FIDE distributes €15,000 among six chess veterans
After carefully considering the numerous applications received, the special panel appointed by the FIDE Council decided that these will be the six chess players, coaches, promoters and arbiters to benefit from the first installment of FIDE’s support to chess veterans in 2024: Nona Gaprindshvili (GEO) Yuri Balashov (RUS) Anatoly Vaisser (FRA) Marta Litinskaya (UKR) Edvins Kengis (LAT) David Sedgwick (ENG) A total of €15,000 will be distributed among them, each receiving €2,500. As we did on previous occasions, we would pay tribute to these illustrious veterans with a few words about each one of them, summarizing their careers and achievements. Nona Gaprindashvili (GEO) Photo: livepress.ge/ Nona Gaprindashvili (GEO), born in 1941 in Zugdidi (USSR, now Georgia), became the first woman to be awarded the title of International Grandmaster (1978). Her brothers introduced her to chess at the age of five and became her first opponents. After turning 12, she honed her skills under the tutelage of a talented coach, Vakhtang Karseladze, in Tbilisi. At just fifteen, Nona won the Tbilisi and Georgian Championships. Four years later, she emerged victorious from the 1961 Candidates Tournament in dominant fashion, earning a title match against Elisaveta Bykova. Gaprindashvili seized the title from Bykova in a convincing manner (+7−0=4) and successfully defended it three times against Alla Kushnir (1965: +7-3=3; 1969: +6-2=5; 1972: +5-4=7) and once against Nana Alexandria (1975: +8-3=1). After fifteen years of reigning supreme, she lost the title match (Tbilisi, 1978) to another Georgian, 17-year-old star Maia Chiburdanidze (+2−4=9). Even after conceding the title, Gaprindashvili remained one of the strongest female players in the world for another twenty years and amassed a very impressive tournament record. Nona is still very active in veteran tournaments, winning the World Senior Championship and European Senior Championship multiple times. Yuri Balashov (RUS) Photo: Eteri Kublashvili Yuri Balashov (RUS), born in 1949 in Shadrinsk, Russia, learned chess from his older brother Alexander. By the age of 15, he had become the youngest master in the country. Balashov was one of the first students of the renowned Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school, where he gained valuable insights into chess training. His rise in the chess ranks was steady and consistent. In 1970, Balashov won the Moscow championship for the first time and finished fourth in the USSR Championship. His most notable achievement came in 1976 when he finished runner-up to Karpov in the highly competitive USSR Championship, scoring an impressive 10.5/16 with a performance rating of 2773. He participated in 15 national championships throughout his career. A participant in four inter-zonal tournaments, a winner of the 1980 Olympiad and several European Championships with the Soviet team, Balashov proved himself not only as a very strong GM but also a great trainer. He served as Karpov’s second in three World Championship matches (1978, 1981, and 1984). Calm, reserved, collected, and with extensive knowledge of opening theory, Balashov was an integral part of Karpov’s team. Yuri Balashov has continued to excel in veteran events, winning the World Team and European Team Championships several times. In 2019, he tied for first place in the World Senior Championship but ultimately took bronze due to inferior tiebreaks. Anatoly Vaisser (FRA) Photo: David Llada Anatoly Vaisser (FRA), born in 1949 in Almaty, Kazakhstan (then USSR), demonstrated talent in junior and student chess competitions. However, for a long time, he viewed chess simply as a game. Moreover, he even abandoned chess completely for three years while pursuing his Ph.D., later becoming one of the few GMs with a science degree. After seconding Lev Psakhis at his victorious Soviet Championships in 1980 and 1981, Anatoly’a interest for chess rekindled and he took the game seriously. This hard work quickly paid off. In 1982, Vaisser won the RSFR championship, and in 1983, he completed his first GM norm in a tournament in Sochi. Two years later, Anatoly emerged as the winner of a strong tournament in Havana (1985) and became a Grandmaster. Vaisser continued to achieve success in various competitions, notably finishing second-third with Viswanathan Anand at New Delhi in 1987 and second behind Vladimir Malaniuk at Budapest in 1989. He also tied for first place twice in the Cappelle-la-Grande Open: in 1987 with Anthony Kosten and Jonny Hector and in 1991 with Matthew Sadler. In 1991, Vaisser moved to France and worked as a playing coach for the national team for several years. He won the French championship at Narbonne in 1997 and was twice runner-up (1996 and 2001). Anatoly played twice for France in the Chess Olympiads at Elista (1998) and Bled (2002). Vaisser has an excellent record in veteran competitions, winning the World Senior Chess Championship in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Anatoly also authored a popular book, “Beating the King’s Indian and Benoni” (1997). Marta Litinskaya (UKR) Marta Litinskaya (UKR), born Marta Shul in 1949 in Lviv, Ukraine (then USSR), learned chess at the age of ten thanks to her father. A year later, she joined a local chess club and became a student of the legendary chess specialist Viktor Kart. This marked the beginning of her successful career. Litinskaya won the Ukrainian Women’s Championship in 1967 (she would claim the title again in 1977 and 1995). In 1968, she qualified for the USSR championship, where she achieved the rank of master. Five years later, she won the national title and went on to become runner-up in 1971, 1973, and 1974. In the early 1970s, Marta balanced her career as a programmer with professional chess, but eventually chose to dedicate herself fully to the game. Litinskaya was awarded the FIDE titles of Woman International Master (WIM) in 1972 and Woman Grandmaster in 1976. In 1973, Marta participated in the 2nd Interzonal Tournament in Menorca, tying for second place and qualifying for the Women’s Candidates Tournament. She lost a semifinal match to Nana Alexandria in Riga that year. In her second attempt to become World Champion, Litinskaya reached the semifinals again in 1980 but fell short against Alexandria once more in a closely
FIDE Candidates: Tan Zhongyi takes sole lead again
Round nine of the FIDE Candidates brought us two decisive results, one of which put Tan Zhongyi in the sole lead again. The ceremonial first moves today were made by Laksshana Deepak, Canadian Junior Chess Champion, for Humpy Koneru, and Aaron Reeve Mendes, current ChessKid Speed Chess Champion, for Alireza Firouzja. They were accompanied by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board. The first game to finish was a quick win by Tan Zhongyi against Vaishali R. Playing with Black, Tan played solidly and “did not expect a chance to come her way” in this game. However, Vaishali misplayed her position after the opening, and by move 16, Black had a big advantage. A blunder by the Indian soon followed (18. c5), and on move 21, the game was over. Anna Muzychuk did not manage to get an advantage out of the Ruy Lopez against Aleksandra Goryachkina. By move 26, the players exchanged most of the pieces and entered an equal endgame, but one filled with double-edged play. On move 27 (27. g4), Muzychuk committed to giving up her bishop, but her active rook and three pawns promised solid compensation for the piece. The game ended in a draw. “It was difficult, given that I did not have much time to figure it out, and my opponent played very quickly,” shared Goryachkina after the game. “She had enough pawns [for a piece]. Maybe I missed some opportunities to capitalize, but so far, I don’t see it.” The other two games in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament were rather anticlimactic. Playing with White against Nurgyul Salimova, Lei Tingjie went for 5. Rg1 in the Philidor Defence, followed by 6. g4 and 7. h4. This ambitious choice promised an interesting fight, but the players steered into an equal endgame fairly early on move 18 and soon found a threefold repetition. The game between Humpy Koneru and Kateryna Lagno was a long positional battle without any real chances for either side. Lagno, playing with Black, managed to win a pawn, but Koneru did not have a problem with defending her position in an easily drawn rook endgame. The results of round nine mean that in the FIDE Women’s Candidates, Tan Zhongyi is once again the sole leader with 6 points. She’s closely followed by Aleksandra Goryachkina and Lei Tingjie, who are both on 5.5 points. In the FIDE Candidates Tournament, the game between Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Hikaru Nakamura was a showstopper. In the trendy Italian Game, Nakamura chose an ambitious line with an early 6…g5 and reached a fine position out of the opening. After the game, Vidit mentioned that the first move he found dubious was 15…Nh5, and remarked that he started to get optimistic from this moment onwards. After the position opened up a few moves later, Nakamura started to miscalculate, made a series of mistakes, and had to resign. “It’s hard to be unhappy about it, as this is what I was aiming for with the opening choice,” said Nakamura after the game. “Obviously, I did not find the right moves, but my time usage was absolutely horrible. It was a huge reason why I could not find decent ideas, especially around moves 24-25.” Ian Nepomniachtchi, playing with Black, found himself in a difficult position against Alireza Firouzja but stood his ground and found all of the right defensive ideas. The Frenchman chose the rarely-seen Nimzo-Larsen Attack to take Nepomniachtchi out of his preparation. His approach paid off as by move 20, White had a solid advantage and easy gameplay on the kingside. Nepomniachtchi decided to evacuate his king to the queenside with 23…Kf7, 24…Ke7, and 25…Kd6, hiding behind the long pawn chain. Firouzja sacrificed an exchange in an attempt to break through, but it was not enough, and the game ended in a draw. The Abasov – Caruana and Gukesh – Praggnanandhaa matchups were drawn as well. Both games were very solid and played exceptionally accurately. As a result, Gukesh and Nepomniachtchi continue to be the co-leaders of the FIDE Candidates Tournament with 5.5 points. The 10th round of the event will commence on the 15th of April at 14:30 EDT (Toronto). Standings after Round 9: Open: 1-2. Gukesh, Nepomniachtchi – 5½3. Praggnanandhaa – 54-6. Caruana, Nakamura, Vidit – 4½7. Firouzja – 3½8. Abasov – 3 Women’s: 1. Tan – 62-3. Goryachkina, Lei – 5½4. Lagno – 55-6. Koneru, Salimova – 47. A. Muzychuk – 3½8. Vaishali – 2½ Round 10 pairings: Open: Nakamura – AbasovCaruana – FirouzjaNepomniachtchi – GukeshPraggnanandhaa – Vidit Women’s: Lagno – A. MuzychukGoryachkina – LeiSalimova – VaishaliTan – Koneru Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza and Maria Emelianova/Chess.com Official website: candidates2024.fide.com/ Partners: