Last month, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) published the qualification criteria that will be used for entry into the 2022 Candidates Tournament. However, a place has been reserved for the Azerbaijani grandmaster Teimour Radjabov, winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup, who withdrew from the previous edition, predicting that the coronavirus would become an obstacle for the normal completion of the event.
Assuredly, the 2020 Candidates Tournament had to be postponed and was completed in April 2021, one year after it began. Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi won the event and earned the right to challenge World Champion Magnus Carlsen for that title.
According to what was published, the qualifying paths to the 2022 tournament are:
1. One spot – FIDE World Championship Match, Runner-up
2. One spot – Teimour Radjabov, winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup
3. Two spots – FIDE World Cup 2021
4. Two spots – FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament, 2021
5. Two spots – FIDE Grand Prix Series, 2022.
A notable modification to this is that there will not be a wildcard nor a rating qualifier. FIDE stated the goal is to “devise a democratic qualification system, where every reasonably strong player is given a chance to qualify”.
Chess game
White: Fabiano Caruana
Black: Anish Giri
Tournament: GCT Bucharest Classic, June 9, 2021
Type of Game: Spanish Game, Berlin Defence, Hermet Variation
1. E4e5 2. Nf3Nc6 3. Bb5Nf6 4. O-ONxe4 5. d4Nd6 6. Bxc6dxc6 7. dxe5Nf5 8. Qe2Nd4 9. Nxd4Qxd4 10. h3Be6 11. Rd1Qc4 12. Rd3Rd8 13. b3Qh4 14. Rxd8+Qxd8 15. Be3Be7 16. Nc3O-O 17. Rd1Qc8 18. f4Rd8 19. Rf1f5 20. exf6Bxf6 21. Ne4Be7 22. Bc5Bxc5+ 23. Nxc5Bf5 24. G4b6 25. Na4Qe6 26. Rf2Qg6 27. Nc3h5 28. Rg2hxg4 29. hxg4Qf6 30. gxf5Qxc3 31. Qe5Qxe5 32. fxe5Kf7 33. Kh2Rd4 34. Kg3Re4 35. e6+Kf6 36. Kf3Re5 37. Rg6+Kxf5 38. Rxg7Kxe6 39. Rxc7Ra5 40. Rxc6+Kd7 41. Rc3Rxa2 42. Ke4Kd6 43. Rc8Kd7 44. Rc3Kd6 45. Rc8Kd7 46. Rc3. ½-½. Draw.
