The thrilling Candidates tournament ended in the first week of July. But, there’s hardly any post-Candidates gloom.
The world of chess is as busy as it was before the Candidates. In fact, there’s too much going on to wrap your head around in a glance.
So, here’s a quick view of the chess headlines of August happenings.
Chess News | What Happened In August
1. Firouzja Won The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2022
The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is one of the five tournaments of the Grand Chess Tour 2022. The other four are Superbet Chess Classic Romania, Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, and the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and Sinquefield Cup in the USA.
10 players who competed against each other in the Rapid & Blitz tournament:
- GM Alireza Firouzja
- GM Fabiano Caruana
- GM Levon Aronian
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
- GM Jeffery Xiong
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- GM Leinier Dominguez
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi
- GM Hikaru Nakamura
- GM Sam Shankland
Beginning on August 24, the event ended on the 31st. The event was divided into two segments–first, a three-day single round robin with rapid time control, and the second, a two-day double round robin with a blitz time control.
GM Alireza Firouzja became the blitz superstar by achieving 26 points out of a possible 36. He created a historical record with his undefeated 22-game streak. After winning this tournament, his FIDE blitz ratings increased by 107 points crossing the 2900-mark.
2. The Indian Prodigy, GM Praggnanandhaa, Defeated GM Carlsen at The FTX Crypto Cup Miami
The FTX Crypto Cup Miami 2022 was held between 15th to 21st Aug. The tournament takes place in a round-robin format with a total of eight players, and each player participates in 4 rapid games. The winner of the tournament receives a sum of $7500.
This year, the final round of the FTX Crypto Cup saw an interesting face-off between GMs Carlsen and GM Praggnanandhaa. Interestingly, the world champion tasted defeat in the tie-break.
However, GM Carlsen still won the tournament by achieving the highest score. This brought the Indian prodigy to the second position along with Alireza Firouzja (both had the same points).
Here’s how Carlsen congratulated GM Pragg on Twitter.
Fully deserved, after a performance that showed great resilience, determination, and quality. As for me, I am happy to (barely) be younger than the second and third place finishers combined https://t.co/xDxZEhzyBQ
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) August 22, 2022
3. GM Katerina Lagno Defeated the Defending Champion at the WSCC 2022
Beginning on July 13, the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship had its final round on 3rd Sept. The total number of participants was 14 without counting the two qualifiers. This online event has rocked the chess world with a powerful showcase of talents from all around the world.
The semi-final was quite turbulent. Although GM Hou Yifan is the highest-rated female chess player, GM Gunina won 6 matches back-to-back. But, GM Yifan soon recovered from lost games with a powerful comeback. In the end, GM Yifan defeated GM Gunina, impressing every chess fan with her fierceness.
On 3rd Sept, the finalists out of the 14 participants, GMs Hou Yifan and Katerina Lagno, fought the chess combat. To everybody’s surprise, GM Lagno defeated Hou Yifan–the defending Champion and the highest-rated female player.
GM Lagno became the Women’s World Chess Champion, along with $9,214.29 prize money to take home.
4. Yet Another Defeat for Magnus Carlsen | GM Niemann is the Newly Hailed King
Like the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, the Sinquefield Cup is also one of the five tournaments of the Grand Chess Tour 2022. The event is scheduled for 2nd to 11th September.
The participants of the 2022 Sinquefield Cup are among the major names in chess; GMs Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, and Ian Nepomniachtchi, to name a few.
After winning round one, the World Chess Champion faced fierce competition against GM Hans Niemann in round three. Carlsen played his usual tactics of trapping the opponent in a playable yet threatening position–the Nimzo-Indian Fianchetto variation.
However, GM Niemann surprised everyone by managing an advantageous position without settling for a draw. Once he got the right chance to defeat the existing Champion, he accepted it without any mistake.
Chess fans considered it a bitter-sweet moment when the reigning King was defeated by a newbie super grandmaster. As for the King himself, it looks like he wasn’t having a bad day but rather a bad season. Fans only hope he isn’t already regretting withdrawing from the World Chess Championship 2023.
5. Polish GM Monika Socko is the Golden Girl at the EWCC 2022
The 22nd European Women’s Chess Championship came to an end on the 31st of August in Prague. With two Azerbaijan chess players at the second and third rank, GM Monika Socko won the gold medal with 8.5 out of 11 points. The Azerbaijan players are IM Gunay Mammadzada and WGM Ulviyya Fataliyeva, each with 8 points.
6. Chess Olympiad 2022 | Indians Shone at Individual Performance
Uzbekistan and Armenian chess players held the first and second position as teams by taking the gold and silver medals home. Despite playing from their home ground, team Indian-2 managed to secure only the third position.
However, unlike their team performance, Indian chess players shone in individual performances. While GM Gukesh D won the first position at Board 1, GM Nihal Sarin ruled Board 2.
7. Arkady Dvorkovich to Serve his Second Terms as the FIDE’s President
The FIDE Congress 2022 was held in Chennai alongside the Chess Olympiad between the 1st to 8th of August. The presidential election took place during the FIDE General Assembly.
A former Russian govt employee, Arkady Dvorkovich, won the election with 157 votes against the Ukrainian chess Grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets, who had only 16 votes. He was elected for his first term in 2018.
Not to forget, Vishy Anand, the five-time World Chess Champion, is now the new FIDE Deputy President.
With this, it’s a wrap!
See you in the next newsletter! Till then, keep playing chess.