Category Archives: Chess
US Chess Soliciting Applicants for Captain and Trainer Positions for 2024 Olympiad – uschess.org
US Chess is soliciting applicants for two Captain positions at the 45th FIDE World Chess Olympiad, one for the 2024 USA Olympiad Team and one for the 2024 USA Olympiad Womens Team. The Olympiad will take place September 10th September 23rd, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.
Applicants may be from any federation, but should be a certified FIDE trainer at any level. The lists of eligible applicants will be provided to the U.S. Olympiad players. Each team will select its own Captain.
Each successful applicant must complete US Chess SafeSport Training, https://new.uschess.org/us-chess-safe-play-hub, no later than September 1, 2024.
If you are interested in applying for one of these two Captain positions (open or womens team), please send a resume and cover letter to Brian Yang, US Chess FIDE Events Manager, at Click here to show email address by Friday, June 21, 2024 5PM Central time. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered.
US Chess Soliciting Applicants for Trainer Positions for the 2024 Olympiad Teams
US Chess is soliciting applicants for two Trainer positions at the 45th FIDE World Chess Olympiad, one for the 2024 USA Olympiad Team, and one for the 2024 USA Olympiad Womens Team. The Olympiad will take place September 10th September 23rd, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.
Applicants may be from any federation, but should be a certified FIDE trainer at any level and have a US Chess rating of at least 2550. The lists of eligible applicants will be provided to the US Olympiad players. Each team will select its own Trainer.
Each successful applicant must complete US Chess SafeSport Training, https://new.uschess.org/us-chess-safe-play-hub, no later than September 1, 2024.
If you are interested in applying for one of these two Trainer positions (open or womens team), please send a resume and cover letter to Brian Yang, US Chess FIDE Events Manager, at Click here to show email address by Friday, June 21, 2024 5PM Central time. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered.
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US Chess Soliciting Applicants for Captain and Trainer Positions for 2024 Olympiad - uschess.org
Elyria Youth Chess Club treated to robotics presentation by LCCC rep – The Morning Journal
The Elyria Youth Chess Club was treated to a robotics presentation May 29 from Rashad Reed, an associate in the Lorain County Community College IT Department, at the Elyria Public Library System South Branch, 340 15th St.
He said he has had an interest in robotics for a long time and that he is thankful to be able to work with them through his job at LCCC.
(My interest) is probably from Star Wars honestly, Reed said. Any technology can interest me, so robotics are just an extension of my IT background.
The goal of the program is to spark an interest in robotics in children because it is a technology that is becoming more present in society, he said.
The program is under the leadership of LCCC President Marcia Ballinger and LCCC interim Chief Information Officer Don Huffman.
Theyre trying to involve the kids with STEM and MEMS, so they thought this would be a good opportunity for them to get familiar with friendly robots, Reed said. Thats pretty much the summary of the program.
Programs like the one at LCCC can help students develop an interest that can lead them to a career down the road, he said.
Weve been trying to tap into the middle schoolers and high schoolers to let them know there is a need for robotics, and youre going to be working with robotics in the future, Reed said.
He said a personal connection was key to the organization of his presentation for the Elyria Youth Chess Club, which is a part of the Elyria Youth Sports Club led by Aric Bowens.
Of course, everybody knows Aric and I ran track with him back in the day, so I always have seen his leadership and trying to get stuff to our youth, Reed said. I talked with Aric and we discussed how chess requires critical thinking and thats what you need in the technology field.
During the presentation, Reed explained how the robot responds to commands.
He also had it perform physical movements and speak.
Reed fielded plenty of questions from the young chess players as well.
Reed said he particularly enjoys teaching robotics to children.
I like watching how well they adapt to things, he said. Usually, when I have adults around, they say robots are going to destroy the world or whatever.
Kids immediately come up to it and speak to it and actually want to work with it. Theres a joy seeing them engage with something Im passionate about.
