The FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championship 2024 is in the books. This year, Polish Krakow, known for its iconic Market Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosted the event. The championship brought together 65 teams and 307 players (including 32 GMs) from all over the world, boasting the highest number of Grandmasters playing in a chess competition on Polish soil this year.

The event was held in 50+ and 65+ categories, with women’s teams competing in the 9-round Swiss open tournaments with classical time control.

In the 50+ competition, the USA (Jaan Ehlvest, Alexander Shabalov, Melikset Khachiyan, Igor Novikov, and Alex Yermolinsky) retained their title won last year in North Macedonia. The team’s only hiccup occurred in Round 5 when they narrowly lost to Italy.

Going into Round 7, one point behind the leaders Iceland, team USA scored a convincing victory 3-1 and forged ahead. USA finished strong, whitewashing Israel (4-0) and defeating Slovakia (2.5-1.5) and capturing the title (16/18).

Italy (pictured above), the only team to beat the champions, finished just a point behind (15/18) and took silver. England 1, led by Michael Adams, scored 14/18 and claimed bronze.

Final standings 50+:

Complete final standings 50+

The top seed England 1 (John Nunn, Anthony Kosten, Jonathan Mestel, Paul Littlewood, and Terry Chapman) emerged victorious in the fiercely competitive 65+ section, scoring an impressive 16/18. The team drew with their main rivals France and Israel 1 and won seven matches.

Israel came second netting 15/18, while France, leading with three rounds to go had to settle for bronze after losing to England 2 in Round 7 and drawing with Italy in Round 9.

Final standings 65+:

Complete final standings 65+

Photos: Mark Livshitz and Michal Walusza

Official website: worldseniorteam2024.fide.com

The FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championship has crossed the half-way mark. After six rounds of exciting battles the players have a rest day on Monday. It is a great chance to go sightseeing in this beautiful city, which offers wonderful architecture and cultural monuments.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich attended Round 6 and made the first ceremonial move on board 1 in the match Canada vs Iceland in the 50+ section.

“We are very happy that the World Senior Team Championship is here in Krakow, Poland this time. The organizers do everything to make it a high quality event and they succeeded,” he said.

“It is very important to make our senior players happy. They made great chess careers, they made many good friends and they are happy to come back, playing over the board with each other, having join memories and also visiting new places. It is very important for FIDE the make chess accessible to all ages and World Senior Team Championship is a part of this great tradition,” FIDE President added.   

The standings in the tournament after Round 6 are as follows:

In the 50+ competition, Iceland leads with 11 team points, closely followed by Italy, Israel, England 2, Canada, and the USA, all sitting on 8 points. The leaders scored five wins and drew their match with England 1, led by Michael Adams.

Standings after six rounds 50+

In the 65+ section, France Cercle D’Echecs de Strasbourg seized the top position (11/12) after defeating Slovakia, while their main rivals England 1 and Israel drew their match. As a result, England 1 goes to the rest day in second place; Israel is third.

Standings after six rounds 65+

The race for the titles is still very close in both sections, with three rounds remaining.

In other news, FIDE “Capture” photo exhibition by Stev Bonhage was opened here in Krakow, following the one in Morocco just a week earlier.

Official website: worldseniorteam2024.fide.com

Photos: Mark Livshitz

A record-breaking 32 Grandmasters gather in Krakow, Poland, as the FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championship 2024 kicks off in this beautiful European city, with its iconic Market Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The championship opening ceremony took place at the renowned Słowacki Theatre, one of Poland’s distinguished playhouses operating since 1893.

The event brought together 65 teams and 307 players from all over the world, boasting the highest number of Grandmasters playing in a chess competition on Polish soil this year.

The ceremony attracted prominent chess figures, local officials, and celebrities, including Gunnar Björnsson (FIDE delegate), Radoslaw Jedynak (President of the Polish Chess Federation), Kamila Kałużna-Turcza (chair of the organizing committee), and Hanna Ereńska-Barlo (the first Polish WGM).

