Five years since its launch, the Infinite Chess projecthas expanded globally, offering valuable insights to the chess community on its potential to enhance the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum

The World Health Organization notes that autism affects one in every 100 children worldwide. In 2007, The United Nations General Assembly established April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) to raise awareness and provide opportunities for people with autism not only to survive but also to prosper. In 2019, FIDE answered the call and launched the Infinite Chess project aiming to help children with autism thrive using chess as a vehicle for developing important life skills.

What began as a pilot program in 2019 has grown to encompass 19 countries worldwide, including Albania, Latvia, France, Spain, Portugal, UK, Gibraltar, Mongolia, Turkey, Morocco, Cyprus, India, Gambia, South Africa, Tanzania, Brazil, Taiwan, Malaysia, and New Zealand. Another six countries are expected to join this year: Jamaica, Botswana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Maldives, and Puerto Rico.

Today, the project equips autistic individuals with essential life skills through free training and resources, promoting their acceptance and contribution to society.

In March 2024, a three-day seminar at the Second International Congress of Chess, Education, and Health showcased studies on the project's impact. The results confirmed that chess has helped children with autism improve their socio-emotional well-being and build a stronger foundation for life skills.

In March 2024, a three-day seminar at the Second International Congress of Chess, Education, and Health showcased studies on the project's impact. The results confirmed that chess has helped children with autism improve their socio-emotional well-being and build a stronger foundation for life skills.

In the same month, the Spanish island of Menorca hosted the Second International Congress of Chess, Education, and Health as part of the FIDE100 Celebration program. The congress brought together experts in the fields of chess, education, and health. The three-day seminar showcased studies and experiences from different parts of the world about the role of chess in education and health, including the Infinite Chess project. The results showed that chess has helped children with autism improve their socio-emotional welfare and provided them with a stronger foundation for grasping important life skills.

Reflecting on the past five years, WIM Anastasia Sorokina, the project leader, emphasizes the significant learning experience for both the chess community and health experts. "It has been an important learning curve for both the chess world and health experts. Through direct work with children who have autism, we gained a better understanding of how chess can be made more accessible. Chess is for all we are all one family and FIDE is steadfast in its commitment to providing everyone, regardless of their background or life circumstances, with an opportunity to learn and play chess as it does help make one's life better," she said.

Running in sync with FIDE's Social Commission and supported by the International Olympic Committee, the Infinite Chess project explores how chess can help children with autism develop through the 64-square game. Through specially designed courses and seminars, educators are taught how to present chess to children with autism and help them learn the game.

The program, available online on theInfinite Chess website, as wellas through courses and seminars published on YouTube, has been translated into five languages (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian) and is currently taught to more than 150 children between the ages of four and 17.

You can watch a video on the Infinite Chess here.

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Breaking the limits: How FIDE's Infinite Chess project helps people with autism - FIDE

DeKALB The DeKalb Public Library will host two Teen and Tween Chess Club sessions for patrons to play chess.

The free sessions will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. April 3 and 17 in the librarys Nancy D. Castle Collaboration Studio, 309 Oak St.

The sessions are intended for youth ages nine to 18.

Attendees can learn about and play chess. Snacks will be provided. Due to limited space, registration is required to attend. To register, visit dkpl.org.

For information, email stevenm@dkpl.org or call 815-756-0568, ext. 3400.

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Teen and Tween Chess Club April 3 and 17 in DeKalb - Shaw Local

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Chess grandmaster Nadya Kosintseva gave a simul exhibition in Quincy - The Patriot Ledger

The chess world is still feeling the vibrations of the buzziest chess story of 2022, which went down in St. Louis and featured one prodigy of the game being accused of cheating via vibrating anal beads in his rectum.

The sex toy-centric chess controversy started here when grandmaster Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in a coy manner that many interpreted as an accusation of cheating against the person he lost to, then-19-year-old Hans Niemann.

