Call for submissions: FIDE Veterans Support Program 2022
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of its support to chess veterans. A number of grants will be awarded next month to distinguished players, coaches and organizers aged 65+. Anyone over this age who has contributed to the development of chess and who is in an unstable financial situation is eligible to submit an application. We invite federations, clubs, and players themselves to send their applications, including a CV of the nominee, to the FIDE Secretariat: office@fide.com. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2022. Just like in 2021, a total of €65,000 will be allocated to this program. This amount is to be distributed among distinguished chess seniors.
Training on new developments in the chess regulations held online
The Russian Chess Academy ushered in a new chess year – the year that would feature the Chess Olympiad in Moscow – with a seminar for International / FIDE / National Arbiters and tournament organizers held in an online format (webinar) on January 14, 2022. Titled “Changes to the FIDE Regulations effective January 01, 2022”, this webinar in the Russian language attracted a vast audience. The Zoom platform counted 179 logged-in attendees from nine national federations: Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. No entry fees were charged to the attendees. The participants of the webinar were welcomed by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. He expressed confidence that this important event would serve to share the best practices and processes. The webinar attendees had a chance to learn about new developments in the chess regulations and understand the rationale behind them and study typical problems and issues. Webinar Leader IA/IO/FL Alexander Tkachev (Russia), the CFR Technical Director, and the Director of the Russian Chess Academy explained that the changes that came into effect in January 2022 reflect a huge collaborative effort of the FIDE Council, the Qualification Commission, and the national chess federations that took part in the detailed survey that laid the groundwork for important modifications. Many other stakeholders, such as the Arbiters’ Commission and the Fair Play Commission, took an active role in the process. The result is the new set of Regulations that better meet the needs of all segments of the global chess family: elite players, norm seekers, amateurs, organizers, and arbiters. “Working with the new Regulations will require some adjustment from all of us. Let’s keep our minds open and embark on this road together!” Mr Tkachev said. He also stressed the benefits of the collaboration between national federations connected by common geography, culture, history, or language. The new editions of the FIDE Rating Regulations, FIDE Rapid and Blitz Rating Regulations, and FIDE Title Regulations that became effective in January 2022 were presented during the webinar. Some changes were made to comply with other FIDE documents that have priority (e.g., the FIDE Charter); others codify existing best practices that have already taken root to make the game of chess even more transparent, fair, and democratic. The seminar attendees were provided with the multi-page comparison tables that captured every change, addition, or deletion in the three Regulations documents. Common pitfalls that arbiters and organizers can encounter in title norm tournaments were explained by Guest Lecturer IA/IO Vadim Tsypin (Canada). The agenda of the webinar also included the topic of changed responsibilities of the chief arbiters and the rating officers in organizer federations, as well as changes to report submission and norm certificate issuance. The expertise accumulated by the Chess Federation of Russia was shared with attendees. Information and photos by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Russian Chess Academy
Tata Steel Masters: Vidit shoots ahead
Vidit Gujrathi prevailed over Daniil Dubov in a wild game to grab a sole lead in Tata Steel Masters. Andrey Esipenko, Jorden Van Foreest and Richard Rapport also scored victories and now sit on 2/3 together with Magnus Carlsen and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who drew their game. True to his creative style Daniil Dubov introduced a novelty in the Italian Opening against Vidit Gujrathi as early as on the move 8. The Indian GM took the seemingly risky approach, first trading his dark-squared bishop and then accepting a central pawn sacrifice. As a result, he fell behind in development, whereas Black’s king got stuck in the centre. Still, Vidt managed to maintain balance finding all the right answers in a critical situation. Daniil pushed hard and sacrificed an exchange, but surprisingly it did not change the evaluation of position as roughly equal. Indeed, the white queen was chasing down the black king, but there were no decisive threats in sight. A real drama happened on move 32 – after a series of checks, the Russian GM decided to protect his rook with 32.f3, which turned to be a fatal mistake. Most likely, Dubov missed that his rook was taboo due to checkmate in three. Vidit immediately traded the rooks, escaped with his king and quickly converted the material advantage. Richard Rapport instructively outplayed Nils Grandelius on the black side of the Sicilian Defense and finished off his opponent with a textbook combination. Nils Grandelius – Richard Rapport 29…Rh1! An excellent illustration of the deflection motif! White resigned after 30.Rg1 Rxg1 31.Qxg1 Qc3 with imminent checkmate on b2 0-1 In the Russian derby, Esipenko – Karjakin, Black was patiently defending a slightly worse position but all of a sudden left his bishop en prise. Sergey got a couple of passers in return, but Andrey found the correct way to retain his bishop, rearranged his pieces and promptly neutralized all the opponent’s threats to score a full point. Jorden Van Foreest surprised Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa with a rare line 3.Bc4, which is mostly seen in the games by low-rated players. The Dutchman offered a pawn sacrifice and obtained positional compensation that became more than sufficient when his Indian opponent opted to trade the light-squared bishop at the cost of doubling his pawns along the e-file. Although Jorden put serious pressure on Black’s weaknesses, Praggnanandhaa held his own up to some point but eventually decided to return a pawn for some activity. Unfortunately, this activity quickly petered out while Black’s weak pawns fell. The game transposed into a rook endgame in which White’s queenside pawns were unstoppable. Jan-Krzysztof Duda followed the footsteps of Ian Nepomniachtchi in the Anti-Marshall against Magnus Carlsen and got a slight edge. The World Champion had to demonstrate resilience and accuracy to reach a draw in an endgame. Anish Giri won a theoretical duel and a pawn in Anti-Meran against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, but maybe Black’s position was not as bad as it looked as the opponents split the point on the move 21. Fabiano Caruana desperately tried to extract water from the Berlin endgame stone as White against Sam Shankland, but all his attempts were thwarted by the opponent’s precise play. Standings after Round 3: 1. Vidit Gujrathi – 2½; 2-6. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Magnus Calsen, Richard Rapport, Andrey Esipenko and Jorden Van Foreest – 2; 7-8. Fabiano Caruana, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – 1½; 9-13. Sam Shankland, Sergey Karjakin, Daniil Dubov, Anish Giri, Praggnanandhaa R. – 1; Nils Grandelius – ½. Official website: tatasteelchess.com/ Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022