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Asian Chess Federation Announces Esports Focus with Echess

Exclusive Innovative Strategy Expands Reach of Traditional Game to Billions in line with Olympic Vision

Budapest, Hungary –
During the FIDE Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) announced a groundbreaking initiative called echess, signalling a major shift towards embracing esports and chess position as an official IOC-recognized sport. This initiative is being launched in partnership with Checkmate Live, ACF’s official online broadcast, data, and tournament platform partner.
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Federation, said during his opening remarks, “As the Asian Chess Federation is well-known for its initiatives, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all of us to be pioneers in electronic chess. Both the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia are increasingly integrating esports into their events, and chess, being recognized as an esport, has a unique opportunity to shine in this space. In light of this, I am pleased to announce that we are adopting what we will call the ‘Echess Initiative.’ This will position us at the forefront of the electronic chess movement, ensuring that Asia leads the way in innovation and progress within the world of chess.”

Levelling up Online Chess

With a global base of over 700 million over-the-board (OTB) chess players, with a significant share sitting under the Asian Chess Federation’s territory, the online chess landscape has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, with leading online platforms seeing their user bases expand by over 400% since 2020. This explosive growth underscores the increasing popularity of online chess and the need for innovative solutions to meet the demands of modern players, while complementing the rich tradition of OTB chess.
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Al Nahyan commented on the initiative: “Our echess initiative, developed with our partner Checkmate Live, represents a significant step forward in our mission to promote chess across Asia. By embracing emerging technologies and leveraging our status as an IOC-recognized sport, we’re not only enhancing the player experience but also opening up new opportunities for growth in both traditional chess and esports.”
David Jenns, Director of International Relations, who also  spoke during the congress, “This is a considerable leadership and vision by His Highness Sheikh Sultan. There are over six billion gamers globally, many of them have interest in online chess. This gives the Asian Chess Federation the opportunity to extend its reach and opportunities to the region and enhance its mission that promotes sporting integrity and 21st century technology. The response from delegates and federations who love OTB but want to leverage and benefit from the best that technology can offer has been overwhelming. This partnership between ACF and Checkmate represents a significant step towards bridging the gap between traditional chess, online and the age of AI.”

Looking to the Future

This initiative comes at an exciting time for chess in Asia, with Abu Dhabi set to host the 2028 Chess Olympiad. The ACF sees this as an opportunity to showcase the region’s commitment to innovation in chess and esports.
Hisham Al Taher, Secretary-General of the ACF, added, “With echess and our partnership with Checkmate Live, we’re well-positioned to deliver an unforgettable experience that bridges the gap between traditional chess and the digital age, while reinforcing our standing in the Olympic movement.”
As the chess world continues to evolve, the Asian Chess Federation, through its echess initiative and partnership with Checkmate Live, is at the forefront, ready to shape the future of the game for generations to come. The ACF echess programme will commence in October and will host a series of Official ACF tournaments and education events aimed to enhance the confederations mission. National Federations will have the opportunity to also hold echess player and community programmes.
Any Federation wishing to participate in this programme should register at checkmate.live/echess

What is Echess?

Echess is the Asian Chess Federation’s (ACF) innovative initiative that fuses traditional chess with the dynamic world of esports. It features online supervised speed chess, fast-paced tournament formats, and speedruns for official ACF ratings. Designed for a global online audience, echess offers blitz, bullet, and rapid games, catering to players who thrive in high-intensity competitions. By integrating modern competition and esports formats, echess claims its rightful title of the King of Esports and Sports, positioning chess at the forefront of the global esports arena.

 

For more information, please contact:
Checkmate Live
David Jenns MA LLM FRGS
Director International Relations
+971506180752

 

Asian Chess Federation
Hisham Al Taher
Secretary-General
Asian Chess Federation

 

