Women’s Grand Prix Gibraltar: Pairings announced
The full pairings for every round of the upcoming FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Gibraltar have been announced. The fourth and final leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix will take place in Caleta Hotel from January 17-29, 2021. January 24, 2021, is a rest day. As usual, twelve players will compete in a round-robin tournament. The drawing and round by round pairings have been made by FIDE’s Chief Operating Officer, Willy Iclicki and Ms. Sava Stoisavljevic, Assistant to the FIDE COO. The participants received the following starting numbers: 1. Gunay Mammadzada (AZE), 2. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (IRI), 3. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ), 4. Mariya Muzychuk (UKR), 5. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), 6. Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS), 7. Valentina Gunina (RUS), 8. Kateryna Lagno (RUS), 9. Anna Muzychuk (UKR), 10. Dinara Saduakassova (KAZ), 11. Elisabeth Paehtz (GER), 12. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL). FULL PAIRINGS: Round 1 on 2021/01/18 IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466)IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467)IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500)GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535)GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546)IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) Round 2 on 2021/01/19 GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) – IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) – GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) Round 3 on 2021/01/20 IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) GM Valentina Gunina (2451) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) Round 4 on 2021/01/21 GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) – IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) Round 5 on 2021/01/22 IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) GM Valentina Gunina (2451) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) Round 6 on 2021/01/23 GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – GM Mariya Muzychuk (2544) Round 7 on 2021/01/25 GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) GM Valentina Gunina (2451) – IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) Round 8 on 2021/01/26 GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) Round 9 on 2021/01/27 GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 GM Valentina Gunina (2451) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) – IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) – IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) Round 10 on 2021/01/28 GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) – IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443) – IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 – GM Valentina Gunina (2451) GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) – IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) Round 11 on 2021/01/29 IM Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) – GM Antoaneta Stefanova (2466) GM Valentina Gunina (2451) – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2524) GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) – GM Mariya Muzychuk 2544 GM Anna Muzychuk (2535) – IM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2478) IM Dinara Saduakassova (2500) – IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (2494) IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2467) – IM Gunay Mammadzada (2443)
Russian champions honored in Central Chess Club
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Aleksandra Goryachkina became the 2020 Russian Champions. The results of the year were recapped in the Central Chess Club. Moscow, 17 December 2020 – A festive event, which included the awarding ceremony to the new Russian champions and the winners of the FIDE Online Olympiad, and took place in the M. Botvinnik Central Chess Club on 16 December 2020. President of the International Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich and the Deputy Minister of Sport of Russia Andrey Selsky congratulated the members of the Russian national team, which had won the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad held in the summer of 2020, and awarded them with gold medals from FIDE. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich: “My congratulations to everyone on the victory of the Russian national team at the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad. We are very proud of you! I thank you on behalf of all your fans and wish you new successes! I hope that we will see new victories of the Russian chess players in the coming year!” Andrey Filatov, President of the Chess Federation of Russia and Head coach of the Russian national chess team: “2020 has been a difficult ordeal for everyone. Chess has shown itself to be a very flexible sport adaptable to the realities of today. According to the existing data, the popularity of chess has increased this year. Online tournaments, master classes, and even simultaneous exhibitions proliferated during the lockdown. In addition, the Chess Federation of Russia managed to organize and host the most important tournaments on our calendar: the Superfinals, the Russian Championships Higher League, and the Russian Team Championships. At the first-ever FIDE Online Olympiad, the Russian team won gold medals, setting a record of sorts: our team now concurrently holds the titles of the winner of the Olympiad and the World and European champions. I congratulate our players and fans on this outstanding achievement, I wish you all success, victories, and, most importantly, health in the coming year!” The Russian national team included Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daniil Dubov, Vladislav Artemiev, Andrey Esipenko, Alexey Sarana, Kateryna Lagno, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Polina Shuvalova, and Margarita Potapova. The team captain is Alexander Motylev; the Head coach of the Russian national chess team