President of Kazakhstan holds a meeting with the women’s national team
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with members of the women’s national team and the representatives of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Women’s World Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, GM Zhansaya Abdumalik, WGMs Dinara Saduakasova and Guliskhan Nakhbayeva, WIM Meruert Kamalidenova, as well as President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation Galim Khusainov and Vice President of the Federation Darmen Sadvakasov, were invited to Akorda to meet with the Head of the State. Welcoming the chess players, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that he had a special attitude to chess. He expressed hope that the women’s national team would successfully perform at the upcoming 44th Chess Olympiad in India. The President also wished success to Bibisara Assaubayeva, who successfully graduated from school and congratulated Guliskhan Nakhbayeva on her birthday. During the meeting, which turned into a warm conversation and frank exchange of views, the leaders of the national team Bibisara Assaubayeva, Dinara Saduakasova, Zhansaya Abdumalik, as well as the leadership of the chess federation, voiced their position on various aspects. They also formulated several proposals concerning the development of chess sport in the country, including the provision of systematic support from the state, the creation of necessary infrastructure and the popularization of chess. The President supported the proposals to include chess as an optional subject in the school curriculum and construct a boarding school in Almaty with an in-depth study of chess and IT technologies designed for 1,500 students. In addition, the Head of State focused on the importance of supporting chess as a sport by entrepreneurs. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that he would keep a close eye on chess development and support for the game in the country and wished the young athletes new victories on the world stage.
2022 Candidates, Round 5: Great expectations and a lucky escape
All four games ended in a draw, with the tournament leader Ian Nepomniachtchi making a lucky escape in his encounter with Hikaru Nakamura Ian Nepomniachtchi is still in the lead, with 3.5/5, while Fabiano Caruana trails him by half a point. The middle group is made of Hikaru Nakamura, Richard Rapport and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who are on 2.5/5. Ding Liren, Teimour Radjabov and Alireza Firouzja are all on two points. The first move of the round was made by Manuel Alvarez Escudero, a 100-year-old chess player from Madrid and one of the oldest chess players alive. Just a few months ago, he played (and won) for his team in a Madrid regional league. Today he made the ceremonial move in the game Firouzja vs Duda. Firouzja, for whom he played 1.e4, is 81 years his junior. There were no easy draws in the fifth round of the 2022 Candidates as all players held their own and clinched half a point from their opponent. This was a day of great expectations, psychological battles and lucky escapes. The luckiest man of the day is Ian Nepomniachtchi. The tournament leader was playing as Black against Hikaru Nakamura. In the Petrov, blitzing most of his opening moves, Nepomniachtchi made a couple of mistakes and ended in a weaker position, where White was chasing his queen around the board while at the same time developing and organising an attack. However, Nakamura failed to find the decisive continuation, let his advantage slip away and eventually decided to accept a repetition of moves. A lucky save by Nepomniachtchi. Richard Rapport must be very satisfied after drawing as Black against one of the tournament favourites and the former contender for the title of World Champion, Fabiano Caruana. In the Taimanov variation of the Sicilian, despite White playing a relatively rare move early on, Caruana didn’t manage to get much. In fact – even though he is usually the player who confidently blitzes his openings, this time, it was Caruana who spent a lot of time on the opening. A sharp position emerged on the board with both sides pushing on opposite flanks. However, both probably thought that in this early stage of the tournament, where they are both standing well, showing their appetite for risk is not yet needed. Both players opted for a forced line, leading to a draw. The longest and possibly the most promising game of the day in terms of bringing a decisive outcome was the duel between the two players who have been on the bottom since round one. Teimour Radjabov was leading white pieces against World No. 2 Ding Liren. Both have been struggling in the tournament with three draws, and a defeat, and both were looking for their first break. It seemed that Ding was finally about to get rid of the shadow hanging over him since the last Candidates as he got into a better position against Radjabov in the Catalan. According to the computer analysis, his chances seemed promising. However, following Radjabov’s risky play right before the time control, Ding dropped the advantage with a control 40th move. After moving to a drawn rook endgame, the two quickly agreed to split a point. Alireza Firouzja is another player who had very high hopes for today’s game. Playing as White against an opponent, he leads four to zero; he was hoping to bounce back after a loss in round four to Ian Nepomniachtchi. However, the highly anticipated duel between the two youngest players of the Candidates, Alireza Firouzja (19) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (24), ended with a disappointment for White. Duda opted for a line in the Petrov Defence where Black is slightly worse but solid. More importantly, the position that developed was such that Firouzja could not let his creativity loose. Despite White’s attempts to push forward and try and create some activity, Duda didn’t allow it. In addition, Firouzja’s ambitions to find a breakthrough cost him a lot of time, and he was in danger of ending in zeitnot. Following an exchange of several pieces, the two ended in a dead-even queen endgame. A draw was agreed upon after threefold repetition. Here follows a closer look at the games from round five of the Candidates. Fabiano Caruana vs Richard Rapport: Disappointment and resilience Fabiano Caruana was a slight favourite in this game. He leads Rapport three to one in victories, has more experience in the Candidates and at the highest level overall, and was leading the white pieces. In the Taimanov variation of the Sicilian, Caruana opted for a rare line with 6.g4, but that didn’t surprise Rapport. He responded quickly with the move 6…Nge7. Unusually for Caruana, in this game, he spent much more time on the opening than he normally does, which suggests that his opponent managed to unsettle him with the choice of moves. Instead of castling and securing their kings – as the basic chess rules say – the two launched their pawn advances: Caruana on the kingside, Rapport on the queenside. After White’s move 16.Qd4, Rapport had chances to exert more pressure on White by taking on c3, moving his king to safety and then pushing in the centre, although this continuation looks double-edged. Instead, he opted to put his queen on a5 and allowed White to take on g7 starting a sequence of moves that led to a forced draw. After making a series of ‘only moves’, the two ended up in a position where Black organised a perpetual attack on the White’s queen, so they split a point. It is a good result for Rapport, who showed remarkable resilience and managed as Black to hold one of the tournament favourites to a draw. While Caruana might be less happy with the outcome, both players are performing well and building a solid foundation for the rest of the tournament. Teimour Radjabov vs Ding Liren: Lost hopes Radjabov and Ding were at the bottom of the table from round one, with each on minus one. If either managed to score