Spanish Championship: Iturrizaga and Khademalsharieh claim titles
GM Eduardo Iturrizaga and IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh emerged as the winners of the Spanish Championship 2023. A Caracas native, Iturrizaga claimed his third straight title while Khademalsharieh scored her first victory in the Spanish Women’s Championship. The competition, a 9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from October 12-21 in Marbella. Both men and women competed in one event but were ranked separately, with the highest-scoring female player claiming the Spanish Women’s Champion title. The tournament turned into a very close race, with several players tying for the top position most of the time. Eduardo Iturrizaga, Alan Pichot and Maksim Chigaev came to the final ninth round as join leaders, with Eduardo and Alan facing off against each other and Maxim playing with Daniil Yuffa trailing by a half-point. All three games on the top boards were drawn, meaning the leaders finished on 7/9, but Eduardo Iturrizaga won the title thanks to a better Buchholz. The same criteria decided the fate of the women’s crown as Sarasadat Khademsharieh and the defending champion Marta Garcia Martin both netted 6/9, with the former ending up one position higher in the final standings. Final standings: 1 GM Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo 2427 7 2 GM Pichot, Alan 2416 7 3 GM Chigaev, Maksim 2405 7 4 GM Yuffa, Daniil 2342 6½ 5 GM Cuenca Jimenez, Jose 2296 6½ 6 GM Gines Esteo, Pedro 2450 6 7 GM Lopez Martinez, Josep 2417 6 8 GM Alsina Leal, Daniel 2408 6 9 IM Suarez Gomez, Julio 2378 6 10 IM Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat 2374 6 11 IM Garcia Martin, Marta 2352 6 12 FM Tabuenca, Danie 2293 6 Complete results Photos: Patricia Claros Aguilar and FEDA Facebook page Official website: feda.org/feda2k16/
2023 FIDE Grand Swiss brings grand expectations
The strongest Swiss event of the year is around the corner. In the scenic Isle of Man, the first round starts on 25 October and in the next 12 days we will witness a magnificent chess spectacle full of fierce battles. The Grand Swiss is a pivotal part of the FIDE World Championship cycle. Its democratic nature attracts players from all over the world, giving them a chance to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. Two coveted top spots in the open event and two in the women’s tournament lead to Toronto, where next spring the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament will take place. This is a chance to write one’s name in chess history, a chance that in the past was available only to selected few. 114 players will be playing in the open section. The list of favourites includes Fabiano Caruana, who already has qualified for Toronto from the World Cup in Baku, Hikaru Nakamura, who will seek a return to the Candidates that went so well for him (except for the last round) last year in Madrid, Alireza Firouzja, the winner of the previous Grand Swiss in Riga 2021, Anish Giri, who desperately wants another shot at the title after his last Candidates appearance in 2020/21 in Yekaterinburg, Gukesh D, who at 17 entered the top 10 and became India’s number one after 37 years of Anand’s domination. These are only the top five on the starting list, but you should check the full list and pick your favourites, though you’ll have a hard time with such a wide choice! Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club | Lennart Ootes The Grand Swiss is also a part of the FIDE Circuit and it adds an additional twist to the tournament intrigue. The winner of the FIDE Circuit will qualify for the Candidates Tournament and there is an intense battle underway for the top spot. The current leader of the Circuit, Fabiano Caruana, has already qualified, so second placed Gukesh D and third placed Anish Giri, the two players who have a reasonable chance of winning it, will try to do their best in this event. There are 50 registered players in the women section. Former candidates and World Champions top the starting list: Aleksandra Goryachkina, the current holder of the World Cup, winner of the Candidates Tournament in 2019 and runner-up of the World Championship match in 2020; 12th Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, also winner of the World Cup in 2021, 15th Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk, 16th Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi and World Championship runner-up and World Rapid and Blitz Champion Anna Muzychuk (pictured below). Photo: David Llada Both tournaments will have record-breaking prize funds. In the open section the prize fund is $460,000 while in the women section it amounts to $140,000. Fans can follow the Grand Swiss 2023 by watching live broadcast of the event with expert commentary on FIDE YouTube and Twitch with expert commentary by GM David Howell and IM Jovanka Houska. Get ready for a remarkable display of chess prowess at the Isle of Man and may the best players win! The official website of the tournament: grandswiss.fide.com Written by GM Alex Colovic
WCCC 2023 passes its midpoint
The World Cadets Chess Championship 2023 crossed the halfway mark. Since there is no day off, endurance and stamina are becoming increasingly important on the final straight. After six rounds of play in the open tournaments, Roman Shogdzhiev (FIDE; U8) and Khuong Duy Dau of Vietnam (U12) lead with a perfect score of 6/6, while in the U10 competition, Ethan Guo (USA) and Supratit Banerjee (Scotland) are tied for the top position, netting 5.5/6 The leaders in the girl’s sections, Bodhana Sivanandan (England; U8), Xue Tianhao (China; U10) and Diana Preobrazhenskaya (FIDE; U12) all scored six straight games. Although there are five sole leaders in six tournaments, the closest rivals are trailing by just a half point. With five rounds to go, all the competitions are still wide open. The Governor of South Sinai, Khaled Fouda, made the ceremonial first move in Round 5. During his visit to the event, the future plans for hosting chess tournaments in Egypt were discussed. Standings after Round 6: Open U8 Open U10 Open U12 Girls U8 Girls U10 Girls U12 Photos: Sergei Indeikin Official website: wccc2023.com/