Bardiya Daneshvar wins Iranian Championship
IM Bardiya Daneshvar is a new Iranian champion. The 16-year-old youngster from Teheran, who has rapidly progressed in the FIDE rating list this year, emerged as the winner of the 55th Iranian Championship and took his maiden national title. The 14-player round-robin with classical time control took place in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province in northern Iran, from June 15-24. The event, which did not attract top Iranian GMs, turned into a close race between Bardiya Daneshvar and the rating-favourite IM Seyed Khalil Mousavi, who was coming into the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival. However, Bardiya pulled off a crucial victory over Arash Dahli and caught up with Seyed Khalil (pictured below), who made a quick draw with White against Ali Rastbod. Both scored an impressive 9½/13 and tied for the first place, but the title went to Daneshvar by dint of better Sonnerborn-Berger (second tiebreak variable). The 13-time national champion Ehsan Ghaem Maghami took the last place on the podium after edging out Ali Rastbod again, thanks to better tiebreaks. Final standings: 1 IM Daneshvar Bardiya 2477 9½ 2 IM Mousavi Seyed Khalil 2533 9½ 3 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2519 8½ 4 FM Rastbod Ali 2337 8½ 5 GM Mosadeghpour Masoud 2469 8 6 FM Daghli Arash 2432 7½ 7 GM Darini Pouria 2436 6½ 8 IM Tahbaz Arash 2436 6 9 Omidi Arya 2315 5½ 10 FM Poormosavi Seyed Kian 2427 5 11 Ashraf Artin 2260 5 12 FM Atakhan Abtin 2385 4½ 13 Khamisi S Jafar 2151 4 14 Naderi Abdollah 2120 3 Photos: Sharif Nataj and Mazandaran Chess Association Telegram channel
FIDE World Senior Team Championship 2022 crosses midpoint
The FIDE World Senior Team Championship in Acqui Terme, Italy, crossed the halfway mark. The event brought together 43 teams from 24 federations competing in the 50+ and 65+ categories (9-round Swiss tournaments). It has been a very close race in the 50+ section so far, as, after five rounds, two rating-favourites of the tournament, England 1 and USA, are tied for the top position winning four matches each and drawing their direct encounter in Round 4 ( Michael Adams beat Gregory Kaidanov but Igor Novikov bested Mark Hebden). Italy (pictured below) and Iceland also scored four team victories each but lost to the leaders (the USA and England respectively), trailing them only by one point. As England and the USA seem unstoppable now, most likely, the winner in this category will be decided by the game points. England, headed by Michael Adams and Nigel Short, is slightly ahead by two points, but closing this gap doesn’t look like an impossible task for team USA. Top-10 after Round 5 1 England 1 9 15½ 2 USA 9 13½ 3 Italia 1 8 15½ 4 Iceland 8 13½ 5 Georgia Winery Khareba 7 13½ 6 Hungary 6 12½ 7 Canada 6 12½ 8 Still active NL 6 12 9 Germany 1 6 10½ 10 Sweden 5 10½ England is also leading the field in the 65+ tournament, scoring 9/10. Germany lost to the leader in Round 4 but won four other matches and is sitting in second place. Hungary, Israel 2 and France are one point behind, sharing the third position. Somewhat surprisingly, the rating favourite, Israel 1 is only seventh, already losing two matches. With four rounds to go, it is still wide open, although England also has a fair shot for gold in the 65+ category. Top-10 after Round 5 1 England 1 9 14 2 Germany 1 8 12 3 Hungary 7 12½ 4 Israel 2 7 12 5 France 7 11 6 Switzerland 6 13 7 Israel 1 6 12½ 8 Germany 2 6 11 9 Steiermark 6 10½ 10 SC Kreuzberg 6 10½ Photo: Federazione Scacchistica Italiana Facebook page
FIDE Madrid Candidates Chess Conference set for July 2