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Elyria Youth Chess Club treated to robotics presentation by LCCC rep - The Morning Journal
Political chess with human pawns Foreign and security policy – IPS Journal
The timing of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyens recent pledge of 1 billion to Lebanon to manage its refugee crisis just before the European elections suggests an electoral gamble. The circumstances that led to the agreement were precipitated by a surge in refugees arriving by boat to Cyprus, the EU territory closest to Lebanon. Out of the billion, 264 million has been earmarked for the provision of equipment, training and border management infrastructure to assist Lebanons security services. The announcement has prompted a series of accusations against the EU for outsourcing migration control with little consideration for human rights.
Von der Leyens re-election depends on securing an absolute majority of the 720 Members of the European Parliament. She appears to be placing her bets on the support of frustrated conservatives and populist right-wing parties, whose popularity is surging in recent polls. This is not unexpected, given that during Aprils Maastricht discussions, she explicitly signalled her willingness to negotiate with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group after the elections. This latest announcement now suggests a calculated political manoeuvre by von der Leyen to secure her position and political future at all costs.
Besides the questionable timing, the specifics of the novelty of this agreement remain opaque. According to official data from the European Commission, the EU has been providing Lebanon with financial support since 2011, with a total value of over 3 billion. This support is primarily funded through the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and distributed through various channels for the period 2021-2027. Of this assistance, the Commission states that 670.3 million has been allocated to Lebanon in bilateral assistance and 61 million under the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP). At least one package announced to support the Lebanese security sector has been adopted through the IcSP (2018-2020).
This prompts the question of whether this is actually additional funding or merely a rebranding of financial packages previously agreed upon with Lebanon. Wadih Al Asmar, head of EuroMed Rights and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), believes the latter to be the case. He suggests that the new agreement may be nothing more than a guarantee of continued financial commitment, which could have been more discreetly formalised at the level of the EU delegation in Lebanon. Instead, the agreement was presented as an exceptional occurrence.
The EUs financial assistance, in fact, serves to reinforce the Lebanese security forces capacity to violate international law.
It seems that von der Leyen has sought to gain publicity by exploiting the migration debate for her election campaign without offering a solution to the migration issue in line with European values. In fact, the opposite is the case. The announcement has caused a stir in Lebanon. It was perceived as an attempt to bribe the Lebanese government to keep unwanted Syrian refugees within the country. This has led to a new wave of anti-refugee sentiment, exacerbating the already tense atmosphere between Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host community.
The EUs financial assistance to the security sector, coupled with the renewed focus on the migration debate, in fact, serves to reinforce the Lebanese security forces capacity to violate international law. This is set against the backdrop of a dysfunctional state with no president and a caretaker government comprising a corrupt political elite. In such a context, accountability is absent, and the conduct of risk assessment and independent monitoring are impossible. The current situation will make the already marginalised Syrians even more vulnerable. In turn, more Syrians will see no alternative but to flee Lebanon, regardless of the circumstances.
It is unlikely a coincidence that only a week after von der Leyens visit, the Lebanese General Security announced a new set of measures to further restrict the ability of Syrian refugees to obtain or renew residency permits. These measures impose an additional burden on the most vulnerable Syrians. At least 83 per cent of Syrian refugees are already undocumented.
Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. The Syrian refugees have been scapegoated by a political elite seeking to hide the fact that they themselves have caused the countrys downfall through decades of heavy debt accumulation, misguided neoliberal economic and social policies and widespread corruption. Their narrative is being widely disseminated by the local media and a receptive Lebanese population. Over the past months, Syrians have been subjected to rampant violence, discriminatory curfews, harassment, forced evictions, restrictions on legal residency and access to education and employment and even killings. Human Rights Watch has documented a series of arbitrary detentions, torture and forcible return to Syria of Syrians by Lebanese authorities, including opposition activists of the Syrian regime and army defectors.
Deteriorating living conditions and the fear of deportation back to Syria have left the most vulnerable with few options. It is not safe for refugees to return to Syria. The countrys regime has a long institutional memory of repression against its dissidents. What Lebanese officials are promoting as a voluntary and safe return is likely to be a one-way ticket to abuse, rights violations and sometimes death. Human rights organisations have documented numerous cases of returnees, including women and children, being subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, sexual assault and enforced disappearance.
