GCL Day 7: Carlsen’s spectacular victory over Anand lifts SG Alpine Warriors to the top
Dubai, 28th June 2023 – In a historic endgame, Magnus Carlsen of SG Alpine Warriors defeated Viswanathan Anand and propelled his team to the top of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, pushing Ganges Grandmasters to second. Balan Alaskan Knights unsettled one of the top tournament performers upGrad Mumba Masters in the first match of the round. However, all eyes were on the second match between tournament leaders Ganges Grandmasters and SG Alpine Warriors. The team of Ganges Grandmasters took the lead but thanks to the unstoppable Praggnanandhaa R of SG Alpine Warriors’ (who scored 5,5/6), the team managed to strike back in a critical moment. In what turned out to be the endgame for the history books, which saw two queens promoted by White and a knight promoted by Black, Carlsen managed to win and ensured his team reached the top of the scoreboard. Balan Alaskan Knights vs upGrad Mumba Masters (8:5) Knights, who won the first round against the Masters 14:5, started with the advantage of playing with white. The Knights were immediately pressing hard. In the Sicilian, Ian Nepomniachtchi went for the Rossolimo attack against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Both Indian women GMs, Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli, also came under pressure straight away. The Knights team started the day in fifth position. But in the individual race for the most valuable players, they had two of their own – Tan Zhongyi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov – in good form and in the top six, just behind the Masters’ Harika Dronavalli who was in fourth place. By the time the dust settled after the opening moves, Humpy was in a disadvantageous position against Tan Zhongyi, although the latter had used up more time engineering her attack. On board one, the players settled for a draw, as did Teimour Radjabov and Vidit Gujrathi on the third board. Meanwhile, a patient Humpy made several well-calculated moves to fight back. Her opponent Tan Zhongyi misplayed at a crucial juncture, allowing Humpy to bail out. Dronavalli also held off the initial onslaught from Nino Batsiashvili, and the two agreed on a draw. All hopes rested on board six, where Knights’ prodigy Raunak Sadhwani pressed with white against Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan. The time on the clock was also in the favour of the young 17-year-old from Nagpur. The endgame saw some nervous shaking of feet. Sadhwani finally forced a win, expressing his delight by throwing his hands in the air. In the last game to finish, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, as White, was in a tight tug-of-war with Alexander Grischuk for most of their clash. Abdusattorov then managed to hold the fort, thus paving the way for an important 8-5 win for the Knights. Ganges Grandmasters vs SG Alpine Warriors (8:10) This was the match of the day in the seventh round of the Global Chess League. Not only did we see a high-stakes duel but also, two former world champions, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand – both in a class of their own – faced each other for the second time. In their earlier match in the Global Chess League, Ganges Grandmasters came out victorious, 11-6. With the colour of pieces reversed, the Ganges Grandmasters now had the first move initiative. This match was crucial for both teams. While Ganges Grandmasters have dominated this event so far, SG Alpine Warriors are within reach of first place. “For both teams, this match is like a semi-final – whichever team wins they have great chances to reach the final,” a well-informed source from the SG Alpine Warriors said. For a long time in the round, neither side had the upper hand. Ganges’ Richard Rapport was the first to make a breakthrough. In the Italian game, Gukesh D allowed Rapport to seize more space and orchestrate an attack on the black king from which there was no escape. With another game ending in a draw – between Arjun Erigaisi and Leinier Dominguez – the Ganges Grandmasters took the lead. The next game to finish saw Hou Yifan – the top-rate woman player and former Women’s World Champion – defeat the 8-time American Women’s Champion, Irina Krush. In a tense position, Krush made a blunder allowing White to easily checkmate her king. A glimmer of hope for SG Alpine Warriors came from Praggnanandhaa – so far the most successful player in the tournament – who proved his value again, defeating Andrey Esipenko as Black. As Elisabeth Paehtz ended in a drawn position with Bella Khotenashvili, everything depended on the outcome of the game between Carlsen and Anand. An epic game between two former World Champions In their first encounter in round two, Carlsen beat Anand as White. Now, it was Anand’s chance to take the initiative and push. Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen played one of the most exciting games ever in chess, ending in an astonishing finale. Following the French defence, a sharp position developed on the board. In positional re-adjusting, both were pushing, creating traps for each other. Carlsen was gradually gaining ground, but up to a certain point, Anand was holding his own. However, after Vishy decided to trade his bishop for a knight, he missed a fine idea of building a fortress at the cost of a pawn and found himself in a lost position. But it wasn’t over and – with seconds on the clock – Carlsen had to calculate a complicated path to victory which saw White’s promoting his pawn to a queen twice! In the end, Anand thought he found a way to a stalemate, but instead of promoting a queen, Carlsen put a knight on the board – an unusual choice by all standards – but just what was needed for victory. The commentators and grandmasters following the game were stunned by what they were witnessing. “This is a game for the history books. The titans of chess fighting it out until the end”, said Grandmaster Peter Svidler. Magnus’ spectacular victory over Anand, securing a victory for SG Alpine Warriors with a score of 10:8. After
Carlsen, Nakamura and Ju Wenjun among the participants of FIDE World Cup
The event has seen its combined prize pool boosted to a whopping USD 2.5 million, the single largest one at any chess event in the world. The knock-out chess extravaganza, held every two years, will celebrate its 10th edition in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30 July to 24 August 2023. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 29th and all the first round matches will be played on the 30th. UPDATE World #5 Hikaru Nakamura has confirmed his participation in the FIDE World Cup in Baku. Two other wild cards go to Arjun Erigaisi, the best still non-qualified player among juniors, with a rating of 2702, and in the Women’s World Cup, to Zhu Jiner, the best non-qualified woman by rating – as well as 3rd finisher in the the Women’s Grand Prix standings. 149 of the 206 participants in the World Cup 2023 in Baku, and 72 of the 103 Women’s World Cup participants, have already been confirmed. The field will be completed between June 15-30, at the conclusion of the Zonal tournaments and the period that eligible federations have been given to submit their nominations. The list is headed once again by world number one Magnus Carlsen. Despite being a firm supporter of knock-out tournaments, a victory in the World Cup is one of the few titles still missing from Magnus’ impressive track record, and this is probably a strong incentive for the former World Champion. Photo: Lennart Ootes His best result so far was in Sochi 2021, where he impressed the fans with some spectacular games (like his two victories over Fedoseev), but he was knocked out in the semifinals by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, winner of the event. The second seed will be no other than the runner-up in the two last World Championship matches and twice winner of the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi. “Nepo” could only reach the fourth round in his last participation, in Khanty-Mansiysk 2019, where he was knocked out by Yu Yangyi, and decided to skip Sochi 2021 in order to focus on his preparation for the match in Dubai. Photo: Lennart Ootes Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, and Maxime Vachier Lagrave are next on the list, followed by the two local stars Teimur Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Radjabov won the World Cup in his last participation, Khanty-Mansiysk 2019. With the extra motivation of playing on home turf, he will surely be a very serious contender for the title. The tenth seed is 17-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju of India, who leads the pack of up-and-coming young prodigies, in which we also find Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18 years old, 14th in the starting list), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (17 years old, 25th seed), and Vincent Keymer (18 years old, 26th). The top-seeded in the Women’s World Cup will be Humpy Koneru of India. Despite losing some rating points during the past year, Koneru is still the number two player in the world rankings, only behind the semi-retired Hou Yifan and just one point ahead of the reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun. Photo: Ismael Nieto The participation of Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Cup will be one of the highlights of the competition. It wasn’t clear if she would accept the challenge, and she is set to defend her title in the weeks before the World Cup, from July 5-25, against her countrywomen Lei Tingjie. It remains to be seen if Ju will arrive in Baku as the reigning World Champion or right after being dethroned, but either way and despite the foreseeable tiredness after the match, she will surely be one of the main contenders for victory. Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, and the defending Women’s World Cup Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, complete the top-5 seeds for the event. They are followed by Tan Zhongyi, Mariya Muzychuk, Harika Dronavalli, Nana Dzagnidze, and Anna Muzychuk. The highest-rated local player will be 22-year-old Gunay Mammadzada (pictured below). Photo: Mark Livshitz The World Cup is one of FIDE’s flagship competitions, and in recent editions, it has clearly become one of the most followed events in the chess calendar. This reflects FIDE’s efforts to expand the competition, increasing the variety of qualification paths and the number of represented countries (estimated at 50 for the 2023 edition) while drastically decreasing the number of wild cards. With 206 players in the open section, plus 103 in the Women’s competition, this event has seen its combined prize pool boosted to a whopping USD 2.5 million, the single largest one at any chess event in the world. For many players, the World Cup is the first and only opportunity to enter the race for the World Championship crown since the three top finishers in the event will advance to the next stage: the super exclusive Candidates Tournament. This means one more spot than in the previous edition, Sochi 2021, where only the finalists would qualify: in Baku, the winner of the match for 3rd/4th place will also get the coveted invitation for the Candidates, which adds some extra excitement to this already thrilling competition. Lists of players confirmed as of June 26, 2023: FIDE World Cup 2023 FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023 Official website: worldcup2023.fide.com/
The match for Women’s World Champion title: Celebration of China and Chess
The forthcoming match for the title of the Women’s World Chess Champion will be a unique event in chess history. China, known for its supremacy in women’s chess, finds itself in a very rare position of holding both the absolute and women’s chess crowns simultaneously. From the 3rd to the 24th July, China will host the match for the title of Women’s World Champion. In a year which saw the country of the Red Dragon clinch the ultimate world chess crown as Ding Liren defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, the forthcoming women’s duel in China adds to the anticipation of a great battle as the eyes of the entire chess world will be on the country. It will be the first major chess event played in China since its player took the ultimate world title. The highly anticipated match between the current World Champion, Ju Wenjun, and the Challenger, Lei Tingjie, is scheduled to take place in the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing. These cities hold significance as they are the birthplaces of the respective participants. Ju Wenjun will have the advantage of home turf first, as her native Shanghai will host the first part of the match. Still, it should be noted that playing in front of your home audience is not always an upside and can sometimes be a psychological hurdle. The reigning World Champion and the Challenger Ju Wenjun, the defending Champion, has a lot of experience in major events. With two World Championship matches under her belt and overall seven attempts at the World Championships, her nerves are trained to withstand formidable pressure. It is worth reminding the readers that the previous match ended in a razor-thin victory for Ju. In 2020, playing against Aleksandra Goryachkina, the classical part of the match ended in a tie, 6-6, where the Russian player levelled the score in the last game! Ju Wenjun’s ability to regain her composure and hold steady after a heavy blow in the critical game of the match was manifested in the rapid tiebreak, where she won with 2.5-1.5. The Challenger, Lei Tingjie, had an impressive run to reach the match. Starting with a triumph at the 2021 Grand Swiss, she qualified for the world title tournament cycle. In the process, she scored victories in the Candidates matches over Mariya Muzychuk, Anna Muzychuk, and Tan Zhongyi, confidently securing the Challenger title. While it is expected for the world champion and challenger to ‘disappear’ from public light in the runup to the match, Ju Wenjun took part in the highly competitive Sharjah Open at the end of May. In a very strong competition – with top male grandmasters playing – Ju turned in a very solid performance defeating GMs Karthikeyan and Vidit in the first two rounds and finishing with 4.5/9. The Women’s World Champion’s performance rating stood at an impressive 2680, indicating her strong form. In