2nd FIDE Council Meeting 2023: List of decisions
2nd FIDE Council Meeting August 1, 2023 LIST OF DECISIONS CM2-2023/01 To note President’s report. CM2-2023/02 To note Treasurer’s report. CM2-2023/03 To note information on FIDE major events calendar. CM2-2023/04 To open bidding procedure for the World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024 on 15 August 2023. CM2-2023/05 To approve the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2028 Regulations and to open a bidding procedure by August 15, 2023. The call for bids shall be as follows: 4 weeks are allocated for the expression of interest. If there is no more than one potential bidder that express their interest within 4 weeks, the overall bidding process shall last for 8 weeks. If there are several parties that express their interest within 4 weeks, the overall bidding process shall last for 12 weeks. CM2-2023/06 To approve the World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2024 to be held preliminary on 18-24 February 2024 and to open bidding procedure for the event from 15 August to 30 September 2023. CM2-2023/07 To note the Global Strategy Commission’s report. CM2-2023/08 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM2-2023/09 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM2-2023/10 To nominate President as the Council’s representative to the Consultation Team formed by Arbiters’ Commission on creation of the Arbiters’ Panels for the cycle 2024-2025. CM2-2023/11 To note the Qualification Commission’s report. CM2-2023/12 To approve the proposal on Rating Regulations amendments in principle, pending receipt of additional expert and public opinion. To instruct the Qualification Commission to collect such experts’ assessment, review all opinions and present the final version of the rating regulation changes to the FIDE Council in October 2023. Once approved, the changes will be communicated to the public by 1 December 2023 and will come into effect starting 1 January 2024. CM2-2023/13 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. CM2-2023/14 To collect proposals of the Council members in respect of the Transfer Task Force’s report regarding transfer regulations and to have an expanded Working Group meeting to discuss those proposals. CM2-2023/15 Based on factual transfer statistics and analysis, MB to formulate alternative proposals for Council’s consideration regarding admission to team events. CM2-2023/16 To inform the Affiliated Organisations that no event regulations of their respective tournaments which imply titles and norms should be published without a prior FIDE approval. CM2-2023/17 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and Academies. CM2-2023/18 To approve the recommendations of the Events Commission on titles. CM2-2023/19 To award World Junior U20 Chess Championships 2024 to Delhi, India, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/20 To award World Senior Team Chess Championships 2024 to Krakow, Poland, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/21 To award World Senior Chess Championships 2024 to Constanta (Mamaia), Romania, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/22 To award World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships 2024 to Florianopolis, Brazil, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/23 To award World Amateur Chess Championships 2024 to Acqui Terme, Italy, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/24 To award World Cadet & Youth Rapid & Blitz Championships 2024 to Durres, Albania, subject to the successful inspection. CM2-2023/25 To conduct the necessary inspections for the World Cadet U8, U10, U12 Championships 2024 and World Schools Chess Championships 2024. CM2-2023/26 To note that no bids have been received for World Cup under 8, 10, 12 2024, World School Team Championship 2024. and World Under 20 Junior Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024. CM2-2023/27 To note that Uzbekistan Chess Federation offered to organize World Under 20 Junior Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024 and World School Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024 in Uzbekistan. To inspect the proposed venues. CM2-2023/28 To note that the Georgian Chess Federation offered to organize the World Cup under 8, 10, 12 2024, subject of inspection. To inspect the proposed venue. CM2-2023/29 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM2-2023/30 To note the Technical Commission’s report. CM2-2023/31 To approve the proposal of the Technical Commission regarding play-off and tie-break regulations. Table of Changes. CM2-2023/32 To recognise DGT 2500 as a FIDE Endorsed product. CM2-2023/33 To approve updated FIDE Online Chess Regulations. Table of changes. CM2-2023/34 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report. CM2-2023/35 To note Chess in Education Commission’s report. CM2-2023/36 To approve the recommendations of the Chess in Education Commission on School Instructor title. CM2-2023/37 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM2-2023/38 To note the Chess in Multi-sport Games Committee’s report. CM2-2023/39 To note Continental reports. CM2-2023/40 To suggest to the General Assembly the approval of the New Caledonia Chess Federation as an affiliated organisation of FIDE. CM2-2023/41 To amend the resolution of the FIDE Council CM1-2023/44 as follows: “To recommend the application of the Tonga Chess Federation for the ratification by the General Assembly”. To confirm that Tonga Chess Federation is eligible to receive FIDE Development Fund support according to PDC programs starting from August 2, 2023. CM2-2023/42 To approve the FIDE Questionnaire for National Federations applying for FIDE Membership. CM2-2023/43 To note the report of the FIDE Special Envoys on the situation in Bulgarian chess. CM2-2023/44 To note the report of the Reverse Delegate on South Africa. CM2-2023/45 To approve FIDE Policy on Transgender Chess Players Registration, effective from August 21, 2023. CM2-2023/46 To note FIDE 100 Years Anniversary update. CM2-2023/47 To announce the dates of the next meeting of the FIDE Council in due course. CM2-2023/48 To announce the dates and venue of the FIDE General Assembly in due course.
