Category: News

The 2024 World Senior Championship have come to an end in Porto Santo, the Golden Island of the Atlantic Ocean. After 11 thrilling rounds, four champions were crowned. They were Alerxander Shabalov (United States) in the +50s, Rainer Knaak (Germany) in the +65s, Masha Klinova (Israel) in the +50s and Brigitte Buerchardt in the +65s.

In the absolute +50 category, after a very close championship that brought together 15 grandmasters, Shabalov won the final sprint against Poland’s Michal Krasenkow. The two grandmasters finished tied on 8.5 points, but the American benefited from a better tie-break to take home the crown.

Interestingly, in the match between the two, played in the fifth round, Shabalov missed the chance to win a rook ending, but had to settle for a draw.

In the 11th round, Shabalov beat compatriot and fellow grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, while Krasenkow, who led the tournament for many rounds, was held to a draw by German grandmaster Frank Holzke.
Third place on the podium went to Israeli grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski, who finished on his own with 8 points and was one of the great entertainers of the tournament.
The best Portuguese in the +50 was international master Sérgio Rocha, in 29th with 6 points.

Dominating the 65+ category was German grandmaster Rainer Kaak, who finished in sole lead with 8.5 points. Number 2 at the start of the competition, Knaak moved into the lead in the ninth round after beating Lubomir Ftacnik and never let go of first place.

Israeli international master Alexander Mikhalevski (Victor’s brother, in the +50 category) was second with 7 points, the same as third-placed Slovak grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik.
Of particular note was the great performance of Portuguese FIDE master António Pereira dos Santos, who finished in a brilliant fifth place, as he was only number 23 at the start. The Portuguese player closed the tournament on a high note by beating Brazilian grandmaster Jaime Sunye Neto.

The women’s tournament brought together the +50 and +65 age categories and the best of the 36 players was Israeli international master Masha Klinova, who totalled 8 points, the same as another international master, Frenchwoman Silvia Alexieva.

In third place was women’s grandmaster Tatyana Grabuzova (Spain), rounding off a podium made up entirely of +50s.

Finishing 10th, women’s international master Brigitte Burchardt (Germany) won the +65 title ahead of the renowned Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia), a living legend of world chess who, at 83, still moves the pieces brilliantly.

Third in the 65+ category was Tatyana Bogumil, playing under the FIDE flag.

The Seniors World Championships, organised by the Portuguese Chess Federation with the support of FIDE, brought together two hundred players and were a success, combining the technical quality of the tournaments and their members with the unique atmosphere of the island of Porto Santo, known as the Golden Island, a paradise in the Atlantic Ocean.

Results and full rankings at:

+ 50 years: +50 classification

+65 years: +65 classification

Women’s tournament: Women’s Tournament Classification

Golden Island’s late summer has heated up the boards at the World Senior Championship. In Porto Santo, the tournaments have entered their second half and the favourites are closing in on their respective bids for the titles.

In the 50+ age group, grandmasters Alexander Shabalov (USA) and Michal Kransekow (Poland) share the lead with 5 points from 6 rounds. The two have only conceded two draws, one of which came in their duel on matchday five. In that game, Shabalov, in black, looked in good shape to win a rook ending, but the Pole made a miraculous save to force the draw.
Half a point behind the leaders are eight players, all with a chance of fighting for the final podium.

As for the Portuguese, international master Sérgio Rocha and FIDE master Fernando Ribeiro have 3 points and share 33rd place with 12 other chess players.

Among the 65+ age group, there are five grandmasters at the top of the leaderboard. They are Brazilian Jaime Sunye Neto, German Rainer Knaak, Georgian Zurab Sturua, Slovakian Lubomir Ftacnik and Colombian Alonso Zapata. They all have 5 points and have already started this competitive tournament at the top of the rankings.

International master Fernando Silva is having a good tournament, in 14th place with 4 points, the same as the 10th-placed player. FIDE master António Pereira dos Santos is also playing on positive ground, with 3.5 points.