About the Asian Chess Federation
The Asian Chess Federation, (ACF), is the international governing body of chess across the Asian Continent. As the largest continental federation, the ACF’s membership comprises 55 national associations across Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. Its headquarters are in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates, and its President is His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
https://asianchess.com/
About Checkmate Live
Checkmate Live is the ACF’s official online broadcast, data, and tournament platform partner.
Key Features of Checkmate Live:
  1. Sixth-i: A proprietary AI-powered anti-cheat system that maintains the integrity of online competitions
  2. Arbiter Mode: Cloud-based monitoring system with Sixth-i Anti-cheat co-pilot, providing Federation partners with powerful tools to supervise official competitions
  3. Integrated blockchain technology for transparent rights management
  4. Evidence-based and Blackbox AI integrations: Advanced AI techniques for robust and unbiased fair play detection, prevention and enforcement

https://www.checkmate.live/

Asian Continental Assembly at Budapest FIDE Congress

Address by Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Bin Shakhbout Al Nahyan, President, Asian Chess Federation, Continental Assembly, 19 Sept. 2024, Budapest, Hungary

Dear Esteemed Members of the Asian Chess Federation,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this year’s Continental Assembly. Our shared dedication and passion for the game of chess have brought us here today, united under one mission – to promote and advance chess across Asia. Your unwavering support and active participation in our initiatives have been key to the growth of chess in this diverse and dynamic region.

We stand at a pivotal moment where our collective efforts are yielding incredible results. From fostering young talent to hosting internationally recognized tournaments, the progress we have made together is undeniable. It is your hard work and commitment that drive us forward, and for that, I offer my deepest gratitude.

As the Asian Chess Federation is well-known for its initiatives, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all of us to be pioneers in electronic chess. Both the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Asia are increasingly integrating esports into their events, and chess, being recognized as an esport, has a unique opportunity to shine in this space.

In light of this, I am pleased to announce that we are adopting what we will call the ‘eChess Initiative.’ This will position us at the forefront of the electronic chess movement, ensuring that Asia leads the way in innovation and progress within the world of chess.

I look forward to our discussions today, confident that they will lead to further development and success for chess in Asia. Let us continue this journey, striving for excellence and inspiring future generations to embrace the rich strategic beauty of chess.

Thank you for your presence, and I wish us all a productive and meaningful assembly.

 

Pakistan Chess On The Move

Pakistan is the 5th largest and youngest country on the planet with 100 million plus youth. However, Pakistani chess has struggled in the past, with no Grandmaster and our only IM title dating back 37 years. This is changing!

  • In the last two years, we have initiated significant change:
    • Award: Pakistan won the Asian Chess Federation Excellence Award in Abu Dhabi March 2023.
    • Most active sports federation in Pakistan among 42 National Sports Federations (NFs)
    • International Participation: Represented in 20 international championships and tournaments, primarily for youth participation, compared to the previous 1-2 in two years. This is up 10 fold!
    • Domestic Growth: Over 450 over-the-board tournaments organized in this period.
    • FIDE ID issuance is all-time high, and the highest number of youth is joining chess activities from all over the country.
    • Chess in Education: Launched the world’s largest Chess in Education program, inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in the presence of FIDE and ACF Presidents and their delegations and in cooperation with FIDE EDU.

$25,000 Prize in Asian Amateur Chess Championship in Al Ain, UAE

The Al Ain Chess Club and Mind Games, on behalf of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), FIDE and UAE Chess Federation, has the honor to invite all Asian National Chess
Federations to participate in the 2024 Asian Amateur Chess Championships, which will be held from 14th (arrival) to 23rd (departure) December 2024 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

The Asian Amateur Championships 2024 is open to all Asian amateur players, registered by their federation, who should not have a FIDE rating above 2000 at the start of the tournament. Download Asian Amateur 2024 Invitation and Regulations

A total of US $ 25,000 in cash prizes shall be at stake as follows:

Players should not have a FIDE title higher than FIDE Master (i.e., WIM, WGM, IM and GM). All participants must have a FIDE ID to participate in this tournament. The deadline for registration is 14th Nov 2024.

The playing venue shall be at the official Hotel Danat Al Ain Resort.

The tournament shall be conducted as a Swiss System competition of 9 rounds and will be played according to FIDE regulations. Each player will have 90 minutes with the addition of 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.

Schedule is:

Direct titles shall be awarded for Standard Chess in accordance with FIDE handbook https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01DirectTitles2024. The Gold Medallist Under 2000 shall be awarded the CM/WCM title.

The winner from each Continental Amateur Championship rating section is qualified with personal rights (as long as they don’t reach or exceed 2300 rating by the registration deadline) to the 2025 World Amateur and their places cannot be substituted.

 

 

 

Carzano Wins Rapid Chess Meet in Iligan City, Philippines


Johnny Wellem Carzano won the 2024 Iligan City Diyandi Festival Rapid Chess Tournament held 14 September 2024 at the Robinson’s Mall in Iligan City, Philippines.
Carzano pocketed the P15,000 champion’s prize plus trophy after scoring 7.5 points in the rapid tournament organized by the Metro Iligan Chess Club.

Carzano, the pride of Misamis Occidental, comes at the heels of winning the National Chess Federation of the Philippines FIDE rated Standard Tournament held last September 8 at the Philippine Academy Chess For Excellence in Mindanao Avenue, Quezon City.

Jose Bryan, Jones Maghuyop and FIDE Master Victor Bruce Lluch occupied the second to fourth spots with 7.0 points each while Rodney Opada placed fifth with 6.5 points.
Geronimo Romarate, Cosain Magarang, Abdul Halil Abdullah, Jaybee Velez, Abdul Hafids Sarangani, Jezreel Lopez, Romeo Madrid, Jonard Labadan, Johnnel Balquin, Randolph Christopher Dalauta and Mardonio Fuentes wound up sixth and 16th with identical 6.0 points.

In the Blitz division last Sunday, Dalauta reigned supreme after registering the highest output of 7.5 points. Magarang and Carzano settled for second and third with 7.0 points, while Balquin, Romarate and Julius Ablin occupied the fourth to sixth spots with 6.5 points each.-Marlon Bernardino-

Final Standings:
7.5 points—Johnny Wellem Carzano
7.0 points—Jose Bryan, Jones Maghuyop, FM Victor Bruce Lluch
6.5 points—Rodney Opada
6.0 points—Geronimo Romarate, Cosain Magarang, Abdul Halil Abdullah, Jaybee Velez, Abdul Hafids Sarangani, Jezreel Lopez, Romeo Madrid, Jonard Labadan, Johnnel Balquin, Randolph Christopher Dalauta, Mardonio Fuentes

P1 Million Award for Philippines’ Newest Grandmaster Daniel Quizon

The Philippines has a new chess grandmaster after 13 years! Daniel Quizon clinched the coveted GM title at 20 years old after beating grandmaster Igor Efimov of Monaco and breaching the 2500-rating plateau during the fourth round of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary on 14 September 2024.
The chess prodigy, who hails from Cavite, became the country’s 17th grandmaster with his feat. The Philippines last earned a GM in the sport in 2011 with Oliver Barbosa and Richard Bitoon. In 2017, Janelle Mae Frayna became the country’s first and only woman grandmaster.

Quizon will receive P1 million from Dasmarinas Mayor Jenny Barzaga through the initiative of the late Dasmarinas Congressman Pidi Barzaga.

Quizon managed to thrive as an elite player in various chess tournaments at a young age.

In August 2018, he earned the International Master (IM) title after emerging victorious at the Eastern Asian Juniors Open Championships in Gangneung, South Korea with 7.5 points from nine rounds. The following year, he qualified for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, where he fell short of claiming a spot on the podium.

Quizon was recognized by the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association as the MILO Junior Male Athlete of the Year in 2019 alongside award-winning tennis player Alex Eala.

The chess prodigy qualified for the Chess World Cup in 2021. He ended his campaign in the first round after losing to Russian-Canadian GM Evgeny Bareev.

Driven by his dream to clinch the grandmaster title, Quizon made it a point to hone his skills and complete the three required GM norms—a high-level of performance in chess tournaments.

Quizon secured Grandmaster norms by winning gold in the Eastern Asia Juniors Chess Championship on December 2023 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. He then won first place in the Hanoi GM tournament, March 2024 in Vietnam. Then he earned his final norm by sharing first place in the strong Abu Dhabi Masters in August 2024 in the United Arab Emirates.

Visit Daniel Quizon becomes Philippines’ 17th chess grandmaster at 20 • PhilSTAR Life

 

Bernardino Wins 5th Edition of Single Knockout Armageddon Tournament (SiKAT)

Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. won the 5th edition of Single Knockout Armageddon Tournament (SiKAT) held 4th September 2024 in Greenfield District Pavilion Mall in Mandaluyong, Philippines.

In left photo is Filipino and United States chess master Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. (left) versus Marcus Fratkin. At right Bernardino Jr. paid a courtesy call to ALC Group of Companies Chairman at CEO D. Edgard Cabangon.

