Budapest gets ready for the 2024 Chess Olympiad
Budapest is set to proudly host the 2024 Chess Olympiad, a monumental event to take place from September 10 to 23. The highly anticipated 45th Chess Olympiad is bringing together acclaimed heavyweights and rising stars, promising a showcase of chess brilliance from top-tier players from all across the globe. The event will be another milestone in Hungary’s rich chess history. With 12 team medals from Chess Olympiads, Hungary is one of the most successful chess nations. Home to many great chess players, from Géza Maróczy to Andor Lilienthal and from Laszlo Szabo to Lajos Portisch, Andras Adorjan, Zoltan Ribli and Peter Leko, including the most recognizable Hungarian chess marvels – the Polgar sisters (Judit, Susan and Sofia) – it is no surprise that chess is at home in Hungary. Photo: Jorge Franganillo The Olympiad will take place at the BOK Sports Hall, one of Hungary’s most modern event centers that hosts over 120 events annually and can accommodate up to 10,000 people. In a historic move toward inclusivity, the 2024 Chess Olympiad will welcome a team of refugees, as officially approved by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This groundbreaking decision aims to promote diversity and support displaced individuals, reinforcing chess as a tool for positive change. As part of the event’s commitment to gender equality, the organizers and FIDE will seek to increase the participation of women’s teams. The Budapest Chess Olympiad will not only be a battleground for the world’s chess teams but will also feature other events, including cultural programs and events for children. Concurrently, the FIDE Congress will be hosted alongside the Olympiad, accompanied by marking 100 years since the formation of FIDE. “We are proud and happy that Hungary will play host to the 45th Chess Olympiad, given the country’s astonishing chess legacy and place in today’s chess world. It is also nice to see the Chess Olympiad return to Europe. The organizers, in collaboration with FIDE, aspire to make this Olympiad a memorable and inclusive experience for participants and spectators and make them truly feel like they are at home in Hungary,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “One of the best things in chess is that it’s international. Just like music, or love. The Olympiad brings us all together and tells us once again that chess is not just black and white. Owing to the sports strategy of our government, Hungary has become a professional host to a series of world events in recent years. It is an honour to have the Chess Olympiad in this line, and we’ll do our best to make it memorable for all our guests.” – added Dr Zoltán Polyánszky, President of the Hungarian Chess Federation. With a huge commitment from the Hungarian Chess Federation and the government, the Chess Olympiad 2024 promises to be a testament to Hungary’s chess legacy, welcoming players from around the globe to engage in the noble game of strategy and intellect. The registration portal will be launched soon and the organizing committee will start pre-registration of teams and Congress delegations. Logins and passwords for the registration portal access will be sent to the official e-mail addresses of national federations. The detailed registration will be available on the same website from March 10, 2024 Regulations of 45th Chess Olympiad (pdf)
Tickets for the 2024 Candidates tournament go on sale
FIDE is delighted to announce the launch of the official website of the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. The event will take place in Toronto from April 03-23, 2024. Candidates.fide.com contains all the relevant information about the upcoming tournaments including the history of the event, player biographies as well as the schedule of the rounds. Once the tournament starts, the website will feature live games and commentary. The FIDE Candidates will be open to the public through a ticketing system. Starting today, tickets can be purchased online via the official website. The ticketing policy includes general admission tickets with access to the playing hall balcony and the fan zone and VIP passes, which also include the VIP room with drinks and snacks, a personalised experience and priority registration for side events. Besides, daily tickets and packages for all rounds of the tournament are available in all categories. For a limited time, chess fans can purchase coveted Candidates tickets at the special Early Bird pricing. This pricing will be in effect until midnight on February 15, Toronto time. Here are the Early Bird prices in Canadian Dollars (CAD): • General Admission, one day: $49 (Saturdays and Sundays $64) • All rounds General Admission package: $549 • VIP, one day: $169 (Saturdays and Sundays $199) • VIP Grand Package: $1999 More info about the FIDE Candidates and a link to the ticketing system at candidates.fide.com
