FIDE Candidates 2024 kickoff: why this is history in the making and more!
The countdown is on! The pairings have been drawn. The time is accelerating as the world holds its breath. Eager volunteers are lining up like pawns in a row to dedicate their time and raving enthusiasm to the highly anticipated event of the year – ladies and gentlemen – the FIDE Candidates 2024! Witness history in the making!
The event was officially kicked off on February 28, 2024, at the famous local Torontonian chess pub, Madison Avenue, where every Wednesday life bursts with checks, mates, blunders, laughter, and beer! Three key members of the Local Organizing Committee for the FIDE Candidates in Toronto, WGM Anna Burtasova, Salim Belcadi, and Aris Marghetis, plus the world’s renowned Super GM Evgeny Bareev, drew the lot.
“What makes this event so special,” says Anna, “is that for the first time in history, both men’s and women’s candidates are happening at the same place and at the same time.”
Not only that, “this tournament is also unique because it’s the first FIDE Candidates event held in North America! No tournament of such caliber has been held here for decades, except for the World Championship Match in New York in 2016" and the World Chess Blitz in St. John, Canada in 1988.
Why Madison Avenue Pub?
This iconic place is the pinnacle of Toronto chess. “It’s very rare to see anywhere in the world so many chess players (50-60) gathering together on any given Wednesday night in a pub,” says Anna. “It has Toronto spirit and we wanted to transmit this to the whole world, by holding the drawing of the lots here.”
Notably, Magnus Carlsen frequents this pub whenever he’s in Toronto. And so did Hikaru Nakamura and many, many famous chess personalities. So, if you are a tourist chess player, skip the CN Tower and come straight to Madison Avenue Pub on a Wednesday night!
GM Evgeny Bareev on the candidates and beyond
I’ve caught up with Evgeny after the drawing of the lots. The U16 world champion in 1982, Evgeny also participated in the Candidates event in Dortmund in 2002. There, he reached the semifinals but lost his match against Topalov.
“How did you handle all this pressure?” I asked him in Russian, referring to his Candidates 2002 experience. “Как? Да никак,” he sighed melancholically which is loosely translated into “How? In no way.” The “immense pressure” of such events defies any words.
“I did yoga for 10 years,” he added after some thought. And did that help? Evgeny shruged his shoulders, “A little…”
I understood …
This is not the first time I chatted with the Grandmaster. I first met him last June at the Canadian Transnational tournament.
)Our conversations about chess, family and kids, and life’s struggles quickly became too personal and as such will remain un-written. But one burning question, we are all dying to know, lingers … Referring to his climb to the #4 spot in the chess world I asked:
“Was it all worth it?”
It ALL?
The countless hours spent on the chessboard; the immense sacrifice of leisurely activities such as time spent with friends and family, reading novels, contemplating the stars on a summer evening, hiking in the woods, exploring music, art, literature, dance, sports, and all of life’s beautiful offerings; the constant enormous pressure to be the best in the country, in the world. The fame. The triumph. The victories. The defeats. The stress. The evaporated youth spent on 64 squares … Life, spent on 64 squares. The success.
Was it all worth it?
Evgeny sighed.
It wasn’t a no. But it wasn’t a yes either. “If I could do some things differently," he whispered after a few deep, contemplating breaths, "I would."
I took it as there simply is no answer to such questions.
Back to the candidates
And so, dear readers, this April we will put these deep philosophical questions aside and will applaud our candidates’ courage, strength, resilience, inner drive, and fighting spirit. These 16 men and women achieved the extraordinary in the world of chess, pushed the boundaries, set new records, and moved human chess forward beyond the unthinkable! …
And that is undeniably an effort worth admiration and applause!
Please join us in Toronto this April, physically, virtually, or spiritually. We, Torontonians, will be waiting for you! Lots of fun events are being planned to make this event unforgettable, so stay tuned!
“It will be pretty intense,” says Anna, “so in April, you want to be in Toronto!”
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As one famous poet once said: "And there I was, and there I drank beer."
So did I! Cheers!
