FIDE Grand Prix Berlin: Semifinals set
IM Michael Rahal – Berlin, February 11th 2022 –”That’s what chess is. You train so hard, and then everything depends on that crucial few seconds of decision making.” Wesley So’s final reflection after losing his semifinal sums up very well the extreme difficulty of being elite chess professional. Rapid and blitz game tiebreaks are the real test for today’s modern chess player. Calculation skills become slightly less important, and as the time on the clock starts to run low, pure intuition comes to the fore. Good nerves, decent physical condition, stamina, and a well-thought-out opening repertoire are some of the key skills that have to be honed at home before the competition to be a good tiebreaker. Superior players excel even more with reduced time, thanks to better intuition and pattern knowledge plus match experience and today’s tiebreakers were no exception. After the preliminary qualifying stage finished, two pools still had to determine the winners. The rules and regulations of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix read that tiebreaks are used to determine who advances to the semifinals: two rapid games – 15 minutes base time + 10 seconds increment – followed by two blitz 3/2 games. A nerve-racking “Armageddon” decisive game is left for the end: 5 minutes vs 4 on the clock, and Black advances in case of a draw. Tiebreak 1: GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland 2702) – GM Richard Rapport Hungary (2779) According to the database, Wojtaszek and Rapport have faced each other twelve times during their careers, with a total head-to-head score of 7-5. However, the trend in the tournament seemed to favour Rapport: he qualified for the tiebreaks in the last minute by defeating Fedoseev yesterday, while Wojtaszek missed a huge opportunity for direct qualification to the semifinals. In the first game Rapport opted for the double-edged King’s Indian Defence with Black, his main weapon for most of his career. Wojtaszek had prepared a very solid fianchetto variation which has also served him well for many years. The game proved to be very exciting and remained balanced until the opponents reached a double-rook ending. Rapport retained a strong passed pawn which eventually advanced to the seventh rank: it’s a well-known fact that these endgames with two rooks and passed pawns are extremely tricky. With precise play, the game should have been a draw, but, very low on time, Wojtaszek chose the wrong defence, and his king fell into a mating net. Having won the first game, Rapport played it safe in the second. Faced with Wojtaszek’s Sicilian defence, he chose the solid 3.Bb5+, and went on to exchange every piece in sight. Even though he ended up a pawn down in a bishop ending, the Hungarian was never in any danger and drew the game effortlessly, securing his spot in the semifinals, where he will face-off against Hikaru Nakamura. After the match, both players talked to IM Michael Rahal, Press Officer for the event. “I was just lucky even to have qualified for the tiebreak,” said Rapport. “In today’s first game, I got a decent position from the opening. Objectively it should be equal, but both of us were trying to create some imbalances. The resulting rook ending should be fine, but it’s somewhat uncomfortable for White because he has to watch out for checks all the time. In the end, he was low on time and blundered the mate.” When questioned about tomorrow’s semifinal against Nakamura, Rapport dodged the issue: “I am really tired after this tiebreak and yesterday I also had a must-win game, so it takes a toll. But I guess there is no rest for the wicked, so I have to keep on going.” When questioned about his opening choice in the second game, Wojtaszek took it in his stride and jokingly said that “Maybe I should have chosen something different because Rapport probably checked this line in his room during the break! The ending is just a draw, and there are hardly any real chances to do something different. I wasn’t expecting to lose the first game with White, so I wasn’t really ready for this scenario”. Tiebreak 2: GM Wesley So (USA 2782) – GM Leinier Dominguez (USA 2722) According to the database, So and Dominguez have faced each other on 53 occasions, most of them in rapid and blitz events, with a total score of 29-24 for Wesley So, making him a very slight favourite in this two-game match-up. The first game was apparently a dull affair. With White, Wesley avoided the main theoretical lines in the solid Queen’s Gambit Accepted and went for a queenless ending that theory considers completely equal. However, World Chess online commentator Evgenij Miroshnichenko observed: “This kind of setup is, in fact, dangerous for Black, especially if he does not realize the dangers.” But once again, Leinier’s defensive skills were on point, and after precise play, a draw was agreed on move forty-two, a very good result for Dominguez. The second game was clearly the most exciting of the afternoon. Once again, Leinier went for the Italian Opening, and soon the game