GM Aleksey Grebnev to Defend Title in Asian Juniors Chess Championship in Philippines

Defending champion GM Aleksei Grebnev leads the Russian delegation playing under the neutral FIDE flag in the Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships scheduled October 11th to 20th at the Knights Templar Hotel in Tagaytay City.

This was announced by host Vice Governor Athena Tolentino of Cavite, first Vice President of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino of Tagaytay City who is also President of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) resolved that Russian players can join tournaments under the neutral FIDE flag, following the resolution by the International Olympic Committee at the 11th Olympic Summit, 9 December 2022 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Chess Federation of Russia applied to join the Asian Chess Federation and was admitted by the Asian Assembly in January 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Asia is the biggest and strongest continent in FIDE with 55 member national chess federations.

Grebnev won the Asian Junior Chess Championship last year in Jamshedpur, India by which he earned a Grandmaster norm and eventually his GM title. He is top seed in the tournament with a FIDE rating of 2530.

Other players of the Russian delegation are IM Artem Uskov, rated 2428, and Woman International Master Anna Shukman, rated 2163. Also joining are players from Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam and host Philippines.

The Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships are hosted by the Tagaytay Chess Club, Inc. under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation, National Chess Federation of the Philippines and City of Tagaytay in cooperation with the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission.

The tournaments are 9-round Swiss System events separately for boys and girls. At stake are GM and WGM norms for the gold medallist. Equal first (best 3 players after tie break) shall receive the title of IM/WIM, silver and bronze medalists receive IM/WIM norms and FM/WFM titles in accordance with FIDE title regulations.

Visit Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships 2024 (fide.com)