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At the end of 2023, some top players made great efforts to secure their ticket to the Candidates Tournament, either through the FIDE circuit or by rating. In India and France, tournaments were organised at short notice to give players from these countries a chance to qualify at the last minute.

Gukesh made the most of this opportunity - he won the Chennai Grandmasters and qualified via the FIDE circuit. In France, Alireza Firouzja qualified by winning the Rouen Open with 7 out of 7. The first prize in this Open was 500 euros, but he also gained the necessary rating points to overtake Wesley So in the FIDE rankings from 1 January. Firouzja is now the player with the highest Elo who has not yet qualified for the Candidates and who wants to play. Magnus Carlsen, the world number one and winner of the 2023 World Cup, is no longer interested in the classical World Championship and does not want to start in the Candidates.

During the World Cup in Baku the Norwegian said:

"I think everyone should assume that I won't be playing in the Candidates and that everyone else who is in the semi-finals will qualify for the Candidates."

The nation with the most participants in the two candidate tournaments is India. This also documents India's emergence as one of the leading chess nations. In the country ranking, which is based on the Elo rating of the ten best players in the country, the USA is in first place, but India has been in second place for some months now, ahead of Russia, once the biggest chess nation.

The participation of Praggnanandhaa and Vidit after their successes at the World Cup and the Grand Swiss has already been widely celebrated in India. Now Gukesh is the third Indian player in the Candidates Tournament, while R. Vasihali, Praggnanandhaa's elder sister, and Humpy Koneru will be representing India in the women's event.

Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana are playing for the USA in the Candidates. At the 2018 World Championship Caruana held Carlsen to 6-6 in the classical games, losing only in the rapid tiebreak, and at that time Caruana was also very close to the World Champion in the rating list. After the match, Caruana suffered a few setbacks that cost him a lot of Elo, but he is now the world number two again. 2023 was a very successful year for Caruana, who qualified for the Candidates Tournament by rating, by finishing third in the World Cup and by winning the FIDE Circuit. But it is the result in the World Cup that counts.

Russia is still represented by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the last two Candidates Tournaments.

The players who qualified for the Candidates:

*Magnus Carlsen is expected to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament. He has already made statements to this effect in interviews. In this case, Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, Elo 2641, world rank 102) will move up to fourth place in the 2023 World Championship. If any other qualifiers withdraw, players from the world rankings will move up.

The women's qualifying race was a little quieter and finished earlier. Lei Tingjie, the runner-up at the last Women's World Championship, and Tan Zhongyi, the former Women's World Champion, will play for China. India will be represented by Vaishali and Humpy Koneru and Russia by Ekaterina Lagno and Alexandra Goryachkina. They will be joined by Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk and Bulgaria's Nurgyul Salimova, who like Vaishali is a newcomer to the Candidates. Six of the eight players are close together in the rankings. Vaishali and Salimova are slightly behind, but both are on the rise and always good for a surprise.

The players who qualified for the Candidates

* Grand Swiss runner-up A. Muzychuk qualified via the World Cup.

The Candidates' Tournament for the absolute World Championship and the Candidates' Tournament for the Women's World Championship will be held at the same time and place this year, from the 2nd to the 25th of April in the Canadian metropolis of Toronto.

The tournament is sponsored by the Canadian Scheinberg family, long-time sponsors of the Isle of Man Open, which has been upgraded by FIDE as the "Grand Swiss" to a qualifying tournament for the Candidates Tournament. FIDE has been able to win over the Scheinberg family for a long-term commitment to chess. The Scheinberg family is providing a prize fund of USD 750,000 for the two Candidates' Tournaments in Toronto.

FIDE reforms the qualification paths to Candidates Tournament

See the article here:
The participants of the Candidates - ChessBase

Heading into 2024, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes seemed to be likely a course for one of the main event matches at WrestleMania 40, but on Monday, another intriguing possibility emerged. During the Day One edition of "WWE Raw," The Rock teased a feud with Reigns as he asked the San Diego crowd if his dinner plans should entail him sitting in a booth, at a bar, or at the head of the table a clear reference to one of Reigns' nicknames. On a recent episode of "Busted Open Radio," WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray assessed the potential implications that Rock's apparent challenge to Reigns could have on other top stars, such as Rhodes and Randy Orton, as WWE heads into WrestleMania season.