One thing led to another, Elon Musk escalated the matter via a tweet, and in a classic example of the arc of all things bending toward the weirdest and least plausible explanation, the anal beads rumors inserted themselves into the discourse. The whole thing even spawned a lawsuit filed in federal court in St. Louis by Neiman against Carlsen. That was dismissed last summer.

Though the lawsuit might be dead, the relationship between anal beads and competitive chess now seems permanent, like Cracker Jacks and baseball or domestic beer and the NFL.

With that in mind, wellness company We-Vibe is offering "free anal stimulation toys" to all players in next month's World Chess Championship in Toronto.

As the world watches in anticipation, We-Vibe is proud to support the World Chess Championship," the company said in a statement. They said they hope to "empower players to make their moves with confidence, both inside and outside the game."

The eight player, double-round-robin-style Candidates Tournament will take place over about two and a half weeks in Toronto, starting April 3. The winner of that will take on defending champion Ding Liren.

Curiously, Carlsen has already withdrawn from the affair. No word yet from We-Vibe if he still gets a free butt plug.

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St. Louis Chess Scandal Inspires Offer of Free Anal Vibrators to Level the Playing Field - Riverfront Times

Business suits, hands crossed across the chest or tucked in pockets Indias Vidit Gujrathi, R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh have been striking the perfunctory pre-tournament poses against green screens in Toronto. All three are first-timers at the Candidates. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is the only Indian who has played in the Candidates. They go up against a fairly strong field one that carries two of the worlds top three players. All three Indians have had varied journeys leading up to this tournament starting on Thursday.

Vidit, the oldest among the Indians at 29, has been around for a while but his arrival on the elite level is fresh. He seems to have had something of an awakening in the past year a great run at the World Cup (quarterfinal finish) and a stellar win in a strong field at the Grand Swiss. He finished at the bottom in the Prague Masters last month. Since it took place too close to the Candidates it could perhaps be seen differently. A mature positional player, Vidit has waited for his turn to get here. A hustling pack of teen Indian GMs was perhaps the push he needed.

I have been very impressed by how Vidit has performed recently, said Anand. One area of concern is that he occasionally chokes. On multiple occasions, near a winning position, suddenly a blunder happens. I still think hes mostly on the right path. Surya (Ganguly) is a very good second and it explains Vidits recent agility. Prague should have poured some water on his face. Now he just needs to show up and start playing.

For Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, it can seem like the Candidates may have arrived a bit too soon. Theyre 17 and 18 respectively, which isnt to say they arent monstrously strong players. But the Candidates can be a whole different kettle of fish.

Alireza Firouzjas debut outing in the last edition can work as a cautionary tale. Then 18, the much-hyped French-Iranian GM was overambitious, erratic and put up uncharacteristically bad play. He traded a good nights sleep to play online bullet chess for seven hours the night before one of the later rounds. He eventually finished last.

Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa arent quite known for similar frenzied episodes during tournaments. Praggnanandhaa has an excellent second in former world No.4 Peter Svidler. The Russian GM brings tonnes of experience and the Indian teen has since last year shown that he can hold his own against some of the best names. His openings seem to have improved; his calculation skills are robust and itll be interesting to see how he fares in such a high-stakes tournament.

Gukesh is the second youngest player ever -- after Bobby Fischer -- to feature in a Candidates. He is known to play daring, high-risk chess and the nature of such a style doesnt lend itself to a whole lot of stability. But the payoffs can be great too. Its hard to overlook the kind of momentum and play he had at the Olympiad two years ago, the World Cup last year, or his joint-second finish at Wijk Aan Zee in January.

I think all Gukesh, Pragg and Vaishali should think of is settling in and playing a good tournament. All this will they win, wont they win talk around them is kind of funny from their point of view, said Anand. Good things can happen, but not if you overthink it.

Soon after she won the Womens Grand Swiss last November and qualified for the Women's Candidates, Indias Vaishali Rameshbabu did some search on the net. I looked up the rest of the field and realised that six (out of eight) players played the last Candidates and theres a former world champion too, she laughed. Its quite a tough field.

