China Wins FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad in Eindhoven, Netherlands
China emerged victorious in the FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The team dominated the competition, securing an impressive 17 out of 18 match points. Turkey, the last year’s champions, finished second, while Greece claimed the bronze medal. A record-breaking total of 252 players from 63 teams representing 47 countries participated in the Youth Olympiad, organized to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation. The Chinese team ruled supreme in Eindhoven. Only Armenia managed to tie the match against the Chinese squad. Out of the 36 games played, China scored a total of 31 board points. Miaoyi Lu became the top scorer of the Chinese team, winning all her games on the fourth board. She also impressed chess fans and experts with her aggressive playing style. Tong(Qd) Xiao (board 2) and Xiangrui Kong (3rd board) both netted 7.5 out of 9, while Haowen Xue, on the top board, scored 7 points. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited the Youth Olympiad during the 6th and 7th rounds of the tournament. He extended his congratulations to the Royal Dutch Chess Federation on its 150th anniversary, commending it as a strong part of the chess community. The tournament was hosted by Eindhoven’s High Tech Campus. According to Dvorkovich, it is important to bring chess to the University campus and tech business. FIDE President expressed his hope that the participants made lasting friendships during the Youth Olympiad. Bianca de Jong-Muhren, President of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation, expressed her happiness at the successful conclusion of the tournament. “As part of the 150th anniversary of the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB, our aim was to host a prominent international youth event in the Netherlands. We are delighted with our accomplishment and the hosting of the Youth Olympiad in our country. It is also important that every team comprises both male and female players, aligning with our commitment to promote youth chess for all.” Final standings (top 10): 1 China 17 2 Turkey 15 3 Greece 13 4 Kazakhstan 1 13 5 Georgia 12 6 Kazakhstan 2 12 7 Armenia 12 8 Israel 12 9 Romania 12 10 Canada 1 12 Complete standings Board Prizes:Board 1: Read Samadov (Azerbaijan)Board 2: Tong(Qd) Xiao (China)Board 3: Xiangrui Kong (China)Board 4: Miaoyi Lu (China) Photos: Lennart Ootes and Frans Peeters Official website: youtholympiad2023.fide.com/
FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023: Day 5 Recap
Two more rounds were played at the FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023. That means a lot of hard work, both for the participants and for the reporters. But hard work is not the same as tedious work. On the contrary: as spectators, we’re getting a lot of value for our money. Round 7 All eyes were on the leader, China facing Armenia and especially on their star player Miaoyi Lu, who still had a perfect 100% score going into Round 7. Miaoyi Lu – Nvard Hayrapetyan 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. d4 Bg4 7. O-O Nxd4 8. Qe1+ Ne6?! The knight is awkwardly placed here. 8…Be7 would have been better, allowing Black to achieve a normal development after moves like 9. Nxd4 cxd4 10. Qe5 Nf6. 9. Ne5 Bf5 10. c4! White seizes the opportunity and forcefully opens the center. 10… Nf6 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. g4 Bxb1 This seems to win a tempo since White has to capture back. After 13. Rxb1 Be7 It seems like Black can finally castle. However, she doesn’t get the chance: 14. Qe4 Ndc7 After 14…Nec7, 15. Rd1 follows, winning material. 15. Qa4+ b5 16. Bc6+ Kf8 17. Qe4 Black’s castling is prevented, and the rook on a8 becomes trapped. 17…Rc8 18. Bb7 Bd6 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. Le3 f6 21. f4! Nd8 After 21…fxe5 22. fxe5+ Black is in check. White regains the piece with interest and also obtains a dangerously advanced passed pawn. 22. Rbd1 Ne8 23. Kh1 Qe6 24. Bxc5 fxe5 25. fxe5+ Kg8 26. Bxd6 Nf7 27. Qd5 Qg6 28. Rf4 h5 29. Rdf1 Nf6 30. exf6 1-0 A textbook example of punishing opening mistakes. With two draws on the top boards, China seemed to be heading for victory. Xiangrui Kong appeared to be holding well against Benik Agasarov, until it all went terribly wrong towards the end: Black played the unfortunate 85…Qe4?? (Black could have held with something like 85…f4 ) and then after 86.Nf4+ Kg4 87.Qg6+ White delivered checkmate. 1-0 China suffered their first defeat in a game and conceded their first match point in the tournament after tying the match with Armenia. China is now at 13 match points after seven rounds; Armenia follows with 11 points. They are joined in the battle for second place by Kazakhstan 1, who won 2½-1½ against Uzbekistan, and Turkey, who defeated Ukraine 3-1. Uzbek player Afruza Khamdamova, along with Miaoyi Lu, was the only player with a 100% score before this round, but she had to settle for a draw after 119 moves against Alua Nurmanova. The game between Asronjon Omonov and Edgar Mamedov ended in a disaster for the white player. It might seem like there’s not much going on, but three moves later, it was all over for White: 56.h5?? Rcd8 57.Rf1?? Nf4 Suddenly, it’s Black who delivers checkmate! After 58.Bxf4 Rd1 Asronjon stopped the clock. 