Anatoly Karpov International Children’s Chess Festival announced
Information letter on the “Anatoly Karpov International Children’s Chess Festival” In celebration of my 70th anniversary and Children’s Day, I invite you to take part in the Anatoly Karpov International Children’s Chess Festival. The festival will take place in Moscow, Russia from May 30 to June 01: For non-residents of Moscow: May 30 – the day of arrival; June 02 – the day of departure; May 31 – simuls by Anatoly Karpov and other prominent grandmasters; June 01 – Anatoly Karpov Cup (a Swiss tournament with rapid time control 10 min +3 sec) One boy and one girl aged 12 or younger from each region of the Russian Federation and each country of the world are allowed to take part in the simuls. The participants of the simuls can also play in the tournament. The registration is open on the official website http://karpovopen.ru Contacts: +7-985-618-10-49; +7-917-585-68-97 E-mails: Zhak.ox@yandex.ru ; madilat@!mail.ru The detailed information will be published on the official website http://karpovopen.ru Sincerely, Anatoly Karpov, Multiple World Champion President of International Chess Schools
“Chess for Freedom” online conference announced
Dear chess friends, We would like to remind you that the upcoming Online Conference “Chess for Freedom”, is scheduled for May 11th, at 15:30 pm CET (8:30 am US Central Time). This conference will feature FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and other invited guests. You can check the detailed program in the table below. The conference will be broadcast live on FIDE’s Youtube channel. Additionally, federation officers, journalists, and members of the penitentiary administration and policymakers have the possibility to join the Zoom call and ask questions to the lecturers. In order to join via Zoom, you would need to request access using this registration form. If you experience any problem during the registration, you have any question, or you require further assistance, please contact the FIDE Social Commission at socialchess@fide.com. 15:30-15:35(CET) Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President Welcome and Introduction, Chess and Social Goals 15:35-15:40(CET) Anatoly Karpov, the 12th world chess champion, FIDE Ambassador for Life The Driving Force Behind 20 Years Supporting Chess in Prisons Movement 15:40-15:55(CET) Sheriff Tom Dart, an American attorney, politician, and law enforcement officer serving as the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, Chicago, USA “Lessons learned from 10 years of chess in Cook County Department of Corrections” 15:55-16:10(CET) Geir Nesheim, Member of FIDE Social Commission, Norway. “The Norway Chess in society – Prison project” 16:10-16:25(CET) Darcy Lima, GM, initiator of the social project “Chess that liberates”, Brasil. “Chess for Freedom Project in Brazil, the Concept, Methodology and Results” 16:25-16:40(CET) PhD Grigg Lance, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, senior member of “Chess for life” programme, Canada. “How chess helps youth involved in the criminal justice system make good decisions, and build hopeful futures” 16:40-16:50(CET) Carl Portman is the English Chess Federation’s Manager of Chess in Prisons. In 2015 he was awarded the ECF President’s award for services to chess. “Chess and Redemption” 16:50-17:00(CET) Questions and answersSummary of the Conference 17:00-17:20(CET) Demonstration of the final matchUSA- RUSSIA 17:20-17:30(CET) Match results, closing ceremony 17:30-18:00(CET) Online press conference, with the participation of the prisoners who took part in the championship. Photo: Alex Garcia, Chicago Tribune Chess in prisons In recent years, we have witnessed the successful introduction of chess in prisons through different educative programs in the USA, Armenia, Norway, Russia, England, Brazil, Italy and Spain, with very positive outcomes. In prisons, just as in wider society, the impact of sport and games can be far-reaching. The experiences referred above demonstrate that chess improves behaviour, helping to reduce inmate violence and developing communication skills, while promoting positive use of leisure time. Chess also drastically improves the decision-making capabilities of a group of people that, very often due to the lack of opportunities and access to proper education, has ended up in jail after making a wrong choice in life. Besides, the game has a positive impact on the inmates’ overall health, fighting depression, stress and anxiety, and motivating them to change for the better. As a result, chess greatly contributes to efforts towards rehabilitation, and some studies have already proven it to reduce reoffending. It can be potentially life-changing, as many testimonies show. With the aim to support and promote this line of work, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) have signed a cooperation agreement, and together we are launching the “Chess for Freedom” program. This project, under the patronage of the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, will kick off with an online conference and an exhibition tournament with four participant countries, scheduled for May 11th. Later on, in October, we plan on holding a much larger competition with the participation of tens of prisons. These are the first events planned for 2021: 11 May 20218:30 am US Central Time / 15:30 pm CETThe first FIDE Online Conference “Chess for Freedom” for officials, authorities, scholars etc. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, the 12th World Chess Champion Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov and Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff, will be the guests of honour for the conference, among other distinguished guest speakers. Invitational Online Chess Exhibition Tournament for Prisoners. Teams from USA, Russia, Armenia, Spain, Germany and Australia have been invited (TBC). 13-14 October 2021 (TBC)The First Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners 2021. This will be a continuation of the international championship first held in 2019, where we expect to involve tens of teams from all the continents. Both the conference and the chess tournament will be broadcast live on FIDE’s Youtube channel. Additionally, federation officers, as well as members of the penitentiary administration and policymakers, have the possibility to join the Zoom call using the link above, so they can ask questions and share their own experiences. To request access, please send an email with your credentials to socialchess@fide.com. FIDE General Partner
