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Remark Bartolome Wins Rooky Standard FIDE Rated chess tournament in Thailand

Remark Bartolome of the Philippines topped the Rooky Monthly Standard FIDE Rated chess tournament held 11-12 January 2025 in Thailand. The Swiss system finished in a 2-way tie between Remark Bartolome and Robert Suelo Jr. of Laos at 4.5 points apiece in five rounds.

Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings.

Bartolome secured the first place with a superior tiebreak. The 2-day (January 11-12, 2025) Standard chess tournament (60 minutes plus 30 seconds increment time control format) was held at The Rooky Academy, J. Place Building in Sathorn, Nanglinchee Road, Bangkok, Thailand.

Bartolome defeated Banyawat Tuntrairat of Thailand in the first round, Natthabhumi Suwitchanpan of Thailand in the second round,  Mingyang Sun of China in the third round, then split the point with Suelo in the fourth round.
He beat Sasinat Tawankanjana of Thailand in the fifth and final round.

Suelo, the 1996 Philippine Junior champion, playing for Laos Chess Federation, beat  Daniel Tokmachov of the USA (Round 1), Alisa Gutsulyak of Russia (Round 2), Nikolay Gutsulyak of Russia (Round 3) then drew with Bartolome (Round 4) and toppled Allan Pason of the Philippines in the last round.

Tournament director was IA Poompong Wiwatanadate.-Marlon Bernardino-

World Social Chess Initiatives Marathon announced

FIDE is proud to kick off 2025, the Social Chess Year, with a groundbreaking event: the World Social Chess Initiatives Marathon!

The Social Chess Year aims to bring chess to diverse communities and settings, including prisons, refugee camps, elderly care homes, and addiction recovery centers. By highlighting chess as a tool for social good, FIDE will champion projects that promote cognitive development, community building, and rehabilitation.

On January 19, 2025, we’ll gather online to celebrate the power of chess in making the difference. This event welcomes anyone passionate about using chess for social good — whether you’re leading an initiative, seeking inspiration, or hoping to connect with like-minded changemakers.

Why Attend?

  • Discover innovative social chess programs from around the world.
  • Connect with global change-makers.
  • Participate in engaging discussions, live polls, and interactive networking sessions.

Event Details

  • Date: January 19, 2025
  • Time: Two slots for global convenience:
    • Slot 1: 9:00–12:00 CET
    • Slot 2: 17:00–20:00 CET

Format

The event will feature short, engaging presentations (10 minutes max) followed by interactive discussions. Attendees can participate in live polls and breakout networking rooms.

Register here: forms.gle/MPDqnNoW3SyYGhNw8

Don’t miss this chance to make 2025 a year of impact through chess!

Additional Workshop

Following the presentations, FIDE Social Commission is planning a workshop titled “Monitoring and Evaluation” to help initiatives better understand their direction and growth. This session will be led either by the UNHCR or Sonja Johnson herself.

Featured Speakers

  1. Stephen Deburu (Chess Inda Hood, Papua New Guinea)
    • Initiative: Using chess to combat drug abuse and crime among youth.
    • Duration: Started as a chess club in February 2024 (10 months ago).
    • Beneficiaries: Community members, particularly youth.
  2. Rafael Córdoba Baule (Dragon Chess Academy, Panama)
    • Initiative: Teaching chess to children and youth from scratch.
    • Duration: Ongoing since 2019, held annually at the beginning of the year.
    • Beneficiaries: Children and youth in Chitré, Panama.
    • Goals for the Event: Visibility and learning opportunities.
  3. Nicolas Carbonell (Federation Burkinabè de Jeu d’Échecs, Burkina Faso)
    • Initiative: HUMANICHESS – Training children in refugee-dense areas to improve education and social integration.
    • Planned Start: 2025 (FBJE recognized by authorities in October 2024).
    • Beneficiaries: Underprivileged and refugee children in slums.
    • Goals for the Event: Visibility, inspiration, regional imitation, and attracting sponsors.
  4. Alexandre Vergara (Chegança Instituto, Brazil)
    • Initiative: Quebrada Viva Project – Using chess for social inclusion and development of vulnerable children and adolescents.
    • Recent Activities: Pilot project in November 2024, featuring transformative community meetings.
    • Goals for the Event: Discover innovative programs, connect globally, and strengthen their initiative.

The final list of participants will be confirmed by January 10, 2025.

