Latest news with #Fide
Spectator
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Spectator
World Rapid and Blitz Teams
It was a treat to see so many of the world's top players in London for the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships last week. Now in its third edition, the event has an unusual format, in which teams of six must include one female player and one rated below 2000 (roughly, a strong club player). That drew a sociable mix of teams, including traditional clubs, both from the UK and abroad, some national teams, and some teams with corporate sponsorship. My team, Malcolm's Mates (Malcolm Pein is the federation's international director), had a considerable overlap with the English national team, with additional strong players from abroad. But we were knocked out of the blitz event by WR Chess, whose team of superstars (including the reigning world blitz champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, as well as Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja) went on to win the whole thing. In the final round of the rapid event, we were beaten by the winning team MGD1, named after the Indian chess management firm whose star player is 21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi, currently ranked fourth in the world. Perhaps the most beautiful game of the event was the one below, in which Erigaisi was beaten by Viswanathan Anand. The former world champion, now the deputy president of Fide, remains a formidable player at the age of 55 and represented the team Freedom, who also sponsored Fide's individual World Rapid and Blitz event in New York last year. Anand joked later that the game made him feel like a one-trick pony, referring to the similarity with his celebrated game against Levon Aronian at Wijk aan Zee, 2013, in which his bishops also bore down on the white kingside with decisive effect. Arjun Erigaisi-Viswanathan Anand Fide World Rapid Team, London 2025 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 e3 Be7 5 b3 O-O 6 Bd3 c5 7 O-O Nc6 8 Bb2 cxd4 9 exd4 Nb4 10 Be2 b6 11 Nc3 Bb7 12 Rc1 dxc4 13 bxc4 Rc8 14 Ne5 Nd7 15 Nxd7 Qxd7 16 d5 Rfd8 16…exd5 17 a3 Nc6 18 Nxd5 leaves the knight well placed in the centre. 17 a3 Na6 18 Ne4 Energetic play. In case of 18…exd5, Erigaisi might have been tempted by 19 Qd4 Bf8 20 Nf6+ gxf6 21 Rc3, when the threats of Rc3-g3+ and Qd4xf6 pose severe problems. Nc5 19 Qd4 f6 20 Nxc5 Bxc5 21 Qg4 f5 Now 21…exd5 22 Qxd7 Rxd7 23 Bg4 wins rook for bishop. Opening the long diagonal for the Bb2 looks risky, but Anand has lined up a nimble counterattack. 22 dxe6 Qe7 23 Qxf5 Rd2 24 Bd3 g6 25 Qe5 (see diagram) Walking into Anand's trap. It was time to bail out with 25 Qf7+ Qxf7 26 exf7+ Kxf7 27 Bc2 when Black's active pieces provide ample compensation for the pawn, so the game remains balanced. Rxb2!! Forced, as White was threatening mate, but also the start of a dazzling combination. 26 Qxb2 Qg5 27 g3 The f-pawn is pinned by the Bc5, so f2-f3 was impossible, but now the light squares around the king are fatally weakened. Qg4! This wonderful quiet move had to be seen by Anand far in advance. The chief threat is Qg4-f3, while 28 Qe2 is met by Bf3 with Qg4-h3 to follow. 28 Qf6 Rf8 Yet again, the only winning move. 29 e7 Rxf6 30 e8=Q+ Rf8 31 Qe2 Bf3 White resigns
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Goa likely to be named Chess World Cup host
Bengaluru: Goa is likely to be announced as the host of the Chess World Cup, scheduled to take place in India later this year, HT has learnt. The October 31-November 27 tournament was originally supposed to be held in New Delhi. HT understands that after concerns over Delhi hosting the event arose, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Goa were considered as alternate venue options. Goa has now emerged as the preferred choice. 'There are some opinions from players and the chess community. Many players (had) different places, and I told them that let's try to do something new. Not repeating New Delhi, but doing it in some new location. So why not? It is good,' Fide president Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters in Stavanger a few days ago. India previously hosted a Fide World Cup over two decades ago. