U.S. Championship 2024: Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip claim titles
Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip are the new U.S. chess champions. Both successfully defended their titles, winning their fourth and third overall, respectively. The U.S. Chess Championship and U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, 12-player round-robins with classical time control featuring a combined prize fund of $250,000, took place in the Saint Louis Chess Club from October 10-24. Players were not allowed to offer draws. Fabiano Caruana seized the lead in Round 4 after defeating Abhimanyu Mishra, and maintained his top position until the very end. Going into the final round a half-point ahead of Awonder Liang and Ray Robson, he gradually outplayed Sam Shankland in the Sicilian Defense, finishing with a solid 7/10 to secure his fourth national title. Awonder Liang had a great chance for silver when he achieved a very promising position against Leinier Dominguez, while Ray Robson had a bye (see below). However, Liang eventually overstretched and lost. As a result, six players tied for second place, sharing the prize money equally. The only blemish on the tournament was the disqualification of Christopher Yoo. According to an official statement from the Saint Louis Chess Club: “After his game against Fabiano Caruana, Yoo crumpled his scoresheet, stormed out of the tournament hall, and struck a videographer from behind. Chief Arbiter Chris Bird expelled Yoo for gross violations of our Code of Conduct and the US Chess Play Safe Policy.” Yoo’s results from Rounds 1-5 were annulled, and the tournament standings were adjusted accordingly. Carissa Yip dominated the women’s event, starting with eight straight wins, reminiscent of Bobby Fischer’s incredible performance in the 1963/1964 U.S. Championship. Although Carissa did not manage to match Fischer’s record of 11/11, she left no doubt about her championship run, clinching her third title with a round to spare. Begim Tokhirjonova pulled off a crucial victory over Tatev Abrahamyan in the last round of the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, earning her the silver medal and qualifying for the FIDE Women’s World Cup. Alice Lee, who shared second place with Tokhirjonova going into the final round, managed only a draw against the champion, which left her to settle for the bronze medal. Photos: Saint Louis Chess Club | Crystal Fuller and Lennart Ootes Official website: uschesschamps.com/
European Chess Club Cup 2024 crosses half-way mark
The 39th European Chess Club Cup and the 28th European Women’s Chess Club Cup have passed the midpoint. After the top-table clashes, four teams jointly lead the Open tournament with 8/8 points, while TAJFUN SK Ljubljana has emerged as the sole leader in the Women’s competition. Top-seeded SuperChess in the Open tournament suffered an upset, losing to fifth-seeded Turkish Airlines. Dmitry Andreikin (2729, Turkish Airlines) defeated GM Gukesh D (2794, SuperChess), and Amin Tabatabaei (2702, Turkish Airlines) emerged victorious against GM Praggnanandhaa (2746, SuperChess). Additionally, Volodar Murzin (2648, Turkish Airlines) beat Jorden Van Foreest (2697, SuperChess). The only player to score a win for SuperChess was Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2783, SuperChess), who got lucky in a completely lost position against GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2719, Turkish Airlines). Maghsoodloo was just a few moves away from victory but tragically opted for an unsound queen sacrifice, leading to a loss. Alkaloid pulled off a narrow 3.5-2.5 victory over TAJFUN SK Ljubljana. Chithambaram Aravindh (2698, Alkaloid) and Narayanan S.L. (2640, Alkaloid) defeated Ivan Saric (2673, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) and Ante Brkic (2626, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana), respectively, while Nodirbek Yakubboev (2654, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) scored for the Slovenian team. The other games, including Arjun Erigaisi’s encounter with Alexandr Predke, ended in draws. Novy Bor Chess Club won their match against Sentimento Ajka BSK thanks to Vincent Keymer’s (2721, Novy Bor Chess Club) victory over Alexey Sarana (2717, Sentimento Ajka BSK), as the other five games were drawn. Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub triumphed over Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club, despite having a lower average rating. Pavel Eljanov (2672, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub) prevailed over Bu Xiangzhi (2690, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club), Benjamin Gledura bested Anton Korobov, and Ihor Samunenkov (2533, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub) defeated Nijat Abasov (2619, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club). Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2733, Bayegan Pendik Chess Sports Club) bounced back with a win against Maksim Chigaev (2624, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub), but with the other games ending in draws, Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub secured a 4-2 victory. Standings after Round 4 Open In the Women’s section, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana emerged as the sole leader following an overwhelming 3.5-0.5 victory over Garuda Ajka BSK. Nana Dzagnidze (2513, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) beat Bibisara Assaubayeva (2487, Garuda Ajka BSK), Zhu Jiner (2499, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) defeated Divya Deshmukh (2501, Garuda Ajka BSK), and Olga Badelka (2430, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) prevailed over Bella Khotenashvili (2423, Garuda Ajka