Inmates around the globe get ready for Intercontinental Chess Championship for Prisoners
From October 11-13, 2023, FIDE, jointly with Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office, will hold the third Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, dedicated to the International Day of Education in Prison. The online event is open to male, female and youth teams representing correctional facilities. Registration for participation is open here until September 22. So far, 53 teams representing prisons and correctional facilities from 27 countries have already registered for the competition. Inmates from Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jersey, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malawi, North Macedonia, Philippines, Portugal, El Salvador, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turks and Caicos Islands and the USA are getting ready for the event. 39 teams will compete in the male tournament, 9 teams will fight for the medals in the women’s event, and four teams will be playing in the youth section of the championship. For some participants, it will be the first official online chess tournament ever played, while many others have already taken part in previous events and are working hard to improve their chess skills. Indian teams will be represented by the “Parivartan – Prison to Pride” social responsibility project run by IndianOil since August 2021. The initiative aims to engage and rehabilitate prison inmates nationwide through sports coaching programs. The Parivartan chess courses are supervised by experienced coaches, including GMs Abhijit Kunte and Surya Sekhar Ganguly, WGMs Eesha Karavade, Soumya Swaminathan, Padmini Rout, to name a few. “I was pleased with the kindness of the prison authorities and the quiet atmosphere. All the inmates were very enthusiastic, calm, and patient while learning chess. The attendance throughout the camp was almost 100”, said Shri Ketan Khaire, Chess Coach of Yerawada Central Jail, Pune. In four phases so far, the Parivartan project has covered 51 Prisons spanning 21 states and 5 Union Territories of the country with coaching over 2950 Inmates. On another continent, preparations for the upcoming championship are also in full swing. Inmates of Maula Prison, Malawi, have chess lessons and play monthly tournaments within the prison walls. The Chess in Prison program was launched at Maula Prison last year with the support of the Dadaz Chess Academy. Susan Namangale, founder of the Dadaz Chess Academy and the Global Head of “The Gift of Chess”, a nonprofit organization transforming the lives of people through the universal language of chess, says that the academy has also reached out to other penitentiaries in the country. “They are all very happy with the program. It is a great tool to improve the quality of life for prisoners as this prepares them for liberation”, Namangale says. On the European continent, in Bulgaria, prison tournaments were held to determine the players who will now participate in the upcoming Intercontinental Chess Championship. The Bulgarian team is made up of amateur players who have already played chess before going to prison but with less intensity. Chess tournaments are a part of the regular activities for the inmates in Bulgarian prisons. The participants are mostly individuals who respect prison rules and do not commit disciplinary violations. They usually have a good level of education and a propensity for a law-abiding lifestyle. “The game of chess has a positive influence on their behaviour and supports the process of rehabilitation. It cultivates sportsmanship, tolerance, honesty and precision”, says Chief Commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov, Director General of the General Directorate “Execution of Sentences”. A three-day “Chess in Prison” marathon will not only include a live broadcast of the championship but will also feature some special quests – FIDE officials, government officers, members of the penitentiary administration and policymakers, who will share the best practices of introducing chess to inmates, as well as former convicts proving through their own experience the positive impact of the game on prisoners. Tournament regulations More info about the program here: chessforfreedom.fide.com
Sam Sevian wins 2023 Champions Showdown 9LX
GM Sam Sevian won the 2023 Champions Showdown after a brilliant final day, where he defeated both Garry Kasparov and Fabiano Caruana to finish with 7/9 and take home the $37,500 first place prize. The event featured Chess 960 (aka Fischer Random), a chess variant where the starting position of the pieces is randomized along the first rank. The tournament, a 10-player round-robin, with a time control of 20 minutes per side with a 5-second increment, took place from September 8-10, 2023 in the World Chess Hall of Fame, Saint Louis Chess Club. ROUND 7 Going into the day Sevian and Aronian were tied for the lead with 4.5/6. While Aronian could only manage to draw against So, Sevian defeated Kasparov, after the former World Champion overstepped the time limit while trying to defend a pawn down. Also winning was Caruana, who outplayed Xiong from the Black side in nice positional style: Xiong-Caruana: final position after 32…Ng5 0-1 ROUND 8 In the penultimate round Sevian drew with Xiong, maintaining his lead but allowing others a chance to reach him. Aronian, just a half-point behind Sevian, lost to Caruana after flagging in a difficult position, leaving Caruana in second place going into the final round. Also winning to enter the tie for second was Shankland, who refuted a faulty Greek Gift sacrifice from Kasparov to win his second straight game as well: Shankland-Kasparov: after 22.Nf4 Black was forced to resign, as h5 is falling next. ROUND 9 The final round featured the crucial game Caruana – Sevian, with Fabiano needing to win in order to overtake first place. A sharp battle ensued, with the critical moment occurring when Sevian went all-out for an attack, finding a stunning bishop sacrifice in order to get his heavy pieces in front of White’s king. Caruana was simply unable to defend the position and Sevian clinched tournament victory as he was soon to deliver mate. Caruana-Sevian: 18…Bxb2!! was a stunner, with idea 19.Kxb2 Rgg6!-+, lifting the second rook in order to hunt down White’s king. Shankland would go on to draw against Xiong, leaving him in second place with 6.0/9, while Aronian and So both managed to win their final games, as So converted an extra pawn in the endgame against Robson while Aronian took down Nakamura thanks to a vicious counterattack on the queenside. Good prep pays off! Shankland chose the right player to analyze with. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes So scored 2.5/3 to sneak into the tie for second. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes A second place finish for Levon Aronian as well. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Written by IM Kostya Kavutskiy