At 22, Vaishali is a first-timer in the Women's Candidates but shes also perhaps its most interesting name. Winners of the last two editions Lei Tingjie from China and Aleksandra Goryachkina from Russia are the favourites this time but if theres a player who is both dangerous and promising its probably Vaishali. Attacking, adventurous, creative theres rarely a dull moment in Vaishalis play and shes shown in past tournaments that she can beat former womens world champions and 2600 GMs. The training ecosystem of WACA and having a sibling, whos rated 300 Elo above her, for handy counsel have contributed to her rise and strength as a player.

The second Indian Koneru Humpy is the oldest in the women's field at 37. She hasnt played a whole lot of tournaments lately and it's hard to see her among the favourites.

Humpy is in a different stage of her career, said Anand. She plays less for obvious reasons. But she retains this memory of tough competitions and dramatic moments.

Recently she showed that she can lift her game when necessary. Its a healthy sign to do consistently well in the World Rapid. A lot will depend on her motivation. The Candidates is particularly long and classical so whatever she was doing before shell have to do it for a much longer stretch.

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Candidates chess: All eyes on Indias young stalwarts - Hindustan Times

Congratulations to FM Daniel Barrish and WIM Jesse February, winners of the 2024 South African Closed Chess Championships hosted by the Cape Town Chess Federation at the Newlands Cricket Ground.

Both open and womens tournaments were 12-player round robins with classical time control.

Fifth seed Daniel Barrish delivered an impressive performance, taking clear first in the open section, finishing a full point ahead of the runner-up FM Caleb Levitan. The champion scored 8/11 and became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. IM Jan Karsten netted 6.5/11 and won bronze.

Final standings open:

1

FM

Barrish, Daniel

2218

8

2

FM

Levitan, Caleb

2235

7

3

IM

Karsten, Jan

2323

6

4

Mnyasta, Charlton

2123

6

FM

Mhango, Banele

2193

6

6

IM

Cawdery, Daniel

2380

6

7

Mnguni, Jacob

2134

6

8

IM

Kobese, Watu

2268

6

9

FM

Klaasen, Calvin

2155

5

10

FM

Simpson, Michael

2093

4

11

Mfazwe, Lutho

1956

2

12

CM

Khumalo, Keith

2079

2

Fresh from her triumph in the African Championship, Jesse February dominated the womens competition, conceding her opponents just a half-point. WIM Charlize Van Zyl (9/11) and WFM Chloe Badenhorst (8/11) completed the podium.

Final standings women:

1

WIM

February, Jesse

1920

10

2

WIM

Van Zyl, Charlize

1909

9

3

WFM

Badenhorst, Chloe

1917

8

4

Klaasen, Robyn

1746

6

5

Nel, Hayley

1678

6

6

Strong, Davida

1672

5

7

Boshoma, Chisomo

1780

5

8

Grobbelaar, Jacqui

1726

4

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Daniel Barrish and Jesse February win South African Closed Championship - FIDE

Press release by FIDE and World Chess

The Iconic World Chess Sets will be used at the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the Championship Match; FIDE Continues Collaboration with World Chess on the Chess Sets for 2024-2025.

The tradition that has lasted since 2012 continues as the major FIDE events, including the upcoming FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024 and the 2024 Championship Match, will exclusively use the iconic World Chess Championship sets.

The sets, designed by Pentagram for World Chess, have become synonymous with the pinnacle of chess competition, adorning the stages of the FIDE Championship Matches, the Candidates Tournaments, and other prestigious events for over a decade. This partnership extends through 2025, ensuring these remarkable sets remain integral to the chess worlds most elite competitions.

Renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship and timeless design, the World Chess Championship sets have earned a place as one of the most sought-after chess sets globally. Manufactured by World Chess, they epitomize the perfect blend of form and function, capturing the essence of chess at its highest level. All Championship Matches and Candidates Tournaments since 2012 have used the same chess design, which was initially developed with input from Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, among others.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said:

The chess board and pieces are often the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of chess. The evolution of design and craftsmanship in chess sets throughout history has elevated them to the status of art. These visual components play an important role in shaping the games image and promotion. We are delighted that the tradition of specially designing chess sets for top events has emerged, and we look forward to its continuation.

Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, added:

Chess is a collection of traditions, almost like a religious act: a handshake, recording a move, a dress code I am happy that World Chess, together with FIDE, has built another tradition a special set for special events. Now, its all about the games!

World Chess manufactures different variants of its iconic design, ranging from premium redwood options to high-quality plastic sets for club play. Available for purchase online and in select elite stores around the world, including the prestigious Harrods in London, the World Chess Championship sets offer enthusiasts the opportunity to bring home a piece of chess history.

Ahead of the highly anticipated FIDE Candidates Tournament in April 2024 and the prestigious FIDE World Championship Match in November 2024, World Chess is thrilled to unveil a special limited edition chess set. Crafted from ebony wood and housed in a classic World Chess black box adorned with iconic symbols representing the FIDE Championship Cycle, this set boasts a solid black wooden chess board with a smooth finish, perfect for championship-level matches. Each board features a metal plaque displaying the edition number and a commemorative inscription honoring the legacy of the World Chess Championship.

About World Chess

World Chess Plc (LSE: CHSS) is a London-based chess gaming and entertainment company and Fdration Internationale des checs (FIDE) official commercial partner. World Chess organized the FIDE Championship Matches in the USA, and the UK, and revolutionized the sport by signing the biggest media partnerships in history. World Chess develops Armageddon, the chess league for prime-time television. World Chess also runs FIDE Online Arena, the exclusive official chess gaming platform. More at worldchess.com.

How to play the Najdorf

Between 2004 and 2007 the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov recorded a large 3-volume Najdorf video course. ChessBase is publishing this great classic in a complete edition in the current ChessBase Media format. Look forward to this classic of chess!

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Candidates Tournament to feature iconic World Chess sets - Chess News | ChessBase

The eight-player, 14-round Candidates tournament, to decide the 2024 world titlechallenger, begins in Toronto this week. Thursdays opening round of the 500,000 event starts at 7.30pm BST and will be viewable on major chess websites.The 250,000 Womens Candidates is held alongside the open event for the first time.

Who will win? There is a generation battle between the trio of Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura (US) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) in their thirties, and the under-21 group of Alireza Firouzja (France) and the Indians Praggnanandhaa R and Gukesh D, with the outsidersViditGujrathi (India) and Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan) in their late twenties.

Caruana and Nakamura, the World Nos 2 and 3, are the rating favourites, whileNepomniachtchi (twice) and Caruana are previous Candidates winners.

The Russians case is interesting. His two previous Candidates appearances were marked by high-profile publicity, with referencesto help from a supercomputer and a team of aides, while this time his preparation has been low-key. In last years world title match against Ding Liren, Nepomniachtchi took the lead three times before losing, so he will be highly motivated, all the more so since Dings poor 2024 form continued at the Grenke Classic in Karlsruhe last week.

Caruana, the US champion, plays in the rational classical style characteristic of many of the greatest players, though there is a view that he has become liable to choke on big occasions. He failed in the last two Candidates when he was the pre-tournament favourite.

Nakamuras primary career is as a popular streamer, so that heclaims to play with less pressure than most of his rivals. However, In the final round of the 2022 Candidates he missed easy chances to draw with Ding and so qualify for a title match with Nepomniachtchi.

Firouzja is still only 20, but already has a long and successful career at the highest level. His previous Candidates in 2022 was disappointing, as he finished sixth of eight and notoriouslyplayed a bullet match in the small hours while dropping out of contention.He has flirted with an alternative career in fashion design, and only qualified for the 2024 Candidates by a controversial route.He remains an outstanding talent, capable of winning the event if on his best form.

Three Indians in an eight-player field would normally imply a good chance, but for Praggnanandhaa, 18, and Gukesh, 17, the chance probably comes too early. Teenagers have a poor Candidates record. Vidits strong finish at the Grand Swiss in the Isle of Man qualified him, but his overall form is variable, while the 100-1 outsider Abasov is the lowest rated by a wide margin.

