Training program for arbiters of online and hybrid events continues
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world over a year ago, people learned new ways of living. Online chess tournaments already existing before the pandemic became a new reality. With the number of online and hybrid tournaments increasing, it became obvious that the role of arbiters in such events is not the same as in OTB tournaments. Although playing chess online is no different from playing it in person, being an efficient online arbiter means not only ensuring that laws of chess are followed and acting in the “best interest of the competition”, but having proper knowledge of the online/hybrid chess regulations, supervising such games, knowing online platforms, general concepts, fair play and basic tools to operate. Earlier this year, the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission released a new program to support the development of arbiters in online and hybrid events. Two levels of seminars included an 8-hour basic course for online arbiters and local chief arbiters in hybrid events, and an 8-hour advanced course to cover the roles and duties of chief arbiters in such tournaments. “We wanted to design a course which would not be limited to teach technical aspects about one or two platforms but highlight to the arbiters the questions they would have to ask themselves about the tools and platforms when being involved in an online tournament. The only technical platform studied in detail was Zoom, as this is the most used one and is a must for online supervision”, – says the leader of the project Laurent Freyd, Chairman of the Arbiters’ Commission. – “This training program was a way to position the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission as a real development actor in the chess community! The collaboration with more than 145 federations was excellent, and I wish to continue in that direction with some other innovative programs for arbiters coming soon”. The initial training program was conducted from April to July 2021 and got positive feedback from many participants. “Thank you very much for organising the online/hybrid arbiters’ course. You have done a great job; the new online tool has positively inspired me. In the courses, I found the many suggestions for chief arbiters helpful. I don’t remember to have seen anything similar in the FA/IA education. The professionalism shown here has impressed me positively”, – wrote Walter Kastner, General Secretary of the Austrian Chess Federation. Following the success of the initial courses, the recurring training sessions for arbiters in online and hybrid events are announced. Basic course, opened to any arbiter with a valid FIDE license, is scheduled from October 4-7, 2021, 19:00 to 21:00 CEST, while advanced course, for arbiters who attended the basic course or have proven participation in at least 2 World or Continental online events, is scheduled from 11-14 October 2021, 19:00 to 21:00 CEST. The team of the project include Alex McFarlane, Education Team Leader, Nebojsa Baralic, Secretary of the Arbiters’ Commission and 4 official FIDE lecturers with strong experience of online events – IA Shohreh Bayat, IA Laurent Freyd, IA Aris Marghetis, IA Omar Salama. Entry fees are 30 € for a single course or 50 € if you register to both courses. The deadline for registration and payment to FIDE is September 30th, 2021. Contact and registration: Nebojsa Baralic, FIDE ARB Secretary (secretary.arbiters@fide.com)
FIDE Women’s World Team Championship: CFR Team and Georgia take the lead
The FIDE Women’s World Team Championship kicked off yesterday in the coastal touristic resort of Sitges, a mere 25 km ride from Barcelona airport. This town is not new to chess: in 1934, it already hosted an international tournament of the first level, with the participation of Tartakower, Spielmann, Lilienthal, and the legendary Spanish champion Ramon Rey Ardid. The local chess club, “Casino Prado”, was founded that very same year and has remained very active during all these decades. In recent times, this tradition found continuation in the Sunway Chess Festival: its 8th edition took place last December, being one of the very first open tournaments being held since the start of the pandemic. The Women’s World Team Championship is played this year under a new format: two pools of six teams each, followed by a knock-out playoff with the eight best teams. The time control has been reduced to 45 minutes + 10 seconds per move, with two games to be played each day. This format allows for the tournament to be played in just 7 days instead of 12, like previous editions, which makes it easier to stage, and more likely to count on the participation of all the top guns. More importantly, it is also expected to raise the interest of the fans, with the knock-out adding some intrigue and excitement. “It is an experimental format, and we are not planning to make it extensive to the Olympiad or other tournaments. After holding this event, and the World Teams one next year, we will carefully weigh the pros and cons. We are aware that breaking is easier than building, so no changes are introduced unless there is strong confidence that they are needed. That was the case with the World Teams, and we hope that the new format will breathe new life into this competition”, said FIDE’s Director General, Emil Sutovsky. One first consequence of these changes became evident during the first day of play for those lucky ones who were present in Sitges: the new format is great for team building. In the break between the two rounds, all the team members gathered together around their respective coaches in the lounge, discussing the strategy for the next match, or simply trying to boost team morale. This created a very nice atmosphere, barely seen on any other chess event before. Team Azerbaijan had a lot to discuss Talking about team morale, the Russian