2024 Candidates Blitz

The Annex Chess Club had the honour of hosting the 2024 Candidates Blitz, an official side event of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024.

We would like to thank Ell-Rod Holdings Inc. for their support of the event.

Tournament Details

Chief Arbiter: IA Omar Shah
Date and time: 8 April 2024, 8:00 p.m. and ASAP for subsequent rounds
Format: 9-round Swiss tournament, one section
Time control: 3 minutes + 2 second increment
Rating: FIDE- and CFC- rated.

Location: Annex Chess Club, 918 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON M5R 3G5 (Google Maps)

Results / Standings: https://chess-results.com/tnr921460.aspx

Congratulations to GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and GM Ivan Cherparinov on placing joint 1st on 8 points! 3rd place went to IM Krishna G V Sai on 7.5 points. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, on 6.5 points took home the Top Woman prize. With 120 players representing 18 federations, including 9 Grandmasters amongst 33 titled players, this was one of the strongest and most diverse blitz events in Canada in recent times.

WGM Qiyu Zhou
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov signing an autograph
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov with a fan
GM Ivan Cheparinov
GM Pavel Tregubov
Daniel Abrahams and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk
Candidates Blitz Playing Hall
GM Petro Golubka
IA Omar Shah holding up pairings
WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan and Amirmahdi Hosseinzadeh
GM Evgeny Bareev
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and his opponent
GMs Pavel Tregubov, Evgeny Bareev, and Alexandra Kosteniuk
Players looking at pairings
WGM Qiyu Zhou
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
GM Ivan Cheparinov
IM Krishna G V Sai
Wesley Russell and WIM Yunshan Li
Sasha Starr, WIM Nava Starr, and GM Evgeny Bareev
GM Alexandra Kostinuk vs IM Krishna G V Sai
CM Koosha Jaferian
The Annex Cup
GM Aryan Tari
Salim Belcadi, GM Ivan Cheparinov, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Hariharan Raghavan, GM Ivan Cheparinov, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Salim Belcadi
Hariharan Raghavan, GM Alexandra Kostniuk, and Salim Belcadi

All images courtesy of FIDE/Michał Walusza.