World Blitz Championship: Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi share gold; Ju Wenjun triumphs in Women’s Blitz
The 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship concluded with high drama, as Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi shared the Open title after an intense tiebreak match, while Ju Wenjun clinched the Women’s Blitz crown by defeating Lei Tingjie in the final. As Asia and Europe were celebrating the arrival of 2025, on the other side of the Atlantic 16 Grandmasters – eight in the Open and eight in the Women’s competition – were fighting in the knockout stages of the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship, sponsored by Freedom Holding. The 2024 FIDE World Blitz championship showcased some of the fiercest battles in recent memory. The knockout stages featured 16 of the world’s top Grandmasters—eight in each category—competing through quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals to determine the champions. Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi share glory The defending Blitz champion Magnus Carlsen started the day with an early loss to Hans Niemann, but then overcame him and raced by Jan-Krzystof Duda to reach the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Ian Nepomniachtchi displayed strength and resilience, defeating newly crowned Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin and outlasting Wesley So in a tense semifinal tiebreak. In the final, Carlsen was on the brink of victory after taking a 2-0 lead in a four-game match. Nepomniachtchi, however, mounted a dramatic comeback, winning the next two games in style, to level the score. The ensuing tiebreaks featured three razor-sharp, exhausting battles, with neither player able to gain a decisive advantage with the score standing at 3.5:3.5. At this point, Carlsen stood up and publicly suggested to his opponent that they propose to split the crown. After some thought, Nepomniachtchi accepted. The two approached the Chief Arbiter and explained their view – arguing they were both tired and had shown they were levelled. “If we continued, either side would have won because of exhaustion, and that would have been cruel on both of us,” Carlsen later explained. In line with the Regulations of the event that allow the FIDE President to make the final decision in unforeseen circumstances (Tournament regulations, Scope, 1.4), the request was sent to Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich. The FIDE President accepted the proposal, and it was agreed that the two will share first place, without a silver medal being awarded. In the press conference, Carlsen reflected on the decision: “I believe the audience could understand that we were both very tired and nervous. Some people are going to like this; some people are not. It is what it is.” Nepomniachtchi expressed satisfaction with the outcome: “It was a long and exhausting match where I had to make a comeback after losing two games.” Ju Wenjun prevails in all-Chinese Women’s final The Women’s Blitz Championship was equally gripping, culminating in an all-Chinese showdown between reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie (who in 2023 unsuccessfully challenged Ju for the world crown in classical chess). Ju dominated the early rounds, defeating defending Blitz champion Valentina Gunina in the quarterfinals and overcoming India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu in the semifinals. Lei, by contrast, faced a tougher path, narrowly defeating Bibisara Assaubayeva in the quarterfinals and requiring tiebreaks to edge out Kateryna Lagno in the semis. The final match between Ju and Lei stretched to five grueling games, all of which ended in draws. In the second game of the tiebreak, Ju, playing with White, capitalized on an opening advantage and gradually increased the pressure, forcing Lei’s resignation and securing the title. Ju expressed her gratitude and humility after the win: “We both played very well, and I was lucky. This tournament has been both challenging and exciting.” A historic championship Apart from the results, the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship introduced several novelties. Not only was the format changed to introduce a knockout competition, making the tournament more gripping, but this is also the first modern FIDE tournament to span across two years – starting in 2024 and ending with most of the world in 2025. Combining high stakes, elite chess, and festive spirit, the hall at 55 Cipriani on Wall Street offered a fitting stage for a thrilling end to the year in which FIDE celebrated its first centenary. Combining elite chess, festive spirit, and new milestones, the tournament has left fans with much to remember—and debate—in the years to come. Written by Milan Dinic Photos: Lennart Ootes and Michal Walusza All the information about the event, including results, news, images and regulations are available on the official event webpage: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com The full schedule of the event is available here: Schedule – 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Follow live commentary by Grandmasters and special guests on FIDE’s official YouTube Channel, starting on the 26th: FIDE chess – YouTube.