players seem to be highly motivated, and they won their first two matches by storm: 4-0 against Spain and 3½-½ against France. The squad, composed of Kosteniuk, Goryachkina, Lagno, Shuvalova and Kashlinskaya, competes under the denomination “CFR Team”, due to the WADA sanctions against Russia. Athletes from this country cannot wear their flag or use the name “Russia” at any event in the category of World Championship. Fortunately, these restrictions will not apply during the Chess Olympiad next year in Moscow. Different name, but the same formidable team: the Russian ladies only conceded a draw in the game between Aleksandra Goryachkina (who celebrates her birthday today) and Marie Sebag (FRA), and are the clear leaders in their group (A), with two victories and 7½ points. They are followed by India and Armenia, both with one draw and one victory and 4½ board points. Vaishali, for India, and Sargsyan, for Armenia, won both their games on day one. The host team, Spain, will struggle to qualify after having lost both matches. CFR, first, by 4-0, and then India, by 2½-1½. A disappointing start that relegates them to the last position. In group B, no team shows the same dominance as the Russian in the other pool. Georgia and Kazakhstan are on top of the standings with one victory and one draw each. The Georgians lead, with five board points out of eight games. The major surprise was the bad result by the Polish team, that lost both their matches. The winners of a silver medal at the Baku Chess Olympiad 2016 had a bumpy start: one of their top players, Karina Cyfka, had to be replaced at the last minute before travelling to Sitges. Then, they lost both their matches by 1½-2½, first against FIDE Americas and then against Germany. The third round will start today at 15:00 CET. Text: David Llada Photo: Niki Riga Official website: worldwomensteams.fide.com
Carlsen’s lead narrows as pressure rises in Tour Finals
The pressure ramped up in the $300,000 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals today as Magnus Carlsen had a point chipped off his lead. Norway’s World Champion needed a blitz playoff to beat the tricky Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was dangerous right to the death. Carlsen got pegged back twice in the match and had to settle for two rather than three points. He is, however, one round closer to victory. “I feel very good,” said Carlsen after his win. “ All eyes were also on the leader’s nearest rival, Wesley So, who picked up the maximum in his match against Vladislav Artemiev to keep the pressure up. The American is now 5 points behind Carlsen with six rounds to play – but these two are yet to face each other. So said afterwards that Carlsen had a “huge lead”, but the tournament still had a long way to go. Carlsen had started perfectly with a quickfire win in game 1. Following a draw in game 2, the third was then a game to forget for the champ. Carlsen struggled out of the opening and never recovered. Finding himself in a hopeless position, the 30-year-old was eventually forced to resign. The Frenchman levelled the score. The fourth then ended in a draw as the match headed into tiebreaks. Carlsen crashed through in the first to break MVL’s resistance before a draw in the second handed him the win. America’s blitz king Hikaru Nakamura had a strong return to form as he posted a 3-1 win over Levon Aronian. The loss effectively ends Aronian’s faint hopes of catching Carlsen and So. Meanwhile, Shakrhiyar Mamedyarov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, two of the tournament’s most exciting players, traded blows in an explosive match that went to tiebreaks. Duda took the first blitz game, and then a draw secured the two-point win. Anish Giri also launched a comeback to level his match 2-2 against the super-solid Teimour Radjabov before turning the screw to win in the tiebreaks. The Finals of the 2021 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour sees the world’s best chess players face off across nine rounds of rapid chess from September 25 to October 4. Tune in on www.chess24.com, YouTube or Twitch starting at 17:00 CET each day. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770
Vojtěch Plát and Karolina Pilsova win Czech Championships
Vojtěch Plát (pictured above) and Karolina Pilsova won the Czech chess championship that took place in Zlin, a city in southeastern Moravia. Both events were ten-player round-robins with classical time control running from September 11-19 (women) and September 17-26 (open). With two top-rated Czech players (David Navara and Viktor Laznicka) missing in the open competition, Vojtěch Plát had a great showing. The 27-year old GM from Prostejov scored 6½ points, earned the second national title in his career and became the only unbeaten participant in the tournament. GMs Štěpán Žilka and Jan Krejčí finished just a half point behind the champion. Žilka who had a slightly better Sonneborn-Berger took silver, whearas Krejčí had to settle for bronze. Final standings open: 1 GM Plat, Vojtech 2536 6½ 2 GM Zilka, Stepan 2570 6 3 GM Krejci, Jan 2539 6 4 GM Babula, Vlastimil 2561 5 5 GM Stocek, Jiri 2584 4½ 6 GM Nguyen Thai Dai Van 2594 4 7 IM Zwardon, Vojtech 2498 4 8 GM Petr, Martin 2508 3½ 9 GM Polak, Tomas 2545 3 10 FM Mladek, Richard 2361 2½ By an odd coincidence, in the women’s tournament, the champion Karolina Pilsova also netted 6½ out of 9 and suffered no defeats either. Karin Nemcova and Magdalena Miturova tied for the second place with the former taking silver thanks to better tiebreaks. Final standings women: 1 WGM Pilsová, Karolína 2280 6½ 2 Němcová, Karin 2137 5½ 3 WIM Miturová, Magdaléna 2219 5½ 4 WGM Petrová, Kristýna 2285 5 5 WIM Richterová, Nataša 2160 5 6 WIM Novosadová, Kristýna 2107 4½ 7 WIM Kaňáková, Natálie 2180 4 8 WGM Kulovaná, Eva 2164 3½ 9 WFM Laurincová, Kristýna 2070 3 10 WGM Sikorová, Olga 2205 2½ Photo: Vladimír Jagr Official website: chess.cz