FIDE Online Cadets & Youth Rapid Grand Prix Series gets underway
The Cadets and Youth Rapid World Championship cycle continues as the Grand Prix Series kicks off on Monday, November 1. The first online world championship cycle event for young chess players – Cadets and Youth World Cup – ran in August and gathered more than 1600 participants. The three winners in 10 categories (open and girls under 10, 12, 14, 16) qualified directly for the Super Final in December, and those placed 4-8 (5 players) and one highest-rated player among 9-16 got their spots in the Grand Prix to take another shot on qualification. They are joined by two top players from each continent – the winners of the Continental Online Championship 2021 and the Continental School Championships 2021. The Grand Prix consists of two round-robin tournaments from 1-8 and 19-24 November. The three overall winners of the series will qualify for the Super Final. In total, 110 players from 33 countries will compete, India and Russia standing out with the biggest number of participants (16 and 13) and rating-favourites in several categories. India dominates the open section with their players on top of the starting lists in Open U18 – IM Rautela Saksham, U16 – Pranav V, and U14 – Bharath Subramaniyam H. Russia’s hopes are high in the girls’ part of the event as WFM Mariya Yakimova (U16), Victoria Merkulova (U12), and Ksenia Asachenko (U10) are the highest-rated in their groups. Other rating-favourites are WIM Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (Girls U18) from Vietnam, WFM Fiorella Contreras Huaman (Girls U14) from Peru, Ryo Chen (Open U12) from the USA, and Khagan Ahmad (Open U10) from Azerbaijan. Our YouTube channel will provide live broadcast with commentary by GM Farrukh Amonatov: youtube.com/fidechannel You can find the results, regulations, and other information on the official website:https://youth-grandprix.fide.com/
World Team Championship 2022 – Call for bids
1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the World Team Championship in April 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 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 1 to 30 November 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time. 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 by the FIDE Council. 1.5 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.
November rating list: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave returns to top-10
The October of 2021 was marked by the national championships in two chess superpowers (the U.S and Russia) and local team competitions and tournaments in Germany, Poland, Croatia and Spain. Those who did well in these events became the primary beneficiaries of the November rating list. Despite tying for first place in the U.S. Championship, Fabiano Caruana lost nine points and slid down to the third position in the November rating list. Ironically, the champion performance cost Wesley So six points and two places in the top-10. Meanwhile, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave returned to the top-10 after picking 3 points in Bundesliga. The Frenchman edged out Richard Rapport, who dropped 7 points in the same competition. Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova The only active player in the women’s top-10 in October was Aleksandra Goryachkina, who tried her hand in the Russian Superfinal (open section) and picked up two rating points. Biggest gains Kiolbasa, Oliwia POL 2403 (+27) Kovalenko, Igor LAT 2668 (+21) Saric, Ivan CRO 2665 (+21) Cheparinov, Ivan BUL 2677 (+18) Gunina, Valentina RUS 2480 (+18) Yip, Carissa USA 2418 (+16) Shirov, Alexei ESP 2673 (+14) Sevian, Samuel USA 2668 (+14) Cori, Deysi PER 2396 (+14) Anton Guijarro, David ESP 2669 (+11) Van Foreest, Jorden NED 2701 (+10) The winner in this category Oliwia Kiolbasa did exceptionally well in the Polski Ekstraliga, earning 27 rating points that translated into a 28-position jump in the rating list. Photo: Krzysztof Szeląg The winner of the Turnir Mira 2021, Igor Kovalenko, netted 9 points in Croatia and then built up momentum in Bundesliga picking another 12 points. These results catapulted the Latvian from 99th to 67th position in the rating list. The namesakes Ivan Saric and Ivan Cheparinov did a great job in team events across Europe, picking 21 and 18 points, respectively. The winners of the Russian and U.S. championships Valentina Gunina and Carissa Yip (pictured below), earned not only the prestigious titles and seizable prize money but also substantial rating increases of +18 and +16 points, respectively. Photo: Crystal Fuller Unlike the gold and silver winners of the U.S. Championship who lost some rating, Sam Sevian has all the reasons to be proud of his performance as he picked 14 points and mounted to 70th position in the rating list. Jorden Van Foreest is back into the 2700+ club after getting a 10-point addition for the victory in the TePe Sigeman tournament in Malme (the results of this event, which took place at the end of September, were incorporated in the November rating list). Photo: Lars OA Hedlund We have three newcomers in the top-100 Open in November. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu returned in the top-100 following his good performance in Romania Team Championship and Bundesliga, whereas two young talents Aryan Tari and Bogdan-Daniel Deac, are debuting in this prestigious list.