contrast, Lei Tingjie has not competed since her convincing victory over compatriot Tan Zhongyi in the Candidates final, which concluded in early April. Lei won the match with a round to spare. Her absence from the spotlight after the Candidates suggests Lei is focused on preparation and staging uncomfortable surprises for her opponent. The head-to-head record also suggests a tough challenge for both sides. Since 2011, when their first game was recorded, the two have played 15 times – eight in classical time control, three rapid games, one blitz, as well as three online/exhibition events. The overall score is 10:5 for Ju, but she scored the majority of the victories when Lei was just coming up through the ranks. A more recent look at the results shows that Ju Wenjun has a slight edge at best. What to expect in China? A riveting showdown awaits us this July, brimming with anticipation and excitement. As the defending champion and more experienced player, Ju Wenjun has some advantage, albeit a slight one. But Lei Tingjie, who has been displaying an extraordinary level of play as of late, may prove to deliver in that final mile where Goryachkina failed in 2020 and clinch the title. A clash of this magnitude is bound to captivate chess enthusiasts around the world. Following up on Ding Liren’s victory in the World title match in Astana, the women’s duel in July will be an opportunity for China to showcase its chess tradition and glory to the world, reaffirming its claim to be the new home of chess and returning the game home, closer to its eastern roots. Key facts about the match The match will take place in two Chinese cities, where each of the contestants comes from. The first half of the match will be held in Shanghai, while the second half takes place in Chongqing. The match will consist of 12 games of classical chess. The players will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting on move one. Players cannot offer a draw before they reach the 41st move. In case of a tie, there will be the following tiebreaks: Four games with a 25+10 time control.Two games with a 5+3 time control.Two more games with a 5+3 time control.One game with a 3+2 time control until a winner is determined. The event prize fund is €500,000, with €300,000 going to the winner and the remaining €200,000 to the runner-up. If the outcome of the match is decided upon tiebreaks, the winner will take €275,000, while the runner-up will receive €225,000.
Girls Club “Chess for protection” keeps growing
The Girls Club “Chess for protection” was launched by FIDE and UNHCR as part of the Chess for Refugees programme in the Northwestern region of Kenia. Its goal is to help refugees learn the game of chess, acquire new important life skills, socialize, and release stress through it. Spearheaded by Anastasia Sorokina, Chair of the FIDE WOM Commisssion, the project was launched in August 2021. First classes were held in Angelina Jolie Primary School in Kakuma with an attendance of 40 students. In 2023 it runs in three girls’ boarding schools in the region – Angelina Jolie Primary School, Morneau Shepell Secondary School and Bhar-El-Naam Primary School – with 250 refugee schoolgirls attending chess classes twice a week. The program’s second edition is running from March 2023 till the end of July. Female students attend online lessons by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich (UKR) and IM Salome Melia (GEO). They also study and play chess with a local tutor. Modern technologies are used to make lessons entertaining – girls are playing chess against their co-students and tutors, solving puzzles, playing against robots, watching short videos from “Chesskid”, and even doing simple workouts. During the lessons, the social benefits of chess are also discussed. Teachers tell girls inspirational stories and interesting facts about chess. The lessons are based on a Curriculum written by Anastasiya Karlovich, Shohreh Bayat and Martina Skogvall to teach chess in refugee camps. During the months of chess lessons, refugee girls learn the basic rules of chess and continue to practice after the end of the online course. More than that, refugee camp students participate in various competitions, including the schools’ chess tournament in Kakuma, Kenya. Athieng Chol, who attended chess classes during the first year of the project, won the tournament with a perfect score of 5 points in 5 rounds. Ajaa Nyasisi, Nyandeng Deng, Akit Garang and Nyibol Jok finished in the top 10 among 40 participants. In July 2023, the Girls Club students will also participate in the upcoming Queens’ Online Chess Festival, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments organized by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess. Registration for the event is still running here:wom.fide.com/queens-chess-festival-returns-in-july/