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GUELPH Whether youre a grandmaster or just curious how the horse moves, consider stopping by the Evergreen Centre to learn how to play chess.

The Guelph Wellington Seniors Associations bi-weekly chess club, hosted by volunteer Bruce Hurst, takes place every second and last Friday of the month from 10am to 12pm.

You have to be 55-plus to join the GWSA, but I dont see a problem with anybody coming out [to the chess club], Hurst said.

Hurst has been playing chess since his 20s.

He encourages players of all skill levels to contact the GWSA to attend.

I just asked if anybody [at the GWSA] plays chess and they said, no, why dont you start up something? Hurst recalled.

The first meeting was held last September and attendance fluctuates week to week.

Although not a senior, Christian Stevens was in attendance and is rated 2,354 on the Chess Federation of Canada website. For perspective: amateur players are typically rated at around 1,200.

Stevens was the Canadian Grade 8 champion in 2001 and has played in tournaments locally and abroad.

Stevens is a FIDE (Fdration Internationale des checs) master, which is the third highest title a player can achieve, coming only after the grandmaster and international master titles.

Although its uncommon for players of such distinction to take part in the GWSA chess club, its a welcoming space for anyone with an interest in the game to attend.

I think its actually quite a good venue, because the people are nice and the facility itself is conducive to sort of a good chess club atmosphere, Stevens said.

For more information visit gwsa-guelph.ca or call 519-823-1291.

Originally posted here:
Seniors association hosts chess club at Evergreen Centre - Wellington Advertiser

Beethovens music, chess and everything that was interpreted as a sign of decadent capitalism was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution (1965-1976) a sociopolitical movement that saw millions arrested and killed during the last years of Mao Zedongs regime. Today, however, the story is very different. All of Chinas state media is covering the 2023 World Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, where Liren Ding is the first Chinese grandmaster fighting for the world chess championship. And, since 1991, China has won every other title, womens, junior and team.

Even when Mao was already very ill by the mid-1970s, the police fined street players and searched houses for chess books to burn in public squares. But when Deng Xiaoping took power in the years after Maos death, the policy towards chess changed completely. There was even a priority given towards female competition, while the state began preparing Chinese chess players for the international level.

The success of the new policy was tremendous. Xie Jun born during the Cultural Revolution became the womens world champion in 1991. More strong players soon emerged, breaking the dominance of the Russians and Georgians. Then, mens chess took off, which resulted in China taking gold at the 2014 Chess Olympiads in Trmso, Norway and 2018 in Batumi, Georgia. Meanwhile, between 1991 and 2018, Chinese children and adolescents both male and female won Chess World Cups in all categories: under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20.

Yet, at the moment, there are no Chinese men among the top hundred in the under 20 category. Tian Hongwei, general secretary of the Chinese Chess Federation, attributes this absence to the pandemic, which was especially harsh in her country, resulting in multiple lockdowns and travel bans. We also organize a lot of tournaments that dont count towards the international rankings, because we have so many unranked players, she adds.

There are about five million Chinese citizens registered in the Chess Federation, but there is no doubt that, in the worlds second-most populous country, there are many more aficionados of the game.

The author of this article spent three days in Nanjing in 2019, on the occasion of the under 8 and under 10 national championships. A large part of the thousand participants the best from each province were child prodigies. It was normal, for example, that they would spend their time in the elevator (the hotel was a skyscraper) solving math problems on electronic devices. The level of Chinese children in mathematics, physics and chemistry is very high, Hongwei confirms.

This has a lot to do with the One-Child Policy, in effect from 1979 to 2015 (today, the limit is two). Many parents are obsessed with the idea that their well-being in old age will depend on the income of their only son or daughter. Therefore, the pressure for children to enter the best schools and universities is often brutal, especially when it comes to entrance exams, which, each year, produce dramatic collective tension in China.

Consequently, everything related to education and developing intelligence is considered to be extremely important. But the countrys meteoric progress creates an obstacle to producing more chess champions: Before, being a highly competitive chess player was a very attractive way of life, because there werent many more tempting professions. Now, there are many options in the fields of science, technology and art. Therefore, its more difficult for us to convince our [talented participants] to become professional players, Hongwei explains.

