Iran’s Khadem to Participate at FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial
According To Iran News, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh will represent Iran at the FIDE Online Steinitz Memorial.
The event consists of two 10-player tournaments, one open and one for women. Each player will play each other twice over 18 rounds of blitz matches, where the players have three minutes for all moves and a two-second increment after every move.
2018 and 2019 Women’s World Blitz Champion Kateryna Lagno (Russia) heads the women’s line-up, with former Women’s World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria), Tan Zhongyi (China), and 2018 World Blitz silver medalist Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iran) all in action.
The total prize fund is EUR30,000, with EUR18,000 for the Open section (EUR4,500 for 1st) and EUR12,000 for the Women’s section (EUR3,000 for 1st). One innovation is that half of the prize money is to be paid out on a game-by-game basis, with every point in the Open section worth an extra EUR100 (EUR70 in the Women’s section).
Wilhelm Steinitz was born on May 17, 1836, and became the first undisputed World Chess Champion in 1886 when he beat Johannes Zukertort (UK). Steinitz defended his world title three times against Mikhail Chigorin (1889, 1892) and Isidor Gunsberg (1891) before losing it to Emanuel Lasker (Germany) in 1894. Six years later, he passed away in the US city of New York.
