Queens’ Chess Festival: Your chance to see Chennai!
Travel subsidy for tickets to the Chess Olympiad 2022 in Chennai, India (up to 600 euro per person) and full board accommodation for six nights await the winners of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments. Four players, the winners of the finals in all categories, and one team of four will get a unique opportunity to see the biggest chess event, with over 2000 players from more than 200 countries participating, and to enjoy the scenic beauty of Chennai, a home for the world’s second-longest beach and rock-cut architecture. The lucky winners will also get a chance to see the Queens’ Pavilion at the Chess Olympiad Expo and to attend the FIDE Year of the Woman in Chess Awards, promoting gender equality in chess. Other prizes of the event include training sessions with leading chess trainers. The event, organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with the FIDE Events Commission, and supported by the Asian Chess Federation, the African Chess Confederation, the European Chess Union, and the Confederation of Chess for Americas, starts on June 05, 2022, on Tornelo platform. The competition will be held in four rating categories: Category A: 2000 and higherCategory B: 1800-1999Category C: 1600-1799Category D: <1600, unrated The first edition of the Queens’ Festival, held in 2021, brought together over 460 participants from 82 countries. FIDE welcomes female chess players all over the world and invites them to join again, making this festival the biggest online women’s chess event ever! Regulations for the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022 (pdf) Presentation of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2022 (pdf) National Federations register for the tournaments by filling this form and sending it to the organizers’ e-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com. The deadline for registration: Friday, May 27, 2022, for America;Friday, June 03, 2022, for Africa and Asia;Friday, June 09, 2022, for Europe. Contact Information: General Director: IM/WGM Eva RepkovaTournament Director: IM/WGM Ilaha KadimovaChief Arbiter: IA Tania KaraliE-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com
Winners crowned at South African Championship 2022
The South African Championship 2022, held in the open, women’s and seniors sections, took place from May 7-14 in Newland Cricket ground in Cape Town. All three tournaments were played in a round-robin format. The championships served as the qualifying events for the South African national teams that will participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. The open tournament was a close affair, with IM Daniel Cawdery and FM Banele Mhango netting 6/8 each and tying for the first place. Daniel Cawdery claimed the title (the second in his career) as the winner of their direct encounter. GM Kenny Solomon, the only grandmaster in the tournament, scored 5½/8 and took bronze. Final standings Open: 1 IM Cawdery, Daniel 2419 6 2 FM Mhango, Banele 2206 6 3 GM Solomon, Kenny 2356 5½ 4 FM Barrish, Daniel 2281 5 5 IM Kobese, Watu 2324 4 6 FM Klaasen, Calvin John 2245 3½ 7 FM Bhawoodien, Shabir Hussain 2033 3 8 CM Mazibuko, Khanya 1917 2 9 Willenberg, Kenneth Sean 1935 1 The women’s event, an 8-player round-robin, produced a minor sensation – one of the lowest-rated participants 15-year-old Chloe Badenhorst came out on top, scoring 5/7 and picked 117 rating points along the way. WIM Jesse Nikki February did not manage to defend her national title and finished a half-point behind the champion. WIM Charlize Van Zyl finished third with 4 points. Final standings Women: 1 Badenhorst, Chloe 1585 5 2 WIM February, Jesse Nikki 1890 4½ 3 WIM Van Zyl, Charlize 1682 4 4 WIM Laubscher, Anzel 1720 2½ 5 WCM Selkirk, Rebecca 1781 2 6 Grobbelaar, Jacqui 1517 1½ 7 Klaasen Robyn, Julian 1666 1½ Mark Lewis dominated the senior section scoring 7½/9 points. The champion conceded his opponents just three draws and finished a full point ahead of Hans Steyn and Cecil Ohlson, who tied for the second place. The silver goes to Hans Steyn, thanks to better Sonneborn-Berger. Final standings Seniors: 1 Lewis, Mark 1875 7½ 2 Steyn, Hans 1840 6½ 3 Ohlson, Cecil 1620 6½ 4 Southey, Andrew 1756 6 5 Galleid, Stephen 1578 6 6 Van Schaik, Michael 1578 3½ 7 Esau, Omar 1521 3½ 8 Goosen, Pierre 1427 3½ 9 Gabriels, Zaid 1357 1½ 10 Baker, Gregory 1044 0½ Official website: www.chessa.co.za Photo: Lyndon Bouah
2022 1st FIDE Council meeting decisions