"[The main event landscape] is a very interesting, I say, internal chess match of, 'If we do this, then this. And if we do this, then when do we do this? But if we do it then, will the people lose faith?' [CM] Punk wins the Rumble, chooses Seth [Rollins to face at WrestleMania]. I think that's what the majority of the people want to see. So I think we can take Punk and Seth out of the equation, which leaves us Randy, Roman, possibly Rock, because we don't know if what The Rock says pertains to WrestleMania. He said 'head of the table.' That could happen at Royal Rumble. That could happen at Elimination Chamber. That could happen at WrestleMania. So Cody, Roman, Rock, and Randy, there's your [main] four, and where do they go, when and why."

Should WWE position The Rock vs. Reigns on the WrestleMania 40 card, Ray believes Orton should dethrone Reigns at the Royal Rumble event, forcing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to change hands. Per Ray's vision, after Orton unseats "The Tribal Chief" at the Royal Rumble, he would then go on to lose the title to Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, and thus, fulfill Rhodes' quest to "finish the story."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

More:
Bully Ray Assesses 'Internal Chess Match' With WWE Main Event Stars - Wrestling Inc.

Each contestant has to try their best to make it to the final to be in with a shot of winning the prize money, and one of those contestants is 45-year-old Anthony.

The key to Anthony's game plan is to be flexible, because things are forever changing, but will that help him?

As the outcome unfurls on TV, read on for everything you need to know about The Traitors season 2 contestant Anthony.

Age: 45

Job: Chess coach

Location: Birmingham

Anthony sees The Traitors like a real-life game of chess, and being a chess coach himself, it was a no-brainer to apply for the show.

When he originally watched the series, he saw it as a game where everyone is expendable, much like a game of chess.

"Ultimately, the idea is to checkmate and win the game," he explained. "For me, it was like a chess tournament, where you've got to control your emotions and psychologically manage yourself. I was completely intrigued by it."

If you are a Traitor, how far are you prepared to go to win the game?

"All the way! That's where I'm prepared to go. At the end of the day, I'll quote it again, 'Everybody is expendable.'"

If you're a Faithful, what do you think your game plan would be?

"If I'm a Faithful, then the plan changes. Again, if I liken it to a game of chess, the Traitors make the first move and have the upper hand. As long as they survive the Round Table, then they get to influence the game.

"As a Faithful, it's going to be really tough in the beginning, because you've got to navigate who the other Faithfuls are and also not become a danger to the Traitors, trying to identify them but not becoming a major threat.

"As the game goes on and the numbers get lower, I think you then have the advantage as a Faithful. If I am a Faithful, I'm going to try and feel people out really quickly, and stay enough in the shadows so that I'm not identified as a threat."

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The Traitors season 2 starts on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 3rd January 2024. The Traitors season 1 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.

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Read the original post:
Who is Anthony? The Traitors season 2 contestant and chess coach - Radio Times

Artem Sachuk, vice president of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, was killed in action while fighting on the front lines, the chess organization reported via Facebook on Nov. 26.

Sachuk, 39, was a resident of Zhytomyr who volunteered for the army shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne in July 2022, Sachuk said he taught his fellow soldiers how to play chess and used the game to give examples of combat formations.

"Chess is actually a war game. It is an imitation of a military conflict and it absolutely has practical value. Many chess players are now defending Ukraine as part of various units, not just the Armed Forces," Sachuk told Suspilne.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation said Sachuk was "a well-known figure" in the chess world, and that he organized many competitions within Ukraine and internationally.

Details regarding the circumstances of Sachuk's death have not been reported.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russias increased weapons production may lead to new attacks elsewhere, commander says

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.

