Chessable seeks applicants for Chessable Research Awards
Chessable, a leading platform in chess improvement and part of the Play Magnus Group, is seeking undergraduate and graduate students to apply for the Chessable Research Awards. The Chessable Research Awards are an initiative to develop our understanding of how chess can benefit our lives, how we can improve our knowledge of the game, and how we can understand other phenomena, both within and outside of the chess world. University students from all fields of study, such as cognitive psychology, education, literature, history, computer science, etc., are invited to apply. Examples of relevant topics include, but are not limited to, how playing chess impacts society or personal development, methods for improving the memorization of chess theory, the gender gap in chess participation, using ideas from chess to solve real-world problems, etc. Chessable’s Chief Science Officer Dr. Alexey Root, says: “With the Chessable Research Awards, Chessable hopes to encourage existing chess researchers and to help launch new chess research projects worldwide.” Winning students and their faculty research sponsors will receive monetary awards and publicity in Chessable blog posts and newsletters. Three cycles of awards per year are planned. Applications for this first cycle are due Saturday, October 1, 2022, for research to be conducted during the spring semester of 2023. To successfully apply, each student must have a faculty research sponsor who fills out a separate application. For more information about the Chessable Research Awards and the link to apply, visit: chessable.com/blog/chessable-research-awards/ Applicant questions and media requests for interview/comment should go to Chessable’s Chief Science Officer or to the Science Project Manager at the addresses below: Dr. Alexey Root, Chief Science Officer: alexey.root@chessable.com Karel van Delft, Science Project Manager: karel@chessable.com For more information about the Chessable science team and its initiatives, visit chessable.com/science/
Three youngsters cross 2700 mark in September rating list
The ups and downs in the standard list are tightly connected to the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad results, where the elite often faced players outside of the top 100. Magnus Carlsen lost 3 points despite his excellent 7.5/9 result in Chennai. However, the most significant drops in the top 10 belong to Fabiano Caruana (-18) and Levon Aronian (-16). The loss to Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou alone cost Aronian 7.6 points. The main news on the women’s list is the return of Humpy Koneru, who played her first tournament since February 2020. Despite losing 12 rating points in Chennai, she reappeared in the third position, pushing the rest of the top 10 down, except for Mariya Muzychuk, who kept her #7 spot. Photo: Lennart Ootes Biggest gains in Top 100 Open and Women Savitha Shri B WIM IND 2435 (+61) Erigaisi Arjun GM IND 2725 (+36) Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM UZB 2713 (+36) Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina IM ESP 2395 (+29) Sukandar, Irine Kharisma IM INA 2401 (+28) Gukesh D GM IND 2726 (+27) Kiolbasa, Oliwia WIM POL 2410 (+27) Nihal Sarin GM IND 2677 (+26) Vantika Agrawal WGM IND 2396 (+25) Keymer, Vincent GM GER 2693 (+21) Savitha Shri B (pictured below) is a clear winner in this category following her excellent performance in the Czech Open 2022, where she picked up 61 points. Although this result pales compared to her +96 points earned by Savitha in the previous month, it is still very impressive. Photo: Savitha Shri’s Instagram The biggest news outside of the top 10 is the meteoric rise of three outstandingly talented teenagers – Arjun Erigaisi (pictured below), Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh D – who crossed a 2700 mark and broke into the top 30 Open. All three performed exceptionally well in Chennai but did not stop there. Abdusattorov and Gukesh D netted some extra points in the Turkish Chess League, while Erigaisi came out on top in very strong Abu Dhabi Masters, where he earned 22 points. Photo: Lennart Ootes Adding to this equation Nihal Sarin and the winner of German Masters Vincent Keymer, who are rapidly approaching the 2700 mark, we can expect a new sweeping wave of youngsters on the very elite level in the nearest future. Speaking of the top performers at the 44th Chess Olympiad, we should also give full credit to female players: Oliwia Kiolbasa (pictured below), Sabrina Vega Gutierrez, and Vantika Agrawal did an excellent job in Chennai, singnificantly increased their rating and deservedly made it to the list of winners in this category. Photo: Lennart Ootes The rapid part of the 2022 GCT Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz finished just in time to bring exciting changes in the rapid ratings of the elite. Hikaru Nakamura lost 48 rapid points and dropped from #1 to #4 in the world’s rankings, letting Magnus Carlsen reclaim the top spot. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana dropped as many as -16 and -19 rating points, respectively but remained in the top 10. The tournament winner, Firouzja, picked up 48 rapid points, climbing to #15. For the official effects of the blitz, we’ll have to wait for the following rating list as the tournament ended too late to be included in this one.
European Women’s Championship 2022: Monika Socko clinches title
GM Monika Socko (Poland) emerged as the winner of the European Women’s Championship 2022. It is probably the most significant achievement in the professional career of 8-time Polish Women’s Champion. The European Women’s Championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from August 20-31, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic. The event, with a prize pool of €60,000 (€10,000 reserved for the champion), brought together 123 players from 28 countries. Monika Socko grabbed the sole lead in Round 5 and never looked back. Coming into the final round on 8/10, a half-point ahead of Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (Poland) and Lilit Mkrtchain (Armenia), Monika took a practical decision. Socko made a quick draw with Mkrtchain to secure the title as she had better tiebreaks over her main competitors. Mammadzada and Maltsevskaya played a topsy-turvy game which eventually ended in a draw. As a result, Gunay took silver, but Alexandra and Lilit missed the podium as Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan) scored a crucial last-round victory over her compatriot Gulnar Mammadova and claimed bronze by dint of better Buchholz. Final standings: 1 GM Socko, Monika POL 2423 8½ 2 IM Mammadzada, Gunay AZE 2466 8 3 WGM Fataliyeva, Ulviyya AZE 2413 8 4 IM Mkrtchian, Lilit ARM 2362 8 5 IM Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra POL 2360 8 6 IM Bulmaga, Irina ROU 2403 8 7 GM Ushenina, Anna UKR 2423 7½ 8 IM Sargsyan, Anna ARM 2378 7½ 9 IM Brunello, Marina ITA 2341 7½ 10 IM Salimova, Nurgyul BUL 2404 7½ The 2022 European Individual Women Chess Championship served as a qualification event for the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023. According to the FIDE regulations and the ECU Board decision, 9 best players qualified for FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023. Photo: Official website Official website: ewcc2022.net/