Women’s Chess Olympiad: Eight teams won all matches after four rounds
Tania Sachdev battled long and hard to rake in that precious point which allowed her team India A in the Women’s section, to edge out Hungary with a 2.5-1.5 score. All the other three encounters ended in draws, and the onus was on Tania, who rose brilliantly to the occasion. A tired but happy Tania quipped, “It was a tough position, and I was aware that our two boards had ended in a draw but was not able to really evaluate Humpy’s position as my position was a tough one”. Team Coach of Women’s Team A was upbeat about the Teams victory and commented: “The Teams are well balanced, and it is very important to take one round at a time. All the games today were well fought”. After three rounds, Bulgaria was a top scorer, having dropped only half a point in 12 games. But in Round 4, the young team led by IM Nurgyul Salimova could not stop mighty Ukraine. “Powerhouse Anna” on boards 2 and 3, Muzychuk and Ushenina, did their job winning against Peycheva and Krasteva, respectively, securing an overall victory. The third-seeded Georgian Women’s Team proved too strong for the India C Team, with P V Nandhidhaa winning her encounter against Nino Batsiashvili, rated higher than her. Eesha Karavade lost to Nana Dzagnidze, Sahithi Varshini to Lela Javakhishvili (in just 12 moves!), and Pratyusha fell to Salome Melia. The Netherlands did not manage to pose problems for Poland, strengthened this year by IM Alina Kashlinskaya on Board 1, and the ladies under the read-and-white flag won by convincing 3½-½. France and Romania complete the list of leaders after four rounds. Both teams won with the smallest of margins, 2.5-1.5, against Serbia and Germany. And if France was a favourite against Serbia and this result did not surprize, Romania’s victory is a serious blow to Germany’s hopes for medals as the team led by IM Elisabeth Paehtz was higher-rated on every board. 28th seed Mongolia kept up the good work and held 10th seed Kazakhstan to a draw in a minor flutter. The 11th seeded Indian Women B Team edged past Estonia with a 2.5-1.5 score, with Vantika Agrawal bringing the winning point for her team while the other three games ended in draws. Vantika has been in top form so far, scoring a superb 4/4. Top results in the women’s section: India A 2½:1½ Hungary Bulgaria1½:2½ Ukraine Georgia 3:1 India C Netherlands ½:3½ Poland France 2½:1½ Serbia Israel 1:3 Azerbaijan Romania 2½:1½ Germany Mongolia 2:2 Kazakhstan After four rounds, eight teams won all matches in the Women’s section of the Chess Olympiad: Azerbaijan Poland Ukraine India A France India B Georgia Romania Standings after Round 4 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
USA stumbles in Chennai Olympiad
Armenia, England, India B, Israel and Spain still on 100% The fourth round began this afternoon with the traditional first-move, performed on this occasion on board one of the Women’s India-Hungary match by managing director of Microsense, Mr S. Kailasanathan. After some action-packed days with regard to media coverage – “India is crazy for chess” was my observation on social media – players are now much more relaxed when the entourage comes along for the opening ceremony. Four of the scheduled eleven rounds of intense play are in the books, and fewer and fewer teams have 100% of the points. The equality between the leading teams is maximum, and many encounters ended in 2-2 draws this afternoon. France vs India A was a solid match. All four games ended in draws, and at least from what we witnessed in the venue, there didn’t seem to be any clear chances of victory for either side. However, USA vs Uzbekistan was a completely different matter. The Americans pulled ahead early when Wesley So, playing on board three, captured a Benko pawn and held it to the end. A solid draw between Nodirbek Yakubboev and Levon Aronian on board two left everything to be decided on the outer boards. Uzbekistan coach Ivan Sokolov was understandingly very happy when both of the games seemed to be going his way, but suddenly on board four Jakhongir Vakhidov spoiled a winning position against Sam Shankland, which meant that Nodirbek Abdusattorov’s great win against Fabiano Caruana on board one was just enough to score the draw. In his post-match press conference at the media centre, Sokolov lamented his bad luck. “I would have immediately taken the draw before starting the match, but I think we have fallen short”. The tough matches between Poland vs Romania, Canada vs Iran and Turkey vs Azerbaijan also ended in 2-2 draws, allowing other strong teams to pull ahead in the standings. Spain’s victory over India