They were great chess players in the past, but they continue to be so today, even after the age of 50 and 65. Many of these living chess legends will be gathered at the World Seniors Championships, which will be held from 17 to 28 November in Porto Santo.
The facilities of the Vila Baleira Hotel, on Ilha Dourada, are hosting this important competition, an event whose organisation has been awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to the Portuguese Chess Federation (FPX).
In the year of FIDE’s centenary celebrations, our federation is honoured to have been awarded such an important organisation and hopes to meet the expectations of a tournament of this size, while trying to fit these World Championships into the context of the development of the sport in the Madeira archipelago.
The Veterans World Championships consist of three separate tournaments: the +50 year old absolute category, the +65 year old absolute category and another that brings together the +50 and +65 year old women’s categories.
In total, these three competitions involve 203 chess players: 80 in the +50 absolute, 90 in the +65 absolute and 36 in the women’s championships.
In statistical terms, the figures demonstrate the variety and quality of these World Championships. In the +50 absolute we have players from 34 nationalities, with 45 titles: 15 grand masters, 13 international masters, 16 FIDE masters and one female FIDE master. In the +65 absolute there are players from 32 nationalities, including eight grand masters, 18 international masters and 18 FIDE masters. As for the women’s Worlds, the tournament is coloured with 18 flags and the board features one absolute grandmaster, six women’s grandmasters, one absolute international master, seven women’s international masters and seven women’s FIDE masters.
Number 1 in the 50+ category is Bulgarian grandmaster Kiril Georgiev, a former top-100 player in the world who is currently rated with 2553 Elo points. This tournament also features grandmasters Gregory Kaidanov (United States, 2534) and Mikal Kransekow (Poland, 2503).
The most prominent Portuguese representative in this event is international master Sérgio Rocha (2314), former national absolute champion and current national veterans champion, who is number 21 out of the 80 players entered.
In the +65 age group, the highest-ranked of the 90 players in the competition is Georgian grandmaster Zurab Sturua (2503 points), followed by German grandmaster Rainar Knaak (2458) and Slovakian grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik (2444).
Among the Portuguese players, international master Fernando Silva (2272 Elo points) stands out, a very experienced Portuguese chess player who has been absolute national champion on five occasions.
The women’s tournament brings us the greatest figure of these World Championships, Georgian grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili, who dominated world women’s chess in the 1960s and 1970s. Nona held the World Champion crown between 1962 and 1978 and was the first woman to be recognised as an absolute grandmaster.
A true living chess legend, Nona Gaprindashvili, now 83, still has a respectable rating of 2243 Elo points. She is number one in the championship and the strongest contender for the women’s +65 title.
The Seniors World Championships will begin with the first of 11 rounds at 3pm on 17 November and continue until the 18th with daily rounds at 3pm. The 23rd is reserved for rest, but on that day the FPX will organise a rapid game tournament open to all World Championship entrants.