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand had won that edition held in Hyderabad in 2002. One of Fide's flagship competitions, the World Cup, a knockout tournament held once every two years, will have 206 players participating. With a prize fund of around $2 million, the World Cup that Goa is set to host is particularly significant for the World Championship cycle. So far only one player – Fabiano Caruana of USA, has booked a spot in next year's eight-player, double round-robin Candidates tournament that will decide the challenger to reigning world champion Gukesh in the 2026 match. Of the seven remaining spots, three will be decided at the World Cup and will go to players who finish in the top three. In the previous edition of the World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2023, R Praggnanandhaa had made a historic run to the final – the first Indian player to do so after Anand. He lost to eventual champion, world No 1 Carlsen but had earned a spot in the Candidates for his performance.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chess: Carlsen scores record nine out of nine at Grenke Freestyle Open
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, soared to a new landmark in chess history last weekend, when the 34-year-old won all his nine games in the Grenke Freestyle Open at Karlsruhe, Germany. It was a result comparable to the great historical performances. Bobby Fischer won the 1963-64 US Championship with an 11/11 'picket fence', then defeated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6-0 in the 1971 Candidates. Anatoly Karpov triumphed at Linares 1994 with an 11-2 total, while further back the yardstick performance was Alexander Alekhine's 14-1 at San Remo 1930. Related: Chess: Carlsen scores in Paris, leads Freestyle Grand Slam after two events However, Fide does not officially rate Freestyle chess, in which the back rank pieces have randomised starting positions. It is also known as Fischer Random, Chess 960, and Chess 9LX. It was a remarkable victory in physical terms. Carlsen came direct to Grenke from his victory in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam, and was fatigued by the two-rounds-a-day schedule. His laconic post-victory comment was: 'I'm not going to do that again, that's for sure!' He relied on grinding technique for many of his wins, but scored in a complex battle against the eight-time French champion Étienne Bacrot, who asked Carlsen for a selfie before the start. Carlsen's final-round win against Vincent Keymer, the 20-year-old who has emerged as his main Freestyle rival, was also a tense struggle until the young German blundered in time pressure with an unsound knight sacrifice. Superior clock handling has been a key to Carlsen's success. He understands the sometimes chaotic Freestyle openings faster and deeper than his opponents. The Grenke event produced a world record entry of 3,000 players, 500 up on 2024 and double the highest US total of 1500 at the 1986 World Open in Philadelphia. A drone's eye view of the multiple playing halls shows the scale of the vast operation. Just a day after Grenke, Carlsen was in action again, winning the late version of online Titled Tuesday. However, the Norwegian was upstaged in the early version, where the 13-year-old Turkish prodigy, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, became the youngest ever winner of this highly competitive event. neglected to mention Erdogmus in its headline, but the teenager's impressive result was underlined by his strong performance in the Grenke Freestyle Open, where Erdogmus drew with three 2700+ opponents and totalled 7/11. Next Monday is the eighth and final episode of BBC Two's Chess Masters: The Endgame, when the four finalists, Richie, Kel, Thalia and Lula, will decide the winner. Episode seven proved a disappointment in audience numbers, supplied by Broadcast, which dropped to 535,000 and 4% of the total viewers. Perhaps it was an effect of the Easter holiday. The highlight was a three board simultaneous performance by the prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan (seen here in action at an earlier simul in Harrow), in which the opponent she checkmated the fastest was eliminated. If the semi-finals and final were a normal tournament with head-to-head pairings, Kel, who has an excellent record in Manchester weekend events, would be the favourite, but according to the BBC's advance clip the challenge will also involve solving tactical puzzles. It was different in BBC Two's The Master Game of the 1970s and 80s, when Karpov, the then world champion, was twice the top seed and the other grandmasters knew that to succeed they had to defeat the Russian … 3969: 1…Qh3+ 2 Ke1 (2 Kg1 Qg2 or Nf3 mate) Ng2+ 3 Kf1 Ne3++ 4 Ke1 Qf1+! 5 Rxf1 Ng2 mate.
