Yuri Dokhoian passes away
Tragic news from Moscow. One of the best coaches in the world, Grandmaster Yuri Dokhoian, has passed away. He was only 56. The news is shocking – Yuri was strong, healthy, focused, smart and hard-edged. We used to talk a lot at tournaments, mostly about chess, but we also discussed all sorts of things. Yuri had a great sense of humour; he loved playing soccer and was pretty good at it – took to the field against guys half his age. A very decent Grandmaster himself, with a rating of over 2,600, Yuri relatively early switched to coaching and was Kasparov’s head coach in the late 1990s and 2000s. After the 13th World Champion retired from chess, Dokhoian faced new challenges time and again: he served as captain of the Russian women’s national team and was the personal coach of the Kosintseva sisters, then took charge of the Russia Olympic Team. He was an excellent analyst and, most importantly, had superb chess intuition. When analyzing, Dokhoian was on par with the top players. He helped most of Russia’s leading chess players, and last year he took Andrei Esipenko under his wing… Yuri had big plans, but illness spares no one these days. We offer our deepest condolences to Yuri’s family and friends. Very sad indeed. Emil Sutovsky, FIDE Director General I met Yuri in 2000 when I joined Garry Kasparov’s team before his world championship match with Vladimir Kramnik. Yuri was a rather private person on the surface, but that was a shell: when we got closer, he revealed a completely different side of himself – he was kind, fair, and frank. He had various interests beyond the world of chess. Yura abandoned the career of chess player early on but fulfilled his potential as a coach, becoming an incontestable authority among his colleagues. Under Dokhoian’s guidance, Kasparov got his second wind – he set a record by winning several super-tournaments in a row, reaching a new level despite fierce competition from younger generations. This was not surprising because Yuri and Garry had an important quality, which is absolutely necessary if one aspires to climb to the very top – an uncompromising attitude towards searching for truth. He was an unfailing friend who would never let you down. This is a great loss to the chess world. Mikhail Kobalia, Chairman of Trainers Commission
WSCC 2021: Harika Dronavalli squeezes into final
Harika Dronavalli (India) became the first finalist of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship after defeating Katerina Lagno (Russia) in a very close nail-biting match 14:13. The opponents were going neck-by-neck after the first 5+1 segment, but in the next 3+1 portion, Harika grabbed the one-point lead, which she extended to three points at the start of the 1+1 section. Katerina did not give up and levelled the score after game 20. The grandmasters exchanged heavy blows on the final stretch, but neither of them could tip the balance into his favour, and it came down to a tiebreaker. The first three games of the tiebreaker were drawn, but Harika prevailed in the final one to clinch her spot in the final. It is worth mentioning that the Indian GM won her second tiebreaker in the event. “It was a very tough match that could have gone either way any moment. I am just happy that it worked out for me today,” said the happy finalist after the match. Harika is taking on the winner of the second all-Chinese semifinal match Hou Yifan vs. Lei Tingjie that will be played on June 2. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event took place from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players are battling for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Carlsen, Aronian, Artemiev and Ding through to semis
Two thrilling blitz chess playoffs decided the Goldmoney Asian Rapid semi-final line-up as Magnus Carlsen survived a fierce comeback. The World Champion finally overcame two-time US champ Wesley So after the man dubbed the “Comeback King” launched a nerveless rearguard action to level the match. Carlsen will now face world number 4 Levon Aronian tomorrow after the 38-year-old also faced stiff resistance from Indian teen sensation Arjun Erigaisi. Aronian and Arjun, the youngest and oldest left in the $100,000 event, drew yesterday’s match and then played out four fighting draws today as the youngster pushed for the win. But having used all his experience to keep Arjun at bay, the wily Aronian was too strong in the playoff. Nevertheless, getting this far in a Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event was undoubtedly a big breakthrough on the world stage for the 17-year-old. Asked how hard it was facing Arjun, Aronian said: “Very tough because I didn’t know him well and he turned out to be a very difficult opponent.” Carlsen, meanwhile, appeared to be cruising after winning the first match yesterday and then going ahead again in the first game today. But after a quick “Berlin” draw in the second, So won two in a row to take the match 2.5-1.5 and level the scores overall. It meant tiebreaks. Carlsen dominated the two tiebreaker games as So couldn’t complete the comeback. Russian debutant Vladislav Artemiev had been the first name into the semis with a crushing and quick win over the Netherlands number 1 Anish Giri. The speed specialist was mightily impressive as he followed up yesterday’s three wins with a fourth in a row and then secured two draws to go through. Giri, who revealed this week he has just become a father for the second time, simply didn’t get a look-in against the 23-year-old. Artemiev will face China’s number 1 Ding Liren, who triumphed in a tight match against the dangerous Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Artemiev said: “Of course, it is a very good result for me, and I am happy because Anish is a very good player.” The Goldmoney Asian Rapid is broadcast live on Norwegian TV station TV 2 and streamed with commentary in several languages on chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Play resumes tomorrow at 13:00 CEST. All games will be played on the chess24.com playzone. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770