C by 2.5-1.5 (Anton Guijarro scored the key point) will allow the Spaniards to start from pole position tomorrow. Still unbeaten individually, they have come to play with their best team in many years and the Olympic medal is the target. However, they have been matched up in the fifth round with India B, who took down Italy by 3-1 this afternoon and are also undefeated individually – for sure a great match ahead for all to enjoy. In addition to Spain and India B, three other teams went to dinner tonight with 8/8 match points. England, who defeated Serbia by 3.5-1.5, have been paired against Armenia, who took down Austria by 3-1. They have arrived in great form, led by their lifetime top board Michael Adams, and are all still unbeaten. However, David Howell is clearly the team’s mainstay at the moment, scoring 4/4 on third board. Nonetheless, they would do well not to sleep on Armenia: a very tough and experienced team, and Olympic medallist in previous years. Michael Adams was kind enough to share his thoughts with FIDE Press Officer Michael Rahal in a short post-game interview. The final team on 8/8 is Israel, who perhaps made the biggest surprise of the day, defeating the Dutch team – led by Anish Giri – by 2.5-1.5, thanks to veteran Ilya Smirin‘s win on third board against Erwin l’Ami. Another very strong team, Israel has five very experienced +2600 players who are also unbeaten at the moment and in very good shape. Tomorrow’s match-up against number one seed USA will be a huge challenge to see what they are capable of in Chennai. Some other very surprising results today were Zambia – seeded 73 – once again defeating a much stronger team – this time Egypt – by 2.5-1.5 and above all, Norway vs Mongolia – after losing yesterday to Italy, everyone expected seed number three Norway, with Carlsen on board one, to bounce back with a win, but 45th seed Mongolia kept them at bay with a 2-2 tie. Games will begin at 3 pm sharp and can be followed live on the tournament website. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/open-results/ Text: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE Press Officer, Chennai Photos: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage
Nepomniachtchi enters top-3 Open in August 2022 rating list
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022 dominated the action in July and brought several changes at the top. The winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi, picked up 26 rating points, rose to #3 and entered the top 3 open for the first time in his career. Hikaru Nakamura earned 8 points in this competition and re-entered the top 10 at #8 after a three-year absence. Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com On the other end of the spectrum are Alireza Firouzja (-15) and Fabiano Caruana (-7), who lost some rating points and slid down to fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Other notable firsts were Sanan Sjugirov crossing 2700 and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa making the top 100, while the women’s top 10 remained mostly unchanged. Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Fataliyeva, Ulviyya WGM 2413 (+41) Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2792 (+26) Narva, Mai WGM 2405 (+20) Padmini, Rout IM 2391 (+17) Injac, Teodora WGM 2389 (+17) Gukesh D GM 2699 (+15) Eljanov, Pavel GM 2695 (+14) Shuvalova, Polina IM 2510 (+12) Kamsky, Gata GM 2666 (+11) Melamed, Tatjana WGM 2391 (+11) Esipenko, Andrey GM 2692 (+10) There were several traditional chess festivals across Europe in July, including the competitions in Dortmund, Biel and Belgrade. Those who made a mark in these events ended up on the biggest gains list. Photo: Lennart Ootes Ulviyya Fataliyeva (pictured above) won this nomination following her excellent performance in a strong Serbia Open Masters 2022, where she netted impressive 41 rating points. Several female players, namely Mai Narva, Rout Radmini and Teodora Injac, also did a very good job in this competition, substantially increasing their rating. Pavel Eljanov (pictured below), the winner of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2022 Deutschland Grand Prix, became the primary rating beneficiary of this event, earning 14 points. Photo: Biel International Chess Festival Gukesh D has been steadily accumulating rating points since March, and July was no exception. The talented youngster notched up another 15 rating points after good showings in Cerrado Ciudad de Gijon XIV and Biel and came at the touching distance to the 2700 mark. Gata Kamsky and Andrey Esipenko also delivered in Biel, earning 11 and 10 rating points, respectively.
