Magnus Carlsen to play in FIDE World Cup in Sochi
The reigning World Chess Champion will be one of the participants in the upcoming FIDE World Cup, to be played in Sochi from July 10 to August 6, 2021. For many players, the World Cup is the first and only opportunity to enter the race for the World Championship crown, since the two top finishers in the event will advance to the next stage: the super exclusive Candidates Tournament. This is even more true in the revamped 2021 edition, which will feature 206 participants (compared to 128 in previous editions), giving players from all over the globe an opportunity to prove their value. However, for the World Champion, the motivations are probably slightly different. Even if he loses his title in the FIDE World Championship match later this year in Dubai, Magnus would have a spot secured in the next edition of the Candidates Tournament, so he doesn’t need to take part in the qualifiers. But Magnus has never won a FIDE World Cup, despite being a firm supporter of knock-out tournaments. The champion probably wants to prove to the world, and to himself, that he can also excel in this format. His last participation, in Tbilisi 2017, was a bit disappointing: he was knocked out in round 3 by the Chinese Grandmaster Bu Xiangzhi. Besides, a record prize fund of $1,890,000 is incentive enough for the World Champion to be tempted and pick up the gauntlet to fight 206 grandmasters in this tough and highly-contested event. The World Cup is one of FIDE’s flagship competitions, and in recent editions, it has clearly become one of the most followed events in the chess calendar. The reigning World Champion, Women’s World Champion, and Junior World Champion are directly invited to the World Cup, as well as the four semi-finalists from the 2019 edition. They are joined by 80 players qualified through Continental Championships, with every continent being guaranteed a minimum quota, and 100 players nominated by the top hundred federations by average rating. The field is completed with the 12 highest-rated players who did not qualify by any of the previous criteria, as well as the highest-placed player of the ACP Tour 2021 as of June 2021. Magnus Carlsen will not cross paths in this event with his challenger for the 2021 FIDE World Chess Championship match, Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian star has declined to participate, in order to focus on his preparation for the match. More information: press@fide.comwww.fide.com Official FIDE World Cup 2021 website: https://worldcup.fide.com Photo: David Llada
Ziaur Rahman wins Asian Zonal 3.2 Hybrid Championship
GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh (pictured below) won the Asian Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship 2021(Zone 3.2) and earned a ticket to the FIDE World Cup 2021 that will take place in Sochi, Russia in July-August. The Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2021, the qualifying event for the FIDE World Chess Cup 2021 for South Asia was held from June 01-09, 2021 on the Tornelo platform. A total of 39 players from the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka participated in the 9-round Swiss tournament. With the strength, India is considered as a single zone by FIDE giving a direct entry to the FIDE World cup. Photo: ChessBase India The Bangladesh Chess Federation conducted the event from Dhaka and the Sri Lankan Players played from the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka headquarters, Gangodawila, Nugegoda. GM Ziaur Rahman was heading to the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival and countryman GM Enamul Hossain who had better tiebreaks. Rahman drew a hard-fought game against his compatriot 11-year old Manon Reja Neer and scored 8 points total. Needing a full point to tie with him Hossain had to win his encounter with SL National Chess Champion Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage of Ananda College. Hossain sacrificed a pawn in the Sicilian Defence with Black and got positional compensation in form of a strong night against a bad bishop but hardly more. With careful play, Ranindu secured the third spot in the final standings, whereas his opponent had to settle for silver. Photo: asianchess.com The prize distribution and closing ceremony of the Zone 3.2 Zonal Hybrid Chess Championship sponsored by SAIF POWERTEC Limited were held at the Shapla Hall Room of Bangladesh Police Headquarter in Dhaka and also virtually on Zoom together with Awards for Zones 3.1 and 3.3 Hybrid Zonals. Dr. Benazir Ahmed, Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, and President of Bangladesh Chess Federation & South Asian Chess Council awarded the prizes as chief guests. Mr. Tarafder Md. Ruhul Amin, Managing Director of SAIF POWERTEC Limited and Vice President of Bangladesh Chess Federation was also present as a special guest. Final standings: 1 GM Rahman Ziaur BAN 2434 8 2 GM Hossain Enamul BAN 2402 7½ 3 CM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan SRI 2203 6 4 CM Manon Reja Neer BAN 2130 6 5 IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman BAN 2314 6 6 FM Islam Khandaker Aminul BAN 2182 6 7 IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin BAN 2278 6 8 CM Amarasinghe A A C B SRI 1873 6 9 FM Mehdi Hasan Parag BAN 2187 5½ 10 CM Zia Tahsin Tajwar BAN 2178 5½ Text: Luxman Wijesuriya, Luxman Wijesuriya, President of CFSL and Vice-President of Asian Chess Federation