Alireza Firouzja has not given up. After failing to surpass Wesley So in the ratings list in a series of matches in Chartres, the youngster withdrew from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship and registered to participate in an open tournament in Rouen, France. The tournament is a 7-round Swiss Open, with Gata Kamsky (rated 2634) and Li Min Peng (2562) the second and third seeds, respectively. In the meantime, FIDE published a reviewed tournament registration procedure. | Photo: Europe Echecs
Alireza Firouzja’s attempt to reach the Candidates via rating at a series of matches in Chartres failed at the last hurdle. After scoring five wins in a row, the strongest junior in the world was held to a draw by Sergey Fedorchuk, thus losing 2.8 Elo points and again falling behind Wesley So in the live ratings list. The draw was followed by Firouzja disappearing from the lineups of the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. He still has a week before the year ends will he try desperately to gain some rating again?
In the "Way to the Candidates" match series, which takes place in Chartres, France, and was designed to help Alireza Firouzja to reach the Candidates, Firouzja has won five of the six scheduled games, overtaking Wesley So on the live-ranking list. However, Firouzja still has to win his second game against Sergey Fedorchuk today. Many chess fans criticised the event, and the US federation asked the FIDE not to rate the games played in these matches.
There are still two places available in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. One of these places will go to the player with the highest Elo rating in the January 2024 world rankings who has not yet qualified for the Candidates Tournament. A tournament was therefore organised at short notice in Chennai, India, to give Erigaisi and Gukesh a better chance to qualify. Leinier Dominguez tried his luck at the Sunway Sitges Open, while Alireza Firouzja now suddenly has a chance to gain Elo in a series of matches in France.
The favourites keep on winning in the open section of the European Club Cup, as the four top seeds share the lead with 8/8 match points going into the fifth round. On Thursday, Vishy Anand’s Superchess is set to face MVL’s Asnieres, while Magnus Carlsen’s Offerspill will play against Vincent Keymer’s Novy Bor. In the women’s section, TAJFUN SK Ljubljana lead the standings as the only team with a perfect score. | Photo: Niki Riga