Clash of chess titans in Düsseldorf: World Rapid Team Championship preview
The first-ever World Rapid Team Championship is set to start in Dusseldorf, bringing together spectacular players from all across the globe The stage is set for an unprecedented showdown from the 25th until the 29th of August as the chess elite will gather in Germany for the inaugural world team championship in rapid chess. Forty teams from all corners of the world are registered to take part in the tournament. Stellar line-up A number of the world’s strongest players are scheduled to take part in the event. The list of contenders reads like a “who’s who” of the chess world: Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Jan-Krzysztof Dudam Richard Rapport, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk and Daniil Dubov. Joining them will be two former world champions – Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik (who will be playing for the humorously named Chess Pensioners team) as well as the former World Champion Candidate, Nigel Short. Among women players taking part are former World Champions Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Mariya Muzychuk, as well as strong woman players such as Kateryna Lagno, Elisabeth Paehtz, Harika Dronavali and Polina Shuvalova. The full list of players taking part can be found here. The frontrunners Among the 40 teams taking part, there are two very strong contestants for first place. With an average rating of 2542, the top favourite of the event is team “Freedom”, headed by Emil Sutovsky. With the likes of Vidit, Dubov, Rapport and Najer in the team, as well as Polina Shuvalova, they are the top team vying for first place. Another strong contender is the WT Chess Team. Made up of former Women’s World Champions Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk, two-time World Championship candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi and a list of super-strong young talents – Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov, Keymer and Duda, they will be the team to watch out for. However, the fact that each team has to have a recreational player in their ranks who has never achieved a rating of 2000 in any FIDE category will have a huge effect on the results. The full list of teams, including team composition, can be found here. Team structure Each team will consist of at least six but no more than nine players. Apart from having to include at least one female player, for the first time in a high-level club event, teams will have to include a recreational player, who has never achieved a Standard, Rapid or Blitz FIDE rating of 2000 or more. The teams are not required to assign board numbers in rating order, which allows a chance for some unique board matchups, setting the scene for potential surprises. Each match is played on six boards, which means that the team captains (who may also be players) can decide who will play and who will rest in their nine-member squad. The format The event is 12-round Swiss tournament. The first named team in a pairing shall have the white pieces on the odd-numbered boards and the black pieces on the even-numbered boards. The time control will be 15 minutes, with a 10-second increment from move one. The scoring will be based on matchpoints: a win scores two points, a draw scores one point and a loss means zero points. A team with the highest number of matchpoints in the relevant final standings shall be declared World Rapid Team Champion. The regulations of the event can be found here. Prizes The tournament will feature a 250,000 Europe prize fund, with the prizes distributed in the following order: In case of a tie, the prize money shall be distributed according to the tie breaks. Event coverage FIDE will be providing its coverage of the event with a dedicated live programme on FIDE’s official YouTube and Twitch channels. Commenting on the games will be our-time US champion and one of the most prominent chess figures GM Yasser Seirawan. He will be joined by GM Maurice Ashley and the European Women’s Individual Chess Champion, and a seven-time French Women’s Champion WGM Almira Skripchenko. The venue & spectators The tournament will be played in Dusseldorf’s Rheinterrasse (Address: Joseph-Beuys-Ufer 33, 40479 Düsseldorf), located right in the heart of Dusseldorf, directly on the Rhine. Spectators who wish to follow the event can attend free of charge from 26-28 August, from 13:00 until the end of the games. The entrance to the playing hall with smartphones or any other electronic devices will be prohibited. Such devices should be left in the lockers, which will be located outside of the playing area. To get fast-track access to the event, click here. Schedule: August 25 — Arrival August 29 — Departure The organisation The event is organised by FIDE in partnership with WR Group Holding GmbH – an international provider of certification, project logistics and customs services. All official information about the tournament can be found on the event website: worldrapidteams2023.fide.com/ Text: Milan Dinic
EDU Commission announces its 10th Preparation of Teachers course
