Singapore Champioship: Kevin Goh and Gong Qianyun clinch titles
The finals of the 74th Singapore National Chess Championships concluded on 12 February 2023. This tournament, with a total prize fund of S$15,000, spanned over three long weekends, with one round held each day. The National Championships has a rich history dating back to 1949 when it was first won by the founder of the Singapore Chess Federation, Professor Lim Kok Ann. Over time, the Championships have created many legends, most notably Mr Tan Lian Ann, who has won this tournament a record-breaking ten times in his career. This year’s edition was arguably the strongest in history, with GM Tin Jingyao (pictured below) as its top seed. Tin Jingyao, a 5-time national champion, has made waves on the local and international chess circuit of late and was the pre-tournament favourite, but Grandmaster Kevin Goh Wei Ming, the defending champion Andrean Susilodinata and Singapore’s top female player Gong Qianyun were also gunning for the title. Singapore’s first Grandmaster and a 4-time Champion, Wong Meng Kong, also made a surprise return from retirement, making this the first tournament in Singapore history to feature all 3 Singaporean homegrown Grandmasters. The tournament also allowed young players to participate through a series of qualifiers. The youngest candidate to qualify was 7-year-old Ashwath Kaushik (pictured above), well-known on the local scene for giving players older than him a difficult time over the board. Ashwath is more than half the size of his fellow competitors; he brings around a booster cushion to be placed on his seat so that he can see the board and move the chess pieces. This year’s Championships also saw the Women’s Category merging with the Open in a combined event for the first time in 13 years. Woman Grandmaster Gong Qianyun (pictured above), who recently emerged 13th in the World Rapid Chess Championships, quipped, “I like to challenge myself and enjoy playing against male GMs and IMs – for me, it is less stressful compared to playing with ladies.” She also has the following advice for female players playing in a field dominated by men: “Just focus on the game itself – do not get distracted by other things, and you will not be intimidated by your opponents.” At the end of a long and grueling tournament, it was GM Kevin Goh (pictured above) who emerged as the champion, winning his 8th National Championship title. Gong Qianyun also became a 9-time National Woman’s Champion by finishing as the highest finisher among female players. However, she admitted that the path was far from easy. Qianyun said, “It was a difficult tournament competing with many young and promising players, and fortunately for me, I managed to pull through with a narrow margin over my competitors.” “I believe many of these young players will continue to improve, and next year’s tournament will be even stronger.” By winning this title, Qianyun also gains custody of the Chan Lai Fung challenge trophy for one year, named after WIM Chan Lai Fung for her accomplishments in Singapore chess and her generous contribution to Singapore Chess in many ways. Final standings Open: 1st – GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming2nd – IM Enrique Paciencia3rd – GM Tin Jingyao Women: 1st – WGM Gong Qianyun2nd – Saravanan Durga3rd – Lauren Rice You can find complete tournament results here: https://chess-results.com/tnr719719.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&fed=SGP Text: Kevin Goh CEO, Singapore Chess Federation Photos: Singapore Chess Federation Facebook Page
Moldovan Championship: Lashkin and Mihailova come out on top
FM Jegor Lashkin and WFM Alina Mihailova are the new champions of Moldova. Both won their maiden titles in impressive style dominating the field. Both open and women’s sections of Moldovan championship 10-player round-robins with classical time control took place from February 02-12 in the country’s capital Chisinau. Jegor Lashkin (pictured above) steamrolled the competition in the open tournament conceding his opponents just a half point and finishing two points ahead of the rating favourite GM Vladimir Hamitevici, who claimed silver. IMs Ilia Martinovici and Ruslan Soltanici netted 5.5/9 each and tied for third place, with the former taking bronze thanks to the victory in the direct encounter. Final standings: 1 FM Lashkin, Jegor 2416 8½ 2 GM Hamitevici, Vladimir 2499 6½ 3 IM Martinovici, Ilia 2420 5½ 4 IM Soltanici, Ruslan 2356 5½ 5 GM Sanduleac, Vasile 2403 4 6 FM Ogleznev, Alexandr 2357 4 7 IM Baltag, Iulian 2433 3½ 8 Baranciuc, Alexandr 2163 3½ 9 FM Vavric, Pavel 