Shabalov Wins 2024 FIDE World Senior (50+) Championship

GM Alexander Shabalov won the 32nd FIDE World Senior (50+) Championship with an 8½/11 score ahead of Polish GM Michal Krasenkow on tiebreaks. The 57-year-old became only the second American to claim the World Senior title, joining GM Larry Kaufman (2008).

All photos courtesy Federacao Portuguesa de Xadrez

Held in Porto Santo, Portugal from November 17 through 28, the 11-round Swiss featured 202 players representing 48 different federations across three sections (50+, 65+, and Women’s).

Shabalov was one of 11 Americans competing, joining his World Senior Team teammate GM Gregory Kaidanov along with IM William Paschall, FM Doug Eckert, Vladimir Bugayev, and Serge Bondar in the 50+ section.

GM Gregory Kaidanov

Shabalov and Kaidanov both got out to hot starts, with Shabalov in first with 3½/4 and Kaidanov only a half-point behind. But, from there Shabalov drew four of his next five games while Kaidanov suffered a fifth-round loss at the hands of Azeri IM Ilgar Bajarani, leaving both American grandmasters playing catch-up.

Interestingly, Shabalov’s only win in that five-game stretch was against Israeli GM Victor Mikhalevski, who eventually finished in third only a half-point behind Shabalov and Krasenkow. Mikhalevski’s podium finish was bolstered by his ninth-round victory over Kaidanov, effectively knocking the latter out of contention.

After nine rounds, Shabalov was still in a group of players only a half-point behind Krasenkow and Mikhalevski. With Krasenkow drawing his game and Mikhalevski gaining steam with his victory over Kaidanov, Shabalov’s tenth-round game against Russian GM Roman Ovechkin turned out to be the first of consecutive must-wins for Shabalov’s comeback run to the title. Indeed, this game was a fine example of Shabalov’s calculation skill and attention to detail:

Headed into the final round, Shabalov and Mikhalevski each trailed Krasenkow by a half-point, meaning they each needed to win and hope for Krasenkow to draw GM Frank Holzke on the top board. Krasenkow got nothing out of the opening with the white pieces, and after briefly being worse, managed to equalize and settle for a draw without much difficulty.

By this point, Mikhalevski, also with the white pieces, had already settled for a quick draw against Ukrainian GM Andrei Maksimenko, effectively guaranteeing himself a podium slot but taking himself out of contention for the gold.

Shabalov went undefeated throughout the 11-round event

This just left Shabalov on board three, with the black pieces, against none other than Kaidanov! Kaidanov trailed Shabalov by a full point, with a 6½/10 score entering the round, but played in a way that suggested he was just as invested in playing for a win.

What resulted was an interesting battle over key central squares in the Chebanenko Variation of the Slav Defense. Kaidanov took a maximalist approach with an early e2-e4, allowing Shabalov’s pieces to spring to life. In the end, it was the weak e4-pawn that gave Shabalov a decisive advantage in the endgame:

With his win, Shabalov managed to catch Krasenkow atop the standings and, having drawn their head-to-head encounter in round five, his better tiebreak scores gave him the gold.

American GM Alexander Shabalov (center) finished ahead of Polish GM Michal Krasenkow (L) on tiebreaks, while Israeli GM Victor Mikhalevski (R) finished clear third

With the loss, Kaidanov stumbled to a tie for 15th place. Of the other Americans, Paschall finished a half-point behind Kaidanov with a 6/11 score, while Eckert (who was not paired for the final round) finished with an impressive 5½/10 score that included wins over three IMs.

German GM Rainer Knaak (center) finished a half-point ahead of Israeli IM Alexander Mikhalevski (L) and Slovak GM Lubomir Ftacnik (R)

German GM Rainer Knaak won the gold in the 65+ event with an 8½/11 score, a half-point ahead of Israeli IM Alexander Mikhalevski, Slovakian GM Lubomir Ftacnik, and German IM Christian Meier (who finished second through fourth, respectively, on tiebreaks). For those keeping track, that’s a bronze for the younger Mikhalevski brother and a silver for the elder!

IM Timothy Taylor had the top result of the five Americans in the 65+ section, tying for fifth with a 7½/11 score despite entering the event seeded 30th by rating. Taylor’s results included wins over Spanish GM José Luis Fernandez Garcia as well as English IM Chris Baker and Portuguese IM Fernando Silva.

FM Lester Van Meter gained 84 FIDE rating points for his 6/11 result, which included wins over an IM and two more FMs.

Israeli IM Masha Kilnova (center) finished ahead of France's IM Silvia Alexieva (L) on tiebreaks, with Spanish WGM Tatyana Grabuzova (R) finishing third

Israeli IM Masha Klinova won the Women’s section also with an 8½/11 score, ahead of French IM Silvia Alexieva on tiebreaks. Three players tied for the top score of 65+ players, with (in tiebreak order) German WIM Brigitte Burchardt, Georgian former Women’s World Champion GM Nona Gaprindashvili, and Russian WGM Tatyana Bogumil all finishing with 6/11 scores.

German WIM Brigitte Burchardt (center) had the top tiebreaks of the three 65+ women to finish with 6/9 scores, ahead of 83-year-old former Women's World Champion GM Nona Gaprindashvili (L) and Russian WGM Tatyana Bogumil

More information about the event is available on FIDE’s official website. All results can be found on Chess-Results.com, and games are available on both Lichess and Chess.com, although a number of games appear to contain transmission errors.