Luka Moroni and Olga Zimina won the open and women’s events; in the Under 20, Simone Pozzari and Elisa Cassi took the titles. The FSI celebrates its all-time membership record in 2023.

Lombardy dominated the Italian Chess Championship, which took place in Brescia from November 28 to December 10, 2023. The Absolute (open) and the Women’s champions, Luca Moroni and Olga Zimina, successfully defended their titles.

The 2023 edition of the Italian Championship will be remembered for its excellent location, the Paul VI Center in Brescia, in a historic sixteenth-century building, and Moroni’s clearing the 2,600 rating bar for the first time in his career. Given that Moroni is only 23 years old, there is a lot of hope that he will continue to move up in the ranks. The Italian Chess Federation (FSI) celebrates a historical membership record, which has surpassed the 21,000 mark (in the past, this number has never exceeded 16,000).

In the open event, the defending champion Luca Moroni (pictured above), a native of Desio and resident of Bovisio Masciago, got a slow start but stepped up a gear to finish on 8.5/11, 1.5 points ahead of Lorenzo Lodici Sabino Brunello from Bergamo who tied for second place. Lorenzo became the only participant to beat the champion.

Alessandro Santagati receives an honourable mention. Despite suffering a severe bereavement in the middle of the tournament, the player for Catania honoured his sporting commitment, which proved decisive for the final outcome. Alessandro defeated Lodici (who was in the lead for most of the tournament) in one of the last rounds, paving Moroni’s way to the title.

In the Women’s category, Olga Zimina (pictured above), from Modena, claimed her third national title (to which the unofficial one of 2020 played online can be added). Zimina won all the games except the one with Marina Brunello (Sabino’s sister), which ended in a draw. Brunello’s draw in the last round was decisive, handing the title to Zimina. Elena Sedina from Como took bronze, and Elisa Cassi from Bergamo came fourth, thus winning the Italian Under 20 Women’s title.

The Under 20 tournament was very hard-fought and came down to the wire. The Italian Under 18 Champion Simone Pozzari, from Legnano, beat Joshuaede Cappelletto from Treviso, who was ahead of him by half a point in the final round game to wrest the title. Third was Francesco Bettalli from Siena, who started with four straight victories but then slowed down. A good performance by Leonardo Vincenti is also worth mentioning. Facing tough opponents, the 11-year-old  from Bergamo scored 2.5 points.

Simorne Pozzari awarded by Italian Chess Federation President Luigi Maggi and enterpreneur Giovanni Longo

Official website: federscacchi.it/

Photos: Chesstrainer photography and Federazione Scacchistica Italiana Facebook

After eleven exciting rounds, the World Youth Championship under 14, 16 and 18 in the open and girls categories concluded in Montesilvano, Italy. Honorary guests Ottavio De Martinis, Major of Montesilvano, Lukasz Turlej, FIDE Secretary General, and Luigi Maggi, the President of the Italian Chess Federation, awarded newly crowned world champions and top-finishers.

IM Aleksey Grebnev (FIDE, 2500) clinched the title in the U18 Open section with a round to spare, scoring 9.5/11. Grebnev lost his last game against top seed GM Volodar Murzin (FIDE, 2625), who took the silver medal with 9 points. IM Aldiyar Ansat came third with 8.5 points.

WFM Ayan Allahverdiyeva (AZE, 2152) outplayed Luong Hoang Tu Linh (VIE, 1887) in a sharp Sicilian battle to claim gold, in the Girls U18 category with eight wins and three draws. WGM Rochelle Wu (USA, 2228) also won her last game against WCM Nguyen Hong Nhung (VIE, 1975) and got the silver medal. WIM Yelyzaveta Hrebenshchykova (UKR, 2292) was third with 8.5 points.