Its an open Candidates. I hesitatingly choose Nepomniachtchifor a third victory, but would not be surprised if Caruana or Firouzja won.

The womens Candidates looks easier to predict.Aleksandra Goryachkina and Lei Tingjie are the two highest rated players, both have won the Candidates previously, and both went close in their world title matches against the holder Ju Wenjun. My narrow preference is for the Russian.

Puzzle 2566

David Peng vs Pavel Anisimov, Titled Tuesday 2020.White to move and win.

Click here for solution

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Chess: generation battle as world title Candidates starts in Toronto - Financial Times

ISTANBUL

A 12-year-old chess player, Yaz Kaan Erdomu, competing in the Grenke Open Chess Tournament, has completed his last norm and achieved the "Grandmaster" (GM) title.

The chess player (12 years, 9 months and 30 days old) who is one of the youngest grandmasters in chess history, is now the worlds youngest Grandmaster, according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) rankings. He has also become the youngest grandmaster in Trkiye.

Erdomu, a successful chess player who has shown great performance since the day he started chess and followed by the world with great interest, also managed to become the athlete with the title of the world's youngest international master at the age of 11.

Erdomu also ranked fourth in the ranking of the youngest grandmaster in the history of world chess, behind Abhimanyu Mishra of the U.S. (12 years, 4 months, 25 days old), Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine (12 years, 7 months old) and Gukesh Dommaraju of India (12 years, 7 months, 17 days old).

"I congratulate Erdomu for his great performance. Our successful national athlete achieved this success with his incredible discipline and hard work. I also sincerely congratulate his family, who has always been with him and made great efforts," said Glkz Tulay, the president of the Turkish Chess Federation.

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12-year-old Turkish chess player becomes 'Grandmaster' - Hurriyet Daily News

"Predictions are difficult, especially when they concern the future," is a well-known saying attributed to such diverse personalities as the author George Bernard Shaw, the former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the physicist Nils Bohr and the American baseball player Yogi Berra. This often quoted, seemingly simple wisdom naturally also applies to chess tournaments, although the Elo rating can at least be used to determine a nominal favourite.

But despite all the problems with predictions and the unpredictable future, it is simply fun to speculate about the possible winners of upcoming sporting events, and such mind games also provide a good opportunity to get in the mood for these events. So here is an overview of the eight participants in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto and their chances of winning the tournament.

The following list is organised according to the live ratings that the participants in the Candidates Tournament had at the end of March, as these figures are likely to be close to the ratings with which the players will start the tournament at the beginning of April.

The participants Fabiano Caruana - Elo 2803

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

The rating favourite in the Candidates Tournament is Fabiano Caruana, the current world number 2 and currently the only player apart from Carlsen with a rating above 2800. But it's not just the Elo rating that speaks in Caruana's favour. The 31-year-old American has enormous experience and is already playing his fifth Candidates Tournament in Toronto. In 2018, he won the Candidates Tournament and was therefore allowed to play against Carlsen for the World Championship in November 2018. In this World Championship match, both Caruana and Carlsen had good winning chances on more than one occasion, but all 14 games of the match, which were played with a classical time control, ended in draws. In the subsequent rapid chess tiebreak, Carlsen clearly prevailed 3-0.

Nevertheless, Caruana knows how to win a Candidates Tournament, and he knows that he can win a Candidates Tournament. He can also look back on a very successful 2023, in which he went from success to success. In May, he won the Superbet Chess Classic tournament in Bucharest and at the World Cup, which ended in August, he finished third although he lost in the semifinals to Praggnanandhaa, who is also taking part in Toronto. But later in 2023, Caruana went on to win the US Championship, the Sinquefield Cup and the Grand Chess Tour.

In other words, the trend is in Caruana's favour, and if he manages to maintain the good form he showed in 2023, he has a good chance of winning the Candidates Tournament for a second time and playing for the World Championship for a second time.