In memory of David Bronstein on the 100th anniversary of his birth
Today is 100 years since the birth of David Bronstein. David Bronstein was an outstanding grandmaster, and yet – a unique case for a man who almost became world champion – his immediate contribution to popularizing chess is no less important. Bronstein authored several great books. Along with Zurich-1953 (written for the most part by his senior friend and mentor Boris Vainstein), I would mention the remarkable “200 Open Games”. And how many wonderful and memorable articles he wrote how many insightful predictions! Judge for yourself: In his essays “On the Way to the Electronic Grandmaster” and “Chess of the Third Millennium”, Bronstein predicted much of modern computer and online chess, albeit in the terminology of 1978 (the book “A Beautiful and Furious World”, co-authored with Smolyan). “…A chess player would use a machine to extensively analyze the variants chosen based on his knowledge and intuition to test strategic ideas and control errors. It would have added at least 500 points on the professor A. Elo’s rating scale.” Photo: Eric Koch pour Anefo — Dutch National Archives, The Hague “Today, we don’t know any chess player, including the world champion, who, having made the first move, can recite all possible variations as he sees them on a tape recorder. But if the best chess players in the world were contesting with a microphone, everyone would hear how beautifully they think. However, FIDE is clueless that by organizing tournaments of talking grandmasters, the federations would gather an appreciative audience of millions. (In this case, you can’t hide your own helplessness behind other people’s moves.) Masters could use television technology to speak to the public in the language of chess symbols in such tournaments. Such a game, among other things, would remove certain inferiority from those playing since the public considers an unexpected move for themselves as a surprise for the grandmaster as well. And with closer contact, the audience would fantasize less and penetrate deeper into highly skilled and creative thinking.” “It is likely that some publisher will release a game of ‘Chess Tests’ in time. Different positions will pop out of a box for a certain amount of time, while a counter will indicate a score depending on the quickness of the solution choice.” Photo credit: D. Prants, via https://muis.ee “The Chess House Central Machine Service will appear, and you can join the computer by telephone and play with it if you like – the whole family. After the game, the computer will send you, along with your energy bill, a copy of the game.” Bronstein was a pioneer in many ways, and it is a pity that he did not become world champion. I think many of his original ideas would have received a much broader appeal. A pupil of Alexander Konstantinopolsky (by a funny coincidence, also born on February 19), he stood out both in his playing style and opening repertoire. Bronstein, along with Boleslavsky, is credited with introducing the King’s Indian Defense to the top competitive level. Thanks to them, the opening was for some time called the “Ukrainian Defence”, as two friends – Bronstein from Kyiv and Boleslavsky from Dnepropetrovsk – who had worked together since their youth, actually brought this opening into the highest tournament level. “Devik”, as he was called, played with great panache sacrificing pawns and pieces. The trajectory of his rise was very steep. Who knows how his fate and chess history would have turned out had he preserved the lead in the title match with Botvinnik in 1951? It was 11.5:10.5 on the scoreboard with just two games to play, and all he needed was not to lose. If Bronstein had held on then, many things would have been different. Having become vice-champion at 27, Bronstein could not overcome the shock of missing this chance. For another fifteen years after the match, he played at a high level and, most importantly, was bursting with ideas. Rapid chess is also Bronstein’s brainchild and even time increment called Fischer’s was originally spotted by Bronstein in Shogi, and only then, slightly modified, was adapted in chess. There were many other things: his books, where truth is mixed with fantasy but permeated with love for chess, different engaging formats, etc. Gradually, he got older; his marvelous ideas interspersed with eccentric ones, and more and more often, David reminisced about to the 1951 title match he had failed to win. This indelible bitterness was present in many of his late speeches and articles. It was felt in talks with him as well. I had a chance to talk to the legendary veteran quite a bit and even received a compliment from him during a game with van Wely (1997). After I made a subtle move, Bronstein, who hung around the table for a long time, waited for me to stand up, took me under the elbow and said in a loud whisper: “You’re playing 21st-century chess!” Photo: Anne Fürstenberg He was an eccentric, one-of-a-kind person who talked a lot, sometimes even losing his interlocutor’s attention. Bronstein gushed out most of his interesting ideas in his younger years. David lived a long life, but he was the kind of person who gave out almost the entire stock in the first half of the journey. Still, this alone more than suffices for a place in any chess pantheon. He loved chess passionately into his old age. David loved talking about it. He loved experimenting. He continued to play in tournaments even in his 70s. Bronstein always had a lot of fans, and the organizers opened doors for him. Was he a wise man as the artist portrayed him? Probably not. He was a man capable of thinking up countless original ideas. Sometimes paradoxical. Sometimes deliberately provocative. But they were brilliant and had far-reaching consequences. He was always in the limelight, no matter what he did, whether it was his brilliant play and top-level skills of a practical player, an array of ideas in the King’s Indian, Dutch,