City officials expressed their pride in hosting the event during FIDE’s centenary year. “We are very proud and pleased that Krakow was chosen to host this tournament during the FIDE 100 anniversary year,” said Janusz Kozioł, plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow.

Lukasz Turlej, FIDE Secretary General, said a few beautiful words about Krakow: “Krakow is known as a City of Kings. We are proud to see the World Team Senior Chess Championship coming here in this special year of FIDE’s 100th anniversary.”

The ceremony continued with the Polish national anthem followed by the FIDE anthem. Guests were treated to a performance by a Historical Krakowian Dancing Group and a special FIDE 100th Anniversary Movie.

Lukasz Turlej closed the ceremony by presenting FIDE 100 medals to Kamila Kałużna-Turcza and Janusz Kozioł. After the official part, everyone went for refreshments in the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre.

A few words should be said about the tournament’s investors and partners. The event is played with the honorable support of the Ministry of Sport and several partners: the City of Krakow, Mokate, Chess Grow, Sunrise, Galaxy Hotel, and the Polish Chess Federation. 

Photos: Michal Walusza and Mark Livshitz

Radosław Wojtaszek and Alina Kashlinskaya are the new Polish Champions. A rare feat by a married couple! Radosław won his sixth title and is now just one victory short of Wlodzimierz Schmidt’s record (7 titles). Alina claimed her maiden gold in this prestigious event.  In addition to the titles, the new Polish champions will receive cash prizes – 25,000 PLN (approximately USD 6,350) each.

The PGNiG TERMIKA Individual Polish Chess Championship and Dr Irena Eris Cosmetics Individual Polish Women’s Chess Championship took place from May 22 to 30 in Rzeszow, the largest city in southeastern Poland. Unlike the last three editions, the tournaments were played in the same format: a 10-player round-robin.

In the open event, Radosław Wojtaszek confirmed his status as pre-tournament favorite. The top seed turned in an excellent performance, scoring 7/9 and finishing with three straight victories.

Jacek Tomczak and Mateusz Bartel netted 5.5/9 and tied for second place, with the former claiming silver thanks to superior tiebreaks. Wojtaszek and Tomczak became the only unbeaten participants in the event. 

Final standings open:

The women’s competition was a much closer affair that came down to the wire. Alexandra Maltsevskaya led most of the tournament but stumbled in the penultimate round, allowing Alina Kashlinskaya to catch up. Both leaders won their last-round games to finish on 7/9 and share first place. The second seed, Monica Socko, finished third with 6.5 points. 

A rapid tie-breaker was played to determine the champion. After drawing the first game, Alina won the second one with the white pieces and captured the title. 

Final standings women:

Photo: Michal Walusza

Official website: mp2024.pzszach.pl/

Photos: Polski Związek Szachowy Facebook

Magnus Carlsen emerged as the winner of the 2024 Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz. The World #1 became the leader of the Grand Chess Tour 2024 season and took home $40,000 first prize.

Day 5 of the competition saw the thrilling finale in the race between tournament leader Wei Yi and World #1 Magnus Carlsen. Going into the final day, Wei was leading the tournament 2.5 points ahead of Magnus. 

The Chinese GM started well, beating Gukesh D in Round 10 of the blitz. Carlsen kept pace, taking over Kirill Shevchenko with Black in a very complicated game in which the young Romanian player had a dangerous attack. 

Kirill Shevchenko – Magnus Carlsen

White has more than sufficient compensation for the sacrificed bishop. The best way to proceed suggested by the computer was 16. Rd2, gradually building up the pressure along the d-file. Kirill played seemingly logical 16. f4? opening the lines which turned out to be a serious mistake. After precise 16… Rb8! 17. Qh4 Qe3+ 18. Kb1 Qxf4 19. Qh6 Ng4 20. Nf5+ Qxf5 21. Qxf8+ Nxf8 Magnus repelled all the treats and emerged up a piece in an endgame. | 0-1, 23 moves.

