Due to the practical difficulties of organising an OTB London Chess Classic this December amid the Covid-19 crisis, we have taken the unavoidable decision to cancel this year’s event. However, we’re planning an outdoor London Chess Festival in Summer 2021!
The whole world halts for this virus.
12,480 hours is the final estimate on the number of hours it takes to reach the grandmaster title for players who start under age 10. This is a huge time commitment, but the assumptions seem fairly reasonable based on all of the data I’ve looked at for chess improvement. The best things you can do for your own chess improvement involve having an efficient study plan, working hard, and staying dedicated year after year without getting burnt out.
At the end of the day, you’ll ask yourself: “Does getting good at chess pay well?”
Congratulations to @MagnusCarlsen on winning @NorwayChess with a round to spare! pic.twitter.com/IwSPh6OWAH
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) October 15, 2020
This makes it his 3rd title for the tournament.
The biennial team event by FIDE appears will be held online this year. It’s scheduled to happen July 22 to August 30, 2020.
I wonder how will the organizers prevent cheating in this big and online event?
After losing his Round 4 game against Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja beats Anish Giri in Round 5 of Tata Steel Masters 2020, to rejoin So in the lead by the end of the round.
| White | Black | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Anand, Viswanathan | Xiong, Jeffery | 1-0 |
| Carlsen, Magnus | Dubov, Daniil | ½-½ |
| Caruana, Fabiano | Van Foreest, Jorden | ½-½ |
| Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | Artemiev, Vladislav | ½-½ |
| Firouzja, Alireza | Giri, Anish | 1-0 |
| Kovalev, Vladislav | So, Wesley | ½-½ |
| Vitiugov, Nikita | Yu, Yangyi | ½-½ |
| # | Name | Pts | SB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | So, Wesley | 3.5 | 9.00 |
| Firouzja, Alireza | 3.5 | 7.25 | |
| 3 | Caruana, Fabiano | 3.0 | 7.00 |
| Van Foreest, Jorden | 3.0 | 6.75 | |
| Artemiev, Vladislav | 3.0 | 5.50 | |
| 6 | Xiong, Jeffery | 2.5 | 7.00 |
| Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2.5 | 6.00 | |
| Anand, Viswanathan | 2.5 | 5.75 | |
| Carlsen, Magnus | 2.5 | 5.75 | |
| Dubov, Daniil | 2.5 | 4.75 | |
| 11 | Giri, Anish | 2.0 | 5.00 |
| Vitiugov, Nikita | 2.0 | 4.75 | |
| 13 | Yu, Yangyi | 1.5 | 3.50 |
| 14 | Kovalev, Vladislav | 1.0 | 3.00 |
Wesley So took the lead in the tournament by beating Alireza Firouzja in a quiet Queen’s Gambit Accepted where he steadily outplayed the youngster as white.
| White | Black | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Artemiev, Vladislav | Kovalev, Vladislav | 1-0 |
| Dubov, Daniil | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | ½-½ |
| Giri, Anish | Vitiugov, Nikita | ½-½ |
| So, Wesley | Firouzja, Alireza | 1-0 |
| Van Foreest, Jorden | Carlsen, Magnus | ½-½ |
| Xiong, Jeffery | Caruana, Fabiano | ½-½ |
| Yu, Yangyi | Anand, Viswanathan | ½-½ |
| # | Name | Pts | SB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | So, Wesley | 3.0 | 6.00 |
| 2 | Xiong, Jeffery | 2.5 | 5.75 |
| Caruana, Fabiano | 2.5 | 4.75 | |
| Firouzja, Alireza | 2.5 | 4.00 | |
| Van Foreest, Jorden | 2.5 | 4.00 | |
| Artemiev, Vladislav | 2.5 | 2.75 | |
| 7 | Carlsen, Magnus | 2.0 | 4.00 |
| Giri, Anish | 2.0 | 3.75 | |
| Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2.0 | 3.25 | |
| Dubov, Daniil | 2.0 | 2.75 | |
| 11 | Vitiugov, Nikita | 1.5 | 3.50 |
| Anand, Viswanathan | 1.5 | 2.75 | |
| 13 | Yu, Yangyi | 1.0 | 1.75 |
| 14 | Kovalev, Vladislav | 0.5 | 1.00 |
Seven games in the second round of Tata Steel 2020, and 4 were won by white. The rest were draws:
| White | Black | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Artemiev, Vladislav | Vitiugov, Nikita | 1-0 |
| Dubov, Daniil | Kovalev, Vladislav | 1-0 |
| Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | Firouzja, Alireza | ½-½ |
| Giri, Anish | Caruana, Fabiano | ½-½ |
| So, Wesley | Anand, Viswanathan | 1-0 |
| Xiong, Jeffery | Van Foreest, Jorden | 1-0 |
| Yu, Yangyi | Carlsen, Magnus | ½-½ |
| # | Name | Pts | SB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiong, Jeffery | 1.5 | 1.75 |
| So, Wesley | 1.5 | 1 | |
| Artemiev, Vladislav | 1.5 | 0.75 | |
| Dubov, Daniil | 1.5 | 0.75 | |
| Firouzja, Alireza | 1.5 | 0.5 | |
| 6 | Caruana, Fabiano | 1 | 1.25 |
| Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 1 | 1 | |
| Giri, Anish | 1 | 1 | |
| Carlsen, Magnus | 1 | 0.75 | |
| Van Foreest, Jorden | 1 | 0.5 | |
| 11 | Anand, Viswanathan | 0.5 | 0.75 |
| Vitiugov, Nikita | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
| Yu, Yangyi | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
| 14 | Kovalev, Vladislav | 0 | 0 |