FIDE World Cup Round 5 Tiebreaks: Nepomniachtchi eliminated
Vidit Santos Gujrathi won both games in the second tiebreak, securing the last free spot in the quarter-finals of the Open. Salimova, Goryachkina and Muzuchyk are through to the semi-finals of the Women’s tournament Vidit Santos Gujrathi has become the fourth Indian player (alongside Erigaisi, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa) to qualify for the final eight in the Open. He eliminated Ian Nepomniachtchi, defeating him in the second round of the rapid. The two were fighting for the only remaining spot in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. In the Women’s World Cup, Salimova beat Shuvalova in both rapid tiebreak games, while Goryachkina and Muzuchyk had to go all the way to the Blitz to secure their sports in the semis. The Open Tournament Highlights Two-time World Champion Candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi is out of the World Cup after losing to Vidit Santos Gujrathi in the tiebreaks. The two drew both of their classical games in round five. In the first rapid tiebreak, both games ended in a draw, with both sides playing evenly. However, in the second tiebreak, where each had 10 minutes, Nepomniachtchi faltered. First, he lost as White in the Neo-Catalan – making a blunder in the middlegame, recovering, and then again when opting to go to a rook and queen endgame. In the second game of the second tiebreak, in the Dutch Defence, Vidit – who was now leading the white pieces – was in control from the very beginning. Despite both sides making several imprecise moves, Vidit had the upper hand and won. This was a third tiebreak in the World Cup for both players, but it seems that it left a bigger toll on the former World Champion Candidate, whose strength failed him today. Vidit will be playing against Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov in the quarter-finals. The Women’s Tournament Highlights After making a comeback yesterday, Polina Shuvalova is out, having lost both games in the first rapid tiebreak to Bulgarian IM Nurgyul Salimova. Game one was crucial for Shuvalova: playing as Black, she was gifted a completely winning position in the endgame. Instead of converting it into victory, she made two consecutive blunders, dropping the victory in the first one and ending up losing after the second. In game two, Shuvalova allowed her king to get trapped in the middle and ended up defending a lost position but to no avail. Aleksandra Goryachkina had a difficult task against Harika Dronavalli but managed to prevail. The two played three rounds of tiebreaks to decide who would move to the semi-finals in the Women’s event. Goryachkina won the first tiebreak game today after Harika blundered a bishop in a drawn endgame. Goryachkina played as White in the second game and had a better position. However, she misplayed and allowed Dronavalli to dominate across the board. Then followed two draws in the 10-minute rapid games, with Harika having a strong advantage in the second but dropping it and finishing with a draw. It was time for the Blitz: In the first game Dronavalli misplayed in a rook and queen endgame and lost. In the second Blitz game, Goryachkina had a sizable advantage and no counterplay from her opponent but did not try too hard to convert, as a draw was enough to qualify for the semi-finals. She is taking on Tan Zhongyi in the semi-finals. Elisabeth Paehtz and Anna Muzychuk were the last to finish after three stages of tiebreaks which saw the Ukrainian GM progress to the next stage. In both rapid matches, Paehtz and Muzychuk exchanged heavy blows. In the second game of the second tiebreak, Paehtz had a lucky break: she completely misplayed in a winning position and transferred a strong advantage to White, who, in turn, misplayed and ended up losing. Interestingly, Black won all the rapid games. In the Blitz Match, Muzychuk – a three-time world blitz champion among women – won the first game after Paehtz overlooked the only opponent’s threat in an overwhelming position. The second game ended in a draw. Muzychuk will be playing Nurgyul Salimova in the semi-finals. Round 6 starts on Tuesday, 15th of August, at 3 PM local time in Baku, Azerbaijan. Here follows a closer look at some of the top games from round five tiebreaks: Ian Nepomniachtchi was defeated by Vidit in both games of the second tiebreak. In game one, where he played as White, Nepomniachtchi was completely lost after blundering in the following position: Black is already better, pressuring along the d-file and having more options to attack the white king. The most logical move for White was to move the queen to e2, but Nepomniachtchi went two squares too far. 25.Qg4?? After this, Black is dominating: 25…Qc6+ 26.Kg1 Nf5 27.Rf3 Rd4. Vidit, however, went for 25…Nf5 which is strong enough but not decisive 26.Rf3 Qc6! 