X Ibero-American Championship: Alan Pichot captures title
GM Alan Pichot emerged as the winner of the X Ibero-American Championship, an event held at the premises of Hotel RL Anibal in Linares, Spain. Joining Alan on the podium were IM Daniel Garcia Ramos from Spain who took silver and GM Santiago Avila Pavas of Colombia claiming bronze. IM Sabrina Vega from Spain became the best female player, while IM Diego Flores Quillas of Peru was the best junior. The Ibero-American Individual Absolute Championship, which celebrated its tenth edition, attracted with 114 participants from 22 countries-members of FIBDA (Federation Iberoamericana de Ajedrez). The 9-round Swiss tournament, stretching from September 25 to October 1, featured 13 GM, out of a total of 79 titled players (70%). Female representation is also significant, with 21 players (18%). The Linares City Council sponsored this competition, continuing its strong commitment to chess. FIDE, which has been collaborating with the Ibero-American Federation for several years, also provided support for the event. Players with the Mayor of Linares, Auxi del Olmo, President of Iberoamerican Chess Federation, Javier Ochoa; President of the Andorra Federation, Francesc Rechi at the reception in Municipal Palace The tournament was a very close competition that saw a fierce fight from start to finish. Going to the final ninth round, IM Daniel Garcia Ramos was on 7/8, a half-point ahead of the second seed Alan Pichot and full in front of a group of six players. It all came down to the clash Pichot – Garcia Ramos in which Alan scored a crucial victory and clinched the title. GM Santiago Avila Pavas and Alexandr Fier of Brazil won their final round games and caught up with the former leader, all finishing on 7/9. Garcia Ramos (who completed a GM norm) and Avila Pavas took silver and bronze, respectively, based on the Buchholz tiebreaker. Final standings: 1 GM Pichot, Alan ESP 7½ 2 IM Garcia Ramos, Daniel ESP 7 3 GM Avila Pavas, Santiago COL 7 4 GM Fier, Alexandr BRA 7 5 IM Flores Quillas, Diego Saul PER 6½ 6 GM Quesada Perez, Luis CUB 6½ 7 GM Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo ESP 6½ 8 GM Gines Esteo, Pedro ESP 6½ 9 GM Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal CHI 6½ 10 GM Salinas Herrera, Pablo CHI 6 Complete final standings Photos: FEDA Facebook page Official website: fibda.com/
Erigaisi enters top 3 Open in October 2024 rating list
September 2024 was all about the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest. The biggest team competition of the biennium had a great impact on the October 2024 rating list. Given that out of the top 10 Women, only Nana Dzagnidze played in Budapest, it remained intact. On the other hand, top 10 Open saw significant shifts. Photo: Michal Walusza The individual gold winners at the 45th Chess Olympiad Arjun Erigaisi (pictured above) and Gukesh D (pictured below) delivered brilliant performances in Budapest, earning 19 and 30 rating points respectively. Both reached their career high and came very close to the 2800 mark, with Arjun debuting in top 3 after ousting Fabiano Caruana to the fourth position. Gukesh D, in his turn, overtook Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the list of best junior players and climbed to first place. Photo: Michal Walusza Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women Yip, Carissa IM USA 2418 (+32) Nurman, Alua WIM KAZ 2356 (+32) Gukesh D GM IND 2794 (+30) Kamalidenova, Meruert IM KAZ 2378 (+26) Agrawal, Vantika IM IND 2392 (+22) Mkrtchian, Lilit IM ARM 2388 (+22) Erigaisi Arjun GM IND 2797 (+19) Vokhidov, Shamsiddin GM UZB 2668 (+18) Divya Deshmukh IM IND 2501 (+18) Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina IM ESP 2392 (+18) Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM UZB 2783 (+17) Virtually all the players qualifying for this list did a great job in Budapest. Nine of them, namely, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (board one Open – silver), Shamsiddin Vokhidov (board three Open – gold) Carissa Yip (board two Women – gold; pictured below), Divya Deshmukh (board three Women – gold), Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (board three Women – silver), Lilit Mkrtchian (board three Women – bronze), Vantika Agrawal (board four Women – gold), plus Gukesh D and Arjun Erigaisi mentioned above, won various individual medals. Alua Nurman did not mange to clinch an individual medal at the 45th Chess Olympiad but earned an impressive 32 rating points. Photo: Maria Emelianova Meruert Kamalidenova is the only player on the list who dropped some rating points (-5) at the 45th Chess Olympiad, but she overcompensated for this loss with her strong showing in the Karaganda Akim Cup 2024 (+31). Photo: Mark Livshitz Chess Olympiad is a great opportunity for young players to make a name for themselves, and the 45th edition in Budapest was no exception. Kudos to Ediz Gurel (+23), Sion Radamantys Galaviz Medina (+19), Avila Pavas, Santiago (+16), Frederik Svane (+15), Bardiya Daneshvar (+15), Kazybek Nogerbek (+15), Jan Subelj (+15), Setayesh Karimi (+100!; pictured above), Milan Babić (+75) Mariia Manko (+68), Gulenay Aydin (+52), Bat-Erdene Mungunzul (+44) and Machteld Van Foreest (+34), to name a few.
WFCC World Solving Championships for Youth and Cadets: Free training sessions
Dear chess friends, The official FIDE & WFCC World Solving Championships for Youth and Cadets are set to take place this autumn, with events in Florianópolis, Brazil, on November 4 (U14, U16 & U18), and Montesilvano, Italy, on November 21 2024 (U8, U10 & U12). You can see a promotional video here. Both events will be organized during the free day of World Youth Chess Championships (28.10-10.11) and World Cadet Chess Championships (14-27.11), mirroring the age and gender categories of the main events. For the first time, FIDE is collaborating with the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) to host these events as a part of FIDE’s centenary celebrations. In the registration forms below, under “Terms & Conditions”, you may find complete Regulations, Instructions and Illustrative examples. To help new generations get acquainted with deep-rooted principles and rich history of chess composition, the WFCC has organized free online training sessions for participants, trainers and all other interested in this branch of chess art. Brazil – Registration form:https://form.jotform.com/FCCC/fide-wfcc-world-youth-chess-solving Italy – Registration form:https://form.jotform.com/FCCC/fide-wfcc-world-cadet-solving-2024 Free Chess Solving Training Sessions – Registration form:https://forms.gle/qrW2gzruW8T2ty657