20th International Solving Contest: Sharing the love for chess art
The 20th International Solving Contest 2024 brought together 669 solvers from 46 countries. Although located in more than 40 different cities around the world, participants ranging in age from 5 to 84 competed simultaneously with each other while solving the same problems and endgames. It was the 20th anniversary of the competition established to promote chess art and unite people from faraway countries. Under the supervision of the World Federation for Chess Composition, the ISC couldn’t have happened without without the unwavering dedication of numerous volunteers, from the main organizing team up to all the local controllers across different cities. ISC in Cluj-Napoca, Romania The project based on dedication of many volunteers The ISC project was conceived and created by the late Grandmaster of Chess Composition, Uri Avner (1941-2014). Among all the volunteers who have contributed over the last 20 years, Axel Steinbrink from Germany deserved the most recognition for the ISC’s success. Most often, he served as ISC Central controller, involved in the selection of compositions for participants to solve. He communicated with local controllers before and after the competition, checked the solving sheets, compiled final reports, and handled other essential tasks. One of the most challenging responsibilities is supervising thousands of solving sheets in different languages. When Axel stepped down from these duties last year, a whole new team of volunteers emerged to help the ISC. Arvydas Mockus (pictured below) from Lithuania assumed the most demanding role of ISC Central Controller; Bohumil Moravčik (Slovakia) accepted to be the main selector of compositions, while Luc Palmans and Andy Ooms (Belgium) checked the solving sheets from the 1st and the 2nd Category. As in the previous ten editions, Borislav Gadjanski (Serbia) diligently created and administrated the daily presentation of results on the Mat Plus website. Those are the devotees who deserved the most applause for the ISC 2024. The Solving Contest produced some surprises, the biggest ones sprang by the “old guard”. The 1st category event, designed for the most experienced solvers, ended in victory for former World Champion Andrey Selivanov (56), ahead of the current World Champion Danila Pavlov (22). The 3rd place went to another former World Champion, John Nunn (69), and the 4th went to another senior, Valery Kopyl (67). The 15-year-old prodigy Anna Shukhman proved her dominance among women. ISC 2024 in Le Vesinet, France Category 1 winners Rank Name From Points Time Overall 1 Andrey Selivanov FID 60 237 2 Danila Pavlov FID 56 240 3 John Nunn GBR 55 216 Women 1 Anna Shukhman FID 42 240 2 Irine Kharisma Sukandar INA 17,5 240 3 Daria Dvoeglazova ISR 13 230 Juniors 1 Danila Pavlov FID 56 240 2 Ural Khasanov FID 53 240 3 Kevinas Kuznecovas LTU 51 217 Seniors 1 John Nunn GBR 55 216 2 Valery Kopyl UKR 53 238 3 Roland Baier SUI 50,5 233 Category 2 (solving rating below 2000) saw another kind of surprizing domination, with female solvers taking 3 out of the top 5 places. The winner is Nadezhda Ilchenko, ahead of Dejan Omorjan and Alexandru-Vasile David, followed by two young girls, Anastasiya Chekina and Viktoriya Merkulova. Category 2 winners Rank Name From Points Time Overall 1 Nadezhda Ilchenko FID 57 240 2 Dejan Omorjan SRB 50 240 3 Alexandru-Vasile David ROU 49 207 Women 1 Nadezhda Ilchenko FID 57 240 2 Anastasiya Chekina FID 49 240 3 Viktoriya Merkulova FID 48 237 Juniors 1 Dejan Omorjan SRB 50 240 2 Anastasiya Chekina FID 49 240 3 Viktoriya Merkulova FID 48 237 Seniors 1 Zivan Susulic SRB 237 45 2 Dietmar Jahn GBR 236 39 3 Milan Simic SRB 236 37 The 3rd Category was for juniors born in 2011 and younger. Unlike the first two categories, with 12 problems to solve in 4 hours, youngsters had only 6 problems for 2 hours, and the level of difficulty was adjusted to their age. So, it wasn’t unusual to have 11 participants with a maximum of 30 points, and the shortest time for solving (27 minutes) brought