Sergio Pereira wins FIDE Zone 4.3 Individual Championship
The FIDE Zone 4.3 Individual Championship took place in Bisila Palace Hotel in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and brought together 15 contestants from Gabon, Cameroon, Burundi, Sao Tome and Principe, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. The list of participants included strong amateurs and a few titled and rated players, such as IM Marius Amba Oyon (Cameroon), CM Barthelemy Bongo Akanga (Gabon) and AFM Wilfried Ntamatungiro (Burundi). Officiated by chief arbiter Abdelfattah Akkour, his deputy Emile Ebongue and national arbiter Bernabé Oyono, the 9-round Swiss tournament stretched over seven days. Sergio Pereira entered the event as a rating favorite and did not disappoint. The untitled player from Sao Tome and Principe scored an impressive 8/9 and finished clear first a full point ahead of Marius Amba Oyon and Barthelemy Bongo Akanga, who tied for second position. Marius took second place thanks to a slightly better Buchholz, while Barthelemy, the only player to beat the champion, came third. Final standings: 1 Pereira, Sergio STP 2007 8 2 IM Amba, Oyon Marius CMR 1903 7 3 AFM Ntamatungiro, Wilfried BDI 1817 6½ 4 CM Bongo Akanga, Barthelemy GAB 1811 6 5 Oscar Naranjo Gonzalez GEQ 0 5½ 6 Akram, Yousouf Dahab CHA 1649 5 7 Nicolas Christopher Xavier GEQ 5 8 Abdelaziz Bokhit, Badjoiri CHA 1618 5 9 Mahamat Hachim Bachar CHA 1741 5 10 Jonathan Sima, Avene GEQ 5 Alongside the Zonal Individual Championship, a TRG seminar was held. It was conducted by FIDE Executive Director GM Victor Bologan, who covered eight important topics over twenty hours. Attendance was high, with fifteen 15 trainers from 3 countries interacting very actively, asking questions and giving comments. In the end, they all took the final exam. An Arbitres’ seminar was also offered by Mr Akkour Abdelfattah, with the attendance of three countries: Thad, Cameroon and the host country Equatorial Guinea. It concluded with an exam taken by the participants. During his short stay FIDE Executive Director met with one of the most important local authorities, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Equatorial Guinea, Mr Alejandro Martin Owono, to discuss Chess development in the country. From left to right: Federico Ele Rano, President of Malabo chess club; María Obono, Secretary of the Olympic Committee of Equatorial Guinea; Pedro Nguema Ebile, President of the Equatorial Guinea Chess Federation; Alejandro Martín Owono Evuna, President of the Olympic Committee of Equatorial Guinea; Victor Bologan, FIDE Executive Director; Paulina Oliveira Borupu, Vice President of the Olympic Committee of Equatorial Guinea During the meeting, GM Bologan stressed the steady progress of FENAGE, which over a few years has hit considerable milestones as a chess institution (2 FIDE congresses 2020 – 2022, one Olympiad full attendance and now organizing a Zonal Chess championship). He praised the existing collaboration between chess institutions FIDE/FENAGE and expressed his commitment to assisting and supporting the young federation. He also highlighted the rapid chess development and penetration in the country under the “Chess in Schools” and “Chess in Prisons” projects. Several exciting side events took place on the sixth day of the Zonal tournament, including a simul by GM Victor Bologan with ten random players at the French School of Malabo. Due to his tight schedule, GM Bologan played extremely quickly, rushing from one table to the other, despite the heat (38 degrees Celsius) and the generator’s intense noise (there was a blackout in the city). Thirty-five minutes after the initial move was made, all ten players capitulated, and an unexpected explosion of applauses and hoorays blasted from the crowd, recognizing an impressive performance by GM, who offered a short interview to the local media.
