied three first places in this seemingly most unpredictable pool. In conclusion, let’s have a look at the full list of the teams to advance in Division 2, which gets underway on August 14: BelgiumChileSingaporeMexicoPortugalIPCACosta RicaBoliviaIrelandJordanScotlandAlbaniaDenmarkGuatemalaThailand
UPDATE: Chess ID game viewer, Call for offers
UPDATE: Lausanne, September 7, 2020 The Chess ID Game Viewer Call for Offers Procedure has been completed. We are thankful to those who showed their interest. However, FIDE didn’t receive any proposal which would satisfy in full its requirements, and, as per Art 12.3 and 12.5 of the Chess ID Game Viewer Call for Offers Procedure, FIDE has decided not to declare a winner. We are committed to protecting and promoting fair market competition, as well as encouraging new entrants and innovative solutions. FIDE explicitly seeks to prevent any company from establishing a monopoly in the marketplace. We will continue the dialogue with various parties in order to identify a suitable solution for introducing the Chess ID Game Viewer. #### #### #### August 10, 2020 FIDE is pleased to announce the opening of a Call for Offers procedure to evaluate market conditions and to consider granting the right to develop a software application (Game Viewer) to broadcast online FIDE and not FIDE-organized chess events. The Game Viewer shall be a browser-run application enabling FIDE to display live and recorded chess games in PGN format, to be displayed in user-friendly and custom format to world chess audience taking into consideration existing solutions and aiming at top visual and technical performance. The Game Viewer will be the first module of the Chess ID platform, a digital ecosystem to be built on several modules with the objective to provide effective services and tools for the worldwide chess family (National Federations, players, tournament organizers, chess servers, commercial and business partners, chess fans, media, etc.). All technical requirements and detailed information regarding the Call for Offers procedure are available in the attached documents. All Offers shall be submitted to FIDE via e-mail at office@fide.com before 12:00 UTC on August 24, 2020. Documentation (pdf): 1 – Procedure 2 – Procedure Request for Proposals (Annex 1) 3 – Technical Data Sheet (Annex 2)
FIDE increases support to chess veterans
UPDATE: FIDE increases support to chess veterans to an unprecedented €56.000 On July 30, FIDE announced the continuation of our support program to chess veterans: a relief fund of €15,000 was added to the €35,000 that had already been distributed in April 2020. Today was the deadline for submissions and we have been overwhelmed by the number of requests we have received, totaling more than 30. It is obvious that this help is needed now more than ever. In view of that, the FIDE management considered options and found a possibility to increase this second round of financial aid from €15,000 to €21,000. It is our hope that even this modest increase will make a difference, allowing us to extend our support to three more distinguished seniors. With this further increase, the amount allocated for this purpose goes up to an unprecedented €56.000. The dedicated panel assigned by FIDE Council will now consider the applications we have received, and the list of awardees will be announced shortly. The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of its support to chess veterans. As it was previously published, an amount of €35,000 has already been distributed in April 2020 among 17 illustrious chess veterans. Now, a dedicated panel assigned by FIDE Council to this task will consider applications to distribute an additional relief fund of €15,000, increasing the total to a record €50,000. We understand these are challenging times, especially for our seniors, and we will do our utmost to try and provide support to those who are in need. Eligible to receive these stipends are any distinguished players, trainers, authors, and promoters of chess aged 65+, who have contributed to the development of chess and who are in an unstable financial situation. We invite federations, clubs, and players themselves to send their applications, including a CV of the nominee, to the FIDE Secretariat: office@fide.com. The deadline for submissions is August 10, 2020.