The European Unions endorsement of such a voluntary returns concept, as articulated by von der Leyen during her visit to Lebanon, has created an opening for other forces that have long sought to exploit Syrian refugees for their own ends. In a speech after von der Leyens visit, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a close ally of Bashar al-Assad, proposed that Lebanon should facilitate the departure of Syrians to Europe. This statement can be interpreted as a form of pressure on Europe, whose alternative scenario is to re-engage with the Syrian regime on the issue of returnees which would be a first step towards the normalisation of al-Assads regime that he has long sought.
The expected rise of the far right in the European Union is likely to lead to an intensification of practices such as outsourcing migration management to countries with a history of human rights abuses.
Von der Leyens self-serving move has come at a high cost to the European Unions reputation. Preliminary findings of a study by the Swiss Network for International Studies on the interrelationship between European and regional refugee return dynamics indicate a decline in the influence of European actors and donors in ensuring respect for international human rights in Lebanon. A significant contributing factor is the Unions own practices of pushback and externalisation, which set a poor example for the treatment of refugees. In light of the widespread criticism of the EUs double standards in relation to the situation in Gaza, this latest development serves to reinforce the Unions declining credibility and perception as a moral authority on the global stage.
The expected rise of the far right in the European Union is likely to lead to an intensification of practices such as outsourcing migration management to countries with a history of human rights abuses. This trend, if allowed to continue, will further damage the EUs global standing and consequently its ability to pursue its vital foreign policy interests.
For Lebanon, the EU must ensure that its support is aimed at promoting stability in the interests of all. Increased funding should go to local and international humanitarian organisations instead of channelling it through the corrupt government, thus reducing susceptibility to bribery. The EU should not support the growing trend of deporting Syrians to safe areas in Syria, maintaining that the country remains unsafe.
In its legitimate efforts to support refugee-hosting countries such as Lebanon, but also Tunisia and Morocco, the EU must ensure that its assistance doesnt make it complicit in human rights abuses. The conditions must clearly reflect Europes unwavering commitment to international human rights obligations.
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Political chess with human pawns Foreign and security policy - IPS Journal
GM Hikaru responds to chess community backlash over his Kick gambling streams – Dexerto
Professional chess player and Kick streamer GM Hikaru Nakamura is brushing off criticism after accusations of promoting gambling to young viewers.
GM Hikaru is one of the top chess players in the world, having placed third at the 2024 Candidates Tournament in April despite focusing heavily on his streaming content.
Following the tournament, Hikaru had his first-ever gaming stream on Kick, despite signing with the Stake-owned platform back in 2023 and leaving Twitch.
The gambling stream was instantly met with backlash, with members of the chess community accusing Hikaru of using his status in the chess world to promote gambling to children.
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They use crypto for gambling because its unregulated, making it much easier to exploit an underage audience, one user blasted in a post on X. This is gross and it is aimed at kids.
This is absolutely disgraceful. Screw Hikaru for promoting gambling, slammed another. I feel for the viewers who will end up getting sucked in to betting and end up essentially being the ones who pay for his sponsorship. It needs to go.
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Despite the backlash, Hikaru isnt backing down, and claims that his gambling broadcasts are intended for adults.
After revealing his weeks stream schedule, the GM explained that he would be kicking off the week on April 29 with an 18+ ONLY casino stream.
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If you dont enjoy it, skip it, and Ill see you back in the chess world. If you are an adult and enjoy some gamba, come visit! he exclaimed.
Gambling has been a controversial topic in the streaming world after Twitch outright banned gambling sites, such as Stake, back in 2022. This resulted in the birth of Kick as a direct rival to Amazons streaming platform.
Hikarus decision to partake in sponsored gambling streams comes just weeks after he claimed that becoming world chess champion would be a minor achievement compared to what hes accomplished through content creation.