Wei Yi was completely lost against Keymer in the next round but got a lucky break after the young German blundered a stalemate combination. 

Vincent Keymer – Wei Yi

After 70. Qf8+ Kh7 71. Qf5+ White forces a winning pawn endgame. Vincent, however, played the natural 70. c4?? completely missing 70…Qh2+! The queen is taboo because of the stalemate. Keymer tried 71. Kf1, but Black insisted on sacrificing the queen and after 71…Qg1+ 72. Ke2 Qe1+! a draw was agreed  ½: ½.

Carlsen, meanwhile, won a nice game against Praggnanandhaa, making good use of his two bishops and narrowing the gap with Wei Yi. 

In Round 12, the Chinese GM blundered a simple intermezzo against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, which cost him a minor piece and the game. Magnus, on the other hand, continued his winning streak, defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov and shortening the distance to the leader. 

It set up a critical leaders’ clash in the next round. Magnus prevailed in a very long battle to catch up with Wei in the standings.

Wei Yi bounced back in Round 14, converting his extra exchange against Anish Giri, but it was not enough to pull away as Magnus won his game against Vincent Keymer. 

Vincent Keymer – Magnus Carlsen

Magnus has just played 57…Ke6? (the immediate 57…a2 was much better) offering White an excellent chance to escape for a draw with 58. h4! Vincent missed this opportunity and played 58. Ra6+ instead, but after 58…Kd5 59. Kg2 e6 Carlsen seamlessly converted his extra pawn. | 0-1, 82 moves

Wei got lucky in the next round winning the game against Arjun Erigaisi after the Indian went for a tempting but erroneous combination. 

Arjun Erigaisi – Wei Yi

In this position with an extra pawn, White miscalculated and sacrificed his queen with 32. Qxa8+?? However, after the precise 32… Rxa8 33. Rc8+ Rxc8 34. Rxc8+ Kh7 35. Ng5+ Kh6 36. f4 Nh7! 37. d5 Nxg5 38. fxg5+ Kxg5 Black emerged with a queen for a rook, forcing Erigaisi’s capitulation. | 0-1, 44 moves. 

Trying to keep pace with Wei, Magnus got lucky against Duda as the Polish GM missed a simple drawing continuation. 

Magnus Carlsen – Jan-Krzysztof Duda

After natural 58…Kxh5, capturing White’s last pawn, the position is equal. Jan-Krzysztof opted for 58…Kf5?? but after 59. Rf4+ Ke6 60. Rh4 Rg3  61. Kf4 Rg8 62. Rg4 Rf8+ 63. Ke4 Ra8 64. Rg6+ it was all over for Black. | 1-0, 66 moves

In Round 16, Wei Yi drew with Kirill Shevchenko, whereas Magnus pulled through and grabbed the lead for the first time after batting past Gukesh D in a crazy game. 

Gukesh D – Magnus Carlsen

After 16…Bf8? played by Magnus (much better was 16…Nc4), he ran into a fantastic shot spotted by Gukesh 17. Rxg6!! The point is that after 17…fxg6 18. Bxg6+ Ke7 19. f5! White’s attack is way too strong. Carlsen tried 17…Nc4?! and Gukesh could have simply captured on c4 with a superior position. Instead, he went for the tempting 18. Qg2? with the idea of 18…Nxe3 19. Rxe6+. 

However, Magnus found a brilliant resource 18…Ndxe5!! freeing the d7-square for his king and taking control of the game. After 17. Rg3 Nxd3+ 18. cxd3 Nxe3 19. Rxe3 Qxh4 20. Rf1 Bd6 Magnus gradually converted his extra pawn into a full point. | 0-1, 43 moves 

In the penultimate round, Wei Yi, who trailed Magnus by a half-point, played a crucial game against Praggnanandhaa. After the Indian blundered a piece, the Chinese GM got a winning position but cracked under pressure and not just let his advantage slip away but lost.

