Σκακιστικά νέα

Hikaru Nakamura announced he will have a special announcement today before the start of Titled Tuesday. The announcement was scheduled for 16:55 when exactly 6.000 viewers joined to hear what Hikaru has to say. Showing a short video, Nakamura announced he joins Misfits Gaming as an influencer and content creator. Misfits Gaming is a global esports and entertainment company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The website of the company crashed as Nakamura announced the big news.

Ding Liren is now on his way to Madrid where he will participate in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022. Many chess fans were alarmed whether he will be on time for the opening ceremony and round 1, as the current pandemic lockdown could ruin his plans. His departure is late and chances are he will be jetlagged for the first rounds, but it is still a good news for the tournament that Ding Liren is on his way.

The 30th edition of the Heart of Finland Chess Open / Nordic Open Chess Championship will be held from 18-24 July 2022 in Jyväskylä.

Peter Heine Nielsen, the Deputy FIDE President candidate of Andrii Baryshpolets, criticizes the sponsor of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020/2021 and FIDE Online Olympiad. “The sponsor of the 2020/2021 Candidates tournament, the FIDE Online Olympiad, sponsor of 2 Russian World Championship challengers, sponsor of the Russian Chess Federation and honorary guest at numerous FIDE events sends his greetings: #FIDEMustCondemn” says Peter Heine Nielsen.

Western Asia Youth Chess Championship 2022 will take place from 15-23 June in the Maldives. The event features: Rapid, Blitz, and Classical championships, played in 6 age categories: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, open and girls sections separately. Around 150 players registered for the event, representing federations belonging to FIDE zones 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.7. (scroll down for starting rank list of participants)

The major international website Chess24.com published an extensive preview of the Candidates Tournament 2022. “We’ve got Judit Polgar and Jan Gustafsson commentating live on all 14 rounds, with the likes of David Howell and Magnus himself set to join from time to time,” comment from Chess24, who will cover the Candidates live.

Although we have a dream line-up, the qualification for the Candidates was not without controversy.

New South Wales Chess Association organized the 2022 NSW Open from 11-13 June in Strathfield – a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney. The event attracted more than 100 entries who competed in 7 swiss rounds for a total prize fund of $8.500.

Tremendous heat is expecting the participants in the 2022 Candidates Tournament. Madrid temperatures are expected to stay around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Farenheit) at least through the first week of the event. Chess fans speculate it is exactly the Candidates Tournament tension that rises the temperatures in the city, but Accuweather specifies that the reason is movement of air masses from North Africa.

The most anticipated event of 2022 – the FIDE Candidates Chess 2022 starts in three days, taking place in Madrid from June 16 – July 7. It is an 8 player double round robin qualification event for the World Championship Match later this year. The field with an average rating of 2771.9 is headed by world number 2 – Ding Liren.

ChessFest returns to Trafalgar Square this July, bigger and better than before. The UK’s largest one-day chess event is aimed at anyone who loves or wants to learn chess, and is completely free of charge. Taking place at London’s iconic Trafalgar Square this year’s event marks the 50th anniversary of the 1972 World Chess Championship match between the American, Bobby Fischer and the Soviet, Boris Spassky.