GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Attempt for Most Games Played in a Day!
On July 20, 2024, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) aims to set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Attempt for the most chess games played in 24 hours, marking its centennial and International Chess Day! From beginners to grandmasters, classrooms to streets, online or over-the-board games, you can participate in the celebrations from any corner of the world. For individuals: To participate in the attempt online, join chess.com, lichess.org (or any other platform that will be supporting the initiative) and play at least one 5-min game between July 20, 2024 00:00:00 CEST and July 21, 2024 00:00:00 CEST; To join offline, seek for the nearest event that will join the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS attempt (the full list of events will be here: 100.fide.com/gwr) and take part in it. For organizers: Plan your event and make sure it suits all the requirements. More details about the eligibility criteria can be found on 100.fide.com/gwr. Register it on the landing page of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS attempt before July 15, 2024.; After the attempt, submit the results confirming the number of games played. The registration of the tournaments participating in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Attempt will start later this May. For more details, visit the official FIDE Guinness World Record attempt page. About the Guinness World Records Guinness World Records, originally known as the Guinness Book of Records, has emerged as the definitive authority on record-breaking achievements, stemming from the idea of resolving disputes in pubs with a book of facts. Today, it stands as a global brand, with offices spanning London, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, and Dubai, alongside a network of brand ambassadors worldwide. Its mission extends beyond the pages of its iconic book, now encompassing TV shows, social media, and live events, all aimed at documenting the extraordinary.
World School Championship 2024 begins in Peru
The highly anticipated FIDE World School Chess Championship 2024 kicked off on May 1 in the Constitutional Province of Callao in Lima, Peru. A glittering opening ceremony, marked the start of this grand chess event. The highest Peruvian authorities—Guido Flores Marchan, president of the Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD), Morgan Niccolo Quero Gaime, minister of education of Peru, and Ciro Castillo Rojo Salas, Regional Governor of Callao—attended the opening ceremony (pictured below, from left to right). The regional governor of Callao, Dr Ciro Castillo Rojo Salas, and the Minister of Education, Morgan Quero, inaugurated the competition, making the first ceremonial moves on one of the boards. The ceremony also featured a dancing performance by a local group that symbolized Peru’s coast, mountains, and jungle. Held in six age groups, U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17, with separate events in open and girls’ categories, the competition brought together 1200 chess players from 26 countries. The competitions in all categories are 9-round Swiss tournaments. Photos: Gobierno Regional del Callao / Media centre Mundial Escolar
Eight teams qualify for World Corporate Championship Finals
The second World Corporate Chess Championships have concluded their qualification stage, and eight successful teams are now gearing up for the highly anticipated over-the-board finals in New York The online qualification stage witnessed fierce competition among 64 teams representing 46 companies from 26 countries across four continents. Among the participants were renowned global corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, UBS, Von Doren Watch Company, J.P. Morgan, Airbus, Freedom Holding, Bosch, Maruti Suzuki, and Deutsche Bank. While most teams comprised amateur players and enthusiasts, each team had the right to include one player with a FIDE rating exceeding 2400 points. Some squads even recruited top-class Grandmasters, such as Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Andrew Tang, reigning European Women’s Chess Champion WGM Ulviyya Fataliyeva, WGM Jolanta Zawadzka, and the remarkable eight-year-old chess prodigy from the UK, Bodhana Sivanandan. To secure their spot in the finals, teams engaged in online tournaments in two formats: rapid and blitz. The intense competition culminated in an online knockout stage, ultimately determining the final eight contenders. The following companies have successfully qualified for the World Corporate Chess Championship finals: From June 15 to 17, these eight elite teams will converge in New York for a series of over-the-board matches. The tournament will feature both a group stage and an intense playoff stage. Finalists will enjoy fully covered travel and accommodation expenses in New York. Additionally, each qualifying team will secure four seats for an online simultaneous chess match against a participant from the recently concluded FIDE Candidates Tournament, with more prizes to come. For comprehensive event details, including results and regulations, visit the official website of the World Corporate Chess Championship.
FIDE May 2024 rating list: Gukesh D climbs to #6
The FIDE Candidates brought significant changes to the world’s top 10. Among others, Gukesh D (+20 points) and Tan Zhongyi (+19 points) simultaneously climbed up to #6 after winning the FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates, respectively. Both winners of the Candidates 2024 reached their career-high positions. Photo: Michal Walusza Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Priyanka Nutakki WGM IND 2355 (+83) Nandhidhaa, P V WGM IND 2353 (+81) Saric, Ivan GM CRO 2695 (+25) Alekseenko, Kirill GM AUT 2677 (+22) Gukesh D GM IND 2763 (+20) Dardha, Daniel GM BEL 2650 (+20) Warmerdam, Max GM NED 2652 (+19) Tan, Zhongyi GM CHN 2540 (+19) Shuvalova, Polina IM FID 2456 (+16) Narva, Mai IM EST 2417 (+16) Vaishali, Rameshbabu GM IND 2489 (+14) Two Indian female players, Priyanka Nutakki (pictured below) and Nandhidhaa P V, stand out in this nomination following their great performance in various open tournaments. Priyanka shone in the XLIV Open International Ciudad de San Sebastian (+25 points), Open Menorca (+18 points) and Ponte De Lima Chess Festival (+40 points), while Nandhidhaa did an excellent job in the Fagernes Chess International 2024 (+32) and the Open Menorca 2024 (+49). Photo: Anastasia Korolkova Ivan Saric also reached his career high, mounting to #40 in the top 100 Open after solid showings in the GRENKE Chess Open, Extraliga and CIS 2024 – Serie Master. Kirill Alekseenko enjoyed a successful trip to Spain, winning the VIII Open Internacional Semana Santa San Vicente and tying for first in the Menorca Open, which translates into a +22 rating point gain. Polina Shuvalova also fared well in both these tournaments, picking up 16 points. Daniel Dardha has been on a roll this year, steadily increasing his rating every month. April was no exception for the 18-year-old GM from Belgium, who added to his tally another 20 points following his good performances in CIS 2024—Serie Master and Menorca Open. Photo: Lennart Ootes Similarly, Max Warmerdam has had a good spring tournament campaign so far. Unsurprisingly, the Dutchman returned to the top 100 Open after a half-year absence following his strong results in Belgian Interclubs and Bundesliga. After a tough start in the Women’s Candidates, Rameshbabu Vaishali strung together several wins in the second part and finished strong, gaining 14 rating points.