Portuguese Championship: José Guilherme Santos clinches title
José Guilherme Santos is the new champion of Portugal. The 20-year-old FM turned in a commanding performance and won his first national title with a round to spare. The 2023 Portuguese national chess championship took place from September 3-10 at the Hotel D. Luís in Coimbra. José Guilherme Santos dominated the field from the start, scoring an impressive 8/9 and conceding his opponents just two draws. The champion completed his second IM norm and picked up 49 rating points. FM Bruno Martins finished 1.5 points behind the champion and took silver. Thanks to his final-round victory over Paolo Dias, Bruno also achieved an IM norm. Rounding out the podium was a four-time national champion, IM André Sousa, who had won this event in 2019-2022. The champion and the runner-up became the only unbeaten players in the tournament. Final standings: 1 FM SANTOS, José Guilherme 2392 8 2 FM MARTINS, Bruno 2325 6½ 3 IM SOUSA, André V 2430 6 4 IM ROCHA, Sérgio 2306 5½ 5 IM VEIGA, Francisco 2354 5 6 GM FERNANDES, António 2321 5 7 NM FIDALGO, André Neves 2229 4 8 IM DIAS, Paulo 2320 2½ 9 FM SANTOS, António P 2219 2 10 NM SOUSA, João Dinis 2249 ½ Official website: fpx.pt/ Photos: official website
FIDE WWTC 2023: Georgia and Kazakhstan to fight for the gold
The two semifinals had to be decided on blitz tie-breaks. France and the USA will play for the bronze medal. Kazakhstan – France (1-3) (3-1) (blitz: 4-0) In the first match, things went quite well for the French squad. At the expense of some minor concessions in the center, Daulyte-Cornette built a very dangerous attack with White, throwing her pieces towards Bibisara Assaubayeva’s King. Bibisara, who had not yet lost a game in this event, found herself under tremendous pressure. Deimante was a bit short of time towards the end, with only seconds on the clock, but her advantage was overwhelming, and she converted it without hesitation. The second French victory came in the third board, also with the white pieces: the clash between Milliet and Nurmanova was quite a roller coaster, and in fact, Sophie was worse for most of the game. But at some point, the young Kazakhstani overlooked a simple tactical trick that allowed Milliet to capture the A pawn and turn the tables, setting the score in a 3-1 victory for France. Nurmanova took her revenge in the second match, which followed a very different storyline. Alua completely outplayed her opponent with the white pieces in a very instructive attacking game. Short of time and against the ropes, Milliet had to resign. Earlier in the match, Mitra Hejazipour blundered a pawn in the opening, and Amina Kairbekova was merciless. With the remaining two games ending in a draw, the match was to be decided in the tie-break. It was clear that the result and the emotions of the second rapid match affected the mood and confidence of the players as they entered the playing hall for the tie-break. Kazakhstan was on a roll, and the youngsters got a clean sweep in the blitz games. Reaching the final is no doubt a fair and well-deserved result for the Kazakhstani players, who completely dominated the pool stage, but a bitter end for a French team that was one of the revelations of the event. Georgia – USA (2½-1½) (1½-2½) (blitz: 3½-½) We could say that Georgia took control of the first match from early on, as Lela Javakhishvili delivered a brilliant blow to Pourkashiyan’s position. Curiously enough, Lela didn’t find the best continuation to follow up on her attack, and little by little, her advantage vanished, being this the only game to end in a draw. However, being aware that they were probably going to lose on the fourth board was something that weighed on the American players. Tatev Abrahamyan went wrong in a drawish position and lost to Nino Batsiashvili. Anna Zatonskih defended a slightly inferior position against Meri Arabidze, falling behind on the clock. Arabidze was very smart and broke through with 66.e4 at the right time, provoking a mistake from Anna. The only victory for the Americans came on board one, where Alice Lee got yet another scalp, outplaying Bella Khotenashvili with White in a very fine game. For the second game, the coach of the US team decided to bench Anna Zatonskih, who was replaced by Annie Wang. This proved to be the right call, as Annie scored the crucial victory for her team in a London system against Nino Batsiashvili. As all the other games ended in a draw, this victory allowed the USA to force a tie-break. The blitz games were quite one-sided, with the Americans failing to show their A-game. Abrahamyan managed to neutralise Arabidze, reaching a quick draw. However, Atousa blundered a pawn against Javakhishvili, while Annie Wang blundered a whole piece and gifted the whole point to Batsiashvili. In the remaining game, on the first board, Alice Lee also fell for a simple tactical trick that left her one exchange down and resigned shortly after. The Georgians will have the chance tomorrow to increase even further their impressive track record of victories in women’s competitions. The final fight for the medals will take place tomorrow, with the games beginning at 14:00 local time, one hour earlier than previous rounds. Written by David Llada Photos: Michal Walusza and Niki Riga Official website: worldwomenteams.fide.com. About the event The 2023 FIDE World Women’s Team Championship takes place from 5-12 September in Bydgoszcz (Poland). Twelve teams participate: Georgia, USA, China, India, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, FIDE Americas, France, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and Egypt, each with four players (plus two reserves). They are divided into two pools of approximate strength. Four teams will be eliminated at the pool stage, with the best eight teams advancing to a double-round knockout stage. The matches are decided by team points, with 2 points for the winning team and 1 each in case of a draw. Time control is 45 minutes for the whole game, with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move 1. Event website: worldwomenteams.fide.com About Bydgoszcz Located in northern Poland, less than 200km from the capital, Warsaw, Bydgoszcz sits at the junction of the rivers Vistula and Brda. With 350,000 inhabitants, it is served by its own domestic airport. An architecturally rich city, Bydgoszcz is home to a number of universities, like the Casimir the Great University, the University of Technology and Life Sciences and a conservatory. With a thriving cultural life, it also hosts the Pomeranian Philharmonic concert hall and the Opera Nova opera house. More information: bydgoszcz.pl