A few major upsets left rating favourites out of the World Cup in the first round of the multitudinous competition. In the open category, Gianmarco Leiva (Peru) and Pablo Salinas (Chile) gave the biggest surprises. In the women’s section, Qianyun Gong (Singapore), Turmunkh Munkhzul (Mongolia) and Maili-Jade Ouellet (Canada) pulled off the biggest stunners. | Pictured: Nurgyul Salimova | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
The tenth edition of the much-anticipated FIDE World Cup kicked off on Sunday in Baku. The 50 top seeds in the open and the 25 top seeds in the women’s section received byes and will join the fray on Wednesday. The remaining 234 contenders (156 in the open and 78 in the women’s) played their first classical encounters, though. There was no lack of surprises on the first day of action, with 14-year-old Ediz Gurel from Turkey (the youngest participant in the open) stunning Velimir Ivic in brilliant style. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
JUAN DOLIO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Disco music filled the small conference center as the audience impatiently munched on dried macarons and downed tropical-colored fruit punch, all breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic. It’s not often that the president of a country makes a live appearance at an event where most participants are silent!
In the middle of the Chilean summer, at the end of December, the 8th International Chess Festival was held in Arica. Over 100 players from 11 countries participated. The Argentine GM Sandro Mareco won the Open in the "City of Eternal Spring" on tiebreak, GM Cristobal Henriquez from Chile finished second. Read more about town and tournament. | Photos: Organiser