Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, will probably be paired a minimum of twice within the subsequent few days with the world championship challenger, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, within the Tech Mahindra World Chess League, the six-team franchise competitors based mostly on cricket’s Indian Premier League.
In 2024 the World League was staged in London, however this yr it’s again in India at Bengaluru (previously Bangalore), India’s expertise capital, from 5-13 September, ending two days earlier than the 400-team chess Olympiad opens in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Carlsen will play on the highest or icon board for the defending champions, Alpine APL Pipers, as will Sindarov for Fyers American Gambits. Different icons are Alireza Firouzja (Triveni Continental Kings), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Ganges Grandmasters), former world champion Viswanathan Anand (PBG Alaskan Knights) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (CheQ Mumba Masters). The supporting male gamers embrace Turkey’s quick rising file breaker Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 15, whereas the ladies stars are led by the Candidates runner-up, Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Carlsen and Sindarov will play two video games, one with every color, within the preliminary all-play-all, with a 3rd and maybe a fourth to observe if each their groups attain the semi-finals, third-place match, or last phases. The time restrict will probably be 20 minutes for your complete recreation, plus a two seconds per transfer increment from transfer 41.
The pair have performed many instances beforehand, however principally within the format of Freestyle Chess, the place the again rank items are randomised. This event will probably be their most necessary conflict but, as a result of it would embrace a symbolic match context the place considered one of them can rating extra factors. Therefore it might come to be thought to be a pale substitute for a world championship match which is able to most likely by no means occur.
The GCL is making an attempt to show chess into a significant crew sport the place elite women and men compete alongside the most effective junior skills somewhat than in separate classes. The league has gained elevated media and public recognition in its successive seasons, and is constructing a bigger viewers. In Bengaluru, it’s testing app-based chance forecasts and different improvements.
Though India is central to its story, the GCL needs to develop into a severe participant in world crew chess, offering a platform for up-and-coming skills to combine with and compete with the legends of the world recreation. Carlsen v Sindarov is a strong image of that ambition.
England narrowly missed out on a clear sweep of all three gold medals within the European Senior Staff Championships for over-50s and over-65s,which ended at Hersonissos, Crete, on Friday.
England’s 50+ open crew of GM Stuart Conquest, GM Danny Gormally, GM Mark Hebden, GM John Emms and IM Graeme Buckley gained with 17 match factors out of 18, forward of Italy on 16 and Netherlands on 13. England 2 completed fifth with 11.
England ladies’s 50+ crew of IM Susan Lalic, WGM Sheila Jackson, WFM Petra Fink-Nunn, WFM Helen Frostick and Irina Troshina have been the one entrants of their class, so have been declared winners.
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Gormally, Emms and Buckley (who gained all his six video games) gained particular person golds, Hebden silver, and Conquest bronze. Clive Frostick achieved silver for England 2.
England 65+ (GM John Nunn, GM Tony Kosten, IM John Pigott, IM Nigel Povah, and IM Peter Giant) scored 16 match factors out of 18, however have been overwhelmed into silver medals on tie-break by Slovenia, additionally with 16. Italy have been third with 15.
Giant gained the person Board 5 gold with 6/7, regardless of blundering a rook in a profitable place within the last spherical. Nunn and Kosten gained particular person silvers, whereas Paul Townsend (England 2) and Edgar Wilson (England 3) gained particular person bronze.
4040: 1…Rd1+ 2 Kh2 fxg3+ 3 fxg3 Qh3+! 4 Kxh3 Rh1 mate or 4 gxh3 R7d2 + and mate subsequent transfer. With colors reversed, the tactic is just like the ultimate recreation of the Carlsen v Sergey Karjakin world championship match in 2016.
