Sergei Karjakin “The Comeback Minister” advances to semi-finals
All-Russian women’s final between Goryachkina and Kosteniuk Friday, July 30th, 2021 – Although in the women’s group game two of the semi-finals were being played, most of the attention –online but also in the press room – was focused on the tiebreak match between GM Sam Shankland (2709), representing USA and GM Sergey Karjakin (2757), the Russian local hero. The winner would not only advance to the Open Group semi-finals but would also acquire a very decent shot at the 2022 Candidates qualification (there are two spots in play here). As usual, the tiebreak format is nerve-wracking; two 25 minutes + 10-second increment rapid games, followed by two 10/10 games. If there is still not a winner, two Blitz games 5/3 followed by a “sudden death” Armageddon game eventually decides the match. In the first 25/10 game, Shankland opened with 1.c4 but after a few moves the game headed down the paths of the Catalan Opening, a line that has a very solid reputation. Both players started their maneuvering tactics: for the most part, it seemed clear that they were playing it safe. The position remained balanced until Karjakin blundered with 33…Nc7? and then again with 36…Qd2? It’s always tricky for an annotator to suggest what he might have missed: maybe the 39.Bxc6 sacrifice, leaving White with two passed pawns and a clearly winning position. Karjakin defended as best as he could, but there was no way that Shankland was going to let this unique opportunity slip through his hands, and his endgame technique was more than enough to take the point home. Karjakin’s body language in the second game was unmistakably aggressive. After being crushed in the French in the classical games, Shankland brought back his beloved Sicilian but didn’t react well to White’s setup. Sergey Karjakin – Sam Shankland Already in the opening, 11…Qa5? was a big mistake, which Karjakin punished mercilessly with 12.f5! Again, it’s hard to know exactly where Shankland’s preparation was flawed – generally these mistakes happen due to mixing-up the different move-orders – but he was soon a piece down for two pawns. Karjakin wrapped-up the game and forced the second series of 10/10 rapids. Karjakin won the toss and played White again in the first of the two 10/10 rapids. On his tenth move he went for 10.e5 – home preparation – instead of 10.0-0-0, not expecting Shankland to repeat the same mistake twice. Kudos to his second Denis Khismatullin for preparing this idea during while the second game was being played! Shankland accepted the invitation, and after the exchange of queens he was a pawn up, but Karjakin had huge positional compensation and cashed in after a couple of dubious moves played by the American. Ahead on the score-cards, Karjakin chose the solid Queen’s Indian defence for the second 10/10 game. Although he was somewhat worse in a queen-rook endgame, his defensive skills came into play once again. With no other choice, Shankland over-pressed in the ending and “The Comeback Minister” qualified to the semi-finals. A very happy Sergey Karjakin gave us his thoughts on the match in a brief interview, cheered on by many supporters from the rail. After two draws in the first game, it was all on the line in the women’s section. Would GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2596) from Russia, be able to take advantage of the white pieces and defeat her opponent, Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk (2527). What about the second game? GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2472), playing for Russia, looked great in game one, seamlessly equalising with no effort at all in her game against GM Tan Zhongyi (2511) from China. How would the second game go, now that she would be playing with White. Goryachkina opened with 1.d4 and Muzychuk responded with the 10…Qa5+ / 11…Qa3 side-line in the Grunfeld defence, which had already been tried out here in the fifth round between Kateryna Lagno and Tan Zhongyi. Goryachkina spent quite a lot of time in the opening but found an interesting idea, isolating Black’s doubled pawns with a timely exchange of bishops on e6. Soon after, Muzychuk sacrificed a piece on d4 having calculated that she was getting it back with equality, but the idea was bad: Aleksandra Goryachkina – Anna Muzychuk Goryachkina could have won on the spot with 21.e5! but she chose 21.Rxb7 instead. After more than forty minutes of thought, Muzychuk opted for the exchange of queens, transitioning into a double-rook ending, which was slightly worse but defendable. However, Goryachkina piled on the pressure, played for the two weaknesses and notched up the win and the qualification to the Women’s World Cup final. Meanwhile, in the other semi-final game, Alexandra Kosteniuk surprised Tan Zhongyi with the so-called Keres-Kaufman attack against the solid Petroff Defence (5.c4). She achieved a small edge going into the middlegame, with a strong knight on b6 and two bishops pressuring the centre. Alexandra Kosteniuk – Tan Zhongyi Under serious pressure, Tan Zhongyi blundered with 19…dxc4? possibly missing that after 20.Rxc4 Qxa5 21.Ra4 Qb5 22.Be2! traps the queen. However, Kosteniuk had another idea in mind – to sacrifice her own rook for the opponent’s bishop on e6 after 22.Re1 Be6? 23.Rxe6 And it worked out! The former world champion from China was unable to find the best defence and eventually crumbled under the pressure. Although visibly tired after the huge effort, Alexandra still found time to attend to the press and give us her thoughts on the match and her qualification to the World Cup final. Tomorrow, Saturday, July 31st is the second free day. The World Cup Open semi-finals along with the Women’s final (and third-fourth place match) will begin on August 1st. More information on the World Cup website: Pairings of the rounds, live games and PGN files can be found on the World Cup website alongside a great amount of other interesting information such as daily videos, a complete photo collection and other useful data. Text: Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer press@fide.com Photo: Eric Rosen and Anastasiia Korolkova About the tournament: Scheduled to take place from July 12th (Round 1) to August 6th (finals), the 2021 FIDE World Cup will gather together in Sochi (Russia) 309 of
