FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss officially opened in Latvia
The world’s chess elite gathered in Riga’s Hansas Perons centre for the opening of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural Women’s Grand Swiss. Altogether 158 strong players from all over the world are taking part in the event, which will decide the qualifiers for the 2022 Candidates Tournament that will produce the challenger for the title of the World Champion Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE Managing Director and a Latvian native, noted that it is a great honour for her country to be hosting an event of such importance. Commenting on the current situation in Latvia, where a four-week Covid-lockdown was recently introduced, Reizniece-Ozola said she shares the concerns of players and that she feels the frustration caused by the pandemic. “When all of this was developing, I felt like playing a chess game against COVID and taking it on myself”, said Reizniece-Ozola, who is also a Woman Grandmaster. In his speech at the opening ceremony, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich noted that the Grand Swiss is “the most important FIDE tournament and not just the qualifying event” as he thanked the players for coming. By reiterating that FIDE and the organisers have imposed strict health and safety measures for all, Dvorkovich has said that the international chess body wanted to “show our respect to all people in Latvia and everyone involved in this event” concerning the current situation. FIDE President thanked the Scheinberg Family and Chess.com as well as Coca Cola and the Latvian Chess Federation for sponsoring the event. He expressed FIDE’s gratitude to the Latvian government and the mayor of Riga for hosting the Grand Swiss, as well as to Dana Reizniece-Ozola, “who made this event happen”. “Chess life continues whatever happens. We will do everything possible to ensure the safe conduct of the tournament so that you are free to focus on your games and play well”, Dvorkovich said. “Thank you, good luck and stay healthy”, FIDE President concluded. The guests were also greeted by pre-recorded messaged by the Latvian Minister for Education and Science, Anita Muižniece, as well as the mayor of Riga, Mārtiņš Staķis. Both noted the legacy of Mikhail Tal and how important this event is for Riga and Latvia, inviting players to experience the city and thanking them for their participation. The President of the Latvian Chess Federation, Rejs Mundi, reminded the participants that in 2019 Riga hosted the FIDE Grand Prix, which was won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after a suspenseful Armageddon game in the tie-break against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. “In the spirit of the 2019 event, I wish for this tournament to be a thriller until the end”. He wished players luck but noted that it could only apply to “exactly half of the players, as you can’t all be lucky”. The drawing of lots Following the performance of two singers who sang Latvian folk songs wearing traditional attire, the drawing of lots took place. Arkady Dvorkovich drew white pieces for the open tournament’s top-seed and world number two, Fabiano Caruana. The top player in the women’s section, Mariya Muzychuk, drew black pieces for herself. The 2021 Grand Swiss The first round of the Grand Swiss will start on the 27th of October at 2 PM local time. The open event will have one of the longest time controls ever used in chess: each player will have 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, plus 15 minutes for the remaining moves, with 30 seconds added per move from the start of the game. The time control for the Women’s Grand Swiss will be slightly shorter: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Both tournaments are part of the qualifications for the 2021-23 World Championship cycle, with the top two players in the open event qualifying for the 2022 Candidates Tournament and the following six securing spots in the Grand Prix. The winner of the Women’s Grand Swiss will qualify directly for the Women Candidates and the four best players will qualify for the next year’s Women’s Grand Prix. The pairings for the first round of the Grand Swiss can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr587230.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=1&flag=30 The pairings for the first round of the Women’s Grand Swiss can be found here:http://chess-results.com/tnr587231.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=1&flag=30 Information about the event can be found here:https://grandswiss.fide.com/general-information/ Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Mark Livshitz Official website: grandswiss.fide.com
Winners crowned at FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship
2021-10-26ADDENDUM: The FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships 2021 were held in Rhodes, Greece between 16th and 26th of October 2021. During the awarding ceremony on 25th of October, the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in U2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly. It must be noted that since the number of female players didn’t reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both – this is the detail the CA misinterpreted. The prize distribution has been adjusted accordingly: below you can find the final prize list at the bottom of this article. ############# The 2021 FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship was one of the first over-the-board World Championship in nearly two years and a big step in returning to normal life after the pandemic. It ran as part of the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival from October 17-25. The closing ceremony held on October 25 featured Mr Nikos Nikolis, Vice Governor of the Region of South Aegean, responsible for sports; Dr Charudatta Jadhav, the IBCA President; Mr Benard Wanjala, Chairman of Chess Kenya, and a representative from the Rhodes municipality and the local chess club Ippotis. FIDE representative Mr Ozgur Solakoglu recalled the greetings to the participants sent by the FIDE President, Mr Arkady Dvorkovich, and expressed satisfaction that the amateur players of all ages who came to Rhodes demonstrated love for the beautiful game, good sportsmanship, and courtesy to each other. Mr Solakoglu highlighted no COVID-related health emergencies during the ten days of the championship because everyone adhered to the strictest health protocols as set by the regulators in the host country Greece. He thanked organizers and arbiters for the excellent teamwork that made this tournament a success. Secretary-General of the European Chess Union Mr Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou explained that FIDE and the continental associations treat amateur chess as a base of the pyramid that allows the