The Open U16 tournament turned out to be the most dramatic. Two Polish players and good friends, IMs Jakub Seeman (2417) and Jan Klimkowski (2520) came to the final rounds as the joint leaders on 8.5/10. Seeman had better tiebreaks and needed to win to secure a gold medal. Seeman gained an advantage in a sharp Sicilian variation, later converted it with a powerful queen sacrifice and became the world champion in the U16 category. Klimkowski held a worse ending in a nerve-wracking game against FM Rajat Makkar (FRA, 2452) and took the silver medal with 9 points. FM Leonardo Costa (GER, 2492) also netted 9 points but had to settle for bronze due to inferior tiebreaks.

Chuqiao Wang (CHN, 2215) was undefeated in the girls U16 category. She delivered a very strong performance of 9 wins and two draws (10/11) and became the champion in the Girls U16 competition. WFM Alexandra Shvedova (FIDE, 2170) finished a full point behind Wang and earned silver. WIM Alua Nurmanova (KAZ, 2367) and Tejaswini G (IND, 1956) tied for third place, with the former taking bronze thanks to a better Buchholz.

FM Pawel Sowinski (POL, 2347) lifted the trophy in the Open U14, scoring 9/11. Sowinski and FM Magnus Ermitsch (GER, 2206) were neck and neck coming into the final round. Sowinski secured first place with a draw, as Ermitsch lost his last game against FM Nicolas Perossa (ITA, 2330). As a result, Ermitsch, Perossa and David Akhmedov (FIDE, 2240) tied for second place with 8.5 points. The Buchholz tiebreaker favoured Ermitsch and Perossa, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

WFM Afruza Khamdamova (UZB, 2199) displayed an unwavering fighting spirit in every game to claim the title in the Girls U14 category with an impressive score of 10/11. Khamdamova forfeited her first-round game due to flight cancellation but went on to reel off ten consecutive victories. WFM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (KAZ,1933) finished one point behind the champions and got silver. The bronze medal goes to WIM Iris Mou (USA, 2086), who netted 8.5/11.

Poland won the gold medal for overall results at the FIDE World Youth Championship 2023 with two gold and one silver medal. Uzbekistan and China shared second place.

Final standings Open U18

Final standings Open U16

Final standings Open U14

Final standings Girls U18

Final standings Girls U16

Final standings Girls U14

Photos: Przemek Nikiel

Official website: worldyouth2023.com/

Eight tightly contested rounds have been played at the World Youth Championship 2023.

IM Aleksey Grebnev (FIDE, 2500; pictured below) celebrated another victory with white pieces against Indian Ilamparthi A R. in the Open U18 category. Grebnev gained a decisive advantage in the opening and converted it into a full point. With 7.5 points under his belt, Grebnev is the sole leader of the Open U18 category, ahead of Aldiyar Ansat (KAZ, 2418), Tymon Czernek (POL, 2329) and Mark Jay Bacojo (PHI, 2335).

WGM Rochelle Wu (USA, 2228) defeated Polish WFM Martyna Wikar to score 7/8 and grab the sole lead in the U18 category. She will face Hoang Tu Linh Luong from Vietnam, who delivered an excellent performance in Round 8 to take down the top seed, WIM Yelyzaveta Hrebenshchykova and has already increased her rating by 165 points.

Polish players have dominated the Open U16 section so far. In Round 8, IM Jakub Seemann instructively converted his extra pawn in a rook endgame vs. FM Leonardo Costa (GER, 2397).

Seemann is the sole leader with 7.5 points. IM Jan Klimowski (POL, 2520) also showed excellent endgame technique in his game against FM from Armenia, Erik Gasparyan, to maintain the second position with 7 points.

Wang Chuqiao (pictured below) from China pulled off a crucial victory over Izabela Tokarz (POL, 1931) on the top board in the Girls U16 category. She is leading the field with 7.5 points. Her closest rivals are WFM Alexandra Shvedova (FIDE) and Daria Bondar (UKR), sitting on 7 and 6.5 points respectively.

