Brazilian Women's Championship: Classic, Rapid and Blitz 2023

by Tais Juliao
11/9/2023 – The 62nd edition of the Brazilian Women's Chess Championship took place between 29 October and 4 November in Timbó, in the state of Santa Catarina. The municipality, located in the southern region of Brazil, is recognised as an important centre for the promotion of chess. The event was organised by the Brazilian Chess Federation (CBX) and the Santa Catarina Chess Federation (FCX). In the end, FM Juliana Terao won her eighth national title. | Photo: (from left to right) Marlon Rahn (arbiter), Isabelle Tamarozi (runner-up), Kathiê Librelato (fourth place), Julia Alboredo (third place) and Juliana Terao (winner). | Photo: Kaiser Mafra

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This year, in addition to the classic tournament - in which the titles of National Master (NM), Woman National Master (WNM) and Woman International Master (WIM) were awarded - the competition included a battle for the national title in Rapid and Blitz, which took place on 2 and 4 November respectively.

In the standard section there were 9 rounds in the Swiss system with 90 minutes and 30 seconds from the first move. The women's tournament attracted 54 participants, including some of the strongest chess players on the national scene. In addition to the total prize money of R$16,000 (Brazilian Reais), the top three finishers received a ticket to the Budapest Chess Olympiad in 2024.

The favourites for the title were the top 3 in the country's national ranking: number 1 FM Júlia Alboredo (2,216), Brazilian champion in 2021; number 2 FM Juliana Terao (2,189), seven-time and current winner; and WIM Kathiê Librelato (2,188), current number 3 and champion of zone 2.4 in 2022. It is worth noting that Librelato and Alboredo were Brazil's representatives at the last edition of the FIDE Chess World Championship. Other prominent names were members of the 2022 Olympic team WCM Vanessa Gazola (1,942) and NM Ellen Bail (1,927), as well as Isabelle Tamarozi (1,982), number 5 in the national ranking, and other titled players, 20 in total.

The tournament had some unexpected results in its first half, such as FM Alboredo's loss to the talented NM Julia Rodio (1,829) in the second round and the draw between FM Terao and WNM Rauanda Schultz (1,634) in the fourth round. In the final rounds, clashes between the favourites were inevitable and the decisive matches were played from the fifth round onwards.

In the last and final round, three players were battling it out for first place on 6.5: Tamarozi, Terao and Alboredo, in that order. Librelato and Rodio followed on 6.0, with Artemis Guimarães (1,980), NM Isabella Freitas (1,867), WFM Agatha Nunes (1,837) and WCM Gazola on 5.5. This scenario left both the 2023 champion and the qualification for the Olympic team open.

The draw between Alboredo and Tamarozi, combined with Terao's victory over Rodio, meant another title for the multi-champion, the eighth of her career. With this result, Terao joined WIM Regina Ribeiro, also an eight-time winner, as the most successful national title holders.

Tamarozi vs Alboredo | Photo: Kaiser Mafra

Terao vs Rodio | Photo: Kaiser Mafra

Runner-up Isabelle Tamarozi produced a superb performance to earn her a place in the team that will represent Brazil at Hungary 2024. In third place, Alboredo showed her resilience and once again secured a place in the national team. Fourth place went to WIM Librelato. As Alboredo was guaranteed a place in the Olympic team as the number one on the national women's list, the position eventually fell to Librelato. With these results, Brazil has determined its national champion for 2023 and its team for the next edition of the Chess Olympiad.

Final standings

Rk. Snr Name Type Elo Pts.
1 2 FM Juliana Sayumi Terao 2189 7,5
2 4 NM Isabelle Tamarozi 1982 7
3 1 FM Julia Alboredo 2216 7
4 3 WIM Kathie Goulart Librelato 2188 6,5
5 5 Artemis Pamela Guimaraes 1980 6
6 14 NM Julia Brunetto Rodio 1829 6
7 10 NM Isabella Ribeiro Conti De Freitas 1867 6
8 7 WCM Vanessa Ramos Gazola 1942 6
9 11 NM Laura Luisa Eger 1840 6
10 12 WFM Agatha Hurba Nunes 1837 6
11 17 Thifanni Harumi Nakata 1765 5,5
12 23 NM Juliana Figueira Theophilo Silva F14 1670 5,5
13 13 Karina Kanzler 1830 5,5
14 15 Gabrieli De Melo 1800 5,5
15 24 NM Clara Dias F16 1648 5,5
16 21 NM Fabiola Campagnolo 1689 5,5
17 18 Maria Eduarda Papini Gomes 1744 5,5
18 16 Maria Paula Cardoso 1791 5

... 54 players. Source: chess-results

Games

WIM Kathiê Librelato wins in Rapid and Blitz

Parallel to the main tournament, CBX and FCX also organised the Brazilian Women's Championship Rapid and Blitz 2023, the winner of which qualified to represent Brazil at the next World Championships in these time controls.

On 2 November, the competition took place in Blitz format, in 9 rounds with 3+2. The winner was WIM Kathiê Librelato with an incredible performance of 8.5. Second was WFM Thauane Medeiros with 7.0 and third was Maria Paula Cardoso with 6.5.

On the 4th of November, after the end of the classical competition, it was time for the 10+10 and 7 rounds rapid games. Librelato was also the winner in this format with a perfect score of 7.0, followed by FM Terao with 6.0 and Cardoso, who repeated the third place she achieved in Blitz, with 5.0.

With these results, we have the double victory of WIM Kathiê Librelato and her undisputed classification as Brazil's representative in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, were just announced to be celebrated in city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from December 26 to 30.

History of the Brazilian Women's Championship

The Brazilian Women's Chess Championship had its first edition in 1957, held in São Paulo, at the traditional São Paulo Chess Club. The winner was Dora Rubio. Since then the competition has been held regularly, with the main winners being WIM Regina Ribeiro and FM Juliana Terao with eight titles each, followed by Ruth Cardoso with seven and WIM Tatiana Ratcu with five. In total, 19 female chess players have won the country's most important national competition.

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Taís Julião is a Brazilian chess player and author. She is an internet content producer about chess since 2002, working on different platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitch and Spotify. In 2020, she published her first children's book, "A Menina Que Não Sabia Jogar Xadrez” (The Girl Who Didn't Know How to Play Chess), by Flamingo Edições. In 2022, she published her second book dedicated to beginner adult players, "O Próximo Passo: Mulheres Ensinam Xadrez” (The Next Step: Women Teach Chess), by Editora Solis. The book received the official seal of the “Year of The Woman in Chess” by FIDE. Since 2021, she has been part of Chess.com streamers team in Portuguese. She teaches chess in Portuguese, Spanish and English. She also takes part as a volunteer in "Liga Brasileira de Xadrez Feminino - LBXF" (Brazilian League for Women in Chess), an independent group to promote chess among women in Brazil.