We are happy to announce the FIDE Madrid Candidates Chess Conference that will take place on July 2. The event will consist of two parts: ChessKid.com educational seminars in the morning and the Conference on social chess initiatives in FIDE member countries in the afternoon. ChessKid Education Seminar July 2, 10:00 – 12:00 CEST Venue: on-site in Palacio de Santoña, the venue of the FIDE Candidates Tournament Language: Spanish only Schedule 10:00 – 11:00 CEST !El ajedrez enseña a pensar! Leontxo GARCÍA – Spanish lecturer, presenter, commentator and journalist 11:00 – 12:00 CEST 7 tips para padres de jóvenes ajedrecistas Maria RODRIGO – WFM and a sports psychologist FIDE Conference on the Social Chess Initiatives in FIDE Member Countries July 2, 14:00 – 17:00 CEST Venue: hybrid event (partly online, partly on-site) Language: English We will exchange experiences and showcase how national chess federations and chess enthusiasts worldwide help people, build community and make changes for the better with the help of chess. Representatives from all continents will participate. One of the program’s highlights is the round table for one of FIDE’s most important social projects, the INFINITE Chess, which aims to enhance knowledge and awareness about chess for children with ASD. “It’s heartwarming that FIDE carries out different social projects and supports numerous social initiatives worldwide. Since early 2022, FIDE has implemented INFINITE Chess (chess for children with autism spectrum disorder) in 6 countries: Spain, France, Turkey, Norway, Gibraltar, and South Africa. In 2022-2023, we plan further expansion to European and Asian countries and continuous research work. I am so proud of this project and its perspectives and appreciate the efforts and support of the chess community. I look forward to discussing the results and outlook and building new plans for the project’s realisation,” told FIDE Vice President and INFINITE Chess leader Anastasia Sorokina. Schedule 14:00 – 16:00 CEST FIDE Conference of the Social Chess Initiatives in FIDE member countries Introduction Dana REIZNIECE-OZOLA – FIDE Managing Director Anastasia SOROKINA – FIDE Vice-President, leader of the FIDE INFINITE Chess Project Chess for Society Geir NESHEIM (Norway) – Chairperson of the FIDE Social Commission The global strategy of the FFE on health, social and disability Franck DROIN (France) – President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE Local Social Chess Initiatives in South Africa Erick TAKAWIRA (South Africa) – Director of the KZN Chess Academy Performing Social Responsibility through Chess Sonja JOHNSON (Trinidad & Tobago) – Chairperson of the FIDE Planning and Development Commission, President of the Trinidad & Tobago Chess Association, Executive Board Member Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee Interaction of the National Chess Federation with the National Olympic Committee: the experience of Albania Majlinda PILINCI (Albania) – Secretary-General of the Albania Chess Federation, member of the FIDE PDC Commission Corporate social responsibility and its practical application Irina SEMJONOVA (Latvia) – Project manager of international projects and social initiatives Chess for Girls in refugee camps Anastasia KARLOVICH (Greece) – WGM, photographer, commentator and journalist Corporate social responsibility in chess: the Indian Oil corporation experience Abhijit KUNTE (India) – 4th Grandmaster of India, Coordinator of the Chess Social Projects in the Indian Oil Corporation Chess, a public-private partnership to improve educational outcomes and opportunities in underserved communities in Guanacaste, Costa Rica Alexandra WELDON (Costa Rica) – Head of Philanthropy, MOHARI group Elsa Bonilla Conejo (Costa Rica) – Director, Asociación Creciendo Juntos The difference chess makes in refugee camps Alvaro van den BRULE (Spain) – President of Ajedrez sin Fronteras/Chess Without Borders María Jesús VEGA (Spain) – Spokesperson Responsible for Communications UNHCR Spain Project of chess teaching for blind and visually impaired Dominic CROSS (Portugal) – President of the Portuguese Chess Federation Teaching chess to kids with autism: what is autism, trauma, sensory needs Evguenia CHAROMOVA (New Zealand) – Bachelor of Science, postgraduate diploma in environmental management, Masters in speech therapy, Former New Zealand women’s chess champion, Speech-Language Therapist 16:00 – 17:00 CEST INFINITE Chess Project round table Dr Jose Francisco SUAREZ ROA (Spain) Kanthi Devi SARJOO (South Africa) Sharon WHATLEY (Gibraltar) Melodi DINCEL (Turkey) Handenur ŞAHIN (Turkey) Ala MISHCHANKA (Canada) Tamara KORENMAN (USA) Moshe Slav (Israel)