Knockout stage kicks off on December 19
The final knockout stage of the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championships starts on Saturday, December 19. The event comprises five different age groups: U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18. The participants are competing in two sections: girls, and open. 1,380 young chess players from 114 different countries, divided into three groups (Africa, America, and Asia) took part in the preliminary stage to qualify for the knockout stage. Each age group at the knockout stage will have a separate 16-player tournament. Each match consists of two “15+10” games and the Armageddon, if necessary. The 160 participants represent 50 countries and there are as many as 89 titled players taking part, including 8 GMs, 2 WGMs, and 16 IMs USA (23 players), India (16), and Russia (15) have the highest number of representatives. The highest-rated participant Andrey Esipenko (Russia) Photo: Eteri Kublashvili FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich greeted the participants of the FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championships: “Dear friends, it is my pleasure on behalf of FIDE to welcome you at the final stage of the World Online Cadets and Youth Championships…. It is my honor to greet you today and wish you good luck at the final stage of the tournament and wish you good luck.” Don’t miss a chance to cheer for your favorites, tune in at 3 pm CET to follow all the action live on our YouTube channel together with GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko: https://www.youtube.com/fidechannel Official website: http://www.world2020.ge/ General Partner: PJSC Gazprom About Gazprom: Gazprom is a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power. Gazprom is the global leader measured by the amount of reserves and volumes of gas production. Gazprom sells gas to Russian consumers and exports gas to over 30 countries within and beyond the former Soviet Union. Gazprom is the biggest gas supplier to Europe. Gazprom is among the top three oil and gas condensate producers in the Russian Federation, ranking number one in Russia in terms of electricity generation among thermal generation companies and in terms of thermal energy generation. More information: www.gazprom.comContact: pr@gazprom.ru
European Online Blitz Championship gets underway
Katowice, Poland (December 17, 2020) – European Online Blitz Chess Championship 2020 with a prize fund of €12,000, organized European Chess Union and Silesian Chess Federation, will be held on Tornelo.com, from 18-20 of December. The event’s host city is Katowice. In the era of pandemic lockdowns, the popularity of chess has exploded. The year 2020 showed that chess events can be easily transferred to the Internet. “Thanks to the new technologies, chess has this alternative that other sports cannot benefit from,” says Łukasz Turlej, Vice-President of the International Chess Federation. An amazing number of 134 Grandmasters and 100 International Masters will take part in the event. Most of them are from Poland (42), Russia (40), and Germany (30). “Although online chess is less respected in the world than traditional chess, its importance is growing,” says Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the top-ranked player of the tournament. The Mayor of Katowice, Mr. Marcin Krupa is proud that the city is hosting such an important chess event: “Chess is experiencing a renaissance. When it turned out that the traditional OTB tournament couldn’t be played, there was a feeling of regret, but we immediately rolled up our sleeves and thought about holding an online tournament.” Players will play under the arbiter’s observation in Zoom. “Fair play and honesty of this tournament are very important for us” – explains Mr. Turlej. The organization of the championship is supported by the city of Katowice, the Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Poland, and Mokate. About the Silesian Chess Federation: The Silesian Chess Federation was founded in 1924. The main mission is to develop and popularize the royal game and to coordinate the activities of chess clubs and sections, with particular emphasis on sports performance. For more information please contact office@katowice2020.eu Official website: https://www.katowice2020.eu/Social media : Facebook / Twitch #katowice2020