Romanian Championship: Shevchenko and Lehaci win maiden titles
GM Kirill Shevchenko and WIM Miruna-Daria Lehaci are the new champions of Romania. Both won their maiden national titles. The Romanian Championship took place from February 19–26, 2023, in Sebes and saw the triumph of young players. The open, women’s and amateur sections were 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control. The third-rated Romanian player Kirill Shevchenko (pictured below), who completed his transfer from the Ukrainian to the Romanian federation last month, sure-footedly confirmed his status as the tournament favourite in the open event. The native of Kyiv scored an impressive 8/9, conceding his opponents just two draws. Two other zoomers, IM David Gavrilescu and FM Samuel-Timotei Ghimpu, tied for second place, netting 6.5/9, with the former claiming silver thanks to a superior Buchholz. The only female player in the open section IM Irina Bulmaga (pictured below) turned in a solid performance and shared fourth place with a large group of players. Final standings Open: 1 GM Shevchenko, Kirill 2662 8 2 IM Gavrilescu, David 2522 6½ 3 FM Ghimpu, Samuel-Timotei 2455 6½ 4 IM Bulmaga, Irina 2428 6 5 IM David, Alexandru-Vasile 2405 6 6 GM Parligras, Mircea-Emilian 2570 6 7 GM Lupulescu, Constantin 2592 6 8 FM Magold, Filip 2324 6 9 GM Jianu, Vlad-Cristian 2518 6 10 GM Szabo, Gergely-Andras-Gyula 2514 6 The women’s championship was a much closer competition as Miruna-Daria Lehaci and WGM Michaela Sandu (both pictured above) took turns leading the field and came to the final round sharing the top position. Lehaci pulled off a crucial victory with the black pieces in a complicated battle with WGM Elena-Luminita Cosma, whereas Sandu suffered a defeat at the hands of the top-rated participant, 12-time national champion IM Corina-Isabela Peptan. With these results, Miruna-Daria Lehaci finished clear first, a full point ahead of four players tied for second place. The second tiebreak variable (Buchholz) favoured Mihaela Sandu, who took silver and WIM Angela Dragomirescu (bronze). Final standings Women: 1 WIM Lehaci, Miruna-Daria 2157 7 2 WGM Sandu, Mihaela 2206 6 3 WIM Dragomirescu, Angela 2113 6 4 WFM Ciolacu, Alessia-Mihaela 2231 6 5 IM Peptan, Corina-Isabela 2351 6 6 WIM Sgircea, Silvia-Raluca 2237 5½ 7 WGM Cosma, Elena-Luminita 2244 5½ 8 WCM Stanciu, Andreea-Briana 1851 5½ 9 WFM Pirvulescu, Ekaterina 2030 5½ 10 WCM Paraschiv, Petronela-Alexandr 1846 5 NM Ion-Cristian Veneteanu emerged as the winner of the amateur section. Photo: Romanian Chess Federation Facebook page
EDU Commission announces its fourth “Preparation of Teachers” course
FIDE and its Chess in Education Commission are pleased to announce the dates of the newly revised Preparation of Teachers course. The course will be held online in English from April 15-16, 2023. The target audience is teachers, chess educators, beginner and advanced players with basic chess knowledge and experience working with children. This brand-new course is focused on chess as an educational tool in the classroom. Participants, based upon their exam results, qualify for the FIDE title of School Instructor. Read the detailed course description here. Candidates who wish to attend the course must complete and return the registration form. The cut-off date for applications is April 10. Applicants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and the maximum number of places on the course is 30. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at edu.courses@fide.com