The Chinese team, winner of a historic double gold in the last Chess Olympiad, will be the top-seed at the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, which will take place May 5-10.
The field for the event includes six players who have held the title of World Chess Champion, plus twelve others who have been Candidates to the throne at some point.
China, with an average rating of 2717, is followed in the initial ranking by Europe (2687), Russia (2662), USA (2641), India (2605), and the "Rest of the World" team (2597).
The Chinese team is headed by Ding Liren and Wang Hao, the world's numbers three and twelve respectively. They are two of the eight players who are currently a part of the Candidates tournament - the final stage which decides who will be the finalist in the World Championship Match. But the main news is the return of Hou Yifan to the Chinese national team. The four-time World Champion is a former prodigy and the youngest female player ever to achieve the Grandmaster title. Two years ago Hou won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University and put her career on hold, but she is still the highest-ranked female player in ranking. Hou Yifan's temporary return to the board might imply that the reigning Women's World Champion, Ju Wenjun, is sent to the bench.
CHINA
Captain: Ye Jiangchuan
Std.
Rpd.
Ding Liren
2791
2836
Wang Hao
2763
2750
Wei Yi
2732
2752
Hou Yifan
2658
2621
Yu Yangyi
2709
2738
Ju Wenjun
2560
2610
2.702,17
2.717,83
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, from France, will be leading a super-strong European team that also includes Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, and Anna Muzychuk, with Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Nana Dzagnidze as reserve players. But even the best players of the moment are slightly overshadowed when the team captain is a living legend like Garry Kasparov. The multiple-time world champion, who ruled the world of chess for two decades, put an end to his career in 2005 and has barely taken part in any competitive chess activity ever since. His presence in this event, even if only as a team captain, has been a pleasant surprise to chess fans all over the world.
EUROPE
Captain: Garry Kasparov
Std.
Rpd.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
2778
2860
Levon Aronian
2773
2778
Anish Giri
2764
2731
Anna Muzychuk
2535
2533
Jan-Krzysztof Duda
2753
2774
Nana Dzagnidze
2524
2447
2.687,83
2.687,17
Russia no longer dominates the chess world as it once did, but even with the absence of some important players - like Alexander Grischuk and Kateryna Largo - the Russian team cannot be ruled out as a possible winner. Ian Nepomniachtchi has proven to be in great shape recently, and he will be defending the first board, along with Vladislav Artemiev, Sergey Karjakin, andAleksandra Goryachkina. With Dmitry Andreikin and Olga Girya as reserve players, Russian is still a formidable rival, with great team spirit.
RUSSIA
Captain: Alexander Motylev
Std.
Rpd.
Ian Nepomniachtchi
2784
2778
Vladislav Artemiev
2716
2769
Sergey Karjakin
2752
2709
Aleksandra Goryachkina
2582
2502
Dmitry Andreikin
2726
2740
Olga Girya
2469
2471
2.671,50
2.661,50
The USA, winners of the 2016 Olympiad, brings to the competition all their top guns, starting with the world's number two Fabiano Caruana. With him, Hikaru Nakamura, who is considered one of the biggest specialists in fast time controls, and the Fischer Random World ChampionWesley So. The team is completed by two experienced female players - Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, plus the Cuban-born Leinier Dominguez, who has represented the US Chess Federation since 2018.
USA
Captain: John Donaldson
Std.
Rpd.
Fabiano Caruana
2835
2773
Hikaru Nakamura
2736
2829
Wesley So
2770
2741
Irina Krush
2429
2392
Leinier Dominguez Perez
2758
2786
Anna Zatonskih
2420
2327
2.658,00
2.641,33
India will be led one more time by the legendary Viswanathan Anand who, despite having reached the age of 50 in November, is still one among the top 15 players in the world - and remains as dangerous as ever when it comes to rapid play. It is a bit paradoxical that the average age of this team is the highest in the event when India is producing more young chess prodigies than any other country in the world. But the young Indian cubs are not ready yet to make it into the national team: the generational changeover will have to wait a bit more.
INDIA
Adviser to the team:Vladimir Kramnik
Std.
Rpd.
Viswanathan Anand
2753
2751
Vidit Gujrathi
2726
2636
Pentala Harikrishna
2719
2690
Humpy Koneru
2586
2483
Adhiban Baskaran
2659
2624
Harika Dronavalli
2515
2450
2.659,67
2.605,67
The "Rest of the World Team" is, as it would be expected, the most colorful one, including players from Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt, Peru, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. On top of the list, the winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup, Teimour Radjabov. With him, one of the main attractions of the event, the 16-year-old prodigy from Iran, Alireza Firouzja. The teenager is developing a rivalry with the World Champion Magnus Carlsen that is becoming more and more serious by the day, and probably all eyes will be on him, as he will be taking on some of the very top players in the world during this event. The team also features the best African player of all times, Bassem Amin, one of the biggest talents from South America, Jorge Cori, a former Women's World Champion, Mariya Muzychuk, and the Kazakhstani star Dinara Saduakassova. The FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, will be acting as a captain for this team.
REST OF THE WORLD
Captain: Arkady Dvorkovich
Std.
Rpd.
Teimour Radjabov
2765
2758
Alireza Firouzja
2728
2703
Bassem Amin
2686
2608
Mariya Muzychuk
2544
2506
Jorge Cori
2652
2599
Dinara Saduakassova
2500
2412
2.645,83
2.597,67
The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE's and Chess.com's own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, and Polish.
SOURCE Thursday, 23 Apr 2020 23:27