Magnus, meanwhile, drew with Giri and consolidated his lead, going into the final round a full point ahead of Wei. Facing Erigaisi in Round 18, the World #1 took a very solid approach and drew in the Four Knights Scotch to capture the title. Wei defeated Abdusattorov and finished a half point behind the winner. Third place goes to Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who had a great second day of blitz, winning three straight games at the end. 

Check out the Day 5 Recap Video by IM Kostya Kavutskiy

Up next is the Superbet Romania Chess Classic, starting June 25.

Photos: courtesy of Grand Chess Tour

Official website: grandchesstour.org/tours/2024/

Day 4 of the 2024 Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz saw the first day of blitz action, as the incoming leader Wei Yi continued his dominance in the event, scoring 7.5/9 to extend his lead over Magnus Carlsen and the rest of the field. Wei Yi sits at the top with 20.5 points, which includes five straight wins at the end. 

Magnus Carlsen had an up-and-down day but managed to finish it in the second position on 18 points, scoring 6/9. 

The rest of the field is fighting for third place, with Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi sitting on 14.5 and 14 points, respectively. 

Wei Yi started the day with a loss but bounced back in Round 11, defeating Vincent Keymer. 

Wei Yi – Vincent Keymer

In this position the Chinese GM found very a strong sequence 17. Bxf6!  Qxf6 18. Ng4! and after 18…Qf4 19. Qxe8+ Rxe8 20. Rxe8+ Kh7 21. Nh2 Ne5 22. Ne2 Qf6 23. f4 his two rooks prevailed over Black’s queen | 1-0, 30 moves. 

Facing Magnus Carlsen in Round 4 of blitz Wei found himself in a precarious situation as the world #1 outplayed him in a sharp endgame with a pawn race. Unluckily for Magnus, playing on the increment he let the victory slip away. 

Wei Yi – Magnus Carlsen

Black has an extra rook but White’s passers are quite dangerous. The best way to stop them was 54…Rh8 (54…Re6 was also very strong) with the idea of 55. c7 f4 56. b5 Re3 57. c8Q Rxc8 58. Rxc8 f3, winning.

Instead Magnus played 54…Rb1? but after 55. c7 Rh8 56. b5 Rc8 57. Ka6 Ke5 58. b6 f4 59. b7 Rxc760. Rxc7 Rxb7 61. Rxb7 f3 62. Rxf7 Ke4 the opponents split the point | ½-½, 65 moves. 

After this lucky escape, Wei strung together five wins, although not without some luck (he lost against Giri but turned the tables and won). Praggnanandhaa tried to stop the leader in Round 11, essaying the double-edged King’s Indian, but Wei was up to the challenge.

Wei Yi – Praggnanandhaa R

20. g4! e4 21. Nxe4! White sacrificed a piece but quickly returned material with interest after  21… fxe4 22. Bxe4 Qf7 23. Ng5 Qf8 24. Nxh7 Qg8 25. gxh5 | 1-0, 30 moves

Magnus started the day with a victory over Kirill Shevchenko but then suffered two losses in Rounds 2 and 3. The second one, at the hands of Nodirbek Abdusattorov, was particularly disappointing as Magnus simply blundered a deadly pin in an overwhelming position. Carlsen roared back to finish the day with three straight wins. 

The final one was against Arjun Erigaisi, who made a crucial mistake in a long queen endgame. 

Arjun Erigaisi – Magnus Carlsen

White could have maintained the balance with a precise 88. Qg2! or 88. Qe4+ with the same idea. Instead, Arjun played 88. Qb1+, but after 88…Ka4! White ran out of checks. 89. Qc4 g2 90. Qd7+ Kh6 and Arjun resigned as the only check 91. Qd3+ is met with 91…Qb3. 