game to grow organically and involve players of all ages and skill levels. He congratulated everyone on resuming over-the-board events and promised that 2022 would feature many exciting World and European competitions. The excitement in the audience was palpable when the world-renowned singer Juga was introduced and a clip of her famous Oh, Capablanca song was played on screen. Juga made a passionate speech defending real women, wonderful role models like Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili, Judith Polgar, against the pop-culture fictional Beth Harmon character. Juga is currently working on the Chess Divas series that will be devoted to those brave real-life women. To the delight of all assembled, the singer gave an avant-première of her new song from the series called Shakhmatistka, created in collaboration with the Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. After such an emotional high, the festivities concluded. Chief Arbiter Vadim Tsypin read the award lists in all categories, the assembled dignitaries presented cups and medals to happy players, and Juga generously gifted her exclusive CDs. The champions came from six different countries on three continents: Women U-1700 Glenda Madelta (KEN) Open U-1700 Mukhtar Ainakul (KAZ) Women U-2000 Marigje Degrande (BEL) Open U-2000 Peter Anand (IND) Women U-2300 Alexandra Zherebtsova (RUS) Open U-2300 Dimitrios Ladopoulos (GRE) During the awarding ceremony the Chief Arbiter of the tournament wrongly interpreted the regulations of the event and in the U-2000 category of the tournament winners were announced incorrectly. After the immediate report to FIDE, the decision was taken to award two sets of silver and bronze medals, and to distribute the money prizes accordingly: Under-2000 Category Gold medal Peter Anand A (IND) €1,000 Silver medal Degrande, Marigje (BEL) €900 Silver medal Celik, Berkay (TUR) €600 Bronze medal WCM Sultanbek, Zeinep (KAZ) €800 Bronze medal CM Mohamed, Saeed Laily (UAE) €400 Tarnowska, Aleksandra (POL) €700 Under-2000 Women Category Gold medal Degrande, Marigje (BEL) Silver medal WCM Sultanbek, Zeinep (KAZ) Bronze medal Tarnowska, Aleksandra (POL) It must be noted that since the number of female players didn’t reach the minimum established to hold a separate tournament, both categories open and women were merged in just one competition. Female players were eligible for awards in both – this is the detail the CA misinterpreted At the end of the ceremony, the Tournament Director Nikolaos Kalesis called upon amateur players of the world to come together in Malta for the next FIDE World Amateur Championship in October 2022. The complete results of the event can be found here. Information and photos by the Rhodes 2021 Chess Festival press service
FIDE Candidates Tournaments and Women’s Grand Prix Series 2022-23: Call for bids
1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Women’s Grand Prix Series from August 2022 to June 2023 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. The federation’s letter of support may be provided later when the bid’s evaluation procedure is launched. 1.3 The bid may contain special proposals on financial and commercial conditions. The FIDE Council shall decide whether these conditions are admissible. 1.4 Bid Forms shall be filled in by an Applicant. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 6 October to 6 December 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has the right to extend this deadline). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.5 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.6 Once the Organiser is granted the right to organise one of the four Women’s GP tournaments, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC. 1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Candidates Tournament in June-July 2022 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. The federation’s letter of support may be provided later, when the bid’s evaluation procedure will be launched. 1.3 The bid may contain special proposals on financial and commercial conditions. The FIDE Council shall decide whether these conditions are admissible. 1.4 Bid Forms shall be filled in by an Applicant. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 6 October to 20 November 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has the right to extend this deadline). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.5 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.6 Once the Organiser is granted the right to organise the event, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC. 1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Women’s Candidates Tournament in the first part of 2022 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. 1.3 Any Applicant shall fill in the Bidding Form. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 16 August to 15 September 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has a right to extend this deadline ). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.4 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.5 Once the Organiser is granted the right to host the event, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC.
Dutch Championship: Anne Haast clinches her fifth title
Anne Haast came as the winner of the 2021 Dutch Women’s Championship. It is her fifth national title (she previously won this event in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017). The 2021 open and women’s Dutch championship were held in Hoogeveen had different formulas. The women’s event was a classical 8-player round, while men competed in a preliminary knockout stage to qualify for the final four who will return over the board in November to determine the champion. With several top players missing in the open competition, Roeland Pruijssers, Max Warmerdam, Robin Swinkels and Hing Ting Lai made it to the final stage that will take place in Rotterdam. Haast had a shaky start as she lost in Roun 2 to Tea Lanchava but after scoring three victories in a row, the resident of Tilburg and a happy mom of a one-year-old daughter was coming into the final round sharing the lead with Eline Roberts. Anne quickly dismantled the hedgehog formation of Machteld Van Foreest (Jorden and Lukas’ sister) to score a full point, while Eline fell in a sharp battle with Maaike Keetman. The 15-year old Eline Roberts (pictured below) tied for second with GM Peng Zhaoqin and settled for bronze but showed great promise. “If she continues like this, she will certainly succeed one day,” the five-time Dutch Women’s champion said. Final standings: 1 WGM Haast, Anne 2318 5 2 GM Peng, Zhaoqin 2359 4 3 Roebers, Eline 2297 4 4 WIM Ratsma, Rosa 2306 3½ 5 WFM Keetman, Maaike 2136 3½ 6 IM Lanchava, Tea 2214 3 7 FM Kazarian, Anna-Maja 2125 3 8 Van Foreest, Machteld 2132 2 Official website: schaken.nl/ Photo: Frans Peters