Mariano Ortega wins Cape Verde Open 2022
The champion title of the 1st Cape Verde International Chess Open remained in Cape Verde. IM Mariano Ortega, two-time National Champion of Cape Verde and African Champion of Zone 4.2, won the event, one of the 50 competitions in the world and seven in Africa financially supported by FIDE. Mariano Ortega tied for the first place with Yago De Moura Santiago of Brazil but claimed the title and trophy thanks to better tiebreaks. The winner highlighted the excellent level of the tournament that took place between April 25 and 30 in Mindelo, Sao Vicente, with 34 chess players from 10 countries participating. Ortega said his ambition was to make it into the top-3, but he did not expect to win. It was a great honour for him to take the title on his home turf. “It was a tournament of high level, with great masters, including champions from Spain, Portugal and Serbia. And winning the tournament, competing with these masters and emerging as the best feels great. I enjoyed a great deal of support from my compatriots, with messages of encouragement to win.” There was a three-way tie for third place with GM Salvador Del Rio De Angelis of Spain making it to the podium by dint of superior Buchholz. WIM Tilsia Carolina Varela La Madrid from Venezuala (pictured below) became the best woman participant. “For a little over a week, chess was talked about all over the country. I think that after this Open Cape Verde 2022, the national chess and the country itself are strengthened in its image of welcoming and organizing,” Francisco Carapinha, the president of the Cape Verdean Chess Federation, said. He added that all this was achieved through team work and effort, and expressed special thanks to all the staff involved. Without them and financial support from FIDE, it would be impossible to set up and run the tournament, which gave the archipelago considerable media exposure. The Cape Verde Open, he stressed, was not just a chess competition; it was intended to promote the country. With this in mind, a tour to the island of Santo Antão was organized. “The visit was also a promotional card for the island and the municipality of Ribeira Grande”. Partnering in the organization of the International Chess Open of Cape Verde, the Institute of Sports and Youth emphasized the importance of the initiative by the national chess federation. With such competitions, the country can become a platform for international sports events. Francisco Carapinha said that the next International Chess Open would be held in 2023 in Ribeira Grande on the island of Santo Antão. Children of Santo Antão playing with the participants of the Cape Verde Open 2022 Final standings: 1 IM Ortega Amarelle, Mariano CPV 2476 7 2 GM De Moura Santiago, Yago BRA 2490 7 3 GM Del Rio De Angelis, Salvador ESP 2452 6½ 4 GM Fernandes, Antonio POR 2313 6½ 5 GM Strikovic, Aleksa SRB 2489 6½ 6 GM Galego, Luis POR 2474 6 7 WIM Varela La Madrid, Tilsia Carolina VEN 2097 6 8 WGM Maisuradze Nino FRA 2202 6 9 IM L`ami Alina ROU 2287 5½ 10 WIM Caxita Esperanca ANG 1910 5½ You can find the complete results here:https://chess-results.com/tnr586027.aspx?lan=10 Text: Francisco Carapinha, President of the Cape Verdean Chess Federation
FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2023 – Call for bids
1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the World Rapid and Blitz Championships (R&B) and World Women’s Rapid and Blitz Championships (WR&B) in the second half of 2023 (see the Tournaments Regulations for World Rapid and Blitz Championship and World Women’s Rapid and Blitz Championship) 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 The Bidding Form 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 10 May to 31 July 2022 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. 1.5 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval by FIDE Council. Priority shall be given to an Organiser applying for both events – R&B and WR&B. 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.
FIDE Candidates 2022: tiebreaker playoff format
As per the decision made at the FIDE Council meeting on December 27, a playoff system has been introduced for the Candidates Tournament to be played in the case of a tie for first place. This decision has been taken after consultation with all the players who have already qualified for the competition. A majority of them favoured a play-off over the tie-break system used in previous editions. The play-off will be played no matter how many players tie for first. The system includes rapid and blitz games, in case only rapid is not enough. Here are the key points of a new play-off system: In case of a tie for first place in the Candidates Tournament, a play-off will be played that may consist of up to three stages. Stage I If there are two players tied for the first place they will play a match of two rapid games (15 min + 10 sec). In case of a 3-6-way tie, a round-robin rapid tournament will be played (15 min + 10 sec). Stage II (played in case of a tie after Stage I) If there are two players tied they will play a match of two blitz games (3 min + 2 sec). In case of a three-way tie (or more) a round-robin blitz tournament will be played (3 min + 2 sec). Stage III (played in case of a tie after Stage II) In case of a tie, depending on number of players, either knockout match or knockout tournament will be played. Each match consists of a single blitz game (3 min +2 sec). The colours are determined by drawing of lots. In case of a draw, another game will be played with the colours reversed. If there is another draw, the opponents will play until the decisive outcome. The Regulations for the event have been updated with the new rules and they can be found under paragraph 4.4.2. The Candidates Tournament 2022 will take place in Madrid, Spain, from June 16 to July 5.