World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad: Registration deadline extended
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The registration deadline is extended to September 10, 2022. The Azerbaijan Chess Federation provides air transfer Baku-Nakhchivan-Baku free of charge. FIDE, Azerbaijan Chess Federation and Chess Federation of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic invite all the national chess federations to participate in the FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022, which will take place in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, from October 1-11, 2022. Registration is open until Thursday, September 10, 2022. Each FIDE member federation has the right to send one team, comprising 4 players and a maximum of 2 reserves. At least one female player must be included in a team in each round. All the players not have reached the age of 16 by January 1, 2022 (born 2006 or later) are entitled to participate. The competition is a 9-round Swiss tournament with the time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. Each match will be played over four boards. The Registration fee is 100 Euro for each player, official and each accompanying person. The Registration fee includes transportation from and to Nakhchivan International airport, from and to Igdir (Türkiye), from and to the Culfa transition border, accreditation, identification, badges and organization costs. To take part in the U-16 Olympiad, FIDE member federations shall duly complete the official registration form before the registration deadline of September 10, 2022. Tournament Schedule: Visa information E-visas can be easily obtained via the following link: https://evisa.gov.az/en/ List on eligible e-visa countries is available at https://evisa.gov.az/en/countries Non-eligible countries should e-mail Organizing Committee. National federations whose players, officials and accompanying persons need a visa shall send the Organizing Committee e-mail copies of their passports (copies of pages with photographs and the necessary data) by September 9, 2022. Regulations for FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2022 Official website: http://youtholympiad.fide.com E-mail: youtholympiad@fide.com
Hou Yifan edges out Valentina Gunina to reach the final
GM Hou Yifan narrowly defeated GM Valentina Gunina in the semifinals of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship. The top-rated female player reached the final again and will defend her WSCC-2021 title against Kateryna Lagno. It all started as one-way traffic with Gunina stringing six victories and taking the first segment, 6.5-1.5, but Hou staged an impressive comeback in the 3+1 stage (6.5-2.5) and nearly levelled the score. It all came down to a tense 1+1 showdown in which Hou Yifan finally grabbed the lead. Trailing by one point with just about three minutes left on the match clock, Valentina pushed hard with white pieces but made a terrible blunder, and it was all over. “To be honest, I really had no idea what was going on in the match because I had a very poor start. I missed a couple of very good positions, so I thought: it’s not a match. It’s Valentina’s day. I tried to fight back in the segment of 3+1 while I just decided to play something random, and somehow it worked… I felt like I was very lucky to win a match that way. It shouldn’t be like this,” said Hou Yifan in a short interview after the 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.
Belgian Championship 2022: Daniel Dardha wins third title
GM Daniel Dardha tuned in a dominating performance in the 2022 Belgian Chess Championship organized by the Koninklijke Belgische Schaakbond/Fédération Royale Belge des Echecs (Royal Belgium Chess Federation), claiming his third national title. The teenager from Antwerp previously won this event in 2019 and 2021. The champion finished three points ahead of his closest competitor Georgian-born GM Alexandre Dgebuadze. “Won the Belgian Championship for the 3rd time with 8.5/9, exceeding the 2600 mark and becoming #1 Belgium. On the next goal!” the champion wrote on his Facebook page. Photo: Daniel Dardha’s Facebook page Official website: frbe-kbsb-ksb.be/