FIDE Newsletter October 2017

World Chess Championship for the Disabled

World Chess Championship for the Disabled was held in Dresden (Germany) from 5th to 13th of October.

Official website: www.worldchess-disabled.com

Marcin Tazbir (Poland IBCA 1) won with a tiny margin ahead of Oliver Mueller (Germany IBCA Team). Both of them ended on 6 points and Tazbir edged ahead with on more Buchholz point. Third place went to Alexey Pakhomov (Russia IBCA Team) on 5.5 with one Buchholz Point ahead of Raphael Zimmer (Germany IPCA). As the current Junior Chess Championship of the Physically Disabled Raphael showed great strength in Dresden as well.



Oliver Mueller obtained a direct IM title thanks to placing second. He was just as surpised as well as delighted about the title.

Best female player was Svetlana Gerasimova (Russia IPCA) with 4 points. She also gained a direct WIM title. Second place went to Olga Gerasimova (Russia ICCD) with 3.5 points, third place went to Ljubov Kireeva (Russia ICCD, 3.5 points) who also got awarded an WIM norm thanks to her performance.

Looking at the teams Poland IBCA 1 won ahead of Russia IBCA 1 and Russia IPCA 1.

The overall winners are also the winners of the Blind Category. Placing first within the Deaf Players was Artur Kevorkov (Germany) and Raphael Zimmer (Germany) won the Physically Disabled Category.

During the price giving ceremony Phillip Gardner (ICCD President) thanked the players for very fair games and also congratulated the organising team on putting together another great championship. After the prize giving the playing of the national anthems of the countries of the winning player marked the emotional climax of the ceremony. Dr Dirk Jordan (President of the ZMDI) wished everyone safe journey home and hopefully a return visit to Dresden for the 1st World Chess Team Championship for the Disabled (14th – 21th October 2018).

FIDE World Youth Rapid & Blitz Championships 2017

The 1st FIDE World Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships for Boys and Girls U14, U16, U18 took place in Creta Maris, Hersonissos, Greece.

The short but action-packed event saw tough battles across all age categories and many medals were decided by a tiebreak "photo finish".

The closing ceremony was held on Monday at the Creta Maris Convention Centre. The cups and medals were awarded by ECU General Secretary Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, President of the Portugal Chess Federation Dominic Cross, Vice-President of the Greek Chess Federation Argyrios Kytharidis and Tournament Director Nikos Kalesis.

The Rapid Championship was played on 28-29th October as 9-round Swiss with time control 10'+5". 69 players from 20 federations took part in this event.

In the U14 category FM Ngo Duc Tri (Vietnam) emerged clear winner with 7,5 points. Silver is Nikolaos Spyropoulos (Greece), while bronze is FM Daniel Dardha (Belgium), both on 7 points.

Among the girls the best was Magdalena Harazinska (Poland) with 6 points. FM Liwia Jarocka, also from Poland, is second, and Larisa Kuhar (Slovenia) is third.

Vietnam also claimed the gold medal in the U16 category as IM Nguyen Anh Khoi scored the perfect 9/9 points. IM Adam Kozak (Hungary) is second and FM Felix Blohberger (Austria) is third, each with 7 points.

WFM Anna Afonasieva from Russia took the gold among girls with 5 points. Silver is Grete Olde (Estonia) and bronze is Antigoni Georgitsi (Greece).

In the U18 category there was a huge tie on the top position as three players finished on 6,5 points each and all three tiebreak criterions had to be employed in order to decide the final order. Gold medal goes to IM Leon Livaic (Croatia), silver is IM Florian Mesaros (Austria) and bronze goes to FM Raphael Lagunow (Germany).

The top girl was WIM Mai Narva (Estonia), second was Nguyen Hong Ngoc from Vietnam, while bronze medal goes to WFM Olde Margareth (Estonia).



The Blitz Championship was played on 30th October as 9-round Swiss with time control 5'+2". 63 players participated in this event.

In the Blitz U14 section convincing was FM Daniel Dardha from Belgium who scored 8 points. Bence Leszko (Hungary) took the silver medal and Elie Milikow (Israel) claimed the bronze.