victory to Matvey Dubovkin. Yaroslav Kengurov and Taras Rudenko, who shared the 2nd place, spent just three more minutes than the champion. The best girl was Blanka Eysimont. Category 3 winners Rank Name From Points Time Overall 1 Dubovkin, Matvey FID 30 27 2-3 Kengurov, Yaroslav FID 30 30 2-3 Rudenko, Taras UKR 30 30 Girls 1 Ejsymont, Blanka POL 30 78 2 Vujovic, Vera SRB 30 96 3 Hajizada, Hurrijan AZE 26 120 Fujairah – the new home of chess composition The Solving Contest in Fujairah (UAE), a part of the FIDE 100th anniversary, gathered the strongest ISC field, this time with the six best from the World Chess Solving Championship 2023, including the best female solver, among 114 participants. It was expected, since Fujairah became the new home of chess composition, wholeheartedly supported by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad Al Sharqi. Later this year, when the luxurious new building of the Fujairah Chess & Culture Club is set to open, it will become the residence of the WFCC main office. The solving hall in Fujairah The fruitful cooperation of chess and chess composition in Fujairah began in 2017, when Dr Abdulla Ali Aal Barket, the current WFCC Vice-President, introduced a “biathlon” competition for domestic players, combining solving and blitz tourneys. That was the 1st Fujairah Endurance Championship, and the 5th edition of it had the 20th ISC as the most important part, with a generous prize fund of USD 35,500. In a tough competition for popularity among better-known UAE chess organizers from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Fujairah
FIDE February 2024 rating list: Wei Yi debuts in top 10 Open
Traditionally, January is all about Tata Steel tournaments, and the first month of 2024 was no exception. The recently completed “Wimbledon of Chess” impacted the February 2024 rating list the most. Anish Giri picked 13 rating points and returned to the 4th position for the first time since November 2019. Photo: Lennart Ootes – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 The event winner, Wei Yi, the youngest player ever to reach the 2700 mark at 15, made a breakthrough in January. The 24-year-old Chinese GM earned 15 rating points and is debuting in the top 10 Open. The Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun scored just 4.5/13 in Tata Steel Masters but this result in such a strong field translated into 10 rating points and the return to the second position in the women’s rating list. Photo: Lennart Ootes – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women: Gukesh D IND 2743 (+18) Abdusattorov, Nodirbek UZB 2744 (+17) Socko, Monika POL 2427 (+17) Wei, Yi CHN 2755 (+15) Efroimski, Marsel ISR 2449 (+15) Giri, Anish NED 2762 (+13) Amin, Bassem EGY 2671 (+10) Shevchenko, Kirill ROU 2661 (+10) Ju, Wenjun CHN 2559 (+10) Gukesh D became the player to make the greatest progress (in the top 100 Open and Women) thanks to his excellent performance at the Tata Steel Masters. The young Indian edged out Nodirbek Abdusattorov (+17) with whom he tied for first place, and Monika Socko, who earned 17 points in the Rilton Cup and Fraubundesliga. Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 Marsel Efroimski collected 15 rating points in the Israel National League and Israel Open Championship, while Kirill Shevchenko (+10) and Bassem Amin (+10) did a great job in the Bundesliga. Tata Steel 2024 brought about many changes in the junior list, as many high-ranked youngsters participated in both Masters and Challengers. Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov and Gukesh D top the February 2024 junior list following their strong showing in the Masters, while the winner of the Challengers Leon Luke Mendonca, Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Daniel Dharda, who shared second place in this competition reached their career high. When it comes to absolute numbers of rating gains, junior players are unchallenged. Kudos to Rose Awell (+239), who skyrocketed from 91st to 14th position in the girls’ junior list, Miaoyi Lu (+117), and Iris Mou (+131).
2023 3rd FIDE Council Meeting: List of Decisions
FIDE publishes the list of decisions of the 3rd FIDE Online Council meeting which was held on December 14, 2023. 2023 3rd FIDE Council Meeting List of Decisions (pdf)
2023 FIDE Online General Assembly: List of Decisions
FIDE publishes the decisions of FIDE Online General Assembly Meeting which was held on December 17, 2023. FIDE General Assembly Decisions (pdf)