2022 1st FIDE Council meeting 28 April 2022Abu Dhabi, UAE CM1-2022/01 To note President’s report. CM1-2022/02 To note Financial report presented by FIDE Treasurer. CM1-2022/03 To request FIDE President and FIDE Treasurer to reestablish contacts with national chess federations of Bhutan, Central African Republic and Comoros Islands, including with an aim to settle their multi-year arrears. CM1-2022/04 To note the FIDE Congress 2022 Schedule. CM1-2022/05 To note the FIDE Congress 2022 Elections Timeline. CM1-2022/06 To note progress reports on the preparations for the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress 2022 CM1-2022/07 To request the Members of the FIDE Council to propose candidacies for 3 Scrutineers and 3 substitutes for the FIDE Presidential elections. The names of the candidacies are to be submitted to the Office by 25th of May 2022. CM1-2022/08 To approve the Captain and Head of Delegation rules to be effective from 1st of July 2022 and to disseminate them to the National Federations. CM1-2022/09 To approve the Appeals Committee Procedural Rules. CM1-2022/10 To approve the regulations for Non-Elected Commissions. CM1-2022/11 To approve the Development Index Regulations and to plan the discussion of possible changes at the FIDE Congress 2022. To instruct the FIDE Management Board to suggest the improved set of criteria for the Development Index, considering the economic development levels of the countries and other factors such as a need to provide special support for new federations etc. The estimated deadline – 15th of July, 2022. CM1-2022/12 To approve the deletion of C07 Time Control from the FIDE Handbook. CM1-2022/13 To approve the addition of the new point 2 to D02 Continental Championships and Zonal Tournaments. CM1-2022/14 To note the Global Strategy Commission’s report. CM1-2022/15 To approve general principles of the proposed agreement between FIDE and Grand Chess Tour and to instruct the Management Board and Director General Emil Sutovsky to finalize the details, taking into consideration the input from the Council members. CM1-2022/16 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM1-2022/17 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the FIDE Lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM1-2022/18 To approve the Arbiters’ Commission’s proposal to move the date when IA Certification Seminar norms are mandatory for IA title applications to 01/01/2024. CM1-2022/19 To instruct the Arbiters’ Commission to consult with the Continents on the potential list of match arbiters for the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022. CM1-2022/20 To approve the Chess Education Commission’s report. CM1-2022/21 To approve Regulations for the Titles and Certifications of Chess in Education. CM1-2022/22 To approve Chess Education Commission’s description of its missions, vision, objectives and strategy for the FIDE Handbook. CM1-2022/23 To note the Commission’s for Women’s Chess report and encourage the WOM to activate publicity in respect of the Year of Women in Chess activities. CM1-2022/24 To note the Constitutional Commission’s report. CM1-2022/25 To approve the decision of the FIDE Constitutional Commission to hold the elections to fill the vacancies in the Commission membership. CM1-2022/26 To approve the extension of the mandates of the reverse delegates for the South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire Chess Federations as proposed by the Constitutional Commission. CM1-2022/27 To note the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission’s report. CM1-2022/28 To note the update on the EDC case 2/2022. CM1-2022/29 To note the Events Commission’s report. CM1-2022/30 To approve the recommendations of the Events Commission on titles. CM1-2022/31 To send the bid of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation to organise the 2023 World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad to the FIDE Council for an e-vote, pending the inspection of the proposed venue. CM1-2022/32 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM1-2022/33 To approve the amendments of the Anti-Cheating Regulations. CM1-2022/34 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report. CM1-2022/35 To note the Rules Commission’s report. CM1-2022/36 To conceptually support the Rules Commission proposal in respect of the use of gender-pronouns wording in the Laws of Chess. CM1-2022/37 To note the Qualification Commission’s report. CM1-2022/38 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. To postpone the decision on the title application to IM E. Paehtz (GER). To instruct the Qualification Commission to prepare further analysis and suggest policy changes aimed at improving the efficiency of confirming norms and titles. CM1-2022/39 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM1-2022/40 To note the Trainers’ Commission’s report. CM1-2022/41 To approve the Trainers’ Commission’s proposal in respect of having a minimum time frame of 10 years serving as a high-level trainer for the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. CM1-2022/42 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and Academies. CM1-2022/43 To note Continental Reports. CM1-2022/44 To note ACF’s intention to hold its GA in December 2022. The