FIDE announces Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championships
FIDE is pleased to announce a new online competition, aimed at the younger members of the chess community: the FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championships. This event will comprise five different age groups (U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18), competing in two sections: open and girls. A selection stage will take place between November 27 and December 13, with the finals being played in December 19-23. In the selection stage, every FIDE Continent will run a 7-round Swiss tournament for each one of the categories (U10 open, U10 girls, et cetera). Each Member Federation can register one player per each category and, besides, players ranked Continental top-10 in each one of the categories is also invited. The time control for the selection stage will be 10 minutes + 3 seconds increment starting from the first move. The first three winners per category for each FIDE continent will be qualified for the final stage. This will consist of ten separate knock-out tournaments of 16 players. The 12 players who qualified at the selection stage will be joined by 4 players invited by the organizer among the first four-ranked in the world for their age group. Please note that the time control for the finals will be slightly different than during the selection stage, being increased to 15 minutes + 10 seconds. The participants for each championship must not have reached their 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 18th birthday, respectively, before January 1st of the year 2020. This is the complete schedule: All November 27th Arbiter Meeting Africa November 28th CET 16:00, CET 17:30 Rounds 1-2 November 29th CET 16:00, CET 17:30, CET 19:00 Rounds 3-4-5 November 30th CET 16:00, CET 17:30 Rounds 6-7 America December 2nd CET 00:00, CET 01:30 Rounds 1-2 December 3rd CET 00:00, CET 01:30, CET 03:00 Rounds 3-4-5 December 4th CET 00:00, CET 01:30 Rounds 6-7 Europe December 7th CET 16:00, CET 17:30 Rounds 1-2 December 8th CET 16:00, CET 17:30, CET 19:00 Rounds 3-4-5 December 9th CET 16:00, CET 17:30 Rounds 6-7 Asia December 11th CET 10:00, CET 11:30 Rounds 1-2 December 12th CET 10:00, CET 11:30, CET 13:00 Rounds 3-4-5 December 13th CET 10:00, CET 11:30 Rounds 6-7 All December 19th CET 16:00, CET 17:15 and Armageddon First round December 20th CET 16:00, CET 17:15 and Armageddon Quarterfinals December 21th CET 16:00, CET 17:15 and Armageddon Semi-finals December 22th CET 16:00, CET 17:15 and Armageddon Matches for third places December 22th CET 16:00, CET 17:15 and Armageddon Final All December 24th CET 15:00 Closing Ceremony Registrations will be handled by the National Chess Federations through the registration forms that you can find at the official website, www.world2020.ge. You can also find there the complete regulations for the FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championship. The registration deadline is November 15th, 22:00 CET, 2020.
Mariano Ortega takes Cabo Verde championship
The IV Individual Absolute Championship (CNIA) of Cabo Verde took place in the conference room of the Chamber of Commerce of the Barlavento, in Mindelo (S. Vicente Island), from 15th to 18th of October 2020. The organizers, the Cabo Verdean Chess Federation, adopted some strict health security procedures to mitigate the risk of contagion of COVID-19: the mandatory use of a mask, the temperature measurement for all who entered the game room, including guests and the press, and the requirement to disinfect hands with gel sanitizer at the entrance. It was the first and, until now, the only national sports competition held in Cabo Verde during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it a landmark in Cabo Verdean sport. The number of participants in the 7-round Swiss tournament was limited for safety reasons, with 20 players (4 women) representing 6 clubs taking part. The youngest player was a 12-year old Jacira Almeida whereas the oldest participant was Carlos Mões aged 67. The rating favorite IM Mariano Ortega lived up to his reputation – he won all seven games and clinched the title with a round to spare. The final round was decisive in terms of the remaining places on the podium. David Anes Monteiro defeated Célia R. Guevara, caught up with his opponent, and relegated her to third place as the winner of the head-to-head encounter. Best players by category: • Women – Célia R. Guevara • U12 – Jacira Almeida • U16 – Jason Lopes • U18 – Iliano Santos • U20 – Mário Monteiro • S50 – Luis Pina Fernandes • S65 – Carlos Mões Final standings: 1. IM Ortega Amarelle Mariano (2458) – 72. Monteiro Antonio David Cabral Anes (1766) – 53. Rodriguez Guevara Celia M. (1858) – 54. Pereira Eder Marcio (1788) – 4½ 5. Fernandes Luis De Pina (1606) – 4½6. Neves Diogo Alexandre (1573) – 4½7. Fernandes Henry (1619) – 3½8. Fortes Aires (1504) – 3½9. Santos Iliano Silva (0) – 3½10. Miranda Iura (1388) – 3½ Photo: Daniel Lopes