FIDE Chess in Education Commission is pleased to announce the dates of the new Preparation of Teachers course. The course will be held online in English from September 22-24, 2023. The target audience is teachers, chess educators, beginner and advanced players with basic chess knowledge and experience working with children. Participants, based upon their exam results, qualify for the FIDE title of School Instructor. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be offered lifetime access to the Opening Master premium chess database, which currently contains over 9.6 million official over-the-board chess games and is growing on a monthly basis. 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 September 18. Applicants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and the maximum number of places on the course is 20. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at edu.courses@fide.com
FIDE World Cup: Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa draw in the first game of the finals
Playing as White, the 18-year-old Indian prodigy, R Praggnanandhaa, couldn’t obtain a significant advantage over the former World Champion Carlsen. Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana suffered a surprising defeat against local player Nijat Abasov in the match for third place Magnus Carlsen and R Praggnanandhaa split a point after a game which lasted 35 moves and around three hours. In the Four Knights line of the English Opening, R Praggnanandhaa (as White) went for a sharp line, putting pressure on the queenside, but Carlsen responded with a counter-push in the centre and comfortably equalised. In an even position, with three Kingside pawns and a knight and a rook each, the two decided to call it a day. In the aftermath of the game, Magnus Carlsen expressed his discomfort during the post-game interview, revealing that he was feeling unwell due to food poisoning. Despite his health setback, Carlsen’s performance on the board remained formidable. In the match for third place, Fabiano Caruana suffered a defeat at the hands of Nijat Abasov, making a critical mistake in the final stage of the game. In the Catalan Opening, the position was even until move 16, when White (Abasov) started the ball rolling by doubling his rook along the g-file. Abasov then proceeded to organise an attack on the Black king’s fortress, but Caruana had sufficient defensive resources. Unfortunately for the American, he tripped up on move 23, immediately landing in an effectively lost position. Three moves later, he resigned. An upsetting defeat for the former World Champion Candidate, who will have to win tomorrow’s game to reach the tiebreaks and fight for third place. Caruana will have a slight advantage tomorrow as he will be playing with the white pieces. Here follows a closer look at today’s games: Although intense, today’s game between Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen did not bring much excitement. In the Four Knights Kingside Fianchetto of the English, Praggnanandhaa pressed on the queenside, but Magnus effectively defused the tension. 17…Bc6 With this move, Carlsen parried all the threats and steered into an equal endgame. In the line 18.Bxc6 bxc6 White can’t take the c6-pawn in view of 19…Rc8. 18.Qxd8 Rfd8 19.Bxc6 bxc6 White has a passer on the a-file, but Black has enough time and pieces to stop it from progressing, and he also has countering resources in the centre. In the following moves, the a-pawn was exchanged for a black pawn in the centre, and the two reached the following position in which they decided to draw: If one takes into account Carlsen’s claim that he wasn’t feeling well due to food poisoning, the willingness to go for a calm draw was understandable. ½ – ½ Fabiano Caruana defended well in the Catalan against Nijat Abasov, but a slip by the American allowed White to obtain a winning position. White is preparing for an assault on the black king. The most straightforward move was to get the knight to e4, bringing it into the attack. Abasov played 22.Qe3 (22.Ke4 and 22.Ne2 were much better options), which the engines consider as a mistake, suggesting that the position is now even. Black should have responded with 22…f5!, aiming to numb White’s attack. Caruana went for 22…Nb6 and after 23.Be4 Black made a fatal blunder. 23…Qb4?? Leaving the f6-square undefended. 24.Bxh7 Kxh7 25.Ne4 Qe7 – the queen returned to defend, but now it’s too late. 26.f5! Black resigned. There is no reasonable defence against 27.Nf6 followed by 28.Qxh6+ with checkmate to follow. 1-0 Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Stev Bonhage and Maria Emelianova (chess.com) About the event The FIDE World Cup 2023 is taking place from 29 July to 25 August 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the Open tournament, 206 players were eligible to take part and 103 in the Women’s event. There will be eight rounds in the Open and seven in the Women’s tournament. Each round will be played under a knock-out system, consisting of a 2-game match. In the case of a tie, the players will play a rapid and, if necessary, a blitz tiebreak until the winner is determined. The winners of the top three places in both sections will qualify for the 2024 Candidates tournament. In both events, the time control for each game is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. The prize fund for the entire event is 2.5 million US Dollars, with $1,834,000 in the Open and $676,250 in the Women’s tournament. The 2023 FIDE World Cup has the largest prize fund for any chess tournament ever played. More information about the event: worldcup2023.fide.com/ Regulations: Open tournament: handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WorldCup2023Regulations.pdf Women’s event: handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WWorldCup2023Regulations.pdf Schedule: worldcup2023.fide.com/schedule