Among the girls Magdalena Harazinska (Poland) was the best again with 5,5 points and her compatriot FM Liwia Jarocka was second again. Ramona Golsta (Latvia) earned the bronze medal.

The winner also repeated in the Open U16 section. Another gold medal for IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (Vietnam) and another silver for IM Adam Kozak (Hungary). Bronze medal is for Georgios Mitsis (Greece).

WFM Anna Afonasieva (Russia) is best among the girls with 4,5 points. Silver is Do Vu Thien Nhi (Vietnam) and Grete Olde (Estonia) took the bronze.

IM Valeriy Kazakovskiy from Belarus claimed the gold medal in U18 category. CM Le Minh Hoang (Vietnam) took the silver on better tie-break, while IM Florian Mesaros (Austria) remained third and is awarded with bronze medal.

All three winners among the girls finished on 4,5 points and tiebreak was calculated to distribute the medals. Estonia again won gold and bronze by WIM Mai Narva and WFM Olde Margareth, respectively, while silver went to WFM Paula-Alexandra Gitu from Moldova.

Photo Gallery

European ACP Women’s Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship

European ACP Women’s Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships were held in Monaco from 21 to 23 of October.

Final crosstable blitz

Final crosstable rapid

Ukrainian Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk became the European ACP Women’s Rapid Chess Champion for 2017. The event took place on 21st and 22nd October in Monaco.



Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2594 Rapid rtg) finished sole first with 9 points out of 11 games and without a lost game! Second place went to GM Lagno Kateryna (RUS, 2577 Rapid rtg) with 8.5 points, while WGM Goryachkina Aleksandra (RUS, 2462 Rapid rtg) took bronze with 8 points and better tie-breaks than 4th Guichard Pauline (FRA, 2285 Rapid rtg) and 5th Kosteniuk Alexandra (RUS, 2612 Rapid rtg) who had the same score of 8 point.



Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS, 2477 Blitz rtg) became the champion of the European ACP Women’s Blitz Chess Championship having scored 10.5 points out of 13. Kateryna Lagno (2611, Blitz rtg) took silver with 10 points. Valentina Gunina (RUS, 2550, Blitz rtg) won a bronze medal - 9.5 points.

The European ACP Women’s Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2017 were held in Monaco from 21 to 23 of October.

The Championship was strong with participation of 87 players in Rapid tournament and 78 players in Blitz competition. The top seeders for both events were former Women’s World Champion GM Kosteniuk Aleksandra (RUS, 2612 Rapid Rtg, 2477 Blitz rtg), last year’s Champion in both competitions GM Muzychuk Anna (UKR, 2594 Rapid rtg, 2663 Blitz rtg), former Women’s European Champions GM Gunina Valentina (RUS, 2577 Rapid rtg, 2550 Blitz rtg) and GM Lagno Kateryna (RUS, 2577 Rapid rtg, 2611 Blitz rtg), former Women’s World Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova (ECU, 2536 Rapid rtg, 2540 Blitz rtg), current European Champion GM Dzagnidze Nana (GEO, 2528 Rapid rtg, 2445 Blitz rtg) etc.

European Club Cup 2017

Official website: euroclubcup2017.tsf.org.tr

Both Championships were played in 7 rounds, under the Swiss system, in accordance with the ECU Tournament Rules and with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from the move one. The total prize fund of the event was 34.000 EUR.



The teams Globus from Russia in the Open section and Batumi Chess Club NONA in Women's section are the winners of the European Club Cup 2017, which was held in Antalya, Turkey, from 7th-15th October. The Winners accounted the top positions on the Starting rank list, with an amazing average rating, Globus - 2772 and Batumi Chess Club Nona- 2495. In the Open section, Globus finished sole first, the second place went to Alkaloid (MKD) and bronze to AVE Novy Bor (CZE).