And there's something else in Caruana's favour: as he himself has admitted, his defeat to Carlsen in the 2018 World Championship match plunged him into a crisis. He seems to have overcome this and, in numerous interviews and on the podcast C-Squared, which he runs together with his second Cristian Chirila, he always makes a calm, confident and self-assured impression. This mental stability could give him an advantage at crucial moments in the Candidates Tournament.

Hikaru Nakamura - Elo 2789

Hikaru Nakamura, the number 2 seed and the oldest participant in the tournament at the age of 36, also appears very mentally stable. As he likes to emphasise in interviews, Nakamura no longer sees himself as a chess professional who earns his money with tournaments, but as a chess streamer. Nakamura is extremely successful in this respect. His stream channel GMHikaru currently (March 2024) has 2.27 million subscribers on YouTube and enjoys unbroken popularity.

Thanks to his income as a streamer, Nakamura is no longer dependent on good tournament results and can therefore, as he says himself, play freely and carefree in the few classicl tournaments in which he takes part. This relaxed attitude led to a series of successes in 2023. Nakamura won the Norway Chess Tournament and came second in the Grand Swiss Tournament, increasing his rating from 2768 in January 2023 to 2789 in March 2024.

Nakamura also has a lot of experience, of course. He became grandmaster in 2003 at the age of 15 years and 79 days, breaking Bobby Fischer's record as the youngest American grandmaster of all time. In 2010, Nakamura made it into the top ten for the first time, and since then he has played and won numerous top tournaments.

In addition, Nakamura is regarded as an outstanding blitz and bullet specialist and has practised playing under stress in hundreds of thousands of online blitz games. But despite the enormous amount of online games he has already played, he seems to be eager and highly motivated in every new blitz game. This will to win, and this passion, could also help him succeed in Toronto. Furthermore, Nakamura is regarded as one of the toughest and most tenacious defenders in the world, and these defensive skills could help the American in Toronto if it turns out in one or two games that he is theoretically not quite as well-prepared as his rivals due to his work as a streamer.

Toronto is Nakamura's third Candidates Tournament. On his debut in Moscow in 2016, he finished in a disappointing seventh place; on his second attempt, at the 2022 Candidates Tournament in Madrid, he came fourth. But if he had won or drawn against Ding Liren in the last round there, he and not Ding Liren would have finished second in Madrid and played Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the 2022 Candidates Tournament, for the World Championship, since Carlsen famously decided not to defend his title.

As the second seed, Nakamura has a good nominal chance of winning in Toronto. He showed that he sees himself primarily as a streamer at the Candidates Tournament in Madrid 2022, where he commentated on all 14 games after each round on his streaming channel, providing a highlight of the tournament and also of chess commentary. Perhaps Nakamura will also be streaming in Toronto, and then we'll see whether his dual role as a candidate and streamer will inspire him or be a burden in this important tournament.

Alireza Firouzja - Elo 2760

Calculation Training - Sharpen Your Game!

In Calculation Training Sharpen Your Game! a total of 73 examples have been selected, the vast majority containing multiple questions, and more than 160 questions of varying difficulty.

Alireza Firouzja is regarded as one of the greatest chess talents of recent years. He was born on 18 June 2003 in Babol, Iran, and was already Iranian champion at the age of 12. He became a grandmaster at 14 and at the age of 18 years and 166 days became the youngest player ever to break the 2800 Elo mark, breaking the record set by Magnus Carlsen, who achieved this at the age of 18 years and 336 days.

In 2019, Firouzja left Iran with his family and settled in France, and since July 2021 he has been playing for France and is a French citizen. 2021 was also a good year for Firouzja in chess terms: in November 2021 he won the Grand Swiss Tournament with 8 out of 11 and with this victory qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament. Firouzja also impressed immediately afterwards at the European Team Championship: he scored 8 points from 9 games (+8, =2) on the top board and thus helped France to the silver medal at this European Team Championship (gold went to Ukraine). At the same time, these two top results in a row catapulted Firouzja to second place in the world rankings, where he remained from December 2021 to April 2022.