27.Ne5 Qa8 28.Kg1 And now, instead of 28…Rd2! the Indian GM played 28…Rd4? allowing White to equalise with 29.Rf4! Things were even in the next few moves, as White managed to escape Black’s pressure on the king. But then Nepomniachtchi again made a mistake, which opened a road to a dead end for him. With the rooks being exchanged on f8 in the previous move, Nepomniachtchi should have tried to keep things steady and play 37.Nc3, to help protest his weak a2-pawn. Instead, he opted to simplify: 37.Nxd6? Qxd6 38.Qf3+ Ke7 39.Qc3 Kf7 40.Qf3+ Ke7 41.Qc3+ Kf7 42.Qf3+ Kg8! A bit of psychological play and adding some extra time (due to a 10-second bonification per move) by Vidit. 43.Rd1 Qf8 44.Qe3 Rxa2 45.g5 Qf5 46.Rd8+ Kh7 47.gxh6 Ra1+ 48.Kg2 Qg4+ Forcing the exchange of queens 49.Qd3 Qxg3+ 50.hxg3 Kxh6 Black has a winning rook endgame which he executed confidently. 0-1, 60 moves In the second game of the second tiebreak, Nepomniachtchi lost control from the opening and was weaker throughout, ending up losing. A well-deserved success for Vidit. Polina Shuvalova suffered a huge misfortune today, losing a winning endgame in their first rapid game of the tiebreaks agasint Nurgyul Salimova. Playing as Black, Shuvalova found herself in the following position after several bad
2023 2nd FIDE Council Meeting: List of Decisions
FIDE publishes the list of decisions of the 2nd FIDE Council meeting 2023, held on August 1 in Baku, Azerbaijan. 2nd FIDE Council Meeting 2023: List of decisions
FIDE Fair Play Seminar in Durrës, Albania, announced
FIDE Fair Play Commission, in collaboration with FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and the Albanian Chess Federation, is pleased to announce the upcoming FIDE Fair Play Seminar, scheduled to take place in Durrës, Albania, from October 4-7, 2023. The seminar will coincide with the European Club Cup 2023, making it an ideal opportunity for chess arbiters, organizers, and others interested in gathering and learning crucial aspects of fair play in chess. The seminar aims to provide fair play knowledge and share the best practices at events. Scope of the seminar – Fair Play Legal Framework – Anti-Cheating Regulations – Prof. Regan’s Statistics – Technical devices and their usage – Fair Play Theory and Practice at OTB Events Lecturers will also cover various topics such as preparations for an event, interaction with tournament officials and spectators, crowd management, preventing or detecting cheating, observations, body language, psychological aspects and odd behaviours, statistics, etc., all in the spirit of recognizing, detecting, and preventing unethical practices and promoting a positive chess culture. At the end of the seminar, on the successful completion of the exam, the seminar participants will receive an FPE seminar norm as one of the requirements for the FPE title. The FIDE Fair Play Seminar is open to all chess enthusiasts, players, coaches, arbiters, organizers, and officials who share a passion for promoting fair play, learning more about the dark side of the sport and the practices of recognition and prevention, upholding the highest ethical standards in chess. Attendees will gain invaluable knowledge and insights to reinforce fair play practices within their respective chess federations and communities. Dates: October 4-7, 2023 Location and venue: Grand Blue FAFA, Durrës, Albania Photo: fafa.al/grand-blue-fafa/ Registration Registration for the FIDE Fair Play Seminar opens on the 1st of August. Registration deadline: 1st of October. The number of places is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess covers 10 spots for 10 female participants (seminar + exam only) – on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your spot, please send a registration e-mail to: fairplay@fide.com and secretary.fpl@fide.com. Visa & Accommodation Regarding visa requirements and accommodation, please email the Organizing Committee (office@clubcup2023.com).More information on the following link – clubcup2023.com/tournament-info/visas/ Seminar fee: 200 EUR Exam fee: 50 EUR Seminar Language: English Seminar Lecturers: Bojana Bejatovic – FPL SecretaryLecturer 2 – To be confirmedLecturer 3 – To be confirmed Another important seminar will run at the same dates, so those interested can benefit from attending both. You have a chance to become a certified DGT e-boards operator. Seminar Agenda and Syllabus will be provided additionally. We look forward to welcoming you at the FIDE Fair Play Seminar to fortify the foundations of fair play in chess.
FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023: Day 1 Recap
The FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023 kicked off today at Eindhoven’s High Tech Campus in the Netherlands. The “smartest square kilometre in the world” is a fitting backdrop for the U16 team chess tournament, which brings together 252 players from 63 teams and 47 countries. The Olympiad is a 9-round Swiss tournament with a time control of 45 minutes with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move 1. Each team consists of four players, of which at least one woman player. Opening Ceremony This year, the Royal Dutch Chess Federation marks its 150th anniversary as the oldest chess federation in the world. The President of the Federation and WGM, Bianca de Jong-Muhren, expressed her enthusiasm during the opening ceremony, stating, “We managed to bring an international youth championship to the Netherlands, with a new international women’s top tournament as a bonus. We are going to make it an unforgettable event!” After the opening ceremony, she seamlessly transitioned to providing commentary alongside IM Stefan Kuipers. The event’s opening was graced by Maes van Lanschot, Eindhoven’s alderman of sports and a chess enthusiast, who made the ceremonial first move alongside Yichen Han, the first board player from the Dutch team. Round 1 results Top team Kazakhstan 1 had a significant challenge against Australia 1. Boards 1-3 ended in draws, with only the game between WCM Cheng (Australia) and WIM Alua Nurmanova of Kazakhstan (pictured below) ending in favor of the favorite. After an inaccuracy in black’s opening, white seized control of the dark squares. This became evident when the white knight landed on d6 on move 12. With control over these dark squares, the white player didn’t let go of the advantage. With a devastating king’s attack and a beautiful final combination, white decided the game. The second team in the starting list, China, had less trouble against the 4th team from the Netherlands. Boards 1-3 saw intense battles, with the advantage often leaning towards China during the games. Sascha Kurt saved the honor for the Dutch team by holding his opponent to a draw. On board 4, WIM Lu launched a strong attack against Boyd Leenen. The attack was a great example of aggressively breaking through a position. A visual delight with piece sacrifices, perhaps not as much for Boyd Leenen. Check out the game on lichess.org And now, on to the first surprise between Georgia and Turkey. According to the ratings, Turkey was the favorite, although the rapid ratings seemed to be somewhat misleading. On board 1, IM Gurel (Turkey) had a chance to clinch a win against FM Kiladze (Georgia), who agreed to a draw in a better position due to severe time pressure. Board 4 also seemed in favor of Georgia for a long time, but unfortunately, Kesaria Mgeladze couldn’t convert her advantage into a win against WCM Akat. The fate of the match was decided on the boards in between, with special attention to board 3, where IM Erdogmus demonstrated how to seize and maintain control. As often happens in these openings, it’s a risk for black to exchange on d4 and thus give up the center. Nevertheless, black did this, giving white a pleasant spatial advantage. When the black knight was banished to b7 on move 20, black had to admit that there were many weak spots in the position. It became a long ordeal where Erdogmus showed that there’s no need to rush to exploit weaknesses. Check out the game on lichess.org Despite Erdogmus’s win, the match was tied 2-2 draw, as the Georgian WFM Kirtadze proved stronger than FM Kilic. Moving on to the host country, the Netherlands, which stands in 4th place with their first team and surely aims to contend for the podium. On board 1, FM Yichen Han seemed to struggle to achieve much with his London System. However, his