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He further noted that being a content creator makes him enjoy chess even more, joking that hes playing with house money when he competes at tournaments because of how lucrative his streams have become.
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GM Hikaru responds to chess community backlash over his Kick gambling streams - Dexerto
St. Catherine School Bishops Chess Club Results – newsdakota.com
BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) The St. Catherine School Bishops Chess Club had five participants at the North Dakota State Scholastic Chess Tournament in Bismarck. The tournament was held at Shiloh Christian School and was open to students Grades K-12. They did not need to be affiliated with a school. There were separate divisions (Grades K-3, Grades 4-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12). The five St. Catherine School students that participated in the tournament were: Amelia Martin (Grade 6), Beck Dietrich (Grade 6), Cody Svenningsen (Grade 5), Andrew Hoff (Grade 5), and Ethan Zarbano (Grade 5). Each student played five matches throughout the day. St. Catherine School alumnus, John Oakland (Grade 7) also participated at the tournament.
Andrew Hoff got 2nd out of the fifth grade competitors at the tournament. Cody Svenningsen, Ethan Zarbano, and Andrew Hoff received 2nd as a team in the 4th and 5th grade division as well.
The St. Catherine School Bishops Chess Club is advised by Dawn Ihry, Rebekah Hilgemann, and Nick Lee. The Bishops Chess Club would like to extend a sincere thank you to all that have donated to the club to make this year possible and to let supporters know that the club will continue next year. The St. Catherine School Bishops Chess Club is open to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students at St. Catherine School.
Chess Club State 5th Grade Team
Bishops Chess Club State
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St. Catherine School Bishops Chess Club Results - newsdakota.com
It’s Official! Vaishali Is India’s 84th Grandmaster – Chess.com
It's been four months in the making, but Vaishali Rameshbabu is officially a grandmaster, now that FIDE has approved the latest batch of title applications. She joins her brother GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu to establish the first brother-sister GM combination in chess history.
Vaishali's accomplishment, as the 84th Indian grandmaster and 42nd woman from any country to become a GM, has already been widely recognized. In January, she was presented with the Arjuna Award. Last month, ahead of the 2024 Women's Candidates Tournament, Vaishali spoke with IM Levy Rozman about a number of topics, including the tournament where she met all the GM requirements, her opponents in the Candidates, the chess boom in India, and more.
Vaishali is not the only notable player with a shiny new title as FIDE approved a total of 58 players: nine grandmasters, two woman grandmasters, 40 international masters, and seven woman international masters. (More on the title approval process below.)
Notable players who became grandmasters in addition to Vaishali include GM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, Canada's 15th grandmaster, and 15-year-old GM Ediz Gurel, who is the 15th grandmaster from Turkiye. IM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who recently earned the GM title at age 12, will have his title application processed at the next FIDE meeting.
15-year-old IM Brewington Hardaway leads the list of new international masters, who are more than two-thirds of the players with newly-approved titles. Iran's IM Sina Movahed is another junior player who joined the international master ranks, while IMs Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova of the United States, Sarah Papp of Germany, and Meruert Kamalidenova were among the women who are now officially recognized as international masters.
Only two players, WGMs Tijana Mandura and Michalina Rudzinska, are new woman grandmasters, but seven players now have the woman international master title, the most notable among them being Yosha Iglesias.
The youngest player in the group of new WIMs, Aydin Gulenay, was born in 2006 and, like Gurel and Erdogmus, is part of a growing chess trend in Turkiye.
Grandmasters must achieve a 2500 rating and three norms to earn the title, but it is not instantly conferred. Players formally apply for the titleas they also must for the other three titles that require norms, woman grandmaster, international master, and woman international masterand approval decisions are made at every quarterly FIDE meeting. That said, it is rare for FIDE to deny a title application and, for the purposes of record-keeping, players are considered to have the title upon earning it, rather than from when it is officially approved.
FIDE's full list of approved titles at their first meeting of 2024 can be found here. (Note: WIM Anastasia Nazarova is actually Anastasia Keinanen. The listed FIDE ID and country, Finland, are correct.)
