From 26th to 28th of August 2023, the German city of Düsseldorf will host a unique competition the first World Team Rapid Chess Championship, organized by FIDE in partnership with WR Logistics GmbH. 43 teams from all over the world will compete for a €250,000 prize fund, and the best team will receive the first prize of €100,000. Participants include former world champions Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Mariya Muzychuk, as well as Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Boris Gelfand, Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, Jan-Krzysztof Duda Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Daniil Dubov.
Kazakhstan is gradually becoming a Mecca for chess. In April 2023 the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi took place in Astana, at the beginning of June the Asian Continental Championship was held in Almaty, to name just two of the biggest events. While looking back at the Asian Continental Championships, Diana Mihajlova describes the development of chess in Kazakhstan and wonders about the predicament of Russian chess players after Russia left the European Chess Federation to join the Asian Chess Federation. | Photo: Panorama of Almaty | All Photos: Kazakhstan Chess Federation
Delilah Sadvakassova is a 9-year-old girl from Kazakhstan who is not only a strong and talented player, but also a "chess influencer". Under the guidance of her parents, Delilah regularly posts videos about chess history and chess personalities on Facebook. In the second part of her portrait of Delilah, Diana Mihajlova tells how Delilah met Magnus Carlsen and talks about Delilah's family and how they make the young influencer's videos.
A women's match between a Kazakh selection and a world selection began yesterday in Kazakhstan. The match will be played over two days of rapid chess and one day of blitz. On the first day, the World Team (photo), led by Hou Yifan, took a clear lead. | Photos: David Llada /FIDE
In the first press conference of the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, Magnus Carlsen and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich answered a broad set of questions from the media. Among other topics, Carlsen discussed his ambitions in Almaty, chess and mental health, and whether he will play Hans Niemann if they happen to be paired up against each other. | Photos: Sergey Alekseenok and Lennart Ootes