Checkmate Coronavirus: Road to Chennai
In 2020 chess was affected by the pandemic like any other sport, with tournaments postponed or cancelled and clubs temporarily closed. Yet the nature of chess helped players, fans, and enthusiasts of the game to stay active and involved during this crisis, whereas online chess got an unprecedented boost. In May 2020, FIDE launched a massive online project, Checkmate Coronavirus, a marathon of 720 non-stop hours and 2,762 tournaments played by 120,000 unique participants from at least 140 countries. The aftermath of the project is no less exciting than the chess battles in its tournaments. Winners of the event received mini-matches and master classes with top GMs, 800 souvenir prizes with FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus memorabilia. The main prize winners were invited to the Chess Olympiad 2022. 6-nights trip to Chennai with paid air tickets, full board and a chance to meet the greatest chess players of our times were awarded to the chess amateurs representing Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden and Thailand. Very soon, they will go to Chennai to enjoy the mecca of Indian chess, and to attend the FIDE flagship event with 187 open and 162 women teams participating. We have received many stories from the main prize winners, some of them are heart-warming. 44-year-old Nicolas Noel is from France but lives in Thailand. He started playing chess for fun in the 2000s in France with friends, never in a club, and played his first classical FIDE-rated tournament in Bangkok in 2012. During the pandemic, he played online a lot on many platforms. He played in hundreds of Checkmate Coronavirus tournaments! Still, he was very surprised to realize he had won a trip to the Chess Olympiad. “I checked your Facebook page and could not believe my eyes. I nearly dropped my coffee mug!” he says. “I mainly want to enjoy the Chess Olympiad and play as many side events as possible. If there’s some free time between chess games, I will be glad to enjoy a walk in the city. I’m a very basic tourist and like to enjoy cities by myself. Not much a big fan of touristic attractions.” Elshad Abdullayev is 30; he lives in Baku, Azerbaijan. He started to learn chess when he was ten years old. Now he is a chess coach and an International Arbiter. Elshad has profiles on Chess.com, Lichess, Chess24. He played around 15 tournaments and got two tickets without even knowing about it. He never could imagine that he could win the first prize. “I saw publication on FB profile of Emil Sutovsky, he said, that we have winners from Algeria, Azerbaijan and….. and I got curious. Who was the winner from Azerbaijan? I found the Checkmate Coronavirus page and saw my name there. First I didn’t believe that it could be me! I am very happy. And I am already waiting for this Olympiad!” Alan Borda is 35 and from the city of El Alto, Bolivia. Alan has played chess since he was 14 and participated in several international tournaments representing Bolivia. In 2010 Alan took part with the Bolivian team in the World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansysk, Russia. “I usually played online every once in a while, but since I saw the news of the FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus program, I played a lot more”, – he says. Alan was watching the broadcast of the draw in the living room of his house. “I was absent for a moment, and when I returned to the room, they were just saying my nick YODITA, and I was very happy because I thought I had won the mini-match with a top GM, but a few minutes later, I went to the FIDE Checkmate Coronavirus Facebook page and there I could see that I had won the invitation to the Chess Olympiad. I couldn’t believe it! An amazing feeling of happiness! I celebrated by raising my hands in victory.” Víctor Pérez Díez is 28, he lives in Madrid, Spain. His father taught him how to play chess when he was 6, but he started with chess classes and playing tournaments when he was 11.” I usually play online chess. During this lockdown, I’ve been alone and with few things to do, so I have been playing online chess more often. I think I have played more than 100 tournaments during this lockdown. Checkmate Coronavirus has been great news for me,” – says Victor, – “I was watching the draw with Anish Giri on Youtube, and he took my number. I couldn’t believe it. I started to jump and shout, I sent a capture with my name and the prize to my family and my friends. It was an amazing moment. I still can’t believe it. After almost three months alone, it was something wonderful for me. It was a great surprise and a lot of joy”. Victor has never been to a top chess tournament. “I want to see how an elite tournament works, and to meet some of these players, who are my idols, would be incredible,” he adds. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, will be the host city for the 44th Chess Olympiad, which will take place from July 28 to August 10. Situated in the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, this city of 7 million inhabitants is home to the legendary World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the first-ever Grandmaster from India.