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It's Official! Vaishali Is India's 84th Grandmaster - Chess.com
Bowling Green Chess Club hosts its first chess tournament – pikecountynews.com
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Bowling Green Chess Club hosts its first chess tournament - pikecountynews.com
Just the Rules: Is the On-Site Appeals Committee Still Relevant? – uschess.org
Did you know you can appeal a TDs ruling right there at your events site? There are some hoops to jump through first, but it is possible (emphasis on the word possible).
If you surmise that the TDs ruling is out there in left field all by itself, you can do something about it. More often than not a player will send in their $50 fee refundable if the appeal is not frivolous for one of the US Chess Committees to evaluate. It is not a short process.
Also available is to have a tournament on-site appeals committee judge your case (rule 21I). They are judge and jury: read on.
One: The TD will see if they can find at least three unbiased wood-pushers willing to take on the appeals task. This alone can be a chore and a half. The committee members do not have to be players in the event: they could be bystanders. The rules recommend that two of the three committee members have TD certificates equal to, or higher, than the events chief honcho. They should have no connection to either player in the dispute. You can well imagine if one of the contestants had a relative, team member, or friend on the committee: that just looks bad. Equally shady would be to have a committee member be in a position to gain a prize if the groups decision goes one way or another.
Two: The appeals committee will hear evidence. The two adversaries and the TD get a chance to make their cases.
Three: They will talk to unbiased witnesses. Often other wood-pushers heard or saw something regarding the disputed ruling.
Four: Of course, the rulebooks view will be consulted.
Five: A verdict will be issued. The committee is limited to judging if the TDs ruling was correct or not: they cant substitute their own judgement for the TDs. Their ruling has the same impact as if they were one of the tournaments directors.
Forming an appeals committee, presenting evidence, deliberating, and issuing a ruling takes a lot of time and effort, I assure you that you can count on it. There is an alternative: The Special Referee.
A simple phone call to an experienced TD can take the place of an appeals committee. If no one comes to mind, a list of available referees can typically be found on any affiliates US Chess dashboards TD/Affiliate page. That referee is unbiased a key factor and can render a judgement in short order after jumping through the same hoops as an onsite committee. By the way, an onsite appeals committee is allowed to consult with a special referee or simply turn the case over to them.
But, there is an escape hatch to this entire process nestled away in the wording of 21H4, the director shall appoint a committee (21I) or a special referee (21J) to hear the appeal, unless the orderly progress of the tournament would be disturbed by such action. So, the TD is not required to act on your request. An appeals committee, or a special referee, could easily, for one example, devour announced round starting times.
As you can imagine the work of the appeals committee or even a special referee in a fast time control, or a blitz, tournament may take more time than it takes to essay an entire round. That is going to be fairly disruptive. At the very least it may hugely impact the next rounds starting time. Thats when the 21H4 trap door opens and your request may be denied.
So, is the on-site appeals committee still relevant? How about those special referees?
Want more? Past columns can be found here or by searching the Chess Life Online archives.
Plus, listen to Tim when he was a guest on the podcasts One Move at a Time and The Chess Angle.
Tim Just is a National Tournament Director, FIDE National Arbiter, and editor of the 5th, 6th, and 7th editions of the US Chess Rulebook. He is also the author of My Opponent is Eating a Doughnut & Just Law, which are both available from US Chess Sales and Amazon/Kindle. Additionally, Tim revised The Guide To Scholastic Chess, a guide created to help teachers and scholastic organizers who wish to begin, improve, or strengthen their school chess program. US Chess awarded the 2022 Tournament Director Lifetime Achievement Award to Tim. He is also a member of the US Chess Rules Committee plus the Tournament Director Certification Committee (TDCC). His new column, exclusive to US Chess, Just the Rules will help clarify potentially confusing regulations.
