Alireza Firouzja wins 2024 Sinquefield Cup
Alireza Firouzja emerged as the triumphant winner of the 2024 Sinquefield Cup and the Grand Chess Tour after making a draw with Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and finishing on 6/9. The Iran-born Frenchman scored three victories over Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren and Anish Giri and completed the event unbeaten. The last leg and final classical event of the Grand Chess Tour, a 10-player round-robin, took place in Saint Louis Chess Club from August 19-27. Following his first-round defeat at the hands of the champion, Fabiano Caruana bounced back with three wins and climbed to second place in the tournament and the overall GCT 2024 standings. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave notched up final-round victories over Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, respectively, and also finished in the positive zone (5/9) tying for third place. Somewhat surprisingly, the current world championship challenger Gukesh Dommaraju drew all his nine games and shared fifth place with Wesley So and his countryman Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Photos: Crystal Fuller; Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum Studios Official website: grandchesstour.org/
UEFA Youth Sports Games conclude in Split, Croatia
The 2024 Youth Sports Games under the aegis of the UEFA Sports Foundation was held in four countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia throughout 2024. Primary and secondary-school-age children competed in ten sports free of charge, and the most successful individuals and teams traveled to Split to take part in the international finals. In addition to the games, the association organized regular sports and recreational activities for children to promote health, tolerance and ethical values. The association promotes a lifestyle based on understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play as an alternative to addiction and deviant behavior. The FIDE chess tournament as part of the Plasma Youth Sports Games enjoys an increasing number of entries from season to season, and the 2024 edition was no exception. FIDE sponsored the rapid chess discipline (10 min + 5 sec increment) at this junior event. The participants competed in open and girls sections in the ages of 2009 and younger and 2013 and younger categories. The sumptuous closing ceremony occurred in Split from August 22-23 and was attended by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “For chess, being a part of this prestigious multi-sport event is a significant step in the international recognition at big international sports competitions,” said FIDE President. As a part of the ceremony, FIDE Continental President for Europe GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili and WGM Aleksandra Dimitrijevic gave a simul to the local players.