Monaco Chess Club: Rich history and honourable traditions
On the rest day at the Candidates Tournament in Monte-Carlo, FIDE Press Officer WGM Andreea Navrotescu visited the local chess club. Here is her story. Today, the 27th of October, was the first rest day at the Women’s Candidates Pool A tournament. The real question is: what should you do as a professional chess player during a rest day? There is probably a no good or bad answer to this question – some players would just relax while others would take advantage of the rest day to prepare even more. What I did today, however, was a visit to the local chess club (an easy choice since I am not playing). I discovered a lot of real gems for a chess fan, and I’m taking you with me! My private guide, Jean-Michel Rapaire, who also happens to be the president of the Monaco chess club, explained that they had been renting their current place since 2008 and that it is a multipurpose space (chess classes are given during the week and on some weekends Monaco hosts French league games). Once we entered the club, I was amazed to see all these relics, including framed pictures, letters from the Monaco Prince himself, magazines, as well as objects of every kind related to chess. The true gem of the collection is Fidel Castro’s chessboard (!!) from the 1966 Olympiad in La Havana. Jean-Michel also spoke about the long-lasting tradition of the Monaco Chess Club participating in the highest-level team competitions. As a fun fact, Jean-Michel said that after the Monaco team won the French League in 2001, he promised the team to double the volume of the champagne bottle… Which seemed to have worked wonders as motivation since they won again in 2002! We can also thank Monaco for establishing the European Small Nations Association (ESNA). Since small such as Andorra, Monaco, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, Guernsey, Jersey, Liechtenstein and San Marino have active chess live, they compete in ESNA Individual and Team Championships. This tie is from the 2013 ESNA Team Championship and represents all the nations-members. Monaco has always been extremely supportive of women’s chess, having organized various female Grand-Prix stages (2015 and 2019). It seems to have paid off: Monaco team took eight titles at the European Club Cup and won the French Female League three years ago, in 2019. Players such as Pia Cramling, Humpy Koneru, Muzychuk sisters (does that remind you of some tournament?), Almira Skripchenko are true staples of team Monaco. All we can wish for the players is to give their best in such a place full of history. The third games of the quarterfinals will start on October 28 at 15:00 CET, so stay tuned!
Missing FIDE President: Investigation by FIDE Historical Committee
In 1939, the FIDE GA met in Buenos Aire during the Olympiad. Because of the uncertainty regarding a possible World War, Paraguay’s delegate came up with a motion to replace the FIDE President, Dr Rueb, with the President of the Argentina Chess Federation. The motion was accepted by a huge majority of the delegates but never implemented. Eighty-two years later, the President of the Argentina Chess Federation asked FIDE to rewrite history and list Mr De Muro as the second FIDE President. An investigation has been made by the FIDE Historical Committee, which has concluded that according to FIDE Statutes from that time, the FIDE GA had the power to take the decision to replace Dr Rueb. Before taking the final decision, the FIDE Council has asked the FIDE Office to publish all documents concerning the above-mentioned case. If anyone has unpublished documents or has a justified counter-opinion, please contact the FIDE Office at at office@fide.com by January 10, 2023. Here is a full list of related documents: Letter to the FC by Willy Iclicki (docx) Investigation by Sergio Ernesto Negri and Juan Sebastián Morgado (docx) Letter by Herman Hamers (docx) FIDE Statutes 1925 (pdf) General Assembly Agenda 1939 (jpg) Letter to Federations 1939 (jpg) Mario Petrucci FADA President Letter to the FIDE President (pdf) Text Francais (jpg) Torneo Naciones Poster (jpg) XVI Congress Report (jpg) Chapter 34 – September 1939 (jpg) Augusto De Muro – President (jpg) First Session GA 1939 – Spanish (jpg) Olympiad 1939 – Final Stanings (jpg)
Nikolai Krogius (1930-2022)
