FIDE WGP Series 2022-23: Players allocation
IMPORTANT UPDATE:IM Vaishali R will replace GM Humpy Koneru in the first WGP tournament in Nur-Sultan. Koneru withdrew from the event for medical reasons. The FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series 2022-23 will feature a total of 16 players, and each one of them will participate in three out of four WGP tournaments with classical time control. The total prize fund for each leg will be €80,000, with another €80,000 being distributed among the top 8 finishers in the global Women’s Grand Prix Series standings, according to the cumulative points they score across the four events. The two top players in the WGP Series will also qualify for the FIDE Women Candidates Tournament 2023-24.
Spanish Championship 2022: Iturrizaga Bonelli and Garcia Martin claim titles
GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli and IM Marta García Martín are the new champions of Spain. The 2022 Spanish Championship, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from 11-18 August in the halls of the hotel “RL Aníbal” in Linares. Both men and women competed in one event but were ranked separately, with the highest-scoring female player claiming the title of Spanish Women’s Champion. The tournament turned into a close race of several top-rated players, with Eduardo Iturrizaga, Daniil Yuffa and Pedro Antonio Gines Esteo coming into the final round as joint leaders on 6½/8. Yuffa and Gines Esteo faced each other and split a point while the defending champion, Iturrizaga Bonelli, defeated Perez Candelario in style and claimed his second straight national title. There was a three-way tie for second place, with tiebreaks favouring Daniil Yuffa (silver) and the rating favourite Jaime Santos Latasa (bronze). Although IM Pedro Antonio Gines Esteo did not make it to the podium finishing fourth, he won the U18 prize and picked 17 rating points. IM Marta García Martín scored 6 points and became Spanish Women’s Champion for the first time in her career. The defending champion IM Sabrina Vega Gutiérrez netted an equal amount of points but had to settle for silver due to inferior tiebreaks. WIM Yudania Hernández Estévez closed the top three female winners scoring 4½ points. Final standings: 1 GM Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo 2618 7½ 2 GM Yuffa, Daniil 2594 7 3 GM Santos Latasa, Jaime 2672 7 4 IM Gines Esteo, Pedro Antonio 2472 7 5 IM Garriga Cazorla, Pere 2511 6½ 6 IM Merario Alarcon, Andres 2423 6½ 7 GM Narciso Dublan, Marc 2455 6½ 8 IM Moreno Ruiz, Javier 2428 6½ 9 GM Cuenca Jimenez, Jose Fernando 2555 6½ 10 FM Lin, Yingrui 2314 6½ Official website: feda.org/feda2k16/ Photo: FEDA Facebook page
Lagno defeats Vaishali to advance into the final
GM Kateryna Lagno overcame IM Vaishali R in the semifinals of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2022 to advance into the final. Lagno proved to be a better player in the 5+1 and 3+1 segments of the duel, convincingly winning both (6-3 and 5-3, respectively). Vaishali did a better job in the final 1+1 portion but could not wipe out a 5-point deficit – Kateryna sealed the match with about 10 minutes to go. One of the key factors behind her victory was much better time management which helped Lagno to find all the right answers in critical situations. Lagno earned $6,384.62 in prize money for her victory, while Vaishali took home $1,615.38 for her efforts. In a short postgame interview, Kateryna shared her takeaway from this match: “The first impression I have right now is I need to solve more tactics, more and more. Yes, I won the match, but it wasn’t easy. I was ahead all the match, but I had some problems. I missed some tricks. It was a tough match.” The FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online event where titled women players will play a series of blitz and bullet matches for a share of the $70,000 prize fund. To follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, watch a live broadcast of the event with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com Twitch Channel. More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Wesley So to defend his FIDE World Fischer Random title
Magnus Carlsen and Iceland’s #1 Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson are other confirmed participants FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship is back with its second edition. The over-the-board final will take place in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 25-30 October 2022. In 2019, FIDE officially recognized the World Fischer Random Chess Championship. In the final of the inaugural edition, held in Norway, American Grandmaster Wesley So defeated classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen. The two-year pandemic hiatus put the organization of many major chess events on halt, and we’re excited to announce the second edition of the Championship is taking place this year. “I am so excited to be competing in Fischer Random again! And in Iceland! It couldn’t be more special than to compete in that particular place, defending my title against the best players in the world. To play in Reykjavik, fifty years after the match between Fischer and Spassky, gives it a historical perspective that cannot be matched,” commented Wesley So. Photo: Lennart Ootes | Chess.com The overall prize fund of the final in the Icelandic capital amounts to a whopping 400,000 USD. Eight players will have a shot at the 150,000 USD first prize and the FIDE Fischer Random World Champion title. Three of the four invitees are already confirmed. They are the defending champion American grandmaster Wesley So, the world’s top-ranked grandmaster Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, and the strongest Icelandic grandmaster Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson. The fourth player will receive the wild card from the FIDE President. The four directly seeded players will be joined by the four winners of the online qualifiers on Chess.com and Lichess.org, two from each site. The qualifiers start as soon as August 19 on Lichess.org (click for details) and August 22 on Chess.com (click for details). The finals will consist of a two-group stage followed by the knockout semifinals and final. The time control will be 25 minutes per player for the first 30 moves, after which each player will receive additional 5 minutes on the clock and an increment of 5 seconds per move. The Championship in Reykjavik will be broadcast live by NRK, the largest media organization in Norway and FIDE’s long-term partner, and RUV, Iceland’s major national broadcast company. As in 2019, the final will be organized by Dund AS, a Norwegian shareholding company. Lichess qualifiers are organized with the support of Offerspill Sjakklubb, Charlotte Chess Center, and the North American Corporate Chess League. “The second edition of the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship in Reykjavik is timed to the 50th anniversary of Fischer and Spassky’s ‘Match of the Century’. It remains one of the most famous chess competitions in history. We’re thankful to the Icelandic Chess Federation, Dund AS and all our partners for making this tribute happen. Fischer Random Chess is an extremely popular chess variant, equally enjoyed by the top professionals and chess fans. We underlined its importance by officially recognizing it in 2019 and are determined to continue on the path of supporting it,” emphasized FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “We’re excited to continue fruitful cooperation with FIDE and hold the second edition of the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship. We’re sure it will be packed with thrilling chess action and keep fans on the edge of their seats from the first to the last move of each game, which is the nature of Fischer Random chess,” said organizer, FIDE Vice President Joran Aulin-Jansson. What is Fischer Random Chess? Fischer Random is a chess variant invented by legendary Bobby Fischer, 1972-75 World Chess Champion. The game’s rules are the same as standard chess, but the starting position of pieces is randomly shuffled. It reduces the impact of opening theory and makes players contemplate game development from the first moves. Regulations for the 2022 FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship (pdf) About Dund AS: Dund AS, a Norwegian shareholding company, organized the first official 2019 World Fischer Random Chess Championship. Previously, Dund AS organized the 2018 unofficial Fischer Random world title match between classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen and recognized Fischer Random ace, Hikaru Nakamura. About FIDE: The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of international chess competition. Founded in 1924, it was one of the first institutions of its kind, and it is now one of the largest, with a total of 199 affiliated national chess federations. For more information: On behalf of FIDE: press@fide.com On behalf of the organizers, Joran Aulin-Jansson: jj@sci-group.net