FIDE World Cup opens in Sochi
The event began today with the traditional pre-competition press conference and drawing of lots followed by the opening ceremony. The official FIDE World Cup 2021 pre-competition press conference took place this afternoon in the Galaxy Entertainment Centre, attended by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Minister of Physical Education and Sport of Krasnodar Krai Alexey Chernov, the Deputy Head of the City of Sochi, Vladimir Morozov, the Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation, Mark Glukhovsky in addition to the 2015 World Cup winner and the 2016 World Championship Challenger Sergey Karjakin. In total, 206 players, including the World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway), will play in the Open Section, while 103 players will take part in the Women’s section. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich opened the press conference with the following statements: “The World Cup is one of the most significant events on the chess calendar and is very attractive for the spectators, thanks to its knock-out formula. To minimize the organizational risks, we decided to unify the Open Section with the Women’s Section – all games will be played at the same time and place. Please notice that the first Women’s World Cup was originally supposed to take place in 2020 in Minsk, but we had to reschedule it because our partners from Belarus retracted their offer. On behalf of FIDE, I would like to thank the Government of Russia, the Ministry of Sport of Russia, the Krasnodar Krai, and our reliable sponsors – Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel, Phosagro, Rosatom and others for their support and invaluable help in organizing chess competitions. I think we made a correct decision not to cancel these tournaments despite all the obstacles of the global pandemic and a rather limited amount of preparation time. The players have been missing real chess, classical chess, over-the-board chess. As we can see, almost all the players who qualified for the World Cup, arrived in Sochi, and our brilliant team is successfully handling all the organizational issues.” The Minister of Physical Culture and Sport of the Krasnodar Krai, Alexey Chernov, focused on the high-level chess events that have been organized in the region: “We are grateful to the International Chess Federation for this opportunity to demonstrate the beauty of our land. We have experience, venues, and people capable of carrying out the highest-level competitions. Major events such as the World Cup are very important for us as they promote our region and assist local chess development. Passion for sports is growing in the Krasnodar Krai, and chess is not an exception. Several major chess events, including the 2014 World Chess Championship match between Carlsen and Anand and the 2015 Women’s World Chess Championship, took place here, in Krasnaya Polyana. Almost 10,000 children of the Krasnodar Krai are studying chess these days. The competition in local chess events is fierce. Our players regularly give their opponents trouble in all-Russian events.” The Deputy Head of the City of Sochi Vladimir Morozov gave an account of chess activity in the city: “In Sochi, chess is very popular both among children and adults. 675 students are studying chess free of charge at sports school #11, which is been active since 2002. 12 highly qualified coaches, some of them are masters of sport, give lessons in all districts of our vast city. The school graduates are successfully representing Sochi in various competitions, and some of them have joined the ranks of the Krasnodar Krai and the Russian Junior teams. The Chess at Schools project is being implemented in 66 regular schools of Sochi, involving nearly 9,000 students. We are also running the Sochi Longevity project, with free-for-all outdoor chess areas open in the Riviera and the Bestuzhevo parks on Saturdays. The AquaLoo resort and the Grand Hotel Zhemchuzhina are popular venues for major regional, all-Russian, and international chess events. Chess is loved passionately in Sochi, and we are always happy to welcome chess enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world!” The Executive Director of the Chess Federation of Russia Mark Glukhovsky highlighted the strict measures that have been taken for the safety of the players: “This is an unusual tournament as it takes place during the pandemic, which limits public access to the event. Our main priority is the safety of the players, and this is why we have separated a clean zone from the other areas. The players have to follow a very strict medical protocol and they must be separated from the public. Unfortunately, spectators will be unable to take photos with their favourite players or talk to them. However, we will do everything possible to make our spectators comfortable at the event. A special area designated for the spectators has been prepared on the second floor of the Galaxy Entertainment Centre: everyone can go there and listen to expert chess commentary in Russian or English. I would like to add that the Chess Federation of Russia started a big project called the Black Sea Grand Prix this year. Four chess festivals were organized within the frames of this project, and the fifth festival will take place in Krasnaya Polyana. It’s going to be open to local players, and the World Cup participants who may unfortunately be eliminated from the main event are welcome to play there as well. The Educational Centre Sirius is located near Krasnaya Polyana, in the Imereti Valley, and it features a chess department supported by CFR. We have prepared some events specially for the chess students of the Sirius: some of them will perhaps be able to visit the Galaxy, and some grandmasters will give their masterclasses in the Sirius.” Finally, top Russian Grandmaster, World Champion candidate, and 2015 World Cup winner Sergey Karjakin gave his advice on how to win, and the importance of luck in the outcome: “Knockout chess has no secret; you just have to play chess and believe in your chances. The World Cup that I won was not going smoothly for me at all: on several occasions, I was forced to win on demand, and I faced many difficult positions. Of course, it’s impossible to win such a tournament without being lucky