is Andrey Filatov. At the Russian Championships Superfinals, the plot was thickening up to the final day. Ian Nepomniachtchi, the rating favorite of the open event, became the 2020 Russian champion, having repeated his success of the year 2010. Sergey Karjakin finished second, while Vladimir Fedoseev is third. Ian Nepomniachtchi: “It is a challenging competition, in no small part due to the long pause from live chess. In general, I am not concerned about my final standings as there are other priorities, such as not to catch a virus, to get some over-the-board practice, and not to drop the rating. However, my team — coaches Vladimir Potkin and Ildar Khairullin — have done a great job predicting the upcoming openings and winning some games as early as the opening, including the most crucial matchup with Sergey Karjakin, where we managed to uncork a novelty idea.” Final Standings: 1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 7½/112. Sergey Karjakin – 73. Vladimir Fedoseev – 6½4. Daniil Dubov – 6½5. Vladislav Artemiev – 66. Maksim Chigaev – 67. Nitita Vitiugov – 5½8. Peter Svidler – 5½ 9. Andrey Esipenko – 510. Maxim Matlakov – 511. Aleksey Goganov – 3½12. Mikhail Antipov – 2 (withdrew after playing only 6 games) The women’s tournament traditionally ended on tiebreak, in which Aleksandra Goryachkina and Polina Shuvalova were fighting a life and death battle. Curiously, they both were born in the small town of Orsk. Both rapid games were drawn, but Goryachkina won the “Armageddon” with white pieces and became the three-time Russian women’s champion (she previously won this event in 2105 and 2017). Alexandra Kosteniuk won bronze. Final standings: 1. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 8/112. Polina Shuvalova – 83. Alexandra Kosteniuk – 6½4. Marina Guseva – 6½5. Alina Kashlinskaya – 6½ 6. Leya Garifullina – 6½7. Alisa Galliamova – 68. Natalija Pogonina – 69. Olga Girya – 410. Valentina Gunina – 3½11. Yulia Grigorieva – 2½12. Tatyana Getman – 2 Aleksandra Goryachkina: “I am happy about my tournament performance. Of course, if I had won game two of the tie-break, it would have been much better, but what happened was a nerve-racking victory instead. There is much for me to work on.” The total prize fund of the Superfinals is 10 million rubles (approximately $136,000). The medallists were given tickets to the legendary CHESS musical. The tournament was a part of the Chess in Museums programme, which has been carried out by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Elena and Gennady Foundation since 2012. The organizers are the Chess Federation of Russia and the Timchenko Foundation. The tournament was supported by the Russian Ministry of Sports. The general sponsor of the Russian national teams is the Federal Grid Company Unified Energy System (FGC UES). The CFR general partner is PhosAgro. Media contacts: Eteri KublashviliPress OfficerChess Federation of RussiaTel: +7 905 791 76 51E-mail: ekublashvili@gmail.com Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) (from 1992 till 2019 known as the Russian Chess Federation) is an All-Russian non-governmental organization uniting regional chess federations as well as being a member of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The Federation was founded in 1992 as a successor to the USSR Chess Federation. The CFR charter recognizes the Federation congress as the supreme governing body to be convened at least once every four years. Besides, the collegiate governing body is the Federation’s Supervisory Board, which consists of five vice presidents and 26 representatives of regional federations. Since 2014, the sole executive authority has been vested with the President of the Chess Federation of Russia. Andrey Filatov is the CFR’s current President. The CFR is a direct organizer of many national and international tournaments, including the Russian Championship Higher League, Russian Team Championship, and the international tournament Belaya Ladya. The CFR also hosts the Russian Rapid and Blitz Championships, the Russian Cup, the Grand Prix Rapid, and the Children’s Russian Cup. The official website of the Russian Chess Federation: https://ruchess.ru/en/ Photo: Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili
2020 FIDE Online General Assembly: List of Decisions
December 06, 2020 OGA-2020/1 To approve the President’s report OGA-2020/2 To approve the Treasurer’s report. OGA-2020/3 To note the Verification Commission’s report for the year 2019. OGA-2020/4 To discharge the Treasurer from her responsibilities for the financial year 2019. OGA-2020/5 To approve the 2021 Budget. OGA-2020/6 To appoint Ernst & Young as FIDE External Auditor for the financial year 2020. OGA-2020/7 To approve the new FIDE Financial regulations. OGA-2020/8 To admit the Isle of Man Chess Association as an Affiliated FIDE Organisation. OGA-2020/9 To adopt a motion regarding the Chess Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran proposed by the FIDE President. OGA-2020/10 To approve an amendment to the Laws of Chess regarding Online chess. OGA-2020/11 To approve the General Assembly Internal Rules. OGA-2020/12 To approve the Zonal Council Rules. OGA-2020/13 To award the right to organise the 2024 Chess Olympiad and 95th FIDE Congress to Budapest, Hungary. OGA-2020/14 To approve the Resolution regarding FIDE online activities. OGA-2020/15 To note the Continental reports. OGA-2020/16 To award the title of the FIDE Honorary Member to Mr. Boris Spassky, the tenth World Champion. OGA-2020/17 To award the title of the FIDE Life Member to Mr. Brian Callaghan, the Founder of the Gibraltar International Chess Festival. OGA-2020/18 To approve the proposal of the Jamaica Chess Federation to adopt the Olympic Creed and the Values of Olympism. The following were not approved as they failed to obtain the 2/3 majority required as per the FIDE Charter: 1. The addition to the GA Agenda regarding the Red Sea and Aden Gulf Chess Association. 2. The first resolution proposed by the English Chess Federation (FIDE Charter Amendment Article 9.4) 3. The second resolution proposed by the English Chess Federation (FIDE Charter Amendment Article 17.6).
Decisions of the FIDE Online General Assembly 2020
December 06, 2020 OGA-2020/1 To approve the President’s report OGA-2020/2 To approve the Treasurer’s report. OGA-2020/3 To note the Verification Commission’s report for the year 2019.OGA-2020/4 To discharge the Treasurer from her responsibilities for the financial year 2019. OGA-2020/5 To approve the 2021 Budget. OGA-2020/6 To appoint Ernst & Young as FIDE External Auditor for the financial year 2020. OGA-2020/7 To approve the new FIDE Financial regulations.OGA-2020/8 To admit the Isle of Man Chess Association as an Affiliated FIDE Organisation.OGA-2020/9 To adopt a motion regarding the Chess Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran proposed by the FIDE President.OGA-2020/10 To approve an amendment to the Laws of Chess regarding Online chess.OGA-2020/11 To approve the General Assembly Internal Rules. OGA-2020/12 To approve the Zonal Council Rules. OGA-2020/13 To award the right to organise the 2024 Chess Olympiad and 95th FIDE Congress to Budapest, Hungary.OGA-2020/14 To approve the Resolution regarding FIDE online activities. OGA-2020/15 To note the Continental reports. OGA-2020/16 To award the title of the FIDE Honorary Member to Mr. Boris Spassky, the tenth World Champion.OGA-2020/17 To award the title of the FIDE Life Member to Mr. Brian Callaghan, the Founder of the Gibraltar International Chess Festival. OGA-2020/18 To approve the proposal of the Jamaica Chess Federation to adopt the Olympic Creed and the Values of Olympism. The following were not approved as they failed to obtain the 2/3 majority required as per the FIDE Charter: 1. The addition to the GA Agenda regarding the Red Sea and Aden Gulf Chess Association. 2. The first resolution proposed by the English Chess Federation (FIDE Charter Amendment Article 9.4) 3. The second resolution proposed by the English Chess Federation (FIDE Charter Amendment Article 17.6).
Brazilian Post issues official chess stamp
The Brazilian Post (Correios Brasil) launched an official chess stamp with the Brazilian Chess Confederation (CBX) and its president GM Darcy Lima serving as a technical adviser of the project. The issue of postal chess stamps by Correios Brasil intends to promote the game through philately. Notably, before the advent of digitalization, correspondence chess (with opponents sending moves to one another by letters) was quite popular. It is believed that chess was brought to Brazil by Pero Vaz de Caminha, as described in several books. With the arrival of D. João VI and his court in Brazil in 1808, the game rapidly chess spread throughout the country. This Monarch brought to Brazil many chess books, including very rare copies (some as old as 1497) that are still available in the National Library Archive in Rio de Janeiro. Several Brazilian historical figures regularly played chess. The prime example is a famous Brazilian writer Machado de Assis, who became the Secretary of the Carioca Club of Chess, composed chess problems, and included passages on chess into some of his works. Machado de Assis was also present at the first chess tournament in Brazil back in 1880. The Brazilian Chess Confederation (CBX), the main chess entity in Brazil, was founded on November 11, 1924, and joined the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 1935. CBX manages and organizes events, and promotes the game of chess in Brazil, uniting tens of thousands of official players and hundreds of thousands of supporters. CBX organized its first official Brazilian Championship in 1927 at Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama, won by Dr. João de Souza Mendes Júnior, from Rio de Janeiro. In 2012, Brazilian chess won the Spirit of Sports Award from Sportaccord as the best social sports project in the world. The winning project “Chess that liberates” created by Prof. Charles Moura Netto and Grandmaster Darcy Lima uses chess as a tool to re-socialize prisoners.