Kevin Arquero Wins Pozorrubio Rapid Chess Tournament

Veteran blitz player Kevin Arquero won the Pozorrubio Town Fiesta Rapid Chess Tournament on January 11, 2025 in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, Philippines
The Pasay City resident Arquero, who plays for the Philippine Army chess team, defeated former solo leader Robert Halili of Mabalacat City, Pampanga in the seventh and final round to score 6.5 points enrout to the coveted title.
Arquero receive the top purse of P10,000 for his effort in this event sponsored by Mayor Kelvin Tan, Vice Mayor Engineer Ernesto “Snooky” Salcedo III and SK Municipal Federation President/ SK Chairman Vince Karl Thirdy Sarmiento, in line with its grassroots chess development program.
Jhulo Goloran of Meycauayan City, Bulacan beat Genghis Imperial of Manila to tie Halili and Romy Fagon of Urdante City, Pangasinan for 2nd to 4th placers with 6.0 points each.
Halili’s second place finish earned him P5,000, while the third place went to Goloran to earn P3,000 and Fagon landed in fourth place to pocket P2,000.
The fifth to 10th placers were Alexis Emil Maribao of Cavite City (5.5 points), Ricardo Batcho of Quezon City (5.5 points), Jenric Curt Aquino of Calasiao City, Pangasinan (5.5 points), Sherwin Tiu of Manila (5.0 points), Imperial (5.0 points) and Rodney Palaming of Urdaneta City, Pangasinan (5.0 points).


Earlier, Retired Judge Jose Vallo and Vice Mayor Engineer Ernesto “Snooky” Salcedo III, made the ceremonial moves kicking off the one-day tournament also graced by Councilor Dennis Uy and SK Municipal Federation President/ SK Chairman Vince Karl Thirdy Sarmiento.


Meanwhile, 11 years old Henrick Marello Balanos won the top Pozorrubio kiddies award while 15 years old Irish Ysabel Salcedo of Pozorrubio, Pangasinan is the lone survivor of the 12 board simultaneous chess exhibition performed by Arena Grandmaster Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr.
In the 12 simultaneous games he did, Bernardino won 11 games and loss to Irish Ysabel Salcedo.-Marlon Bernardino

New Zealand Chess Championship Underway in Auckland

The New Zealand Chess Federation (NZCF) is currently holding the 132nd New Zealand Chess Congress in Auckland at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre.
This festival of chess incorporates a number of events and is the highlight of the New Zealand chess calendar:
 New Zealand Chess Championships,
 New Zealand Major Open
 New Zealand Rapid play Chess Championships
 New Zealand Lightning Chess Championships
 New Zealand School Pupil and Age Group Championships
 A New Zealand Junior U1000 rated event.
The New Zealand Chess Championship was first held in Christchurch in 1879. After a 9 year break it was held for the second time in 1888/9 and has been run almost every year since then (apart from the odd year missed during the 2 world wars). No other country has had a national championship with as many editions as New Zealand’s.
There are 590 entries across the 6 events from over 250 individual players, making this one of the largest NZ Chess Congress ever held.


Players from 19 countries have entered, including:
Grandmaster (GM) Gabor Nagy (Hungary)
International Master (IM) Herman can Riemsdijk (Brazil)
FIDE Master (FM) Yining Chen (China)
And New Zealand’s own:
IM Anthony Ker (14-time NZ Champion)
IM Russell Dive (7-time NZ Champion)
FM Daniel Gong (2-time NZ Champion)
FM Alphaeus Ang (former NZ Champion)
FM Felix Xie (former NZ Rapid and Lightning Champion)
FM Bob Smith (2-time NZ Champion)
Sarah Sun (2024 NZ Women’s Champion)
Candidate Master (CM) Isabelle Ning (2023 NZ Women’s Champion)
Dr Tony Booth – at 86, the oldest competitor
As well as a number of national representatives across all age groups and genders.
There are also a record number of juniors participating in the 2 junior events.
20 games from each round will be broadcast live on www.chess.com and www.lichess.org
Links:
https://www.chess.com/events/2025-new-zealand-chess-congress
https://lichess.org/broadcast/new-zealand-chess-congress-2025
The event is hosted by the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club, with Chief Organiser Paul Spiller MNZM leading a large team of officials and volunteers.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Christie (NZCF Administrator) admin@newzealandchess.co.nz 021 111 5662
Paul Spiller (Chief Organiser) PaulSSpiller@outlook.com
Follow us on social media for updates and live coverage:
Facebook: New Zealand Chess Federation
Website: www.newzealandchess.co.nz

Don Tomas B. Mapua Centennial Eugene Torre Chess Cup Slated January 18, 2025

The Mapua University will be celebrating its 100th Year Founding Anniversary on January 25, 2025. To kick off the weeklong celebration, a Don Tomas B. Mapua Centennial chess cup dubbed as GM Eugene Torre rapid and blitz chess tournaments will be organized by Mapua Fil-Chi Alumni Association headed by its president Engr. Rudy Niu  in cooperation with the Mapua PE Department and Museo on January 18, 2025.

The two division (rapid and blitz) free registration tournament is open to all Alumni, students, professors and employees.
Tournament director is Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr.
The rapid champion will grab the lion’s share of P10,000. The second to third placers will receive P7,000, and P5,000, respectively. The fourth to tenth will receive P1,000 each.
The blitz champion will earn P5,000 while the second and third placers wil went home P3,000 and P2,000, in order. The fourth to tenth will receive P500 each.-Marlon Bernardino-

World Blitz Championship: Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi share gold; Ju Wenjun triumphs in Women’s Blitz

The 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship concluded with high drama, as Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi shared the Open title after an intense tiebreak match, while Ju Wenjun clinched the Women’s Blitz crown by defeating Lei Tingjie in the final.

As Asia and Europe were celebrating the arrival of 2025, on the other side of the Atlantic 16 Grandmasters – eight in the Open and eight in the Women’s competition – were fighting in the knockout stages of the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship, sponsored by Freedom Holding.

The 2024 FIDE World Blitz championship showcased some of the fiercest battles in recent memory. The knockout stages featured 16 of the world’s top Grandmasters—eight in each category—competing through quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals to determine the champions.

Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi share glory

The defending Blitz champion Magnus Carlsen started the day with an early loss to Hans Niemann, but then overcame him and raced by Jan-Krzystof Duda to reach the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Ian Nepomniachtchi displayed strength and resilience, defeating newly crowned Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin and outlasting Wesley So in a tense semifinal tiebreak.

In the final, Carlsen was on the brink of victory after taking a 2-0 lead in a four-game match. Nepomniachtchi, however, mounted a dramatic comeback, winning the next two games in style, to level the score. The ensuing tiebreaks featured three razor-sharp, exhausting battles, with neither player able to gain a decisive advantage with the score standing at 3.5:3.5.

At this point, Carlsen stood up and publicly suggested to his opponent that they propose to split the crown. After some thought, Nepomniachtchi accepted. The two approached the Chief Arbiter and explained their view – arguing they were both tired and had shown they were levelled.

“If we continued, either side would have won because of exhaustion, and that would have been cruel on both of us,” Carlsen later explained. In line with the Regulations of the event that allow the FIDE President to make the final decision in unforeseen circumstances (Tournament regulations, Scope, 1.4), the request was sent to Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich. The FIDE President accepted the proposal, and it was agreed that the two will share first place, without a silver medal being awarded.

In the press conference, Carlsen reflected on the decision: “I believe the audience could understand that we were both very tired and nervous. Some people are going to like this; some people are not. It is what it is.”

Nepomniachtchi expressed satisfaction with the outcome: “It was a long and exhausting match where I had to make a comeback after losing two games.”

Ju Wenjun prevails in all-Chinese Women’s final

The Women’s Blitz Championship was equally gripping, culminating in an all-Chinese showdown between reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie (who in 2023 unsuccessfully challenged Ju for the world crown in classical chess).

Ju dominated the early rounds, defeating defending Blitz champion Valentina Gunina in the quarterfinals and overcoming India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu in the semifinals. Lei, by contrast, faced a tougher path, narrowly defeating Bibisara Assaubayeva in the quarterfinals and requiring tiebreaks to edge out Kateryna Lagno in the semis.

The final match between Ju and Lei stretched to five grueling games, all of which ended in draws. In the second game of the tiebreak, Ju, playing with White, capitalized on an opening advantage and gradually increased the pressure, forcing Lei’s resignation and securing the title.

Ju expressed her gratitude and humility after the win: “We both played very well, and I was lucky. This tournament has been both challenging and exciting.”

A historic championship

Apart from the results, the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship introduced several novelties. Not only was the format changed to introduce a knockout competition, making the tournament more gripping, but this is also the first modern FIDE tournament to span across two years – starting in 2024 and ending with most of the world in 2025.

Combining high stakes, elite chess, and festive spirit, the hall at 55 Cipriani on Wall Street offered a fitting stage for a thrilling end to the year in which FIDE celebrated its first centenary. Combining elite chess, festive spirit, and new milestones, the tournament has left fans with much to remember—and debate—in the years to come.

Written by Milan Dinic

Photos: Lennart Ootes and Michal Walusza

All the information about the event, including results, news, images and regulations are available on the official event webpage: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com

The full schedule of the event is available here: Schedule – 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships.

Follow live commentary by Grandmasters and special guests on FIDE’s official YouTube Channel, starting on the 26th: FIDE chess – YouTube.

IM Yu Tian Poh Wins 16th Penang Heritage City International Chess Open 2024

International Master (IM) Yu Tian Poh of Malaysia won the 16th Penang Heritage City International Chess Open 2024 Chess Championship held December 23-27, 2024 at the UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College (Georgetown) in Malaysia.


Yu Tian Poh’s performance was highlighted by impressive victories against strong contenders, Vishant Naidu Patini of Malaysia (Round 1), AIM Yun Rui Lee of Malaysia (Round 2),  Tianyu Jiang of China (Round 3), Jan Francis Mirano of the Philippines (Round 5), IM Ronny Gunawan of Indonesia (Round 6) and IM Rao Sharan of Indonesia (Round 8) in succession to emerge champion in the Open category with 7.5 points in nine outings which attracted 90 chess players in this FIDE aid project week-long event being held in coordination with Penang Chess Association President and Malaysian Chess Federation Deputy President Madam See Swee Sie.
He also held his ground with draws against strong woodpushers in the likes of IM Alexey Polschikov of Russia (Round 4), IM Pavel Shkapenko of Russia (Round 7) and FM Alexander Chernyavsky of Russia (Rund 9).
The tournament proved pivotal for Poh and boosted his FIDE rating by 7.3 points with a Performance rating of 2455.
Poh who holds a FIDE standard rating of 2444 finished the tournament with 7.5 points.
Shkapenko, Chernyavsky and Polschikov settled for second to fourth placers with 7.0 points each.
Mirano, WIM Chuqiao Wang of China and CM Zaidan Zulkipli of Malaysia wound up fifth to eight placers with 6.5 points each.

Wei Hom Isaac Tan of Malaysia topped the Challenger section with 7.5 points, followed by 2nd placer Yoggenraj Ramakrishnan of Malaysia and 3rd placer Xin Ran Claire Wang of Malaysia who totes 7.0 points apiece.
10-year-old Gabe Butarbutar Georgio, the newest chess sensation from Jakarta, Indonesia, a student of IM Dede Lioe, split the point with the top seed Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr. of the Philippines in the last round to score 6.5 points and finish in a tie for 4th to 10th placers.
After the tie breaks were applied, Georgio took 4th.
Other 6.5 pointers are Yeoh Wei Shen of Malaysia (5th), Wong Kah Meng of Malaysia (6th), Bernardino (7th), Abdur Rahman Mohd Afif of Malaysia (8th), Dhanpal Rajkumar Manish of Malaysia (9th) and Rezuan Khaizuran of Brunei (10th).
Completing the top 12 are NM Leonardo Alidani of the Philippines (11th) and Yang Yichen of China (12th), both tallied 6.0 points apiece.
Chew Ming Thomas Hoe of Singapore notched 6.0 points and won the top Veteran (senior player) award.
The Challenger section saw 110 chess players participate.-Marlon Bernardino-

11-year-old Nika Juris Nicolas Wins 35th International Chess Festival U1800 in Poland

Nika Juris Nicolas, third from left, received her trophy as the champion of the 35th International Chess Festival held December 29, 2024 at the Galaxy Hotel in Krakow, Poland.
A Grade 7 student at Victory Christian International School in Pasig City, Philippines, Nicolas (Elo 1635) topped the Open Under 1800 Category with an undefeated record of 6 wins and 1 draw for a total of 6.5 points in seven games.

The tournament proved pivotal for Nicolas and boosted her FIDE rating by 86 points with a Performance rating of 2017.
NM Nicolas defeated Kacper Miąso of Poland, Mateusz Waszkiewicz of Poland and Artem Sokolvak of Ukraine in the first and three rounds, respectively.
Her three-game winning streak was snapped with a draw against Filip Korda of Poland in the fourth round.
Then she beat Arkadiusz Piwowarczyk of Poland, Nikita Alexeev of Ukraine and Ali Asgarzada of Azerbaijan in the fifth, sixth and seven round, respectively.
Rafal Skalny of Poland and Filip Korda of Poland wound up second and third with identical 5.5 points.
Rounding up the top 9 finishers with 5.0 points each were Nikita Alexeev of Ukraine, Arkadiusz Piwowarzyk of Poland, Ali Asgarzada of Azerbaijan, Marek Michaliik of Poland, Justyna Rozenska of Poland and Adam Machnik of Poland.

It shall be recalled that Nicolas was the only female who competed in the Boys’ Under-11 division of the 2023 Philippine National Youth and Schools Chess Championships grand finals in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte bagging two silver medals (Standard and Blitz) and one bronze (Rapid).
The National Master title, usually given to men, was conferred on her by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) during the awarding ceremony.
Nicolas challenged conventional practice and questioned why girls were restricted to their division. Encouraged by her mother, lawyer Nikki de Vega, who also serves as NCFP legal counsel, she ventured into the Boys’ division, proving that girls could indeed compete with boys in chess.

Nicolas’ studied chess at age 9 and joined her first tournament in February 2022, at the National Age Group Chess Championship. She showcased her skills with six wins and one loss. Today, she already holds the credentials as a candidate FIDE Master, national age-group champion, Asian youth medalist, Eastern Asia silver medalist, and a Batang Pinoy champion.
The 11-years old Nicolas will continue her European chess circuit campaign when she competes in the Prague Open on January 10-17, 2025 and Marienbad Open on January 18 -25, 2025, both in the Czech Republic