Queens’ Online Chess Festival returns in March 2024
The Queens’ Online Chess Festival, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments, is returning this spring! The fourth edition of the popular event, organised by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, will take place from March 09-30, 2024, on the Tornelo online platform. In 2023, over 800 female players from 124 countries participated in the third edition of the festival. Organisers hope that this time, the number of female players joining the event will exceed one thousand. The festival welcomes all women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups, including unrated chess enthusiasts. Participation is free of charge. The festival is comprised of two competitions: Queens’ Women Open Tournament (open to all female participants with FIDE ID). Continental qualifying events running from Match 09-17 and Semi-Final and Final scheduled on March 24 and 30, respectively; Unrated Princesses’ tournaments (for U16 (born on 1.1.2008 or later) female players with no FIDE rating). The qualification stage is scheduled for March 24, and finals will be held on March 30. The Queens’ Online Chess Festival 2024’s main prizes are worth fighting for. Like in the previous edition, the winners of the World Queens’ Open 2024 and Princess’ Tournament (both U9 and U16 ) will be invited to the 45th World Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, Hungary, this September. Air tickets, full-board accommodation for three days and invitations to the Opening Ceremony of the Chess Olympiad 2024 for the winner and one accompanying person will be covered. Queens’ Women Open Tournament Registration form: forms.gle/Bs9swcu5zkuEY4T87 Registration deadlines: Africa – March 02, 2024 Europe – March 03, 2024 Asia – March 09, 2024 Americas – March 10, 2024 The qualification tournaments and semi-finals will be 9 or 11-round Swiss tournaments with 3+2 time control, depending on the number of participants, while the final will be a round-robin with 5+5 time control (7 rounds). Unrated Princesses’ Tournament Registration form: forms.gle/gqSM1nkUfR6m1LhWA Registration deadline: March 17, 2024 Unrated players U16 (born on 01.01.2008 or later) can play in both the Queens’ Women’s Open tournament and the Unrated Princesses’ tournament. Regulations for the Queens’ Chess Festival (pdf)
20th International Solving Contest (ISC) announced
The 20th International Solving Contest (ISC) will take place on January 21st starting at 11:00 AM CET. This one-day event will feature participants simultaneously solving the same set of chess problems in over 50 locations worldwide. The tournament will be held in three categories: Category I – Main, open to everyone (but dedicated to experienced solvers) Category II – For players with U2000 rating or without a rating (in solving!) Category III – U13 Youth category (born after December 31, 2010) Categories I and II consist of two rounds, while Category III comprises a single round. Each round lasts for two hours. Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, stands out as one of the most prestigious ISC locations, having previously hosted the World Chess Solving Championship in 2022. The lineup there includes top finishers from the 2023 World Chess Solving Championship, including Danila Pavlov, the world’s best solver for three consecutive years. The participation of former solving world champions Kacper Piorun and Piotr Murdzia from Poland will further intensify the competition for the title. Over-the-board (OTB) chess grandmasters are adding to the competitive landscape, with names like Raunak Sadhwani, the ninth-youngest GM in chess history, and Arkady Naiditsch, a former elite chess professional ranked within the top 20 in the FIDE rating list in 2013. The complete starting list is available here. You can see three checkmates in two moves from each category from the previous year’s competition below. Good luck with the challenge! 1. White to play and mate in 2 moves (cat.I) 2. White to play and mate in 2 moves (cat.II) 3. White to play and mate in 2 moves (cat.III) Important links: General information about ISC and rules: wfcc.ch/invitation-20th-isc/ Fujairah location starting list : chess-results.com/tnr863164.aspx?lan=3 Solutions: 1. Pavel Murashev, Moscow championship 2013: 1.Rc4! (2.Re4#) 1…Kd5 2.Rc5#; 1…Nf6/Nf2 2.Nb7# 2. Pavel Murashev, Schweizerische Schachzeitung, 2015: 1.Qc1! (2.Ne3#) 1…Kxd5 2.Nb4#; 1…Bxd5 2.Ne5#; 1…Nxc5+ 2.Rxc5# 3. Poul Hage, Magasinet, 1941: 1.Bh8! – zugzwang Written by: GM Kacper Piorun Photos from the previous ISC competitions: solving in Fujairah (Photo Fujairah CCC) and Bangalore (Photo Shankar Ram) Official website: WFCC – World Federation for Chess Composition
Tata Steel Masters 2024: Anish Giri pulls ahead