Firouzja went into the 2022 Candidates Tournament as one of the favourites, but the tournament was disappointing for the young grandmaster: with 6 points from 14 games, Firouzja finished in sixth place and was far from the form he had shown at the Grand Swiss and the European Team Championship.

From November 2022 to May 2023, Firouzja then took a break from classical chess and did not play a single rated game for seven consecutive months, sparking speculation about Firouzja's chess ambitions and future chess career. Speculation that was fuelled by the news that he had been studying fashion design in Paris since May 2023.

But at the end of 2023, Firouzja dispelled any doubts about his ambition. In order to qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament with the help of hisrating, Firouzja played against four players with a comparatively low rating in a tournament organised especially for him in December in order to gain Elo points through supposedly "easy" victories and thus overtake Wesley So, who was ahead of him in the world rankings at the time. This dubious method of gaining Elo points caused controversy in the chess world, and FIDE threatened to strip Firouzja of the points he had won in this tournament. But Firouzja did not give up: instead of taking part in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Samarkand, he played in a small, open event in Rouen at the end of 2023 in order to win the Elo points he needed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. And he succeeded: Firouzja won the tournament with 7 out of 7 and thus secured qualification for the 2024 Candidates Tournament at literally the last minute.

If Firouzja finds his best form in Toronto and avoids the mistakes he made in the 2022 Candidates Tournament, he could win the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He has the necessary experience, the necessary playing strength and obviously also the necessary motivation.

Ian Nepomniachtchi - Elo 2758

Ian Nepomniachtchi plays particularly well when he's on a roll. The 33-year-old Russian is on a roll in Candidates tournaments: in April 2021 he won the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, which had been split into two parts due to the Covid pandemic and had started in March 2020. After this victory, Nepomniachtchi played Carlsen for the World Championship in November and December 2021. The first five games of the match were a battle of equals, but then Nepomniachtchi lost the dramatic sixth game in a difficult endgame. It was the longest game ever played at the World Championships and "Nepo" never recovered from this bitter defeat as the competition progressed. In the following five games, he made a series of simple mistakes that led to three bitter defeats. He managed a draw in two games, but the match still ended prematurely in Carlsen's favour with a score of 7-3.

However, in the next Candidates Tournament in Madrid 2022, "Nepo" was again in impressive form and won unbeaten with 9 out of 14, putting him a full 1 points ahead of Ding Liren, who finished second in the tournament and was allowed to play Nepomniachtchi for the World Championship, as Carlsen had decided not to defend his title.

The World Championship match between Ding and Nepomniachtchi was dramatic: Nepomniachtchi took the lead three times, Ding equalised three times until the score was finally 7-7 after 14 games and the new World Champion had to be decided in a four-game tiebreak match. Ding won this by the narrowest of margins, 2-1, to become Carlsen's successor and the 17th world champion in chess history.

Nepomniachtchi didn't play much in 2023 and didn't achieve any notable successes in major tournaments, although he did lose 35 rating points between January 2023 and March 2024 (in January 2023 he was just below the 2800 mark with a rating of 2793, in March 2024 he was far from it with a rating of 2758). However, as the loser of the 2022 World Championship match, Nepomniachtchi automatically qualified for the Candidates Tournament. Whether he can regain his old form in Toronto and continue his winning streak in the Candidates Tournament remains to be seen. Should Nepomniachtchi win in Toronto, he would be the only player in the history of chess to have won three Candidates Tournaments.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu - Elo 2747

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: Attack like a Super GM with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

The rating development of the 18-year-old Indian grandmaster Praggnanandhaa "Pragg" Rameshbabhu was completely different to that of "Nepo". He started 2023 with a rating of 2684, but then went from strength to strength to reach 2747.1 points in the March live list, up 63 points from January 2023. If this upward trend continues in the Candidates Tournament, then "Pragg" could indeed spring a surprise and become the youngest player in chess history to win a Candidates Tournament.