Chess for Protection: FIDE and UNHCR introduce a chess project for refugees
The Chess for protection project aiming to consolidate and develop the playing of chess in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya starts on August 02. Chess often serves as a tool for empowerment that helps to enhance the psychosocial wellbeing of people, to reach their full potential, regardless of their background. The game can also make a huge impact in the lives of young people, giving them new learning opportunities and engaging in meaningful activities where they have a chance to heal, develop and grow. These are the aims of the Chess for protection project, implemented by the International Chess Federation, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Kenya Chess Federation and Kakuma Chess Club is expected to consolidate and develop the playing of chess in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. The kick-off event of the project starts on Monday, August 02 at 10:00 a.m. Kenya time (9:00 CET). It includes an online opening ceremony with key speakers such as UNHCR representative Fathiaa Abdalla, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Chess Kenya President Benard Wanjala and others and a simultaneous exhibition played between FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola and members of Kakuma Chess Club. The arbiter at the simultaneous exhibition will be IA Shohreh Bayat. The program aims to raise awareness about the availability of chess as a sport including the opportunities it presents to talented players. It will also provide training to improve players’ knowledge and life skills which will, in turn, be passed to others. Linkages and networks will also be created with the larger chess community in Kenya and globally for greater development of chess in the camp and external opportunities for the professional development of players. Many young women and girls find it difficult to meaningfully engage in education and extra-curricular activities due to negative cultural norms that often prevent them from equal access to opportunities. Chess for Protection project includes activities of Girl Club Project under the leadership of FIDE Vice President Anastasia Sorokina, such as meeting and communicating with successful women, reading and discussing books, painting workshops and many others. Chess has been predominantly embraced by the youth from Kakuma and currently, 180 club members are actively participating in chess. Building on existing chess activities, the International Chess Federation will further bring in the experience and expertise of chess programs to contribute to the protection and well-being of refugee youth and adolescents and elevate chess to the level of key activities through which young people are engaged. The project is expected to directly benefit 1.600 learners, with various levels of chess proficiency through online presentations, provision of play materials and equipment, training and mentorship. Further, it is estimated that another 800 individuals from various parts of the camp community at large will be affected indirectly in various positive ways. Background Kenya is one of the biggest refugee-hosting countries in Africa and the world, hosting over 508,000 refugees mainly from the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa region. Over 40% of all refugees reside in Kakuma refugee camp. The majority of the refugee population in Kakuma and Kalobeyei consists of children and youth. Having been forced to flee from their homes, youth and adolescents are exposed to extreme stressors that may impact their psychosocial well-being. Further, 30% of children in primary school age and 94% at the secondary school age are out of school and not engaged in any income-generating activities, leaving them vulnerable to risks related to idleness such as developing stress, disorientation and hopelessness which predisposes them to engage in dangerous and risky behaviours – crime, violence, drugs, gang activities, and survival sex – as a means for coping with the situation. Further, many young women and girls find it difficult to meaningfully engage in education and extra-curricular activities due to negative cultural norms that often prevent them from equally accessing opportunities. They are expected to take care of family members while their parent/parents are working, which leaves them with very little time for learning opportunities.
Istvan Csom (1940-2021)
It is with the deepest sadness that we learned about the passing of GM Istvan Csom at 81. The Hungarian champion (1972 and 1973) he represented his country at nine Chess Olympiads. Istvan Csom won an Olympic gold medal with the Hungarian team in Buenos Aires 1978. He also took silver 3 times in Siegen (1970), Skopje (1972) and Valetta (1980) being the best scorer in the Hungarian team. He was a Hungarian Master Trainer and IA as well. Over the course of his career, Csom defeated many top grandmasters, including Mikhail Tal, Ulf Andersson, Boris Gulko, Antony Miles, Lajos Portisch, Samuel Reshevsky and Nigel Short. Famous for his legendary fighting spirit and fair play Istvan Csom became an icon of Hungarian chess. He will stay in our hearts. FIDE extends its sincere condolences to Istvan’s family, friends, and loved ones.