opponent from Kazakhstan 5(!) was a bit too greedy by capturing the h-pawn. Rooks love open lines, so Han probably welcomed this move. Not much later, Bogdanov made an even bigger blunder. A rough start for the black player. For Kazakhstan 5, Mariya Kholyavo upheld the honor by defeating Dana Verheij in an exciting game. In a tactical feast from the Sicilian Defense, Kholyavo showed better calculation. Take a look at the various tactics in this game. FM Arthur de Winter (board 2) and Prajit Kumar (board 3) engaged in battles where they proved superior to their opponents. The other Dutch teams enjoyed success. Team 4 lost to China but teams 2 and 3 won their matches. Team 2, consisting of Kobe Smeets, Roger Labruyere, Rhys Arnold, and Isafara Gergin, faced off against Thailand 2. The result was 3-1, with Isafara unfortunately losing to an opponent who played extremely precisely. The remaining games were far from smooth, but determination and sharpness were on the Dutch side. Team 3, with Noah Ritzerveld, Wouter Terlouw, Oscar Zecha, and Fleur Westerhof, proved to be too much for Uganda 3. Quite a young team, with Fleur Westerhof from 2009 as the “oldest” player on the team. Results of top10 matches: Australia 1 – Kazakhstan 1 1½-2½China – The Netherlands 4 3½-½Georgia – Turkey 2-2The Netherlands 1 – Kazakhstan 5 3-1Kazakhstan 4 – Hungary 1-3Uzbekistan – Canada 2 4-0Paraguay – Azerbaijan 0-4France – Morocco 3-1Canada 3 – Israel 0-4Romania – South Africa 1 4-0 Text: Bram Klapwijk Photos: Lennart Ootes and Frans Peeters Official website: youtholympiad2023.fide.com/
FIDE World Cup Round 5 Game 2: Decisive outcomes and missed opportunities
All but one spot for the final eight in the Open has been decided after today’s round. Three out of four games in the Women’s tournament see one side drop a winning position Magnus Carlsen eliminated Vasyl Ivanchuk with another victory today. Nijat Abasov and R Praggnanandhaa join Carlsen as a trio that progresses to the final eight with a 100 per cent score in round five. Caruana is also through, along with Dominguez, Erigaisi and Gukesh. Nepomniachtchi and Vidit will decide in tomorrow’s tiebreak who will take the last remaining place in the quarter-finals. Tan Zhongyi is the only player to qualify for the semi-finals among the women, while the rest go to the tiebreaks. Three of the four games in the Women’s tournament today saw one side drop a winning position. The Open Tournament Highlights Vasyl Ivanchuk, the great chess wizard from Ukraine, finally broke. In his second game against Carlsen, he suffered another defeat, this time with the white pieces. Ivanchuk had his chances in the Anti-Marshall line of the Ruy Lopez but did not find a way to increase pressure, and after mutual inaccuracies, the opponents entered an even bishop endgame (with Carlsen having a runner on the b-file). The Ukrainian GM completely misplayed it blundering a pawn, and resigned two moves later. Baku will definitely see a new World Cup champion as the winner of the previous edition, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, is also out. After a draw in the first game, he lost as White to Fabiano Caruana in an exciting game. Ian Nepomniachtchi enters his third tiebreak of the World Cup as he drew again today against Vidit Santosh Gujrathi. Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov is through, having defeated Saleh Salem in both games. Dominguez, Gukesh and Erigaisi are also through – they all drew their games, having won in the first duel. Praggnanandhaa also advanced after a late win against Ferenc Berkes. The formidable Hungarian master had an excellent run at the World Cup. However, today he found himself in a difficult position on the black side of the French Defence. Playing actively on both flanks, Praggnanandhaa achieved a dominant position by move 24, before executing a nice combination that left him with a winning endgame. The Women’s Tournament Highlights While the Open tournament featured a lot of winning games, things were slightly different in the Women’s World Cup, with plenty of missed chances. Elisabeth Paehtz and Anna Muzychuk drew once again today. Muzychuk had a clearly winning position in the endgame after a blunder by Paehtz but let it slip within two moves. Harika Dronavalli and Aleksandra Goryachkina played the Berlin line of the Ruy Lopez, which ended in a rook endgame. The two spent a lot of time testing each other before deciding to call it a day. With two draws, the victor will be decided in the tiebreaks. Polina Shuvalova made a comeback against Bulgaria’s Nurgyul Salimova. In a game which saw huge swings – with Salimova at one point winning – Shuvalova came out victorious after securing two passers for a knight, with rooks on the board. Tan Zhongyi is through after securing a draw against Bella Khotenashvili. In an endgame with a pair of bishops and a pair of rooks on the board, Khotenashvili was on the brink of victory twice but misplayed both times. The full results of today’s games can be found here: worldcup2023.fide.com/pairings. The tiebreaks game of round five starts on Monday, 14th of August, at 3 PM local time in Baku, Azerbaijan. Here follows a closer look at some of the top games of the second day of Roud 5: Fabiano Caruana is in great shape, and he is showing it. He went to the tiebreaks only once so far (against Yilmaz in round three, beating him both times). Today, he defeated the 2021 World Cup winner, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, on the black side of Nimzo-Indian. Black has a sizable edge, as his knights are much more active than the white bishops. Choosing between two evils, Duda took the “wrong” knight. He should have taken the one on c4, although after 20.Bxc4 dxc4 21.Qa3 Nf6 White’s position is no fun. Instead, Jan-Krzysztof played 20.Bxe4 but after 20…fxe4 21.fxe4 Rxf1 22.Rxf1 dxe4 Black’s c4-knight is dominating, and the queen is coming to d5 next. 23.Qc3 Kh7 24.Bf4 Qd5! X-raying the white king. White has no reasonable defence against a coordinated attack of Black’s pieces. 25.Kg3 Rf8 26.Qb4 Rf7 27.Rc1 g5! after this move White’s position falls apart. 28.Qxc4 gxf4+ 29.Kg2 f3+ 30.Kf1 Qd7 (30…Qxc4 was enough, but Fabiano wanted to finish the game with a direct attack) 31.d5 Re7. Now these two pawns will wreak havoc on White. 32.Qc5 Re5 33.Re1 Rxd5 34.Qc2 Qb5+! The end is near for White. 35.Kf2 Qb6+ 36.Kf1 Rd4 37.Kf2 Qa6+ 38.Kg1 Qd6 39.Kf1 Rd1 40.Qe3 Qd3+ 41.Kf2 (after 41.Qxd3 Rxe1+ 42.Kxe1 exd3 White inevitably runs in zugzwang) Rd2+ 43.Kg3 f2 In this position, the 2021 World Cup winner finally threw in the towel. 0-1 Praggnanandhaa ended Ferenc Berkes’ ambitions in the World Cup today, scoring a spectacular victory. The Hungarian was in a difficult spot after the opening. Pragg, who is much better, has just pushed g2-g4. For better or worse, Ferenc should have retreated his knight to e7, although his position is not to be envied. 24….Nxh4? This capture fails to a nice combination by the young Indian. 25.Nxh4 Qxh4 26.Bxc4! bxc4 27.Rxc6! Rxc6 28.Ra8+ Kd7 29.Qf3 f5 30.b5 Rc8 31.Nxd5! A sacrifice Black cannot accept as it leads to checkmate. 31…Qxg4+ 32.Qxg4 fxg4 33.Nb6+ Kc7 34.Nxc8 Kb7 35.Ra6 Kc8 36.Rxe6 and White’s passers are much faster. 1-0, 48 moves. Nurgyul Salimova (playing as Black) had a chance to qualify for the next stage directly. She had a dominant position against Polina Shuvalova but ended up spoiling it. Both sides exchanged critical mistakes in this see-saw game, but Salimova did it one time too many. Salimova has a knight for two pawns, but White’s pawns have still not advanced far, and Black is holding everything. White just played 33.h3, and the best option was 33…hxg4 (or 33…a1Q+ straight away with the