Day 4 Recap
The start of the blitz portion of the GCT Croatia brought another exciting and emotional day of chess for both the players and the spectators. The tie for the top place was changing until the last moment. No player remained without losses, though it was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave that took away the lead in the blitz, scoring 6.5 points, though it wasn’t enough to catch up with the World Champion Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is still half a point ahead in the overall standings. It was a tough day for former World Champion Garry Kasparov, who suffered a few tough losses. With less than a few points to differentiate between the top three players, fans will have to watch tomorrow’s final round to find out who will be crowned champion of this year’s Croatia Rapid and Blitz. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave After a slow start with 1.5/3, Maxime seems to have found his form being able to manage his time quite well and stay tactically alert. He has a stellar performance in his game against the tournament leader Ian Nepomniachtchi, though luck has been on his side on a number of occasions, including saving lost positions against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Garry Kasparov. Ian Nepomniachtchi After a tough start in the first day of blitz scoring 1.5/4 points, Ian pulled himself together and came back with 4.5 points out of his remaining 5 games. He maintains his top position in the overall standings, but will have to stay extra-sharp tomorrow as half a point lead is not nearly sufficient to call it. In his interview at the end of the day, he made a supporting comment for former World Champion and legend Garry Kasparov that he roots for him more than he does for himself. Anish Giri Anish had a brilliant start taking down 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand as well as French super-GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. He seems to have found a better form in the blitz portion, though he suffered a tough loss in Round 8 blundering against Anton Korobov in a dynamic endgame where he underestimated the power of two advanced passed pawns. The Dutchman remains in contention for the top prize as he is only 1.5 points behind the leader. Alexander Grischuk Alexander Grischuk seems to have found his form winning two nice games against Anton Korobov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. It is a known fact he typically finds himself in situations of time trouble, yet he has been able to play brilliantly throughout the entire day. But Grischuk also suffered a tough loss against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave which did not allow him to become the only player not to have suffered a loss in this first day of blitz. Jan-Krzysztof Duda Jan-Krzysztof Duda was doing phenomenal for most of the day, scoring 4.5 points in the first 7 rounds. Unfortunately for him, he must have succumbed to the pressure and lost his last two games keeping his result at 50%. He currently shares 4th remains in contention for the top places, though it may be hard to imagine his winning the event. On the other hand, anything remains to be seen tomorrow. Viswanathan Anand Anand suffered a tough loss in the first game of blitz against Anish Giri, but overall it turned out to be a good day for the former World Champion. He scored 5.5 points which keeps him in a tie for 4th place with Jan-Krzysztof Duda. A game that reminded old times was certainly the one against his former rival and World Champion Garry Kasparov, which he won. Anton Korobov Anton Korobov had a solid performance today, scoring 50%. He played an excellent game today against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and was able to turn the game against Anish Giri from a lost position into a win. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov It was a tough day at the office for Shakhriyar Mamedyarov as he suffered four losses and only scored 4 points today. He will have to find his form tomorrow to mount in the overall standings and continue his hunt for better overall standings in the GCT. Jorden Van Foreest Despite being the youngest competitor of this event, Jorden Van Foreest is fearless. He scored two nice wins today taking down former World Champion Garry Kasparov as well as Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who would have been a point away from sharing the 3rd place in the overall standings. Garry Kasparov Former World Champion Garry Kasparov came out of retirement and jumped into the action taking Ivan Saric’s spot in the blitz portion of this event. Saric’s performance in the rapid portion was fantastic and Kasparov may have felt the pressure to maintain their team position in the overall standings. Unfortunately for him, he had a hard time getting some difficult positions out of the opening. He had a dominant position against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave but failed to find a way to convert his advantage and eventually lost on time. He is known to be a resilient fighter and we hope to see him strike back tomorrow on the final day. Text: WGM Sabina Foisor Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes Official website: grandchesstour.org/