Read the rest here:
VP of Ukrainian Chess Federation killed in action - Yahoo News

TWIC Home

My thanks to Olexandr Prohorov, Holger Lieske, Gregory Joseph, Brett Kitson, Alojzije Jankovic, and everyone else who helped with this issue.

The Sinquefield Cup started last Tuesday and unfortunately it was hit with another very early withdrawal after Carlsen's last year. Jan-Krzysztof Duda withdrew after playing just one game due to ill-health. We have been given no more information than that, almost a year ago he withdrew just before the start of the Tata Steel tournament, this is not a good sign at all for a player who is only 25 years old. After a slow start the event seems to have gradually become more interesting and the result will count towards FIDE Candidates places via rating and maybe the Grand Prix (you're a better person than me if you understand the ins and outs of either qualification) and we should have a tense finish. .

Another nice surprise was the 9th Zagreb Tournament of Peace with a lovely mixed field of local and international players. Hans Moke Niemann has been quite brutal against the bottom end so far.

Friday sees the start of the returning London Chess Classic. Players: Michael Adams, Mateusz Bartel, Dommaraju Gukesh, Luke McShane, Jules Moussard, Hans Niemann, Shreyas Royal, Amin Tabatabaei, Nikita Vitiugov and Andrei Volokitin.

Also this week the field for the Tata Steel tournament in January was announced. Masters: Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Parham Maghsoodloo, Wei Yi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, Jorden Van Foreest, Alexander Donchenko, Max Warmerdam and Wenjun Ju.

A lot to look forward to.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

The first issue of TWIC was produced on September 17th 1994. I rely on advertising and donations to be able to keep going. If TWIC is important and useful to you please consider giving a donation.

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The 10th Sinquefield Cup takes place Tuesday 21st November to 3rd December 2023.

The 9th Zagreb Tournament of Peace takes place 22nd to 30th November 2023.

The 9th Iberoamericano Championship takes place 25th November to 2nd December 2023.

The Italian Championships take place Tuesday 28th November to Sunday 10th December. The women's and Junior events are shorter and start a little later.

The 36th Belgrade Trophy takes placew 25th November to 3rd December 2023. I had the 36th event in my calendar last year but it never happened, I believe there was some kind of crisis in Belgrade chess so this is a welcome return.

The SixDays Budapest November takes place 27th November to 2nd December 2023.

The 7th Tamil Nadu IM takes place 26th to 1st December 2023.

The 19th Ugra Governor's Cup took place 17th to 25th November 2023. Maksim Tsaruk won on tie-break from Daniil Linchevskiy, Roman Kezin and Aleksey Goganov after all scored 6.5/9. The event is followed by a three day rapid finishing on November 28th.

The ITT Torre Blanca takes place in Buenos Aires 25th November to 2nd December 2023.

The Is Bank Chess Cup took place 22nd to 27th November 2023. The event had 12 players and started with a group stage of two sections of five rounds and then a final KO stage. Winner Ediz Gurel had a fantastic run conceding just two draws in the 9 games he played. He is 14 or 15 years old, an IM and clearly a talent.

The Kosova Scheveningen takes place 24th November to December 1st 2023. Games should emerge at the end.

The Monsaraz Chess Festival takes place 21st to 28th November 2023. The Rapid on November 25th was won by Guha Mitrabha with 8.5/9.

The 3rd Belt and Road Open took place 19th to 24th November 2023. Renjie Huang won with 7/9.

The Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess took place 13th to 22nd November 2023. Hou Yifan beat Harika Dronavalli 15-11 in the final.

The World Youth took place 13th to 24th November 2023 in Montesilvano, Italy. U18, U16 and U14 Open and Girls Groups. Aleksey Grebnev of Russia won the U18 title playing under the FIDE flag, just ahead of Volodar Murzin playing under the same circumstances. Ayan Allahverdiyeva of Azerbaijan won the women's U18 title. Jakub Seemann of Poland won the U16 title just ahead of fellow Pole Jan Klimkowski, Chuqiao Wang of China won the Girls U16 title. Pawel Sowinski of Poland won the U14 title. Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan won the Girls U14 title.