In Women's section, Batumi Chess Club Nona and Odlar Yurdu tied for the first place, but thanks to the better tie-breaks Batumi Chess Club Nona finished with gold in their hands, Odlar Yurdu ended second, and third place went to Bossa Nova (BLR) who had better tiebreaks than Ugra Chess Club (RUS). 48 teams represented 24 European federations at the event, 36 teams in Open Section, and 12 teams in Women's section with Top World Grandmasters playing for their clubs, such as: Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, 2794), Mamedyarov Shakhriyar (AZE, 2791), Grischuk Alexander (RUS, 2785), Ding Liren (CHN. 2772), Karjakin Sergey (RUS, 2765), Giri Anish (NED, 2762), Matlakov Maxim (RUS, 2730), Harika Dronavalli (IND, 2528), Dzagnidze Nana (GEO, 2520), Girya Olga (RUS, 2505), Batsiashvili Nino (GEO, 2472), Pogonina Natalija (RUS, 2466) etc.

The 8th Asian Seniors Championships

The 8th Asian Seniors Championships were held at the Waipuna Conference Centre, Auckland, New Zealand from 9-15 October 2017, organised by the New Zealand Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation.



GM Eugene Torre of the Philippines scored 9/9 to win the Gold Medal in the 65+ Championship, finishing two and a half points ahead of New Zealand FM Ewen Green (Silver) and Edmundo Legaspi (Bronze) also of the Philippines. Green (second on tiebreak) and Legaspi (third) both scored 6.5/9 and gain IM norms. Fifteen players from six federations participated in the event, namely Australia, Brunei, Guam, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand - See http://chess-results.com/tnr306821.aspx.

IM Mahmood Lodhi of Pakistan scored 7/9 to win the Gold Medal in the 50+ Championship, finishing ahead of Australian GM Darryl Johansen (Silver Medal), New Zealand FM Bruce Watson (Bronze Medal) and Efren Bagamasbad of the Philippines. Lodhi gains a GM norm and, with two norms already and having achieved a 2500 rating some years ago, should be awarded his GM title shortly, subject to FIDE approval. Watson gains an IM norm and it is recommended that Bagamasbad, who defeated both Lodhi and Johansen, be awarded the FM title, subject to approval by FIDE. Thirty player from eight federations, namely Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Singapore, participated in the event. See http://chess-results.com/tnr306820.aspx 

CM Helen Milligan of New Zealand scored 4.5/9 to win the Asian Senior Women’s 50+ Championship.

The Championships were organised by IO Paul Spiller (NZL). Tournament Director was GM Murray Chandler (NZL). Chef Arbiter was IA Brian Jones (AUS). Arbiters were IA Bruce Pollard (NZL), FA Ying Wang (NZL) and FA Herakaji Maharjan (NEP). Wang and Maharjan gained IA norms. The Championships were played in a good spirit – there were no disputes and no appeals.

European Team Chess Championship 2017

European Team Chess Championship took place in Crete (Greece).



The Championship from 27th of October to 7th of December in Conference center of Creta Maris resort. 72 teams participate the event and makes the European Team Chess Championship 2017 one of the most numerous ever! 40 teams are competing in Open section and 32 teams in Women's section. The total number of players is 198 in Open section, among whom are 138 Grandmasters and 35 IMs, which is making the event one of the strongest ever! 158 players are playing in Women's section, among whom are 138 International title holders- 13 GMs, 33 WGMs, 31 IMs and 24 WIMs.



Azerbaijan and Russia win European Team Chess Championships 2017

Teams of Azerbaijan and Russia became the European Team Chess Champions for 2017 in Open and Women's section respectively.

Official website: http://www.euroteams2017.com/en/ 

Panamerican Senior Chess Championship 2017

Panamerican Senior Chess Championship 2017 took place in Neiva, Huila, Colombia from 10th to 16th of October.

IM Jefferson Pelikan from Brasil became the winner of the championship in U-50 category. FM Pedro Rodruguez Rivera from Cuba took the silver medal, while FM Carlos Ramirez from Colombia was third.

GM Silvino Garcia Martinez from Cuba became the champion In U-65 category. Leonardo Prado from Colombia was second and IM Mario Leskovar from Argentina finished on third place.

Final Standings