BSK). The game on the fourth board between WIM Zsoka Gaal (2398, Garuda Ajka BSK) and IM Laura Unuk (2304, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana) ended in a draw. SuperChess Club toppled top seed Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo thanks to Dinara Wagner’s (2436, SuperChess) victory over Vaishali Rameshbabu (2487, Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo), while the other three games ended in draws. Four teams are tied for second place in the Women’s event with 6 match points each: SuperChess Club, Garuda Ajka BSK, Crvena zvezda – Data Driven Lab, and Napredak Zenica. Standings after Round 4 Women Round 5 starts on October 24 at 15:00 and live broadcast can be followed through the ECU TV platform. Live video broadcast is also available on the ECU YouTube channel with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and Dragana Nikolovska. Photos: European Chess Union Official website: clubcup2024.com/
Chess king from China who defies the odds
World Champion Ding Liren is a symbol of perseverance in chess. Rising from humble beginnings in the chess-loving city of Wenzhou, his journey to the world title is marked by numerous accomplishments and firsts, as well as significant challenges. Born on October 24, 1992, in China, Ding was introduced to chess by his mother at the age of four. Destiny seemed to favor him, as he was coached early on by Chen Lixing, who also trained former Women’s World Champion Zhu Chen. This led to Ding’s first notable successes on the global chess stage: tying for first place in both the Under-10 and Under-12 World Youth Championships (2003, 2004), though finishing second on tiebreaks in both events. In 2009, at just 16 years old, Ding became the youngest-ever Chinese champion, announcing to the world what was to come. Thanks to his stellar performance at the national championship, he earned the Grandmaster title later that year. He would go on to win the Chinese championship two more times, in 2011 and 2012. Photo: Andreas Kontokanis After conquering the national scene, Ding set his sights on the global stage. In 2014, he helped China win a gold medal at the Chess Olympiad, and again in 2015 at the World Team Championships. That same year, he became only the second Chinese player, after Wang Yue, to enter the world’s top 10. Ding’s consistent, solid play led him to the finals of the 2017 and 2019 Chess World Cups, though he fell short in both. Despite these setbacks, his reputation as a world-class player continued to grow. Photo: Kirill Merkuryev A major milestone came in 2018 when Ding won individual and team gold at the 43rd Chess Olympiad. That year, he also became the first Chinese player to surpass a 2800 Elo rating, peaking at 2816—the joint tenth highest in chess history. His strong, consistent play earned him a reputation as one of the toughest players to beat. From August 2017 to November 2018, Ding went unbeaten in 100 consecutive classical games, a streak broken only by Magnus Carlsen in 2019. Though 2018 marked the height of Ding’s success, it also introduced new challenges. In his first shot at the world title during the 2018 Candidates Tournament in Berlin, he drew 13 of his 14 games, winning just one. He silenced critics the following year by winning the Sinquefield Cup with a performance rating of 2845, securing the 2019 Grand Chess Tour title. Photo: St-Louis Chess Club | Lennart Ootes Ding’s second attempt at the Candidates Tournament came in 2020 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite being one of the favorites, he secured only 2.5 points after seven rounds before the tournament was postponed due to the pandemic. When it resumed in April 2021, Ding improved his form, winning his final three games to finish with 7 points, placing fifth overall. His real shot at the title came in 2022 at his third Candidates Tournament in Madrid. Despite an underwhelming start, Ding found his stride in the second half, securing key wins over Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura to finish second behind Ian Nepomniachtchi. Under normal circumstances, this would not have qualified him for the World Championship match, but with Magnus Carlsen stepping down, Ding found himself in a championship match against Nepomniachtchi. The World Championship match in Astana, Kazakhstan, was closely contested. After 14 classical games, the score was tied 7-7, leading to a rapid tiebreak, where Ding triumphed 2½-1½, becoming the first Chinese player to win the Classical World Chess Championship. Photo: David Llada However, his monumental achievement in 2023 was soon overshadowed by personal struggles. After winning the title, Ding took a nine-month break from chess in 2024 to focus on his mental health, citing personal difficulties and depression. He skipped major events during this time but returned to competition later that year at the Tata Steel tournament and the Olympiad, showing that he remains a formidable presence in the chess world. In an interview before the World Championship match, Ding reflected on his state of mind: “My current state is neither exceptionally good nor bad, as I’ve felt over the past one and a half years. I’ve moved past the deepest or worst moments. I know I’ve been playing great chess—I just couldn’t win certain positions. I still believe I can turn that around, maybe during the match.” Photo: Mark Livshitz Ding’s mental strength and resilience have defined his career. As he faces rivals whose recent performances have been more consistent, only time will tell if he can maintain his reign as World Champion. Regardless of the outcome, Ding Liren has secured his place among the greatest names in modern chess. Written by Milan Dinic A piece about the Challenger, Gukesh D, is coming next week