Kosteniuk and Danielian rocket up in September rating list
August 2021 was the month of four main events in the chess calendar: the 2021 FIDE World Cup, Sinquefield Cup, the 2021 Women’s FIDE World Cup and the Women’s European Championship. Consequently, those who did well in those competitions became the primary beneficiaries in the September rating lists. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave dropped two rating points in the FIDE World Cup but more than compensated for it by winning the Sinquefield Cup. The Frenchman earned 14 rating points in Saint Louis and triumphantly returned into the top-10, kicking out Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The latter lost 20 points in the FIDE World Cup and the Sinquefield Cup. Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova The Women’s FIDE World Cup champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, gained 41 points, climbed from 18th to 8th place in the women’s rankings, and reappeared in the top-10 for the first time since August 2019. Tan Zhongyi also did a great job in Sochi, where she reached the semifinals and picked up 14 rating points moving up one step in the Women’s Top-10. Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova Biggest gains: 1 Danielian, Elina GM ARM 2450 (+43) 2 Kosteniuk, Alexandra GM RUS 2526 (+41) 3 Injac, Teodora WGM SRB 2405 (+35) 4 Garifullina, Leya WGM RUS 2409 (+24) 5 Vaishali R WGM IND 2414 (+21) 6 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM POL 2756 (+18) 7 Nomin-Erdene, Davaademberel IM MGL 2398 (+16) 8 Sargsyan, Shant GM ARM 2642 (+16) 9 Tan, Zhongyi GM CHN 2525 (+14) 10 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM UZB 2648 (14) 11 Kamsky, Gata GM USA 2662 (+13) 12 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime GM FRA 2763 (+12) Elina Danielian is the winner in this category, thanks to her brilliant performance at the Women’s European Championship. The Armenian GM not only took the title but also netted swooping 43 rating points. Teodora Injac and Leya Garifullina put up a strong showing in the two main women’s competitions in August and notched up 35 and 24 points, respectively. Photo: https://ecuwomen2021.ro/ Right outside the Top-10 Open, Jan-Krzysztof Duda picked up 18 points and ascended three positions to 15th after his impressive victory at the FIDE World Cup. Photo: David Llada Nodirbek Abusattorov and Shant Sargsian moved up one position each in the Top-10 Junior list. They earned 14 and 16 points, respectively, after producing good results at FIDE World Cup and Agzamov Memorial in Tashkent (won by the Armenian GM), and now are close on the heels of Nihal Sarin, who still occupies third place. Meanwhile, Gata Kamsky came out on top in the Biel Chess Festival 2021, which translates into 13 rating points and 23 positions up in the Top-100 Open. Top lists, calculations, ratings, statistics and more: ratings.fide.com
Firouzja puts So to the sword as Carlsen downs Duda
Rising star Alireza Firouzja showed why he’s seen almost universally as the next big thing in chess today with a ruthless display against Wesley So. The Iran-born 18-year-old was at his fearsome best in the Aimchess US Rapid as he thrashed US Champ Wesley 2.5-0.5 in the first match of the quarters. Wesley has won two titles on this year’s Meltwater Champions Tour and is a hot tip to win the series overall. But the American had no answer to Firouzja’s dominant play as the youngster won the first two games and then finished him off with a draw. Firouzja’s play belied his young age and he played with confidence and maturity, calmly guiding the match to its conclusion with a game to spare. “I think now I am getting in better shape,” he said afterwards, comparing his performance to previous Tour outings. As always, Wesley was gracious in defeat and heaped praise on his opponent – but did say it was a “bad day” for him. Wesley, who hinted that his hectic schedule had taken a toll on his play, will undoubtedly come back tomorrow for the second QF match with renewed vigour. Meanwhile, World Champion and Tour leader Magnus Carlsen also hammered Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who knocked him out of the recent World Cup before winning it. Carlsen looked bang in form as he battered Duda 2.5-0.5. The Pole now has a mountain to climb to make it into the semis. Asked whether he had exacted revenge on Duda for the loss, Carlsen said: “No, I don’t get revenge by beating people once.” He added: “I will need to show up tomorrow with the same kind of energy that I did today.” In the other quarters, the in-form Vladislav Artemiev, who dominated the prelim stage, found his charge for the title halted by the Cuban-American Leinier Dominguez. Artemiev and Dominguez’s tight match ended 2-2 leaving the pair heading for a shootout tomorrow. Artemiev maintained his unbeaten run, which extends to 19 games – but it took a last-gasp save to keep it. Levon Aronian, playing his last tournament in Armenia, beat the Azeri Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 3-1 in a spectacular match that saw four decisive games. Tomorrow the four quarter-final matches will reach their climax with play starting at 17:00 CEST. All games will be played in the chess24.com playzone. Coverage with full commentary is available on www.championschesstour.com or www.chess24.com. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770