Anish Giri notched up a second win in a row in Round 4 of the Tata Steel Masters 204 and leapfrogged Alireza Firouzja, who split a point with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The Dutchman is going to the rest day as the sole leader of the event. Wei Yi and Praggnanandhaa R also scored victories and moved up in the standings. Alexander Donchenko was very close to his first win but allowed Ian Nepomniachtchi to escape with a draw. Anish Giri – Gukesh D | 1-0, 72 moves Gukesh comfortably equalized on the black side of English Opening but somewhat straightforwardly forced exchanges, apparently underestimating the dangers of the position with opposite-coloured bishops that emerged on the board. Interestingly, the first line of Stockfish is 25…e4!? sacrificing the pawn, followed by Qe5. Gukesh played 25…Qd8 instead, but after 26. h4! h5 27. Rb5 White got a long-lasting pressure that is very hard to withstand in a practical game. The young Indian tried to escape in an endgame, but Anish slowly but surely got to Black’s weak pawns and sealed the deal on move 72. Alireza Firouzja – Nodirbek Abdusattorov | ½-½, 30 moves The opponents tested a topical line of the Open Ruy Lopez in which Alireza lost to Vidit three years ago. Firouzja was first to deviate with 18.cxd4, but Nodirbek demonstrated his opening preparation, reeling off several best moves and reaching equality. Shortly after trading the queens, the players split a point in a balanced endgame. Max Wanderdam – Ju Wenjun | ½-½, 30 moves In a popular line of the Catalan, the players followed the encounter Nepomniachtchi – Firouzja (2022) up to move 19. Max opted for a new move 19.Qa3 but it did not change the evaluation of the position as roughly equal. As soon as the last pair of minor pieces left the board, a draw was agreed on move 31. Wei Yi – Parham Maghsoodloo | 1-0, 69 moves Parham went for complications and sacrificed an exchange for two pawns in the Advanced Caro-Kann, which led to a very interesting unbalanced position. The opponents traded inaccuracies in a complicated struggle, with Wei spurning a draw by repetition closer to the time control. The position remained in balance after trading the queens, but shortly after, Maghsoodloo made a nonchalant move that cost him the game. Black has to deal with e3-e4, driving the bishop away and white rook’s potential penetration to the seventh rank. The only move addressing both issues is 44…f5! with the idea of meeting 45.g5 with 45…Rb7, followed by 46…h6 with sufficient counterplay. Parham, however, played 44…Be4? and after 45.Ra7+ it was all over for Black. Wei transferred his rooks to the seven rank, traded the rooks and advanced his a-pawn, forcing Maghsoodloo’s capitulation. Jorden Van Foreest – Vidit Gujrathi | ½-½, 30 moves The players tested the Rubinstein variation of Four Knights in which Black sacrifices a pawn for initiative. Usually, it is sufficient to maintain equilibrium, and this game was no exception. Vidit regained a pawn, but most of the pieces were exchanged in a process, and the opponents signed a peace in an equal rook endgame. Ding Liren – Praggnanandhaa R | 0-1, 62 moves Things unfolded slowly in the Arkhangelsk Variation of Ruy Lopez, but with his fifteenth move, the World Champion allowed Praggnanandhaa to push in the center with c5-c4 getting some initiative. Several moves down the road, it snowballed into serious pressure on White’s b2-pawn, which eventually fell. Black gradually exchanged most of the pieces liquidating into a knight endgame. Ding had some chances for a draw, but his 43rd move made things much easier for Pragg. White should have played 43.Ke3 (or 43.Ne3) keeping his pawn structure intact, whereas 43.f4? played by Ding was tantamount to chess suicide. Black effortlessly converted his extra pawn twenty moves later. Ian Nepomniachtchi – Alexander Donchenko | ½-½, 56 moves In a topical line of the Sicilian Dragon, Alexander used a pawn sacrifice introduced by Nikita Vitiugov in his game with David Navara at the recent European Team Championship and got sufficient compensation. Ian boldly castled long, which led to a very interesting double-edged but roughly equal position. However, with his 28th move, Ian recklessly snatched the b4-pawn, missing a spectacular but simple blow. 28… Rxc2+! 29. Kxc2 Rc8+ According to chess engines, after 30. Kd3 Qxd5+ 31. Ke3, the position is equal, but this line is very hard to venture upon for a human. Ian played more natural 30.Nc3, but after 30…Qf3! Black was winning despite White’s extra rook. Soon, Alexander restored the material balance, but fatigue took its toll at this point as he gradually let his advantage slip away and forced a draw by perpetual. Standings after Round 4: 1 Giri, Anish NED 2749 3½ 2 Firouzja, Alireza FRA 2759 3 3-6 Praggnanandhaa, R IND 2743 2½ 3-6 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek UZB 2727 2½ 3-6 Wei, Yi CHN 2740 2½ 3-6 Nepomniachtchi, Ian FID 2769 2½ 7-9 Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi IND 2742 2 7-9 Ding, Liren CHN 2780 2 7-9 Warmerdam, Max NED 2625 2 10-11 Gukesh, D IND 2725 1½ 10-11 Van Foreest, Jorden NED 2682 1½ 12-13 Donchenko, Alexander GER 2643 1 12-13 Ju, Wenjun CHN 2549 1 14 Maghsoodloo, Parham IRI 2740 ½ Masters pairings Photos: Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 Official website: tatasteelchess.com