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IM David Gavrilescu (ELO 2431) is the rapid chess champion of Romania. He won the 2022 competition with 8,0/9, half a point ahead of GM Constantin Lupulescu (ELO 2623), Teodor-Cosmin Nedelcu (ELO 2000), and IM Alexandru-Vasile David (ELO 2368). IM David Gavrilescu is just 19 years old and a part of a large youth wave of strong Romanian players coming.

Romania rapid chess 2022 standings

Richard Rapport has just won the final of the FIDE Grand Prix in Belgrade and added extra 14 ELO points to his rating. This puts him at 7th position in the live rating list with 2776 ELO, two points behind Wesley So and three points ahead of the World Championship finalist Nepomniachtchi.

Richard Rapport shared his thoughts in a press conference after his victory in the FIDE Grand Prix, “I am very relieved and with lots of happy emotions”.

Following a draw in the first game of the finals, Hungarian Grandmaster Richard Rapport won the second game against the two-time Russian champion, Dmitry Andreikin.

In the final minutes of the game, in a position that seemed completely equal for Black, Rapport (who played as White) found a way to throw Andreikin off his balance and snatch victory.

1st Guwahati International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2022 is taking place 13-20 March. A total of 238 players will participate in the 10 rounds Swiss event. Top seeded is GM Pavel Ponkratov in the company of other international players like GM Ramirez Delgado, GM Christian Rios, GM Mosadeghpour, GM Azer Mirzoev, etc. Local top GMs include GM Visakh, GM Deepan Chakkravarthy, and GM Stany.

The K-12 State Championship of North Carolina is happening March 11-13, 2022. This is the first time the event is held in two years. 450+ players participate in the event K-12 chess championship, which is a qualifier for the for Rockefeller, Barber and Denker National Invitational Chess Tournaments.

The event is sponsored by the Charlotte Chess Center, which organizes multiple events, including the annual Charlotte Invitational

The final match of the second leg of the Grand Prix was opened by FIDE Deputy President and renowned grandmaster Bachar Kouatly.

Starting with the Petroff, the players moved to the Four Knights game and then switched to the Scottish Game. Somewhat surprisingly, Dmitry Andreikin opted for a very drawish course. The opponents played out a popular line that has been tested many times in high-level games. After massive exchanges, a well-known drawish endgame emerged on the board, that Andreikin played himself just a month ago. 

GM Abhijeet Gupta is the winner of the 31st PSPB Inter Unit Individual Chess Championship 2022. Gupta scored 6,5/8, half a point ahead of GM Lalith Babu, GM Krishnan Sasikiran, and GM Adhiban. The top performing woman in the event was GM Humpy Koneru with 5,5/8.

Following a quick draw in the first game of the tiebreaks, Andreikin won as Black against Giri in the second game, despite having an inferiour position.

In the finals of the second leg of the Grand Prix, Dmitry Andreikin will be playing a two-game match against Richard Rapport on the 12th and 13th of March.

More: Richard Rapport qualifies for the final

Game One: A quick draw

The Rhodes Chess Festival 2022 will be held from 20 April to 4 May, in the five-star Rodos Palace Conference Resort of Rhodes island, and it will be a unique opportunity for players to combine chess with seaside holidays and the traditional Greek Easter celebrations! The Rhodes Chess festival will consist of three events: