Monday, August 5, 2024

The Tea Hour

The 2nd FIDE World Rapid Team Championship (and 1st FIDE World Blitz Team Championship) were to last five days, including a solemn opening procession through the streets of Astana (Kazakhstan) on first day, followed by four days of fierce combat and finally the prize ceremony on day five (tonight), in which winners and losers were to share the limelight in ceremonies and celebrations. The user-friendly format, if nothing else, might serve to elevate the debates concerning the future of classical chess in the era of thinking machines. Despite the simultaneous presence of both 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and Magnus Carlsen, the WR Chess superteam failed to defend its Rapid title and had to content itself with the Blitz one. On the other hand, the satisfaction of having succeeded in lining up both the queen and the king on the same array is well worth an empty niche in any club’s showcase!

And finally, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and her teammates got lots of awards and honours. Photos: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova/chess.com.

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