Equally balanced is the women’s tournament, which brings together players in the +50 and +65 age categories. Women’s international master Sopio Tereladze (Georgia) and absolute international master Masha Klimova (Israel) drew their match on the sixth round and now have 4.5 points, joined at the helm by international master Silvia Alexieva (France).

Madalena Silva, the Portuguese representative in this competition, has 2 points and is in 27th place.

The Veterans World Cup runs until 28 November and there are five rounds to go. Saturday 23rd is reserved for a well-deserved rest and many of the players are sure to take the opportunity to get to know the natural paradise that is the island of Porto Santo.

For those wishing to return to the chessboard, there will be a semi-fast tournament, one of the parallel activities planned for these World Championships at the Vila Baleira Hotel.
Another activity took place on 19 November, World Chess Day, and included an masterclass by grandmaster Michael Gurevich.

The World Senior Championship are already underway in Porto Santo and the 201 registered players took advantage of the Golden Island air to try to show the quality of ageless chess.

In the first of the 11 rounds of the three tournaments of these World Cup there were some surprises, demonstrating that status alone doesn’t win matches.

The greatest figure of these championships, Nona Gaprindashvili, for example, had to settle for a draw in the opening round of the women’s tournament, which brings together the +50 and +65 age categories. The first official female grandmaster in the history of women’s chess, World Champion between 1962 and 1978 and currently with 2243 Elo points, played black on the first board against German FIDE master Olga Birkholz (1875), who wasn’t daunted by the Georgian’s tremendous CV and imposed the point division.

Nona is the tournament’s number one and this draw in the opening round doesn’t detract from her favouritism to win the +65 title, which, at 83, would be one more for the living chess legend’s palmarès.

In the 50+ category, which features 15 grandmasters among the 80 participants, there were also surprises, starting with the draw conceded by the tournament’s number 2, grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov (United States, 2534), to Portuguese FIDE master Fernando Ribeiro (2125). The player from Casa do Povo de Mangualde, absolute national champion in 1997, thus became the first Portuguese hero of the tournament.

Another grandmaster surprised by a draw was Germany’s Klaus Bischoff (2445), who couldn’t beat Scotland’s Alan Minnican (2071).
The number one in the 50+ age bracket, Bulgarian grandmaster Kiril Georgiev (2553), came out on top against German FIDSE master Boris Dimitrijeski (2152), but had a tough match.

Among the veterans of the veterans, the 65+ category, also the number 2 in the competition, in this case German grandmaster Rainer Knaak (2458), conceded a draw against Argentinian FIDE master Marcelo Ibar (2044), but the biggest highlight of the day went to Israeli Abir Har-Even (2014), who defeated international master Vladislav Nasybullin (2374, Kazakhstan) on the sixth table.

Zurab Sturua, number 1 in the tournament with his 2502 Elo points and one of the eight grandmasters present, managed to win, but had to apply himself to the full to see off the Filipino Mario Mangubat (2052).

The World Veterans Championships are being held until 28 November at the Hotel Vila Baleira in Porto Santo, the Golden Island of the Madeira archipelago.

Every round we have 40 live matches, which can be followed from 3pm local time (16 CET) via the Lichess digital platform (https://lichess.org/broadcast/world-senior-championship-2024–open-50/round-2/ub079XDm#boards).

Photo: Kiril Georgiev, the +50 number one, side by side with Fernando Ribeiro, the first Portuguese hero of the tournament

Photo: Kiril Georgiev, the +50 number one, side by side with Fernando Ribeiro, the first Portuguese hero of the tournament

Full gallery at: https://facebook.com/fpxadrez

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.

FIDE Events Commission decided to merge Women +50 and +65 categories due to the proposal of the Organizing Committee according to the FIDE World Senior Championships regulations https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/D0403

D. Regulations for Specific Competitions / 04. Other FIDE Competitions / 03. FIDE World Senior Championships /.

The final configuration of Women Section of World Senior Chess Championships 2023 categories Women 50+ and Women 65+ will be played as one tournament with 11 rounds.

Prizes will be given separately to the best players from Women 50+ and Women 65+ categories according to the final standings.

Statement published in: STATEMENT 001-2024 – download