Ian Nepomniachtchi becomes challenger for the title of World Champion
Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi clinched victory at the Candidates Tournament by securing first place with a round to spare Following a draw in round 13 game against Hungarian Grandmaster Richard Rapport, Nepomniachtchi is on 9/13, a point and a half ahead of the rest of the field. This is his second consecutive victory in the eight-player Candidates. In the post-game interview, when asked how he is feeling now, Nepomniachtchi responded: ‘The traditional answer is – I don’t know… In this tournament, I was trying more to play chess than playing for a win. That is important… Another important factor is that I never had a six-hour game here. I was lucky enough not to play for too long’, said Nepomniachtchi. The 31-year-old Russian has taken an early lead in the tournament and is the only player not to lose a single game. American Hikaru Nakamura is currently in clear second place with 7.5 points, having won today against Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda. In the final – 14th round – he will be up against China’s Ding Liren, who is on seven points, in a direct duel for second place. The race for second place has become ever more important since five-times world champion Magnus Carlsen has made several suggestions he might not be willing to defend his title. If Carlsen decides not to play in the match which is due to take place next year, he will be replaced by the runner-up in the Candidates. Summary of the games of Round 13 Ian Nepomniachtchi was White against Richard Rapport, who opted for a sharp line in the Richter-Rauzer variation of the Sicilian. However, Nepomniachtchi was looking to calm the game, and he forced exchanges, making things simpler on the board. Rapport, at one point, started advancing his king towards the middle, but he steered clear of dangerous exhibitions such as those in round seven against Nepo, when he refused a draw offer and ended up losing. In an even position, a draw was agreed on move 34 following threefold repetition. It is all Nepomniachtchi needed to claim first place, with one more round to go. In light of the debate about whether the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen will defend his title or not, an even more significant question mark grows on who the winner of the Candidates will be facing. When asked who he wants to play in the world championship match, Nepomniachtchi said: ‘Literally, I don’t care. But, of course, it would be quite challenging to play Magnus again.’ Ian Nepomniachtchi has been the leader from the very start of the tournament and is the only player in the field not to suffer a defeat in 13 rounds played. He will be hoping to maintain this in the final game, in round 14, and avoid the repeat of 2020/21 Candidates in Yekaterinburg, where he also won with a round to spare but then lost the last game. While the main story of the day is Nepomniachtchi confirming his victory in the Candidates, the most gripping question is – who will be second? This question has dominated the latter part of the event ever since the prospects of Nepomniachchi’s victory became almost certain. The main candidates are Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren who entered today’s round with 6.5 points. The most exciting game of the day was between Hikaru Nakamura and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The young player from Poland opted for a Najdorf Sicilian – entering a sharp line where both sides needed to calculate a lot. In a game full of ups and downs for both sides, Nakamura seemed to have overstretched himself, sacrificing a pawn and giving Black several good chances in the early middlegame. However, as in the previous games, Duda failed the strength and energy to convert the advantage untimely pushed in the centre and gradually gave back the initiative to White. In a tactical position, Nakamura managed to outplay his opponent in the second part of the game, and after Black’s serious mistake on move 37, he ended up completely winning. With 7.5/13, Nakamura is alone in second place. Ding was black against Alireza Firouzja, who opted for a calmer line – with the Four Knight’s Scotch. For the first ten moves, the two followed the same line as in the round eight game between Nepomniachtci and Ding, which ended in a draw. It seemed that the two were heading for a speedy draw following quick play and exchanges. However, in the endgame, Ding decided to give up a pawn on the h-file and spice up the position. Firouzja countered Black’s advances well and then found a bishop sacrifice which activated his rook, enabling it to give perpetual checks. Ding was willing to take a risk today and was pushing, but it didn’t go, and he didn’t overforce it. With 7/13, Ding stands a solid chance to take second place. As for Firouzja, anything but a defeat is good news at this stage. In the last round, Hikaru Nakamura will be facing Ding Lireng in a direct duel for second place. In today’s game, Fabiano Caruana was playing with black pieces against the uneasy Teimour Radjabov. In the Catalan, Caruana surprised his opponent in the opening, choosing a rarer line and sacrificing a pawn. Black did get some initiative, but Radjabov quickly simplified and transitioned to an even endgame where the two quickly agreed on a draw. Both Caruana and Radjabov are on 6.5/13 and don’t have chances for second place. Here follows a closer look at the games from round thirteen of the Candidates. Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Richard Rapport: Confidence and calm Rapport opted for a sharp line, refusing to play for a draw and hand Nepomniachtchi the victory. The opponents played a long theoretical line of Richter-Rauzer attack in the Sicilian that has been tested in many games before. White is pressuring Black down the d- and e-file, while, in response, black’s bishop on b4 is tying the white queen and preventing White from playing