was in unknown territory. Wesley opted for a defensive plan with several pawn moves (d6-c6-f6), which he recognized after the game was possibly not the best choice. After a few inaccuracies and facing the unattractive possibility of losing a central pawn, So sacrificed his knight on g2. With under a minute left on his clock, Dominguez found an excellent counter-attack and threatened mate with 30.Qd3. So parried the threat and created his own attack on Dominguez’s king, but the native of Cuba found the only move 32.Kh1 (any other move would lose the game), and Wesley was forced to resign. Asked about his performance in the first game, Wesley gave an honest opinion: “Accidents happen; this tiebreak was very short. I knew it was a 50/50 chance; Leinier is very dangerous in the opening, so I decided to play whatever to avoid getting too tired. I have already played this line against Lenier two or
FIDE – ISF World School Online Cup: Registration continues
The FIDE – ISF World School Championship Online Chess Cup 2022, organised by FIDE and the International School Sport Federation (ISF), will be held online on Tornelo platform from March 12-27, 2022. The event, which aims to motivate young students and teachers to actively participate in the online chess competitions, includes tournaments among teachers and students in the boys and girls U15 and U18 age categories. The qualification tournaments for students are scheduled for March 12 and 13, while the finals will take place on March 19 and 20. The teachers’ event will be held on March 26 (qualification tournaments) and March 27 (finals). The finals will be live-streamed on the YouTube channels of both FIDE and ISF. Time control of the event is 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move. The qualification tournaments will be played in a Swiss System format of 11 rounds. The top 40 players in the final ranking in the qualification tournament will advance to the finals in each category. The finals will be 9-round Swiss tournaments. Participating in the tournaments offers a unique opportunity to visit the World Chess Olympiad 2022. The winners in each category will be awarded the tickets to Moscow with free two-night accommodation in the official hotel of the Olympiad. All the medal-winners will also receive free lessons with top grandmasters. The participation fee is 30€ per participant. Since the start of registration, participants from Australia, Bolivia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam have already applied for the event. Students and teachers from all around the world are invited to join us for the first-ever FIDE – ISF World School Online Chess Cup this March! The tournament registration continues through March 05, 2022 (for students) and March 12, 2022 (for teachers). To register, visit the ISF website. For more information, please, visit the official website of the FIDE – ISF World School Championship Online Chess Cup 2022. About International School Sport Federation (ISF) Based in Brussels Belgium, the International School Sport Federation is an international multi-sport organisation, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1995 gathering 132 National School Sport Organisations all around the world. Together with their members, ISF organises more than 10 international sport competitions and grassroots sport and educational events every year for school students aged between 6 to 18 years. With more than 40 sports in its programmes with established partnerships with the relevant International Federations, the ISF organises four different categories of events: Multisport Games U18 – U15; World Schools Championships, School Sport Cups and Educational events. In September 2021, FIDE and ISF signed a memorandum of understanding, ensuring the development and promotion of chess through school sport. The document signed within the framework of the School Sport Forum held in Belgrade, Serbia, encourages and supports the education of youth through chess sport and culture, contributing to the social and intellectual development of youth, and promotes the sport of chess and its role in education at a local and international level.
FIDE distributes €30,000 among distinguished veterans
After carefully considering the numerous applications received, the special panel appointed by the FIDE Council decided that these will be the twelve chess players, coaches, and promoters to benefit from FIDE’s support to chess veterans in 2022: Alexey Yuneev (Russia) Jay Bonin (USA) Jiri Lechtynsky (Czech Republic) Vija Rozlapa (Latvia) Giorgi Macharashvili (Georgia) Reynaldo Vera (Cuba) Evgenij Ermenkov (Bulgaria) Alexey Kosikov (Ukraine) Sheila Jackson (England) Galina Strutinskaia (Russia) Rani Hamid (Bangladesh) Gediminas Rastenis (Lithuania) A total of €30,000 will be distributed among these seniors with each person from the list receiving €2,500. Depending on Covid-19 restrictions, FIDE will either increase a prize fund in veteran championships this year or allocate a similar amount for the second instalment to our distinguished seniors.