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Inspiring battles at Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities
Following two days of competition, there are now six teams with a perfect score. However, for many, the socialising aspect and the atmosphere seem to be the most significant factor. The second day of the Olympiad started with the first move ceremony, carried out by Darija Kisic Tepavcevic, a doctor and epidemiologist who is currently serving as the Serbian minister of family welfare and demography. As a doctor, Darija Kisic Tepavcevic was intrigued by the event and discussed with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich how chess benefits people with disabilities. During the conversation, she posed a curious question – are the players in the event matched by their disability? That is a fair point as, arguably, a person with a hearing impairment is not in the same position as someone who is visually impaired or suffering from a severe physical disability. Thomas Luther, head of the FIDE Commission for players with disabilities, said that it would have been fair to match people based on their disabilities but that in such s case, we would have several mini-tournaments, and that wouldn’t be practical given the current circumstances. “This is the first Olympiad for people with disabilities, and for us, this is primarily about bringing everyone together as one, as a Family – which we are. Hopefully, in the future, we will have many hundreds or a thousand participants, and we can put each competitor in a group of people who have a similar disability”, Luther explained. Just two days into the event, the atmosphere in Belgrade is distinctive compared to typical chess events. Unlike in other top tournaments – especially those for the chess elite – where participants usually quickly depart the playing area after their game, at the Olympiad for people with disabilities, many players stick close to the playing area or sit together with their teammates or players from other countries to analyse their games. The ambience is reminiscent of a friendly chess club where everyone smiles and talks to each other. But still, while the atmosphere may be friendly, the games are serious. The twists and turns of Round 2 The top-seeded team of Poland got an early boost against the international squad of IPCA when IM Jacek Stachanczyk gave a lesson in opening tactics to Artem Andriienko from Ukraine: 13.Nd5! The pawn on b4 can’t be protected (13…a5 14.Bb5); capturing exd5 loses Queen (13…exd5 14.exd5+); and after 13…Nxd5 14.exd5 Qxd5 (14…Qc8/Qd7 15.Nb6) 15.Be4 the black bishop is lost. One of the youngest participants of this tournament in Belgrade chose not to suffer long and resigned right away. Later on, a draw was agreed on the first board, and FM Marcin Molenda extended the lead to 2.5:1.5, compensating for the loss of Pawel Piekielny against Eugenio Campos from Angola. Israel was ruthless with 3.5:0.5 against the first team of the host country, Serbia. Aleksandra Aleksandrova executed a swift mating attack, and Andrei Gurbanov demonstrated a temporary sacrifice to liquidate into a won endgame against Dragan Zivic: 25.Nb6+! Nxb6 26.Rxd8+ Kxd8 27.Bxd6+ Qxb6 28.Qe8+ Kc7 29.Qe5+ Bd6 30.Qg7+ Kb8 31.Qxh8+ and White won on move 34 1-0 The main upsets of the round were losses of the 3rd, 4th and 5th teams from the starting rating list. The international selection playing under the FIDE flag had an advantage in rating on two upper boards in the match with the 3rd-seed Hungary, and they used it. The main surprise, however, was created by the young Natasha Morales Santos from Puerto Rico, after surviving with her king locked down in the centre of the board: 32.Ne4 Bxe4 33.Bxe4 R5xe4+ 34.Qxe4 Bg5+ 35.Kxg5 Rxe4 36.Kf6 Re3 37.Rc1 Rf3+ 38.Ke7, and she outplayed the opponent rated 450 points higher to bring her team a victory by the score of 3:1! The 4th-seeded Croatia had a nightmare start on day one when they lost to Serbia’s second team. This time they were defeated by Uzbekistan 3:1, and the 5th seed Cuba lost 3:1 against the team from India. The second team of Serbia continued with its great run from the first day and scored another convincing victory. This time they confidently defeated Zimbabwe with 3.5:0.5 and surprisingly remained in the group of leaders. It shows how the difference in average rating matters little in a tough team competition such as this one. The next 3rd round will conclude the first half of the inaugural Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities, and some of the matches may already be of key importance, especially for those on the top of the standings: Poland – FIDE; India – Israel; Serbia 2 – Philippines and ICCD – Hungary. The full list of results from the second round can be found – here. The pairings of the third round can be found – here. “Chess gave me the opportunity to beat giants” Behind every player, there is a very big life story. Jesus Osorio (38) is a remarkable person from Panama. Despite having brittle bone disease, he has overcome many challenges and is pursuing his passion for chess. Inspired by his brother, a marathon runner, Jesus wanted to achieve something big, and at the age of 10, he picked up chess. Since then, he has dedicated his life to promoting the sport. Now, he has achieved his dream of representing Panama in the Chess Olympiad. “In chess, we are all on an equal playing field, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here.” Jesus is married and has two children, one of whom has a disability. He is also a TV show host, showcasing the world of chess, and has a popular TikTok channel in Panama dedicated to the sport. Chess has given Jesus a lot, and he shares his story with pride. “Chess is the only sport where there is no difference between an abled and disabled person. Chess gave me the opportunity to beat giants. This sport gave me the opportunity to challenge myself.” Through his interview with FIDE, Jesus shared his life and chess journey, inspiring us all with his determination and love for the game. By Milan Dinic (FIDE Press Officer) and Marjan Kovacevic (DIS reporter) Photos by Mark Livshitz About the event The