Polish FM Pawel Sowinski (2347) emerged on top in the Open U14 category. He toppled the tournament leader after Round 7, Phaam Tran Gia Phuc from Vietnam. In Round 9, Sowinski will face first seed player IM Savva  Vetochkin (FIDE, 2403) with the black pieces.

Georgian WFM Anastasia Kirtadze (1921) and WFM Afruza Khamdamova (2199) of Uzbekistan jointly lead the Girls section U14 with 7 points. They will clash in Round 9. Kirtadze demonstrated her fighting spirit in the last rounds, beating the first and third-seeded players WFM  Anna Shukhman and WFM Zarina Nurgaliyeva.

Despite missing her first game in the tournament due to the flight cancellation, Khamdamova (pictured above) won seven straight games to tie for the top position.

The last three rounds will be decisive in all six categories at the FIDE World Youth Chess Championship. The games start at 3 pm Central European Time.

Standings after Round 8 Open U18

Standings after Round 8 Open U16

Standings after Round 8 Open U14

Standings after Round 8 Girls U18

Standings after Round 8 Girls U16

Standings after Round 8 Girls U14

Photos: Przemek Nikiel

Official website: worldyouth2023.com/

Round 4 brought several decisive outcomes at the top boards of the FIDE World Youth Chess Championship 2023.

After four rounds of play in the Open U18 section, three players, IM Aldiyar Ansat, (KAZ, 2418), IM Aleksey Grebnev (FIDE, 2500) and FM Aron Pasti (HUN, 2397), share the top position with perfect 4/4 score. The rating favorite of the group, GM Volodar Murzin (FIDE, 2625) is a point behind the leaders after making two draws in a row.

In the Girls U18 category, the rating favourite WIM Yelyzaveta Hrebenshcykova (UKR, 2292, pictured above) took her opponent WCM Bat-Erdene Mungunzul (MNG, 2111) into the rook ending where her active king was a decisive factor.

Hrebenshcykova is not alone on the top as WGM Rochelle Wu (USA, 2228), WIM Xeniya Balabayeva (KAZ, 2192), and WFM Ayan Allahverdiyeva (AZE, 2152) also won four straight games. The leaders will clash in Round 5.

In the Open U16 category, Polish IM Jan Klimkowski (2520, pictured below) and FM from Armenia Robert Piliposyan (2345) are tied for first place after winning four games in a row. In Round 4, Piliposyan defeated the rating favorite IM from Norway Aksel Bu Kvaloy (2457), in impressive style. The leaders battle it out for the sole leader position in Round 5.

WCM Leyla Shohradova (1782) from Turkmenistan is on fire with 4/4. She gained almost 100 rating points after four rounds with a 2650 rating performance. In Round 5, Shohradova will face her co-leader, WFM Alexandra Shvedova (FIDE, 2170), on the first board.

The Open U14 is the only section where the sole leader emerged. Vietnamese FM Tran Gia Phuc Pham (2386) has shown an amazing chess technique to win all four games with a rating performance of 2882. There will be a Vietnamese derby in Round 5 Pham is facing FM Gia Huy Banh (2397), one of 15 other players in this category on 3.5 points.

Round 4 in the Girls U14 section was heartbreaking for Georgian Mariam Tsetskhadze (1911). She could have tied the game with WFM Zarina Nurgaliyeva (KAZ, 2104) if not for a blunder on the move 43.

In Round 5, Nurgaliyeva (pictured above) is paired against WIM Iris Mou (USA, 2086), who also netted 4/4. The third participant with a perfect score is Alessia Natol (1756) of Poland, who pulled off a very important victory over a much higher-rated opponent, Iren Lyutsinger (FIDE, 2020).

Round 5 starts on November 17 at 3 pm Central European Time.

Standings after Round 4 Open U18

Standings after Round 4 Open U16

Standings after Round 4 Open U14

Standings after Round 4 Girls U18

Standings after Round 4 Girls U16

Standings after Round 4 Girls U14

Photos: Przemek Nikiel

Official website: worldyouth2023.com/