FIDE Grand Prix: Nakamura joins Aronian in semifinals
So-Dominguez and Rapport-Wojtaszek to battle in out in the playoffs IM Michael Rahal – Berlin, February 10th 2022 – The final round of the qualifying stage was without any doubt the most exciting chess witnessed in Berlin during the last few days. With a lot at stake, all the games (with the exception of Aronian – Dubov) were fought to the bitter end. The ceremonial first move was executed by Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways). Mr. Lutz is a strong player himself, and Deutsche Bahn has been a regular supporter of chess in Germany over the years. He opened the game for Vidit with 1.c4 against local player Vincent Keymer, and the games were on! Pool A In a must-win scenario, Andrey Esipenko opened with 1.e4 against Hikaru Nakamura. A draw would be enough for the American, so he went back to the solid 1…e5, his main option for the last few years. Esipenko chose the Italian Opening, and both players more or less blitzed out their opening moves, following a previous 2019 game between Alekseenko and Grischuk. The Russian could have won a pawn with 14.Bxa6 – a move he considered for nearly 15 minutes – but instead, he preferred to advance in the center. With 16.d5, he closed the position and went for a structure resembling the King’s Indian defence: for that reason, as soon as he got the chance, Nakamura lashed out with the typical counter 21…f5. Esipenko took over the initiative and firmly wedged his pawn to e6, achieving a decisive advantage. But in the time scramble, he missed several winning opportunities, allowing Nakamura to escape unscathed into a slightly worse queen ending which he was able to hold to a draw. In his postgame interview with FIDE Press Officer IM Michael Rahal, a visibly relieved Hikaru Nakamura gave his take on the game: “In the opening I got very creative, mixing up a bunch of plans. I thought I was worse, and Andrey played very well. Just when I thought I was fine I blundered with Kh7, and I was close to resigning”. Although all eyes were on the Esipenko-Nakamura game, next to them, Alexander Grischuk and Etienne Bacrot were fighting it out to avoid last place. Bacrot left his French defence at home and brought out the classical variation of the Sicilian defence. Possibly suspecting this, Grischuk followed the 2021 game between Anish Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL is coached by Bacrot) but Etienne deviated with the novelty 15…Qc5, offering the exchange of queens, which Grischuk declined. The online commentators were slightly worried that Bacrot was risking too much by leaving his king in the center of the board, with so many heavy pieces surrounding it, but this is the well-known strategy in the variation. The Frenchman missed a huge winning opportunity on move twenty: facing an attack on his queen, Bacrot instantly moved it away with 20…Qb6. However, the unbelievable tactic 20…Nxe4! would have led to a winning position, in view of 21.Nxe4 Bxe4! 22.Rxc5 dxc5 23.Qe1 Rxd1 24.Qxd1 Rxh2 followed by 25…Rh1 winning. As soon as this idea was voiced in the postgame conference, Alexander immediately saw the whole line in his head. Grischuk didn’t allow a second chance and struck back with a classic Sicilian knight sacrifice on d5, opening the game for his pieces and achieving a winning attack. Although he missed some opportunities to finish the game – among other things because Bacrot was huge in defence – in the end, he got the job done. Pool B In the first game, Grigoriy Oparin chose an enterprising but risky variation of the Reti opening, winning a pawn but falling behind heavily in development. Radoslaw Wojtaszek took up the gauntlet and began to centralize his pieces – a win would give him excellent chances to take clear first. The precise 18….Nd3+ installed a strong pawn on d3 and was the prelude to a kingside offensive. In addition to his precarious position, Oparin was dangerously falling behind on the clock. When everything seemed to be on point for Poland’s number two, a couple of inaccurate moves allowed Oparin to exchange queens and with a daring exchange sacrifice, he took over the imitative and forced a three-fold move repetition draw. In the postgame interview, Radek lamented his missed opportunities: “I was sure that I was winning at some moment, but I had to play the correct moves, and I failed”. Asked about improvement ideas for his participation in the third leg, Oparin was very clear: “I have played so badly here that I have many things to improve, tactics, openings, and recover my best form”. Meanwhile, with Black against Vladimir Fedoseev, Richard Rapport was doing his best to unbalance the position. His opening choice was already a sign of intent: the offbeat Chigorin defence. Fedoseev played it safe with the solid 3.Bf4 line and again, Rapport chose to unbalance the pawn structure by recapturing 6…cxd6, doubling a pawn, but avoiding symmetry at all cost. However, Fedoseev kept his calm, opened the position and initiated exchanges on the c-file. It seemed that the Russian missed a good chance to achieve an advantage on move twenty-two: instead of 22.Re1, the computer was blasting out 22.e4! The position remained balanced, and Fedoseev did have a chance to claim a three-fold move repetition which he declined. Possibly not the best decision as after the queen exchange, Rapport took over and, with excellent endgame technique, outplayed his opponent. In an incredible turn of events, Richard Rapport will now face Radoslaw Wojtaszek for a place in the semifinals. The winner of tomorrow’s playoffs will play against Hikaru Nakamura. Pool C The first game to finish was a quick draw between Levon Aronian and Daniil Dubov. Although hardly fifteen minutes went by from the beginning of the round, Aronian had an explanation ready: “I wasn’t expecting this line, so when Daniil played 8…Nbd7, I remembered my analysis, which was a long and very sharp line”. Aronian