Carlsen and Aronian level as Nakamura takes lead in his semi
The dream of a Magnus Carlsen versus Hikaru Nakamura final could be shattered after a stunning show of resistance from Levon Aronian. The Armenian, who plans to represent the US, came back from the brink to level the score against Norway’s World Champion in a thrilling semi-final clash on Thursday. Aronian had looked dead and buried after a fighting display in the $100,000 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event appeared to go wrong. The 38-year-old started aggressively in game 1 and pressured the champ into making an extremely rare blunder. But Aronian, who was running short on time when it happened, couldn’t find the route to victory and failed to cash in. If that was a disappointment, it got worse for the Armenian. Game 3 was heading for a safe draw before he made an elementary error to hand Carlsen the win. It was a gift. Did Aronian let his mistake affect him? No. In what was a must-win fourth game for him, the challenger fought back hard and dominated the position. More poor time-keeping pegged Aronian back again and, despite looking out of it at one point, Carlsen appeared to have wriggled out of the bind. Aronian, however, found one last trick and took the game to level the set 2-2 will all to play for tomorrow. Carlsen said after it was “an appropriate result” while Aronian said, “I just got lucky”. In the other semi, Nakamura was the big favourite and started with a win against Azeri number 1 Shakrhiyar Mamedyarov. Mamedyarov, who is known for his unpredictable play, then put on a show to strike back immediately in game 2. It was a dominant win that belied his underdog status. But the Azeri was playing with fire and blundered badly in game 3 to hand the initiative back to the American. Nakamura didn’t flinch and closed out the win. Now 2-1 up, the favourite needed just a draw in the next to take the first set. As Mamedyarov went all-out, Nakamura took advantage. He won the final game and the set 3-1. Both semis will resume today at 19:00 CEST. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Georgian championship: Levan Pantsulaia clinches the title
The Georgian Championship, a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control, took place in Tbilisi from 20-29 April 2021. The event brought together five GMs and five IMs battling not only for the title but also for the prize fund of ₾25,000 (approximately $7,250). Playing in his hometown, the third-rated Levan Pantsulaia seized the lead in Round 2 and never looked back. Despite losing in Round 3 he comfortably won the event with a round to spare. The champion picked 10.5 rating points and a ₾8,000 prize ($2,320) for his efforts. It is Levan’s third title after winning the national championship in 2008 and 2015. Giga Quparadze and Luka Paichadze finished a full point behind the leader and tied for second place with the former taking silver thanks to better tiebreaks. Final standings: 1. Pantsulaia, Levan (2553) – 6½2. Quparadze, Giga (2463) – 5½3. Paichadze, Luka (2565) – 5½4. Petriashvili, Nikoloz (2425) – 55. Kacharava, Nikolozi (2443) – 56. Shanava, Konstantine (2504) – 57. Gagunashvili, Merab (2584) – 58. Lortkipanidze, Nodar (2416) – 3½9. Arabidze, Meri (2437) – 3½10. Azaladze, Shota (2439) – ½ Photo: Georgian Chess Federation Facebook page
Sindarov and Yakubbaeva win Uzbekistan Championship
Javokhir Sindarov and Nilufar Yakubbaeva won Uzbekistan championships that were held in the second part of April in Tashkent. Both open and women’s events were round-robins with classical time control. The 15-year-old Javokhir Sindarov (pictured below) clinched his second national title after the first success in 2019. Despite suffering two defeats the youngster scored an impressive 9 out 12 and came out clear first a half-point ahead of Jakhongir Vakhidov and the rating-favourite Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Photo: Frans Peeters The young champion has the reputation of a chess prodigy; he became a Grandmaster aged 12 years and 10 months. With this victory, Sindarov also qualified for the upcoming FIDE World Cup that will take place this summer in Sochi, Russia. 1. Javokhir Sindarov (2544) – 9/122. Jakhongir Vakhidov (2533) – 8½3. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627) – 8½4. Nodirbek Yakubboev (2605) – 85. Shamsiddin Vokhidov (2529) – 86. Marat Dzhumaev (2425) – 7½7. Saydaliev, Saidakbar (2385) – 6½8. Abdimalik Abdisalimov (2392) – 69. Mukhammadali Abdurakhmonov (2284) – 410. Khumoyun Begmuratov (1971) – 3½11. Mukhiddin Madaminov (2258) – 312. Samandar Shermuhammadov (2063) – 33. Almas Rakhmatullaev (2190) – 2½ WIM Nilufar Yakubbaeva won the Uzbekistan Women’s Championship for the third year in a row. The tiebreaks (Sonnenborn-Berger) favoured her over WFM Umida Omonova who also scored 8.5 out of 11. Bakhora Abdusattorova took bronze again, thanks to better tiebreaks over Asal Salimova. 1. Nilufar Yakubbaeva (2275) – 8½/102. Umida Omonova (2008) – 8½3. Bakhora Abdusattorova (2078) – 74. Asal Salimova (1815) – 75. Irina Semenova (2188) – 6½6. Marjona Malikova (1651) – 5½7. Sitora Saparova (2017) – 3½8. Yuliya Khegay (1913) – 3½9. Makhim Orazmukhammedova (1898) – 2½10. Barchinoy Shokirjonova (1594) – 2½11. Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva (2189) – 0 Photo: Uzbekistan Chess Federation Facebook page