Nepomniachtchi, Goryachkina win 2020 Russian Championship
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Aleksandra Goryachkina are 2020 Russian Champions. In the final round of the men’s tournament, one of the leaders Ian Nepomniachtchi made a quick draw with Maxim Chigaev to wait for the result of his main competitor Sergey Karjakin, who faced Daniil Dubov. Ian said he would have been happy with any result but a draw: with fatigue accumulated by the end of the tournament, he had no desire to play a tie-break (in case Karjakin would have drawn his game). Daniil surprised his opponent by going for a very rare gambit line, invented by the famous chess organizer and philanthropist Oleg Skvortsov, who had uncorked this idea in a friendly game with Viswanathan Anand. Back then, the former world champion had scored a spectacular victory, but Dubov was enthusiastic about the new opening concept and asked his coach Alexander Riazantsev to look into it. Sergey Karjakin (pictured below) was not ready for such a development and quickly fell under a dangerous attack. To Sergey’s credit, he made it through the complications, carried out a liberating d7-d5 break, and was close to equalizing. However, he did not want to fight back in an inferior endgame (where, objectively speaking, Black had good chances of making a draw) and opted for a more challenging direction, but missed spectacular tactics and found himself in a hopeless position. As Daniil Dubov won, Ian Nepomniachtchi ended up clear first a half-point ahead of Sergey Karjakin. This is Nepomniachtchi’s second national title after 2010. As fate had it Dubov became a decisive tournament force in the final standings as in Round 9 he beat the future champion, which allowed Karjakin to catch up with Ian. Ian Nepomniachtchi, “It is a challenging competition, in no small part due to the long pause from live chess. In general, I am not concerned about my final standings as there are other priorities, such as not to catch a virus, to get some over-the-board practice, and not to drop the rating. However, my team — coaches Vladimir Potkin and Ildar Khairullin — have done a great job predicting the upcoming openings and winning some games as early as in the opening, including the most crucial matchup with Sergey Karjakin, where we managed to uncork a novelty idea.” Final standings open: 1. Ian Nepomniachtchi – 7½/11 2. Sergey Karjakin – 73. Vladimir Fedoseev – 6½ 4. Daniil Dubov – 6½ 5. Vladislav Artemiev – 66. Maksim Chigaev – 67. Nikita Vitiugov – 5½8. Peter Svidler – 5½9. Andrey Esipenko – 510. Maxim Matlakov – 511. Aleksey Goganov – 3½12. Mikhail Antipov – 2 (withdrew after playing only 6 games) In the women’s section, Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated Tatyana Getman to catch up with the tournament sensation, Polina Shuvalova (the Girls U19 champion started with six straight wins), who drew with Olga Girya. According to the tournament regulations a winner had to be determined in a tiebreaker featuring two games with a time control of 15+10. After both encounters were drawn it came down to Armageddon (with 5 minutes for White against 4 for Black and a draw favoring Black), which Aleksandra Goryachkina won to become the 2020 Russian champion. Alexandra also took the titles in 2015 and 2017. Aleksandra Goryachkina: “I am happy about my tournament performance. Of course, if I had won game two of the tie-break, it would have been much better, but what happened was a nerve-racking victory instead. There is much for me to work on.” Final standings women: 1. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 8/112. Polina Shuvalova – 83. Alexandra Kosteniuk – 6½4. Marina Guseva – 6½5. Alina Kashlinskaya – 6½ 6. Leya Garifullina – 6½7. Alisa Galliamova – 68. Natalija Pogonina – 69. Olga Girya – 410. Valentina Gunina – 3½11. Yulia Grigorieva – 2½12. Tatyana Getman – 2 The tournament is a part of the Chess in Museums program, which has been carried out by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Elena and Gennady Foundation since 2012. The organizers are the Chess Federation of Russia and the Timchenko Foundation. The tournament is supported by the Russian Ministry of Sports. The general sponsor of the Russian national teams is the Federal Grid Company Unified Energy System (FGC UES). The CFR general partner is PhosAgro. Text: ruchess.ru Photo: Eteri Kublashvili and Vladimir Barsky