FIDE Council does not object and regards such schedule as an exemption from the general rules. The elections have to comply with general principles and applicable norms of the FIDE Electoral Rules. Due to special circumstances, in 2022 FIDE Council approves holding the Continental elections before or after the FIDE Congress if such request is made by the Continental Body. CM1-2022/45 To note the report on Chess in Olympic Games. CM1-2022/46 To reject the use of artificial pairings in the upcoming FIDE individual events. CM1-2022/47 To reapprove signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Shenzhen Nanshan District. CM1-2022/48 To note the reports of reverse delegates of Morocco, Pakistan, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa Chess Federations and to ask FIDE Constitutional Commission to analyze the corresponding practices and provide relevant recommendations. CM1-2022/49 To approve the proposal of Mr. Iclicki to endorse fund-raising for the first step of the FIDE anniversary 2024 film project. CM1-2022/50 To note the fact that the RCF has expressed their intention to join the ACF. Before taking any other action, to consider the decisions of ACF and ECU and analyze all the legal and practical implications. To request the Constitutional Commission to present an official opinion in respect of an application of the RCF to change continents. CM1-2022/51 To note the report of Deputy President on the geopolitical situation. CM1-2022/52 To hold the next FIDE Council meeting in person in Chennai, India, during the FIDE Congress, on 4th of August 2022.
Gligoric Trophy 2021: Call for nominations
FIDE is pleased to announce the Gligoric Trophy 2021, an award established to give recognition to an individual who, in that year, had displayed exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in chess. Candidates to win the Svetozar Gligoric Trophy shall have demonstrated during the period January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, the following accomplishments: – Outstanding gesture or action of sportsmanship during the sports event. – Outstanding contribution to the popularization of the values and principles of Fair Play. – Outstanding support towards initiatives on enforcement of ethical values. – Promotion of integrity and high ethical standards. The Svetozar Gligoric Trophy is a recognition of sportsmen who exercise the fundamental values of Fair Play both during and beyond the game. It’s a way of thinking rather than a mere behaviour and includes the concepts of: FairnessTo enjoy the victory is not enough. Triumph must include fairness and honesty RespectWritten rules are mandatory. Unwritten rules of respect for all are obligatory FriendshipRivalry in sports does not exclude friendship Team SpiritA genuine consideration for others EqualityCompeting on equal terms is essential ToleranceThe ability or willingness to accept what you may not agree with CareTrue champions care about each other Nomination Procedure The winner of the Gligoric Trophy is selected annually by the Award Commission chaired by Mr Mahir Mammedov and its two members, the Grandmasters Mrs Judit Polgar (FIDE Honorary Vice-President) and Mr Eugenio Torre. Proposals for Nominations (Nomination Letter) shall be submitted by Continental Federations, National Federations, and FIDE Commissions to the Gligoric Trophy Award Commission (gligorictrophy@fide.com) no later than June 15, 2022. Nominations coming from individuals, including self-nominations, are also allowed, but they should be channelled through the Federation associated with the nominee. We would like to stress again that this is an award for the nominee’s accomplishments during the previous year and NOT a recognition of a lifelong career. Please note that Commission’s decision is final and not open to discussion, nor shall the members of the Commission be requested to give any justification beyond what they wish to, with their final announcement. The Award Ceremony will take place in August 2022, during the 44th FIDE Olympiad in Chennai. About the award The fair play award, named after Svetozar Gligoric, was established by FIDE in 2019. In the 1950s and 1960s, Svetozar Gligoric was one of the top players in the world and one of the most prominent, owing to his particularly engaging personality. At the chessboard, Gligoric was an uncompromising fighter and, at the same time, a symbol of gentlemanhood and correctness. His impeccable reputation has been a deserved result of his success in chess games and fair-play manners. Gligoric’s trademark was high respect for his chess opponents: his main principle was – It’s chess pieces, not a man I play against! It is no coincidence that the book of Gligoric’s selected games is called “I play against pieces!” The first recipient of this award was Magnus Carlsen, who was awarded his Trophy during the FIDE World Cup in Sochi, 2021.