Gukesh Dommaraju - Elo 2742

As young as "Pragg" is, his compatriot Gukesh Dommaraju is even younger and, at 17, the youngest participant in the Candidates Tournament. He was born on 29 May 2006 and will celebrate his 18th birthday one month after the end of the Candidates Tournament on 22 April. Nevertheless, Gukesh is not the youngest contestant of all time. The record holder here is once again Carlsen, who qualified for the Candidates shortly after his 15th birthday on 30 November by finishing tenth at the World Cup in December 2005. The second-youngest candidate of all time is Bobby Fischer, who was 15 years and 6 months old when he qualified for the 1959 Candidates by finishing sixth at the Interzonal in Portoroz.

Like Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh also had a successful year in 2023, recording a rating increase, albeit smaller than that of his compatriot. Gukesh started 2023 with an Elo rating of 2725, and his current live rating is 2742.7. After the 2023 World Cup, Gukesh even managed to break the 2750 barrier, becoming the youngest player ever to do so.

Now, you might think that 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa and 17-year-old Gukesh are both too young to win a Candidates Tournament. However, talented chess players have been becoming grandmasters earlier and earlier in recent years, so it could be that the winners of the Candidates Tournaments are also getting younger and younger.

Mikhail Tal won the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Portoroz at the age of 22 and Garry Kasparov was 21 when he played his first match in the 1984 Candidates final on 10 March 1984 against 63-year-old Vassily Smyslov, whom he defeated 8-4. Two long World Championship matches against Anatoly Karpov later, Kasparov became the youngest world champion of all time in 1985 at the age of 22 years and 6 months.

Like the other players in the Candidates Tournament, Gukesh has the talent, the motivation and ultimately the experience to win the tournament. And he showed what he is already capable of at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, where he started on board 1 with 8 out of 8 and ultimately finished the tournament with 9 out of 11 and a performance of 2867.

Vidit Gujrathi - Elo 2727

Master advanced Tactics and Calculations like a super Grandmaster

The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti

Born on 24 October 1994, Vidit Gujrathi is the third Indian in the Candidates Tournament, albeit more than ten years older than Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh. With a current (mid-March) live rating of 2727.1, he is ranked seventh in the seeding list and thus nominally only has an outside chance in Toronto. In addition, Vidit was completely out of form in his last appearance before the Candidates Tournament, the Chess Festival in Prague: with 3 out of 9, he ended up in tenth (last) place. His Indian rivals fared better: Praggnanandhaa finished second to fourth in Prague with 5 out of 9, 1 points behind tournament winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Gukesh scored 4 out of 9.

However, we know from the theatre that a bad dress rehearsal is a good omen for the premiere. Vidit showed how this works in practice at the Grand Swiss Tournament 2023, where he qualified for the Candidates Tournament: he started the tournament with a loss in the first round, but then took 7 wins and 3 draws from the next ten games to win the tournament with a commanding 8/11.

Nijat Abasov - Elo 2632

The absolute outsider in the field is the Azerbaijani grandmaster Nijat Abasov, who was born in 1995 and is currently ranked 110th in the world with an Elo rating of 2632. Abasov started the 2023 World Cup in 69th place in the seeding list, but surprisingly finished fourth and made it into the Candidates Tournament because World Cup winner Carlsen did not want to play in the Candidates Tournament. After the World Cup, Abasov reached 2679, but since then, he's dropped 47 Elo points which is not the only indication that he'll have a tough time in Toronto.

Conclusion If you look at the numerous successes of this year's candidates, you can say that seven of the eight participants in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto have a more or less good chance of winning the tournament. In terms of rating and experience, Caruana is the favourite, but of course, the rating favourite does not always win in such strong, balanced and prestigious tournaments. A lot depends on the form, mental stability, the start to the tournament and, last but not least, a little bit of luck. In terms of mental stability, Nakamura and perhaps also Vidit, who has been strengthened by regular meditation, could have an advantage. And as for the three youngest players in the field Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Firouzja with a little luck and the vigour and confidence of youth, all three could win the tournament. But as mentioned above, such predictions all have their pitfalls. What seems certain, however, is that the 2024 Candidates Tournament will be an exciting, combative chess celebration.

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Who will win the 2024 Candidates Tournament? - Chess.com