Nikolai Vladimirovich Krogius passed away in New York at the age of 91. A strong grandmaster, International Arbiter, coach, and former FIDE Vice-President, he was also known as a pioneer in chess psychology and a talented author. Born in 1930 in Saratov, Krogius picked up chess during World War II. A late boomer by Soviet standards, he progressed slowly but surely and reached his first USSR final in 1958. He made his international debut in 1960, tying for first place with Nikola Padevsky in Varna (1960). Following his excellent performance in Sochi (1963 – 3-4th and 1964 – 1st place) Krogius was awarded a grandmaster title. Nikolai Vladimirovich earned his doctorate in psychology and specialized in sports psychology. From the late 1960s, Krogius combined active tournament play with coaching and helped Boris Spassky in his duels with Tigran Petrosian and Robert Fischer. From 1970 to 1980, he worked at Saratov State University as a senior lecturer, associate professor, and, since 1978, as head of the psychology department. By the mid-1970s, Krogius shifted away from active tournament play (participating only in occasional lower-level events) and switched to writing and administrative work. He was the captain of the USSR team for the USSR vs Rest of the World match in London (1984) and served as Vice-President of the USSR Chess Federation. Krogius returned to active tournament play at the senior level in the 1990s and tied for the title at the World Senior Championship at Bad Wildbad (1993), scoring 8.5/11. A prolific author, Krogius thoroughly researched the psychology of the chess game in his books and articles. Penned with Lev Alburt, his book “Just the Facts! Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume” (2001) won a prestigious CJA award. FIDE extends its sincere condolences to Nikolai Krogius’ family, friends, and loved ones. Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky and 64 – Chess Review magazine archive
Alexander Nikitin (1935-2022)
Alexander Nikitin passed away. We will remember him as an outstanding coach, without whom Kasparov might not have become the great Kasparov. A strong International Master himself, Nikitin retired from chess at some point, concentrating on scientific research, but returned to the game he loved and became one of the most distinguished chess coaches in history. He met a very young Candidate Master Garik Kasparov back in 1974, and it became a turning point for both of them. Nikitin and Kasparov came a long way together and separated only at the beginning of the 1990s. Photo: RIA Novosti / V. Kalinin But there were great achievements after that as well. Dmitry Jakovenko, who was blessed to work with Nikitin from a very young age, made his way up to the world’s top-5. Nikitin also productively worked with the then-strongest junior in the world Etienne Bacrot. I remember playing a match with Etienne: after the final game was over, Nikitin came up on the stage and joined our postmortem analysis. I was the European Champion at the time; Bacrot was an up-and-coming young star rated 2650+, but this quiet elderly gent, aged 66, was on par with us. Alexander Nikitin was a good, worthy person. A man of principle, he was sometimes adamant but always correct. And, of course, he was a great coach. His students will tell you better about that. Rest in peace, Alexander Sergeyevich. Emil Sutovsky, FIDE Director General Top photo: Courtesy of Nikitin’s publisher Ilan Rubin
Yuri Averbakh (1922-2022)
The legendary Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh, who had celebrated his centenary in February, passed away in Moscow. Averbakh started to play chess at the age of seven, but it was just one more hobby for him during his first years, and he didn’t really take it seriously, with volleyball being his main interest. Then, in February 1935, he had the chance to meet the famous chess composer Nikolai Grigoriev, at a time when Moscow was hosting its second international chess tournament, with Capablanca, Lasker, Botvinnik, and many others. “Grigoriev gave a lecture in the club, showing some of his famous pawn studies. They made an enormous impression on me, and that was the first time I sensed that chess wasn’t simply a game but was something more, that it was an art. And I also had the urge to master that field. That’s how I got involved in chess.” Finally hooked on chess at the age of 13, his first great success came three years later when he won the Soviet Union’s championship for schoolchildren. However, his incipient career would come to a halt, along with most chess organized activity, due to the World War II. He was evacuated with all his school from Moscow to Izhevsk, barely avoided being recruited himself when he reached the required age, and he would only return to Moscow in 1943. Yuri Averbakh at the tournament in Ivanovo (1944) It was then that his career took off, gaining in strength until he won the Moscow Championship of 1949, ahead of a strong field that included Andor Lilienthal and Vladimir Simagin, among many others. This was his first major success and the beginning of a decade in which he became one of the top players in the world, probably one of the top-10 at his peak. He won the Moscow Championship again the next year, and in 1952 he earned the Grandmaster title – a title he has borne for almost 70 years! Averbakh finished 5th at the Stockholm Interzonal Tournament in 1952, qualifying for the legendary Zurich 1953 Candidates Tournament, where he finished in 10th place. The next year, in 1954, he became champion of the USSR, and in 1956 he was very close to repeating this feat, sharing 1st-3rd places with Taimanov and Spassky, and ending up in second place after a tie-break stage. In his collection of selected games, published by Cadogan, Averbakh says that he learned chess “the wrong way round”, becoming a strategist before he learned properly about tactics and combinations. A very solid player, pure attack players would often feel uncomfortable when playing against him: Rashid Nezhmetdinov, for