2336 2½ 10 Eletskikh, Alexandr 2269 1½ Alina Mihailova (pictured below) from Comrat put in an even more dominating performance in the women’s championship, winning all nine games. Victoria Bargan scored a solid 7.5/9 (usually enough for first place in any competition, but not this one) and took silver. Ana Penticenco came in third. Final standings: 1 WFM Mihailova, Alina 1969 9 2 Bargan, Victoria 1784 7½ 3 WFM Petricenco, Ana 1832 6½ 4 Chendighilean, Anna 1462 6 5 Comarnitcaia, Ecaterina 1404 4 6 Dulteva, Anastasia 1485 4 7 Bitca, Emilia 1481 3 8 Laricov, Vlada 1167 2½ 9 Dabija, Paula 1271 2 10 Cazacu, Raluca-Cristiana 1279 0½ Photo: Federația de Șah a Republicii Moldova Facebook page Official website: sahmoldova.md/
Azerbaijan Women’s Championship: Govhar Beydullayeva defends title
WGM Govhar Beydullayeva (pictured above) emerged as the 2023 Azerbaijan Women’s Championship winner, successfully defending her title. The Azerbaijan Women’s Championship took place in Baku from February 03-14, 2023, with 11 participants competing in a round-robin. After a discouraging start – the defending champion fell to WGM Khanim Balajayeva (pictured below) in the first-round encounter – Govhar reeled off five straight wins and joined the leaders. In the end, it all came down to the final round, to which Beydullayeva and Balajayeva headed, sharing the top position. Govhar scored a crucial victory over Turkan Mamedjarova and lifted the trophy as her main competitor managed only a draw against Narmin Abdinova and had to settle for silver. Khanim Balajayeva became the only player to defeat the champion and complete the tournament unbeaten. Despite losing three games, Sabina Ibrahimova netted 6.5/10 and finished third. Final standings: 1 WGM Beydullayeva, Govhar 2387 7½ 2 WGM Balajayeva, Khanim 2379 7 3 WIM Ibrahimova, Sabina 2174 6½ 4 Abdinova, Narmin 1932 6 5 WGM Abdulla, Khayala 2220 5½ 6 IM Mammadova, Gulnar 2376 5½ 7 WFM Allahverdiyeva, Ayan 2060 5 8 WGM Mamedjarova, Turkan 2244 5 9 WFM Hajiyeva, Laman 2135 3½ 10 WGM Mamedjarova, Zeinab 2249 2 11 Nuriyeva, Nurtan 1809 1½ Photo: Ceyhun Zeynalov Official website: asf.org.az/
FIDE joins the Sport Integrity Global Alliance
Last week, at its General Assembly, the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) unanimously approved FIDE’s application to become a full member of the organization. SIGA is an independent not-for-profit that was founded with one goal: To ensure the sports industry is governed under the highest integrity standards, free from any form of unethical, illicit, and criminal activity, safeguarding sports values and ensuring its positive impact and benefits to all citizens. “Joining such a prestigious sports organization as a member is an excellent opportunity to improve even further FIDE’s governance. This opportunity is also a challenge: while much progress has been made in recent years, we can make FIDE a more robust organization under SIGA’s guidance and scrutiny, as they have the highest standards in the industry of sports”, said the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich. “We are grateful that our membership has been unanimously approved at their General Assembly, and we will do our utmost to comply with their requirements”, he added. Founded in 2017 by 20 major sports organizations (sports bodies, governments, anti-corruption NGOs, inter-governmental organizations, and commercial partners), today, SIGA is the largest independent and neutral multi-stakeholder coalition in sports governance and integrity. With over 100 members, committed supporters and partners from the world of sport, government, international organizations, business, and civil society, SIGA pursues a critical mission: to advance the adoption, implementation, monitoring and independent assessment of Universal Standards on Sports Integrity in four key areas: Good Governance in Sport; Financial Integrity and Transparency in Sport; Sports Betting Integrity; and Youth Development and Protection. SIGA delivers independent global rating and certification for world Sport to ensure it is governed and operates under the highest integrity standards: The SIGA Universal Standards. Besides that, the establishment of SIGA’s Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS), operated by an independent third party, oversees the implementation of key reforms is the game changer that will give those that invest in sport certainty that the sports properties they support in are governed to the highest integrity standards. About SIGA: https://siga-sport.com/faqs/ Membership benefits: https://siga-sport.com/membership-benefits/