Barrientos and Castrillon Gomez win Colombian Championship
GM Sergio Barrientos and WIM Melissa Castrillon Gomez clinched the titles of Columbian chess champions. The national championship was held in Fusagasuga in open and women sections from December 1 to December 8. Both competitions were 12-player round-robin tournaments with the time control of 90 min /40 moves + 30 min/end +30-sec increment starting from the first move. Sergio Barrientos took the open section by storm scoring 9½ points out of 11. The Medellin-born GM conceded just three draws to his opponents winning eight games. Esteban Valderrama Quiceno finished 1½ points behind the champion and took silver, but most importantly he completed his first GM-norm. David Arenas rounded out the top three claiming bronze. Final standings open: 1. GM Barrientos Sergio (2463) – 9½ 2. IM Valderrama Quiceno Esteban (2424) – 83. GM Arenas David (2452) – 7½4. GM Rios Cristhian Camilo (2464) – 75. IM Sanchez Sebastian Felipe (2431) – 6½6. GM Ruiz Castillo Joshua Daniel (2501) – 6½7. IM Panesso Rivera Henry (2355) – 5½8. FM Soto Miguel Angel (2291) – 59. IM Avila Pavas Santiago (2399) – 410. FM Quinones Garcia Santiago (2233) – 3½11. FM Lozano Ramirez Nestor Favian (2234) – 1½12. FM Becerra Juan David (2351) – 1½ Ironically, the top trio in women’s competition netted the same amount of points as the podium in the open tournament. WIM Melissa Castrillon Gomez was unrivaled in the women’s championship finishing 1½ points clear of WIM Valentina Argote Heredia. Lizeth Chirivi Angie overtook several higher-rated opponents and secured bronze. Finals standings women: 1. WIM Castrillon Gomez Melissa (2172) – 9½2. WIM Argote Heredia Valentina (2192) – 83. WFM Chirivi Angie Lizeth (1991) – 7½4. WIM Chirivi C Jenny Astrid (2093) – 6½5. WIM Orozco Lina Yomayra (2065) – 66. WCM Viveros Erica Johana (1963) – 5½7. WFM Pachon Adriana (2037) – 5½8. WIM Ramirez Heimy Polgar (2077) – 59. Macias Chavarro Manuela (1741) – 4½10. Moncada Correa Sara (1897) – 3½11. Hernandez Bermudez Manuela (1638) – 312. WFM Pulido Diana Marcela (1916) – 2 Photo: Federación Colombiana de Ajedrez Facebook
Chess Olympiads: Moscow 2022, Budapest 2024
One of the main concerns of our member federations and the chess community, in general, was the uncertainty related to the two next Olympiads: Moscow 2021, and Minsk 2022. Besides, hosting the chess Olympiad comes with the associated responsibility of organizing the World Cup as well, which under the current situation is an additional complication. The FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich explained the situation and the decision made as follows: “Given that the Republic of Belarus and its government have decided that they cannot hold the Olympiad, we have tried to find a solution, another host for the 2022 Olympiad and the World Cups. But we couldn’t find an alternative. If you add to the picture the pandemic, we have been left with no other choice than to have just one Olympiad during this period. We have received a kind proposal from the Russian government to host the two World Cups simultaneously next year, 2021, and to have the Olympiad in Russia 2022.” The FIDE president clarified that, as long as the circumstances allow it, Khanty-Mansiysk will still host the FIDE Olympiad for players with Disabilities and the FIDE Congress in Khanty during the summer next year. The news was hardly a surprise, given the difficult circumstances. No one was happy to hear that we all will have to wait until 2022 to enjoy a chess Olympiad, but the slight disappointment quickly dissipated when the representatives of the Hungarian Chess Federation presented their project for Budapest 2024. The tournament is scheduled to run from September 10 to September 23 at the renovated Hungexpo Exhibition and Conference Centre, with a total budget of 16,6 million euros. Political authorities, chess legends, and prominent members of the Hungarian Olympic movement and the sports administration have expressed their unconditional support to the event. You can download a complete presentation for Budapest 2024 here.