Check out the Day 4 Recap Video by IM Kostya Kavutskiy

Day 5 of the Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz continues Sunday, May 12th, with live commentary from GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Jovanka Houska, and IM Nazi Paikidze starting at 6:00 AM CDT. 

Photos: courtesy of Grand Chess Tour

Official website: grandchesstour.org/tours/2024/

Day 3 of Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz saw the conclusion of the rapid segment. Chinese #2 Wei Yi continued his fantastic run to grab the lead at the tournament’s halfway mark. Wei Yi netted 5/6 (rapid wins count as two points and a draw—one in this format) on the third day and came out on top with 13 points. The world #1 Magnus Carlsen netted 4/6, making two draws and scoring just a single win. He is trailing the leader by one point.  

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa kept his third position after drawing all three games on Day 3. 

Going into the tournament’s next stage, the players will have two days of blitz in a double round-robin format (18 games in total).

Round 7

One of the most peaceful rounds in the competition saw four draws and just a single victory, which Wei Yi pulled off against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. 

The Chinese GM seized the initiative in a rare line of Vienna Hybrid early on and achieved a much better position with his dark-squared bishop dominating the opponent’s knight. Playing in the last seconds on the clock, Wei made a crucial mistake in a winning queen endgame, but Nodirbek immediately returned the favor.

Wei Yi – Nodirbek Abdusattorov

White just captured Black’s pawn with 49.gxh5? allowing 49…Qd5+ with some drawing chances. Abdusattorov, however, snatched a pawn with 49…Qxb4? but it failed to 50. Qg4+! After forced queen exchange Wei got a winning endgame as his a-pawn contains two black pawns on the queenside. 51…Qxg4 52. hxg4 Kf7 53. g5  1-0

After this victory Wei Yi became the sole leader for the first time. 

Round 8

Trying to catch up with the leader, Magnus Carlsen took a somewhat risky approach on the black side of the Anglo-Indian against Vincent Keymer and found himself in an inferior position. However, the world #1 gradually righted his ship and took full advantage of the opponent’s blunder in a roughly equal position. 

Vincent Keymer – Magnus Carlsen

White has just played 28. Qa4?? Magnus almost immediately spotted 28…Nf3+! and after 28… Nf3+ 29. Bxf3 Rxe2 30. Bxe2 Qxf2+ 31. Kh1 Qxe2 32. Qa7+ Kh6 33. Qd4 Qf3+ Vincent capitulated. 

However, Wei Yi chalked up his fifth straight win in the tournament to preserve the one-point margin over Magnus. Gukesh D sacrificed a pawn on the white side of the Sicilian and got sufficient compensation but soon made a committed a serious inaccuracy on move 13. Wei managed to consolidate his position, traded the queens and converted his extra pawn in an endgame. 

All other games in Round 8 were drawn.

Round 9 

Wei’s hot run ended in the day’s final round after Praggnanandhaa comfortably drew with him on the black side of the English Opening. 

Facing Anish Giri with white Magnus did not achieve much in the Giuoco Piano. Moreover, with his 17th move, he got into trouble, missing a nice tactic. 

Magnus Carlsen – Anish Giri

After spending some time Magnus played 17. Be3? but Anish correctly reacted with 17…Nxe4! winning a pawn after 18. Nxe4 Bf5 19. Nfd2 d5! Unfortunately for him, Giri did not demonstrate accuracy at the critical juncture of the game allowing Magnus to liquidate into a drawish endgame and save a point. 

Check out Day 3 Recap Video by IM Kostya Kavutskiy

Day 4 of the Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz continues Saturday, May 11th, with live commentary from GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Jovanka Houska, and IM Nazi Paikidze starting at 6:00 AM CDT.

Photos: courtesy of Grand Chess Tour

Official website: grandchesstour.org/tours/2024/

Day 2 of the Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz saw a lot of action with the new leaders taking over. The world #1 Magnus Carlsen and Wei Yi of China had a great second day and share the lead with tree rapid games to go. Magnus scored an impressive 4/6 (two points for a win and one for a draw), while the Chinese GM won all three games. 