The 6th Almaty Chess Academy IM took place 19th to 26th November 2023. Evgeny Vorobiov won with 7/9.

The Copa Mercosur took place 13th to 21st November 2023. Diego Flores won with 6/9. The live coverage did not work for the final two rounds and these games are currently missing.

The Charlotte Fall Invitational took place 17th to 21st November 2023. Fidel Corrales Jimenez and Andy Woodward scored 6/9 in the GMA event. William Graif, was the only player to make a norm, an IM with 7/9 in winning the IMC event.

The Vezerkepzo November took place 16th to 24th November 2023. Valeriy Aveskulov won the GM event with 6.5/9.

The Zakovat Gambit Final took place 18th to 19th November 2023. Madaminov, Mukhiddin won with 10.5/14. Games from the second day are now available.

The 5th Tamil Nadu IM took place 12th to 17th November 2023. The untitled Arnav Maheshwari won on tie-break from IM Abdyzhapar Asylbek after both scored 7/9.

The 6th Tamil Nadu IM took place 19th to 24th November 2023. GM Alexei Fedorov won with 8/9.

The Caissa Hotel Erik Group took place 22nd to 26th November 2023.

The Heusenstamm Sparkassen Open took place 23rd to 26th November 2023. Petro Golubka edged out Leonid Milov on tie-break after both scored 6/7.

The Kilkenny Masters took place 24th to 26th November 2023. Sebastien Maze won with 4.5/6.

The North Carolina Open took place 24th to 26th November 2023. Thomas Fang took first place on tie-break from Ronald Burnett and Emmanuel Carter after all scored 5/6.

The US Chess Masters took place 22nd to 26th November 2023. Mikhail Antipov edged out Gleb Dudin, Just Wang and Bryce Tiglon (GM Norm) on tie-break after all scored 7/9.

The 1000GM Sunnyvale Thanksgiving took place 22nd to 26th November 2023. The final tables were not updated for the IM events, so I only have official Round 8 standigns but the games are avaialble. Joshua Sheng won the GM section with 7.5/9 after winning his final round when Neuris Delgado lost and Jacek Stopa drew. Augusto Campos won the IM1 section with 8.5/9 drawing only his first round. Arturo Fernandez also won with 8.5/9 this time taking a draw in the final round to secure first place.

The 21st Annual Turkey Bowl took place 10th to 12th November 2023. Facundo Pierrot and Raghav Venkat scored 4.5/5.

The 23rd Puhajarve Rapid took place 24th to 26th November. This event has time handicaps based on the ratings difference between opponents. Always has a huge round robin field. Alexei Shirov won with 30 points out of 33.

The 3rd Buturina Memorial took place 16th to 20th November 2023. Bogdan Polulkh won with 7/9. The live broadcast failed on the final day so rounds 7-9 were lost.

The Yorkshire Open Rapidplay Chess took place on Sunday November 26th. Gawain Jones and Jacob Connor Boswell scored 5/6. Boswell beat Jones in Round 4.

Titled Tuesday Blitz now has two sections called early and late. The 21st November events saw Magnus Carlsen win the early and Liem Le won the late on tie-break from Carlsen.

The Belgian Interclubs round 4 took place last weekend. Games now available.

The fourth round of the Dutch League took place this weekend. I will wait until all the games are available although 4 of the 5 matches already are.

The first half of the Austrian Team Championship took place 22nd to 26th November 2023. The event concludes with 5 rounds in April.

The Czech Zapad and Vychod League had round 3 this weekend. I missed round 2 a couple of weeks ago and there are games available from that round.

The Finnish League has reached Round 7. Games after round 4 not yet available.

The final of the Rapid Chess Superleague took place this weekend. Wasko Hetman GKS Katowice won the final against VOTUM SA Polonia Wroclaw.

Continued here:
The Week in Chess 1516 - The Week in Chess