The Swiss Queens Wednesday Series, launched in partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is an initiative aimed at boosting women’s participation in chess. With tournaments every Wednesday, the series has attracted some of the strongest players from around the world. Five editions were played in February, with Martha Fierro, Valentina Gunina, Anastasia Bodnaruk, Gunay Mammadzada and Polina Shuvalova emerging victorious in each of them.
For its December list FIDE has not yet rated the tournaments in St. Louis and Zagreb, so Alireza Firouzja's rating loss is still quite moderate. The 30 Elo-points Hans Niemann gained in the Tournament of Peace in Zagreb do not appear in the list either. But Carlsen remains the clear number one.
Overview The 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss concluded on Sunday, November 5, after 11 rounds of competition in Douglas, Isle of Man. The result was a double-“V” victory for India, with GM Vidit Gujraithi and IM Vaishali Rameshbabu winning the Open and Women’s tournaments respectively, each with scores of 8½/11.
Four players are sharing the lead with three rounds to go in the open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss after Fabiano Caruana, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Andrey Esipenko scored full points on Thursday to join Vidit Gujrathi atop the standings. Nine players stand a half point behind, including second seed Hikaru Nakamura and Indian prodigy Arjun Erigaisi. In the women’s tournament, meanwhile, Anna Muzychuk, Antoaneta Stefanova and Vaishali Rameshbabu continue to share first place. | Photo: Anna Shtourman
As expected, hard-fought, exciting games were the norm on the opening day at the Grand Swiss tournaments on the Isle of Man. In the open, 32 players started with wins, including top seed Fabiano Caruana, Richard Rapport (pictured) and Levon Aronian. In the women’s event, meanwhile, 15 participants scored full points, with none of the top three seeds getting more than a draw. | Photo: Anna Shtourman