instance, was only able to get one draw in the nine games they played. Photo: ERIC KOCH @ANEFO Averbakh reduced his competitive activities when he reached his forties, leaving behind numerous victories in international events all over the world, like Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro, Adelaide, and Vienna. His latest international success was the Rubinstein Memorial held in Polanica-Zdroj in 1975. He shifted then his interest from playing the game to studying the game. And in that, he was as successful, or even more, as he was as a player. “My investigative character forced me to make a serious study of the endgame, that phase of the game where individual pieces battle against each other. Initially, I published several articles and then thought about a book devoted to various types of endings.” His endeavour turned into a monumental work, the first systematic study of the endgame in history, published in five volumes. “So many generations grew up with Averbach that we stopped feeling the importance of what he did for chess,” said Emil Sutovsky, FIDE’s Director General. “Averbakhs’s Five Books have been studied by chess players of all levels for decades. And the wonderful book “Journey to the Chess Kingdom” co-authored by Michael Beilin has been read by hundreds of thousands of children, including many future strongest players in the world.” Tall and athletic, Averbakh was physically gifted from his youth, and he cultivated his body as much as his mind. Volleyball was the first sports activity he took up seriously, taking advantage of his height. He also loved hockey and skiing – two national passions in Russia. Not so well known is the fact that, for a short period, he was also a regular at the boxing ring. “In our yard, there was a club which was turned into a dormitory for workers. It was a real rabble, where a cult of strength reigned. Therefore, if you wanted to be equal in the yard, you had to be able to give as good as you got. That’s why I took up boxing for a year,” Averbakh said in an interview with Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili on the occasion of his 90th birthday. He was already a middle-aged man when he took swimming as a way to stay in shape. “I swam until very recently, having gone to the swimming pool from 1964 to 1996”. He would swim almost daily when he was already in his seventies and continued to do so until the doctors, worried about his pacemaker, told him to stop when he was already in his late eighties. “A healthy lifestyle with plenty of physical exercises is very important.” Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky While all this explains his longevity, it is very likely that keeping mentally active also played a huge role. He was one of those people who basically never retired and kept working as much as his health allowed. As late as 2016, he would still visit the Central Chess Club at Gogolevsky boulevard every Wednesday to meet with young talents and offer them advice. Averbakh was very fond of working with young people, but he also kept in mind the seniors and, with that intention, he found a chess centre in a library. “We were looking to attract older people to the game,” he explained in an interview with Dagobert Kohlmeyer. “They should not play in tough tournaments but rather spend their
Havana 1966 inspires Dubai 2021
After the table to be used in the match between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi was assembled and painted, FIDE shared on social media the first images of it. The table was placed inside a real-size mockup of the stage built in a warehouse outside the Expo, as part of an inspection and general rehearsal. In the past, the tables used in title matches had a starring role: many of them are still kept in museums, and a few others have been sold for a fortune to private collectors. However, their importance has diminished in recent years, probably due to the use of electronic boards. Now the board simply rests on top of the table instead of being an integral part of it. FIDE wanted to honour this tradition and restore the table to its former importance. The first idea was to build an exact replica of the legendary table used by Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in their 1972 match, which will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. That iconic piece was created by Icelandic furniture designer Gunnar Magnússon, to whom FIDE wanted to pay tribute. However, due to contractual obligations established half a century ago, building a replica was not possible. In view of this, the idea of creating a unique design for Dubai 2021 took form. FIDE’s media department did some research and discussed the matter with furniture designers. Some tables used in legendary matches, like the one from the 1985 world championship between Karpov and Kasparov housed at the chess museum in Moscow, were also examined. But the one taken as a main reference for the 2021 match was the table used at the 17th Chess Olympiad in Havana. Once the final piece was designed, the table went to production by PICO, the global brand activation agency providing its services at EXPO 2021. Two identical copies were produced, in a sleek black finish, with an armrest in white leather. The table also features a small space underneath where players can keep small items, like the snacks or energy bars that many of them consume during the game, without leaving them in plain sight.