Bernardino beat Rodel Juadinez, Ricardo Jimenez (2078), CM Genghis Imperial (2071) and runner-up Marcus Fratkin (2055).

Marcus reached the finals with wins against Arnold Pereda (1882), Andrew Elpedes (1942) and Marlon Tiña (1894).

The PWD battle ended in a draw between Engr. Elmer Claveria (1952) and Atty. Rodolfo Enrique Rivera (1852). Earlier, Kevin Arquero had won his back to back SiKAT Championship in the 3rd and 4th Edition as he bested AFM Chester de Vera, Rodel Juadinez, IM Jose Efren Bagamasbad and runner up Anatoly Pascua. Arquero also won in his one-on- one duel with Pascua, losing the first game before winning 4 in a row.

The 6th SiKAT will be held in Panabo City on Oct. 1 with a one-on-one battle between NM Bernardino and FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca.
The champions of the SiKAT (7 players) and 1 winner of the wild card from the runner up will face off during the Philippine Sports Expo on December 12-15, 2024
at Parqal Mall, Aseana City, Pasay City, Philippines.

Opening of the IIEE National Chess Olympiad Season 6

Following are the round 1 results of the IIEE National Chess Olympiad Season 6 including team and players from the Philippine Technological Council (PTC) for the World Engineering 2025: Metro Central headed by NM Bernardino def. Metro East 18-14, GEP Geodetic def. Metro West 62-42, Iloilo def. PSME Mechanical 63-59, Eastern Central Visayas def. Mindanao 34-26, Saudi def. Singapore 33-11, IECEP Electronic def. SQC Qatar 23-11, Southern Laguna def. Bicol 21-11 and Quezon def. PICE Civil 17-11. This online tournament via lichess will take place every 2nd and 4th Friday of the Month at 9:30pm until March 7, 2025. The Awarding will be held on March 8, 2025 during the PTC World Engineering Day face to face chess event to be held in Koten, Pasay City.-Marlon Bernardino-

Photo Caption:
Photo Caption: Filipino and United States chess master Almario Marlon Quiroz

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)

Google Announced as Title Sponsor of World Chess Championship 2024

 

Singapore, September 10, 2024 – The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Singapore Chess Federation (SCF) are proud to announce Google as the Title Sponsor of the FIDE World Chess Championship Singapore 2024, which will take place at Resorts World Sentosa from November 23 to December 15, 2024. This landmark collaboration marks the first time the World Chess Championship has been sponsored by a global technology leader, setting a new standard for the sport’s reach and influence.

Google Chief Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific Simon Kahn said: “Google is excited to sponsor this historic event. Chess represents a profound intersection of human ingenuity and technological potential, and has always been a proving ground for AI innovation. In fact, some of our earliest AI breakthroughs came from mastering chess as a proof-of-concept. Through Search, YouTube, and AI, we are now delighted to enhance the Championship experience for chess fans globally, celebrating the beauty of this game that continues to inspire and challenge us.”

As chess continues to rise in global popularity, FIDE’s collaboration with Google signals a major step forward in connecting the sport with modern technology. Emil Sutovsky, CEO of FIDE, shared his excitement about the collaboration: “FIDE is thrilled to partner Google, as it becomes the title sponsor of the World Championship Match. It is a milestone for our sport. This collaboration brings a new dimension to the competition, blending the tradition of chess with the innovation of AI. The partnership is set to elevate the visibility of the World Chess Championship, taking the broadcast of the event to the next level and attracting new audiences globally.”

Kevin Goh, CEO of SCF, added: “For Google to be our presenting sponsor for this year’s World Championship match is a groundbreaking moment for chess both in Singapore and globally. It is the first time a global technology leader has sponsored the most important chess event. Among many other innovative breakthroughs, Google has, in recent years, captivated the chess community with AlphaZero, its neural networks-inspired chess programme. Chess is all about problem-solving, and we are glad that Google’s special focus on deep learning resonates well with the game.”

FIDE and SCF look forward to delivering an unforgettable Championship that will resonate globally, far beyond the final checkmate. Google’s sponsorship redefines the potential of the World Chess Championship, paving the way for a future where technology and chess continue to inspire and challenge each other, creating an engaging and dynamic environment for both players and fans alike.

From Google announced as Title Sponsor of World Chess Championship Singapore 2024   (fide.com)