The former leader, Kirill Shevchenko, struggled on the second day, making just one draw in three games. He is tied for third place with Praggnanandhaa.

Round 4

Anish Giri misplayed a superior position against Wei Yi, allowing his opponent to exert some pressure on the kingside. Still, the Dutchman was OK, but one erroneous move shutting down his rook cost him the game.

Anish Giri – Wei Yi

White is fine after 37. g4 fxg4 38. Bxg4. Giri, however, played 37. b4? but after 37… hxg3+ 38. Rxg3 Rg4 39. Qf1 d4 40. Ra7? Bh4 Wei launched a crushing attack and delivered checkmate on move 44. 

Gikesh D and Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated Praggnanandhaa R and Arjun Erigaisi, respectively, to earn their first victories in the event. 

Shevchenko – Carlsen was a solid draw, whereas Vincent Keymer botched an overwhelming position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and had to split points with his opponent. 

Round 5

It has been the most exciting round in the event so far, with all five games ending in a victory. 

Magnus Carlsen outsmarted Nodirbek Abdusattorov in an equal endgame.

Magnus Carlsen – Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Black could have held his ground with a paradoxical 54..Qe4! trading the queens. Instead, Nodirbek played 54…b5? but after 55. Qf4 Qe6? (55…Qe4 was still better) 56. Qd4+  Kh7 57. Nf4! e2 58. Nxe2 Qxe2 59. Qxd5 Magnus slowly but surely converted his two extra pawns. 

Gukesh D got the better of Vincent Keymer in a very complicated battle and wrapped it up with a nice tactic. 

Vincent Keymer – Gukesh D

40…Qxf3! forcing resignation in view of 41. gxf3 Rc2+ 0-1

Wei Yi completely outplayed Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the trendy line of Giuocco Piano and achieved complete domination.

Wei Yi – Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Despite equal material Black has no reasonable defense against numerous threats. Being short on the clock, Jan-Krzysztof resigned. 

Praggnanandhaa R defeated Anish Giri in a short, fierce melee, while Erigaisi, facing Shevchenko, won a pawn and converted it into a full point in an exemplary fashion. 

Round 6

In the  game of the round, Carlsen – Gukesh, Magnus made an exchange sacrifice to unleash the potential of his bishops. 

Gukesh D – Magnus Carlsen

25… Rxe3!  After 26. fxe3 Bc5! Gukesh erred with 27. Nf3? handing Carlsen a decisive advantage. 27… Bxe3+ 28. Kf1 Bc6! 29. Qd1 Be4! 30. Qd7. Unfortunately for Magnus, it was his turn to make a mistake.

Carlsen could have sealed the deal with 30…Bd3+ with the idea of 31…Qb6! Instead the world #1 opted for 30… Kh7, but after 31. Ke2! Bb6 32. Re1 Qg6 33. Kd1 Qxg2 34. Rxe4 Gukesh got out of danger | ½ – ½, 39 moves

Praggnanandhaa R scored a second win in a row, trapping Vincent Keymer’s queen.

Praggnanandhaa R – Vincent Keymer

Vincent could have put up a stubborn resistance with 54…Qf5 whereas after 54… c6? 55. f5  Qh5 56. Nd6 Rd8 57. g4 Qg5 58. Nde4 Black’s queen perishes 1-0

Meanwhile, Wei Yi notched up his third straight victory, beating Kirill Shevchenko with the black pieces, and caught up with Carlsen. 

Check out Day 2 Recap Video by IM Kostya Kavutskiy

Day 3 of the Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz continues Thursday, May 10, with live commentary from GM Yasser Seirawan, IM Jovanka Houska, and IM Nazi Paikidze starting at 6:00 AM CDT.

Photos: courtesy of Grand Chess Tour

Official website: grandchesstour.org/tours/2024/