0-1 Eray Kilic took advantage of opponent Vladyslav Fishchuk’s overconfidence in the middle game, where Fishchuk moved his central pawns enthusiastically, leaving a few pieces hanging. Eray’s teammate Elifnaz Akat initially had less space after the opening and stood worse, until her opponent Roman Kovalskyi blundered in the following position: 24.Nb6?? The wrong piece. After 24.Bb6 Qd7 25.Rbd1, White stands much better. 24…dxe5! Suddenly, Black takes control. 25.Nxc8 exd4 26.Bxb7 Bxc8 27.Qd5 Black is winning, and on move 53, she delivered checkmate. 0-1 The first Dutch team secured a 2½-1½ victory against the well-performing Bangladesh. Yichen Han sacrificed a piece for two pawns but didn’t get the type of play he was looking for and eventually had to capitulate after defending for a long time. Arthur de Winter won a crucial pawn in the opening and gradually expanded his advantage into a win. In Prajit Sai Kumar’s game, the advantage swung back and forth, but in the end, White’s attack proved stronger than Black’s. Dana Verheij found herself in a difficult position in a queenless middlegame but managed to secure a crucial half-point for her team. Round 8 China secured victory in the Olympiad with one round to go. They defeated Hungary 4-0, a team that, on paper, wasn’t expected to lag behind China (with only a 49-point difference in average rating). This means that Miaoyi Lu still maintains a perfect score. Congratulations to the Chinese team, who, with 15 match points and 27½ board points, have an insurmountable lead: second-placed Turkey, after a 3½-½ victory against Kazakhstan, is 2 match points and 5 board points behind. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus achieved a swift win after his opponent Daniyal Sapenov greedily grabbed a central pawn on move 19: The game continued with the daring 19…Nxe4?! 20.Ba7 Rxf4 21.Rd4, and here Black made a serious mistake with 21…Nxc3?. White’s advantage grew considerably after 22.Qxe6+ Rf7 23.Bxb8 d5 24.Re1, and a few moves later, Black resigned. 1-0 Armenia and Azerbaijan drew 2-2. The game between Khagan Ahmad and Erik R. Gasparyan exemplifies what can go wrong for White in the Novosibirsk Variation of the Sveshnikov Sicilian: If White now calmly continues with 14.0-0, there would be no issues. However, he made an instructive mistake 14.cxb5? Black responded to this flank action with the classic Sicilian counteraction in the center: 14…d5!. It is a key move in virtually every Sicilian, and this situation is no exception. After 15.bxa6 0-0 16.0-0 fxe4 17.Bb5 Rd8, Black gained a powerful block of central pawns. Black’s advantage remained unchallenged, and it was a matter of time when the Tetris block started moving. Once that happened, White had no chance. 0-1 Netherlands 1 lost 2½-1½ against Austria. Yichen Han played a draw in a game that hasn’t strayed far from equality. In the endgame, Prajit Sai Kumar failed to neutralize Black’s passed pawn while trying to protect his own kingside pawns, leading to the pawn becoming an increasingly troublesome presence on the board. Dana Verheij didn’t find the strongest defence and succumbed to weaknesses around her king. Arthur de Winter won, although it required a fair share of luck: The position here is evaluated as 0.0 according to the engines. However, in the next five moves, the Lichess engine gives
Revised Tie-break Regulations come to force on September 1, 2023
FIDE TEC is pleased to announce that the FIDE Council has ratified the updated tie-break regulations effective from September 1, 2023. These newly instituted rules are an enhanced version of those initially approved during the 44th FIDE Congress and later retracted in July 2023. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Mr. Roberto Ricca and the entire SPP Department for their meticulous efforts in clarifying the stipulations regarding Play-Offs, Direct Encounters, and Unplayed Games. Kindly note, Pairing Software Vendors have a deadline until April 1, 2024, to integrate these revised tie-break guidelines into their systems. Enquiries: Hendrik du Toit – secretary.tec@fide.com Revised Tie-break Regulations effective from September 1, 2023
FIDE World Cup R6 tiebreaks: Salimova and Praggnanandhaa advance
Salimova eliminates Muzychuk after two rapid tiebreak matches. Praggnanandhaa clinches the last remaining place in the semifinals after a gruelling seven-game tiebreak duel with Erigaisi Bulgaria’s IM Nurgyul Salimova is having a spectacular run in the World Cup and will be playing in the finals after knocking out Anna Muzychuk, defeating her with 1.5:0.5 in the second tiebreak match. Both played sharp and decisive games in the tiebreaks, with only one ending in a draw. Salimova will compete against Aleksandra Goryachkina in the Women’s World Cup finals, while Anna Muzychuk will face Tan Zhongyi in the battle for third place. Both matches will start on Saturday, 19th August, alongside the semifinal matches in the Open. The tiebreak in the Open section today lasted notably longer than that in the Women’s: In a sharp duel which saw a heavy exchange of blows in each game, after two