Hindustan Times
10-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Fide suspends US GM Christopher Yoo after woman player accuses him of harassment
Bengaluru: Months after being handed a one-year domestic ban from competition by the US Chess Federation for assaulting a female videographer, 18-year-old American Grandmaster Christopher Yoo has been placed under a provisional 60-day suspension by the Fide Ethics and Disciplinary Commission following a recent harassment complaint filed by a female player. The player in question spoke to HT about the incidents that led her to file complaints with the US federation and Fide. HT is in possession of a copy of the formal complaint as well as screenshots of a conversation between the complainant and Yoo, who is the junior world No.14. 'It started after the Grenke Open (held in April), at a party where there were several players, including Christopher,' the female player told HT. 'We met there. He asked us for some group pictures. We accepted. During the party, I found his behaviour uncomfortable. The day after, he messaged me, so I blocked him on social media. At the Sardinia World Chess Festival (April 26-May 4), while I was having lunch with friends at the hotel restaurant, he approached us out of nowhere, spoke to us uninvited, and suddenly caught my hand while I was eating.' 'On Saturday, May 3, after lunch, he followed my friends and me to our room area. I went into my room and shut the door. He stayed outside, knocking several times and even said 'housekeeping' through the door. He stayed there for 10 minutes before leaving. He also touched my shoulder on another occasion. None of this was welcome or appropriate. My friends repeatedly asked him to leave us alone, but he didn't stop.' The complainant also said that Yoo berated her, remarking that he doesn't respect players who are lower rated: 'Your brain doesn't know how to move the knight.' Yoo later apologised to the player for following her and knocking on her hotel room door, admitting his behaviour was 'over the line'. She called herself 'lucky' to have been surrounded by friends throughout the tournament and shuddered to think what might have happened if she had been alone. 'At a certain point, I couldn't walk around the resort on my own without fear of running into him.' Women in chess have long suffered from predatory behaviour, and this incident once again highlights the issue of their safety in the sport. 'I was 11 when I was harassed for the first time,' the female complainant said. 'It was my chess trainer. I didn't realise what was happening or its gravity until I was a young teen or adult.' Calling Yoo's behaviour 'dangerous', the complainant welcomed Fide's decision. 'It's great that they have taken the complaint seriously. I think temporary bans are quite rare.' The player's account was corroborated to HT by an International Master who was with the complainant, along with a few other friends, at the Sardinia tournament. 'I was there and I saw how uncomfortable Christopher made her feel, and the sort of pressure he was putting on her – like touching her and following her to her room,' said the IM. 'At one point, he joined us at the bar where some of us (including the complainant) were having a drink. We asked him to leave because we were not comfortable with his behaviour towards her, but he just refused.' Yoo won the tournament with an impressive 7.5/9 and a 2753 performance rating, crossing 2600 Elo for the second time. Fide said Yoo's suspension 'stems from two separate complaints alleging violations of the Fide Ethics and Disciplinary Code: Case 5/2025 (A), filed by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), and an additional recent complaint,' which is under investigation by the EDC. On November 14, 2024, the US Chess Federation imposed a one-year ban on Yoo, prohibiting him from participating in any tournaments under its auspices. The sanction also included a five-year probationary period extending through November 14, 2030. 'Under Article 26.12 of the Fide Charter, national sanctions may be extended internationally if a member federation requests it and if the decision complies with fundamental legal principles and fair trial standards. In line with this, the USCF formally submitted a request for Fide to recognize and globally enforce its ban, pursuant to Article 4.15 of the Fide Ethics Code. This request remains under investigation.' 'Both GM Yoo and the USCF have been formally notified of this decision. The suspension may be extended if a final resolution is not reached within the initial 60-day period.'