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Just the Rules: Is the On-Site Appeals Committee Still Relevant? - uschess.org
The Titled Cup: Titled Tuesdays Just Got Even More Fierce – Chess.com
Titled Tuesdays are our beloved weekly battles where any titled player can face the likes of GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Hikaru Nakamura.
Fans tune in without fail to see who will come out on top in these always-thrilling, 11-round blitz tournaments. But the ever-popular Titled Tuesdays are about to get even more exciting.
Throughout 2024, Chess.com will be upping the ante with the launch of the new Titled Cup. The Titled Cup is a new layer of competitiveness on top: a year-long leaderboard competition tracking Titled Tuesday results from over 100 events. It will bring an extra edge to everyone.
Starting on January 2, there will be a leaderboard for all players, plus women, juniors, girls, and seniors. Over the course of the year, players will be ranked based on the sum of their best 20 Titled Tuesday scores.
Only events in 2024 will count. Prizes range from $10,000 for topping the open leaderboard to $5,000 for women, juniors, and seniors, and $1,500 for girls. But thats not all. Through the Titled Cup, players will also get a clear route to qualify for the Speed Chess Championship series of events.
The qualification spots available for the Speed Chess Championship (SCC) and the Womens Speed Chess Championship (WSCC) will be based on the sum of players' best 10 Titled Tuesday scores until a specified cutoff date.
The first deadline is June 11 for the JSCC, which has two spots available via the leaderboard for players born in 2006 or later. Six seats in the SCC will be awarded to the top six on the open leaderboard before June 18.
Finally, the top two women will qualify for the WSCC with the cutoff date of August 6. Chess.com is bringing all our events together to give more players a chance to make their mark and win prizes.
Titled Tuesday began life way back in 2014 and has evolved massively over the years. From February 1, 2022, the Swiss has been running twice every Tuesday, with the first event at 11 a.m. ET/17:00 CETand the second event 5 p.m. ET/23:00 CET.
Nakamura has set the record with 59 total victories since October 20, 2020. GM Dmitry Andreikin has the second-most with 16. Nakamura also has the joint-highest score in Titled Tuesday, achieving a perfect 11/11 twice on August 17, 2021, and August 22, 2023.
Carlsen is the only other player to manage the feat on April 7, 2023. However, before the era of 11 rounds, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk scored a perfect 9/9 on October 4, 2016.
The question for 2024 is: can Nakamura maintain his dominance in the face of this extra motivation for his rivals?
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The Titled Cup: Titled Tuesdays Just Got Even More Fierce - Chess.com
Candidates Tournament 2024: A feeling of dj vu – Chess News | ChessBase
In 2013 FIDE introduced the current format of the Candidates Tournaments: 8 players, double round-robin. The format has proved its worth and has resulted in six high-profile and exciting tournaments. Three times - 2013, 2016 and 2018 - the tournament was decided in the final round, and three times - 2014, 2021 and 2022 - the winner was decided before the final round.
However, a look at the table below shows that in the past, the player leading after four rounds has always won.
Of course, this is just another statistic in the series of many statistics that have been compiled about the current and past Candidates Tournaments.
In general, there is a certain mistrust of statistics, as quotes from Mark Twain "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and statistics", Winston Churchill "Don't trust a statistic that you haven't falsified yourself" or Franklin D. Roosevelt "I am somewhat sceptical about statistics, because according to statistics, a millionaire and a poor fellow each have half a million", show.
You should also consider the following: Never before in the history of chess has a player won the Candidates Tournament or the Candidates Matches three times. At first glance it seems rather unlikely that this will happen in Toronto in 2024.
In other words, at the Candidates Tournament 2024 in Toronto everything is probably still possible.In any case, after the rest day, Round 5 will bring the following pairings:
Alireza Firouzja - Hikaru Nakamura Gukesh D - Nijat Abasov Vidit Santosh Gujrathi - Fabiano Caruana Praggnanandhaa R - Ian Nepomniachtchi
Once this round is over, we will know more, and will be able to think about new statistics and forecasts.
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Candidates Tournament 2024: A feeling of dj vu - Chess News | ChessBase