FIDE WCCC 2023 kicks off in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
The World Cadets Chess Championship 2023 commenced today in the International Youth and Sport City, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The event, held in six categories (Open U-8, Girls U-8, Open U-10, Girls U-10, Open U12 and Girls U-12) brought together 502 young players representing 66 national federations. All six Swiss tournaments with classical time control run concurrently in a spacious arena. Attending the opening ceremony were President of Egyptian Chess Federation Hesham Elgendy, General Mayor of Sharm el-Sheikh representing Governor of South Sinai Ramah Hashim, FIDE Special Tasks Director Akaki Iashvili, Senator Ramy Galal, Deputy Minister of Sports of Egypt Mohamed Fathi who addressed the participants in short speeches and wished them good luck. After Senator Ramy Galal made the first ceremonial move the competition got underway. In less than two-week time we will know all six champions. Regulations for FIDE WCCC 2023 Photos: Sergei Indeikin Official website: wccc2023.com/
2023 IBCA World Championship: Tazbir leads, Magnusson elected as new President
After seven rounds played at the The 2023 IBCA World Chess Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Rhodes, GM Marcin Tazbir of Poland is leading the race with 6.5 points. IM Predrag Nikac (Montenegro) is following closely with 6.0 points while FM Alexey Streltsov (Israel) and Yuriy Bibikov (Kazakhstan) are tied for third place on 5.5/7. Top 10 after seven rounds: 1 GM Tazbir, Marcin POL 2499 6½ 2 IM Nikac, Predrag MNE 2283 6 3 FM Streltsov, Alexey ISR 2343 5½ 4 Bibikov, Yuriy KAZ 2050 5½ 5 IM Dukaczewski, Piotr POL 2088 5 6 Kolpakov, Vladyslav UKR 2238 5 7 IM Stachanczyk, Jacek POL 2066 5 8 Grybas, Gintaras LTU 1921 5 9 FM Magnusson, Jorgen SWE 2240 5 10 IM Nizam, Rasim BUL 2150 5 Complete standings and Round 8 pairings The IBCA Congress was also held in Rodos Palace hotel on Sunday morning and a new Presidential Board was elected for 2023-2025, in accordance with article 1.3 of the IBCA Electoral Regulations. More details about the elections procedure and the 2 nominated candidates can be found on the official website of IBCA: https://ibca-info.org/2023-ibca-elections A total of 52 countries are members of IBCA and 34 countries casted their vote. The final results of the IBCA elections 2023 were: 1. Ticket of Presidential candidate Jörgen Magnusson (Sweden): Votes: 23Percentage: 67.65% 2. Ticket of Presidential candidate Sergio Harnandan (Netherlands): Votes: 11Percentage: 32.35% The President of IBCA for the term 2023-2025 now is FM Jörgen Magnusson (pictured below). The new Presidential Board also includes IM Piotr Dukaczewski (Poland) and IM Nikos Kalesis (Greece) as Vice-Presidents, Olivier Deville (France) as General Secretary and Thorsten Müller (Germany) as Treasurer. The previous President of IBCA Dr. Jadhav Charudatta (India) has been approved unanimously by the Congress as Honorary President in recognition of his tremendous work for IBCA. Photo highlights of the event: https://facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=chessingreece&set=a.802210368367921 IBCA official website: ibca-info.org
FIDE World Junior Blitz Championship: Muradli and Balabayeva clinch titles
Mahammad Muradli (Azerbaijan) and Xeniya Balabayeva (Kazakhstan) emerged as the winners of the FIDE World Junior Blitz Championship. In the open section, Muradli got off to a great start, winning six straight games, grabbed the lead and never looked back. Despite losing to Arseniy Nesterov in Round 9, the Azeri GM scored an impressive 9.5/11 and finished a full point ahead of the top-seed Raunak Sadhwani (winner of the rapid section). Arystan Isazhulov and Arseniy Nesterov tied for third place, with the former taking bronze thanks to better Buchholz. The girls’ tournament was a closer race, with Xeniya Balabayeva and Amina Kaiberkova both scoring 8.5/11 and tying for the first place. Xeniya had a slightly better Buchholz, which made all the difference as she claimed gold while Amina had to settle for silver. The winner of the rapid championship, Govhar Beydullayeva, netted 7.5/11 and added bronze to her collection of trophies. Final standings open Final standings girls During the closing ceremony, FIDE and the Organizing Committee, led by GM Mogranzini, extend their gratitude to the Sardinia Region and the Pula municipality for their invaluable support in making this championship a resounding success. The farewell to this unforgettable championship was celebrated in Pula’s main square in the presence of local authorities, the president of the Italian Chess Federation Luigi Maggi and the president of the regional chess federation, Danilo Mallo. All attending the closing ceremony enjoyed a live performance by an internationally renowned tenor, Alessandro Goldoni. Photos: NIKIEL.PHOTO Official website: juniorrapidandblitz2023.com/