rounds of rapid and a round of blitz, everything came down to one, single, blitz game. Playing as White, Praggnanandhaa took the initiative early on, forced a winning rook endgame and ended up victorious, clinching the last free place in the final four. The Open Tournament Highlights Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa were the only two participants of the Open to head to the tiebreaks in round six. In the regular part of the round, somewhat unusually, the opponents traded victories with black pieces. Both games in the first rapid tiebreak today ended in a draw, with neither side achieving a substantial advantage. In the second tiebreak match, Praggnanandhaa took the lead after winning with Black again. This is even though Erigaisi had a better position from move 12. In a rook and queen endgame, Erigaisi was winning. The critical moment of the game came after Black’s 44th move: White had an overwhelming advantage but untimely went for an exchange of queens which resulted in him losing an advanced passer on the a-file. In an even rook endgame, with both sides having two passers on opposite flanks, Arjunn misplayed, eventually ending with a rook against a queen and capitulated soon after. However, in the second game, the reverse happened: Praggnanandhaa made a serious opening mistake on the White side of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, allowing Black to save his place in the race by scoring a victory. Then came the third tiebreak – this time, in the Blitz (with five minutes for each player, plus three seconds of bonification, starting from move one). Praggnanandhaa (playing as Black) took the initiative early on, securing a sizable advantage from the opening and maintaining it throughout. In a topsy-turvy game two that followed, Pragg was clearly better at some point in the transition towards the endgame, he overlooked a rook and ended up losing. Now, everything was hanging on just one game. Praggnanandhaa was White. In the Reti opening, White emerged slightly better. Erigaisi began to falter, making imprecisions, losing a pawn and gradually handing ever more space to White. Praggnanandhaa finally broke through, entering a completely winning rook endgame. He finished with two pawns and a rook against a rook. On move 72, Erigaisi had to accept the inevitable and resign. The Women’s Tournament Highlights Anna Muzychuk’s troubles started early on, in the first rapid tiebreak game. Playing as White, Muzychuk responded well to the Tartakower line of the Caro-Kann played by Nurgyul Salimova. With opposite castles, Black made a premature attempt to advance on White’s queenside and ended in a weaker position, giving up a pawn without much compensation. However, in the proceeding moves, Muzychuk chose the wrong plan and underestimated the threats posed by Black’s bishops. In an unpleasant but still holdable position for White, Muzychuk made her biggest error snatching Black’s rook and was immediately lost. In game two Muzychuk bounced back. In the Dutch Defence, leading black pieces, Muzychuk managed to get the upper hand in the transition to an endgame, winning a pawn. At one point, Black dropped the advantage but Salimova blundered again, entering a lost rook endgame. In the second tiebreak, Salimova again started well – defeating Muzychuk with the white pieces, finishing with a nice checkmate combination. In game two Muzychuk tried to push in an even position but ended up overlooking a piece. Salimova promptly traded all White’s active pieces and liquidated into a won endgame where she settled for a draw by repetition which propelled the Bulgarian into the finals. Friday, the 18th of August is a rest day. The games continue on Saturday, 19th of August. Here follows a closer look at some of the top games from Round 6 tiebreaks: In the first game of the second tiebreak match, Arjun Erigaisi had a notably better position as White. This is the position after just 11 moves. Black just made a mistake by placing the knight on d4 instead of on Nd7 or castling. Erigaisi continued to play natural moves and his advantage gradually increased. Following an exchange of pieces in the centre, the two reached the following position: White has the decisive advantage. He has an extra pawn while Black’s pawn on d6 is weak and, overall, White’s pieces are better positioned. 31…Rb5 32.Rd2 Rb3 33.Rd3? The first serious innacuracy by Erigaisi. He should have kept his rook on the second line and activated his queen. Now, however, Praggnanandhaa made a serious mistake 33…Rb6?. He should have just gone for an exchange of rooks and but understandably he tried to keep as many pieces as possible on the board. In the moves that followed neither Arjun was more precise. In addition, Pragg dropped another pawn to create some chances but entered completely lost position: White has an overwhelming position (+13 Stockfish). Indeed after 45.Qc6! Qe1 46.a7 Qa5+ 47.Kb3 Black runs out of checks. Instead, Arjun completely dropped the advantage with 45.Qc4?? Now after the exchange of queens, the position is equal as White loses his a6-passer. A huge gift by Erigaisi which Praggnanandhaa enthusiastically accepted. 45…Qxc4 46.Rxc4 Ra8 47.b4 Rxa6+ 48.Kb3 h3 49.b5 Rh6 50.Rc8+ Kh7 51.Rc1 g5