FIDE Job Offer: Marketing Director
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the world governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999. Chess is nowadays a truly global sport, with dozens of millions of players in all the continents, and more than 100 million games on average played every day. We have an exciting opportunity in our marketing team, to identify commercial opportunities that will help the growth of FIDE and our official events, leveraging the current huge popularity of chess worldwide. FIDE MARKETING DIRECTOR Job information Contract type: Open ended Compensation: competitive salary + bonuses Start date: 1 November 2022 Location: preferably located/available to move to Lausanne (Switzerland), but not mandatory Working time: flexible Role The successful candidate would join our marketing team in the development and implementation of marketing plans, commercial partnerships, sponsorship acquisition and management. This person should be a competent professional, well-versed in marketing and commercial concepts, principles and tactics. The successful candidate should also be a very creative person, enthusiastic, highly energic and results-driven, able to detect and grasp new opportunities for chess and FIDE. Key responsibilities: Business development / working with sponsors, broadcasters and other commercial partners (proactively managing the sponsorship and other commercial rights sales process with each initiative to ensure financial and marketing goals are met; identifying potential sponsors and broadcasters; converting the leads into deals in close cooperation with FIDE Legal team; collaborating with FIDE Event Management team to ensure the fulfilment of FIDE commitments to sponsors, broadcasters and other commercial partners in relation to relevant FIDE events). Working in conjunction with other FIDE teams to develop innovative sponsorship proposals and packages Identifying market trends to drive to the development of innovative commercial rights sales strategies Developing and implementing specific aspects of FIDE marketing strategy, including branding, marketing communications and promotion of FIDE events, in close cooperation with other FIDE teams Developing and managing ad-hoc projects as assigned by FIDE Director General or other FIDE executives (FIDE President, FIDE Managing Director, FIDE Chief Communication & Marketing Officer) Reporting to: FIDE Director General Qualification and experience: Advanced education (university degree, preferably in business, marketing, advertising) Minimum 7 years of international experience in business development and/or marketing Demonstrable track record in sponsorship sales and management, preferably in a non-profit environment, as well as superior relationship development and account management skills Deep understanding of and experience within the international sports industry Experience in organising and managing events Strong PowerPoint expertise Willingness to travel internationally Knowledge of chess would be an advantage Languages: Fluent English required. Work proficiency in other languages is an advantage. Skills: Distinct sales and negotiation competencies Excellent presentation and communication skills (orally and in writing), including copywriting skills, as well as high attention to detail Strong interpersonal skills and ability in relationship building at a senior level Tech-savvy and well-versed with digital and online development trends in sports and media Strong analytical and project management skills Ability to adapt quickly to different environments and to work under tight deadlines If you have the necessary qualifications, skills and are keen to work for an international organisation, please send your CV with a cover letter in English to: hr@fide.com
Women’s Chess Olympiad: Mongolia stages a huge upset, favorites ease through
Twenty-eighth seed Mongolian women’s team caused the biggest upset in the Women’s Chess Olympiad, blanking seventh seed United States 3-1 in the third round of the Women’s Chess Olympiad here at the four points Sheraton. A determined effort on the top two boards helped the Mongolian eves keep the balance, and on the last two boards, they proved superior to cruise to what would be remembered as a remarkable victory. This early loss for the United States might prove crucial. With eight rounds still to come in the 11-round team event, as many as 19 teams remained unscathed and now share the lead on 6 points apiece from three matches. With each match won by a minimal score of 2.5 points counted as two points, sometimes the relevance of the individual games between players gets under wrap. The three Indian teams in the fray, including the top seed India A got into the winner’s bracket for the third day running, but most of the closest rivals also cruised home with victories. Second seed Ukraine scored an impressive 4-0 victory over Slovakia, wherein top board player Mariya Muzychuk shrugged off her second-round loss and prevailed over Zuzana Borosova. Third seed Georgia had to work hard for a full match point, but Nino Batsiashvili came to the team’s rescue scoring an important win over Joanna Worek to secure a 2.5-1.5 victory as all other games ended in draws. Showing the resolve they are known for, the Polish team had a field day against Vietnam and romped home with a 3-1 win, while Italian eves could only eke out one point out of four against fifth seed France winning by the same score. With each round worth two points and most of the top seeds still in there with a clean score, the battles are only going to get tougher in the coming days. Standings after Round 3 can be found at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-standings. For a complete list of results, please visit the official website at https://chessolympiad.fide.com/women-results. Text: Vishal Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes, Mark Livshitz and Stev Bonhage