Straits Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao eyes next milestone after winning regional title
SINGAPORE – Buoyed by an unprecedented triumph, Singapore's chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao has now set his sights on more breakthroughs as he seeks to climb up the world ranking. On May 1, the 24-year-old became the first Singaporean to win the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. On the same day, he also became the first from the Republic to cross the 2,600 mark in Elo rating – a measurement of a player's ability. Tin, whose rating was 2,597 before his triumph, is now on 2,601 following the International Chess Federation (Fide)'s monthly update. After completing all nine of his games, Tin was tied on seven points with home favourites Uurtsaikh Agibileg and Sugar Gan-Erdene, having garnered five wins and four draws. But the 24-year-old was declared champion after applying the tiebreak rule, which hands the advantage to the player who had faced opponents with higher ratings. Tin, who topped a 54-player field which included some of the region's top players, had previously finished tied-third (2021) and tied-fourth (2023) at the Championship. When contacted, Singapore's highest-ranked player at world No. 168 expressed elation to have finally crossed the 2,600 mark, adding: 'I hope it can inspire and motivate our local players to show them that it is a very possible thing to do… 'Show them that it's possible to compete (at that level) as long as you put in the right amount of work and not to be afraid or intimidated by these other players. 'The upcoming events will likely be tougher than the one I just finished, so the main goal for myself would be to play some good chess and gain some rating, move up the world ladder in terms of Elo and hopefully break into the top 100 by the end of this year.' The win in Mongolia also earned him a spot at the Fide World Cup, which is set to be held in New Delhi from Oct 31 to Nov 27. 'The World Cup is actually one of my favourite events, because I think the format is very exciting, which is a knockout format compared to the normal Swiss format,' added 'It's my third World Cup and my goal is to do better than the previous two,' added the final-year National University of Singapore computing student, who had exited in the first round in 2021 and reached the third round in 2023. Tin will next travel to the United Arab Emirates with compatriot and fellow grandmaster Siddharth Jagadeesh to compete at the Asian Individual Championships (May 6-16), Sharjah Masters (May 17-25) and Dubai Open (May 26-June 5). Singapore chess grandmaster Siddharth Jagadeesh is going through a slump, with his Elo rating dropping from 2525 to 2472. PHOTO: MONGOLIAN CHESS FEDERATION Siddharth, who finished 18th in Mongolia, has been suffering a dip in form since June 2024, a month after becoming Singapore's fifth and youngest grandmaster, with his Elo rating dropping from 2,525 to 2,472. The 18-year-old said of his slump: 'Of course it doesn't feel great and I hope that I can get out of it soon. 'The schedule is definitely very busy, and it's quite tiring. I'm quite a bit below my peak ranking, my target is to gain some points.' Singapore Chess Federation chief executive Kevin Goh lauded Tin's triumph, saying: 'I think Jingyao's win at the zone championship really means a lot to Singapore chess, given that we've never had a Singaporean achieve this result. 'Maybe it's also because we don't have any full-time professional chess players in the country… Even (though) Jingyao himself is a student, it shows that with enough focus and effort, it is possible for a Singaporean to do well at a high level event. 'A lot of his success is down to his own motivation, his drive to improve and what the SCF does is to give him that extra push.' Goh will join Tin and Siddarth when they compete at the World Rapid and Blitz Teams Championships in London in June. Tin believes that doing well at the team event will be a good sign ahead of the SEA Games, which will be held in Thailand from Dec 9 to 20. He added: '(The format is) identical but one thing that's different, is the type of opposition that we will be getting at the SEA Games versus at the World Rapid and Blitz, where it is an international event where players are fighting for a world title, and we have pretty face the best in the world. 'The competition is quite different and perhaps it'll be more of a gauge for ourselves, of course, if we do well, it will give us a great confidence boost before the SEA Games.' Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