One of the best examples of this conundrum is Yi Wei, 23, who since he was a child emerged as one of the earliest chess talents in history. Hes given priority to his university studies, which are ending this year. But he must return to elite chess, because hes a model for millions of Chinese children, the general secretary notes.

Chess and Go an abstract strategy board game, invented in China 2,500 years ago are two non-Olympic sports with government support comparable to the Olympic Games. We have two training camps for the national team and the greatest talents, with everything paid for by the government, Hongwei concludes.

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Chess was once banned in China. Today, the country wants to win the World Chess Championship - EL PAS USA

2023 FIDE World School Chess Championship, a joint event of the Chess Club "KNIGHT OF RHODES" with the South Aegean Region and the Municipality of Rhodes through the Municipal Organization for Culture and Sports (DOPAR) under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and Greek Chess federation began on Rodos.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Regional Governor of the South Aegean, Giorgos Hatzimarkos, the Mayor of Rhodes, Antonis Kambourakis, the Deputy Regional Governor of the Dodecanese for Sports,Nikos Nikolis, the Secretary General of the European Chess UnionTheodoros Tzorbatzoglou and the FIDE Technical Delegate Ozgur Solakoglou.

The competition brought together 530 entries from 53 countries, with a total of over 1500 participants. The representative group of Greece is in the lead with 105 entries, 60 of which are from the South Aegean region.

Through the chess platformchess24.com, spectators can watch live the games of the first five boards of each category, while photo materials, as well as all news about the event, will be published daily on the official websitewscc2023.ippotis.comand on the club's social networks,facebook.com/cc.ippotis, Instagram @rhodes_chess_events, Youtube @rhodes_chess_events as also the Chess in Greece Facebook page.

The daily results, pairing and standings are also available here:https://chess-results.com/tnr732421.aspx?lan=1

In his welcome speech, Giorgos Hatzimarkosstressed that the region would continue to stand by the local club and its contributors, who, with their passion and love, have put Rhodes on the world map of chess. Antonis Kambourakistated that the local government invested in actions and initiatives such as chess events in order to promote creativity, competition and noble competition among children, while Theodoros Tzorbatzoglou, for his part, stressed that Rhodes had become a permanent host of important chess events thanks toits lavishhospitality and excellent hotel infrastructure.

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2023 FIDE World School Chess Championship kicks off in the ... - FIDE

We take immense pride and joy in informing you that we are organizing the first ever Chess Carnival in India Cademic Chess Carnival from 22nd April to 1st May 2023. In this event, four international FIDE rated chess tournaments are organized back to back in four different time formats covering Classical open, Below, Rapid and Blitz events.

Cademic Chess Carnival will take place from 22nd April to 1st May 2023

As a chess parent, I have been to many tournaments across the country, and even outside India. While many tournaments lacked quality, many good events were at the higher end when it comes to affordability.

Entry fee structure for all four events

We took upon a mission to conduct quality tournaments at an affordable cost. The first tournament was conducted in Aug 2022, that gave opportunity for 470 players from eleven Indian states and five federations to see first-hand, what we have to offer. Here is a link to our earlier event on ChessBase India.

While there were several learnings for us, as an organizing team, the event was a success in terms of its real intention a good quality event at an affordable cost. Many positive feedbacks from players and parents made us believe, yes, we are on the right path to follow. One of the catchy comments from a parent was Players were treated with patience and parents were treated with respect.

The Rapid Rating event will take place on 22nd and 23rd April 2023

As the next step in this series, we are aiming higher than last time - the first ever Chess Carnival in India Cademic Chess Carnival from 22nd April to 1st May 2023. It is a ten day mega event with a total prize fund of 12,99,999/-

Totalprize fund for the Rapid Rating event - 300000

In order to make this ten day carnival really memorable for you, we have chosen the best venue possible - a beautiful beach front location. A venue very close to the Veli Tourist village in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala.

The Blitz Rating Open will take place onSunday 23rd April 2023

In this Carnival, we are bringing to you a lot more events through the days to celebrate Chess. These are meant to engage you all players, parents and other chess enthusiasts together.

Total prize fund for the Rapid Rating event - 99999

So, once again, we cordially invite you to spend a good 10 days during this summer holidays in the capital city of Kerala, Trivandrum along the beautiful and serine beach front. We really hope, this will be a trip that you will cherish for a long time.

The Classical RatingOpen will take place from 24th to 28th April 2023

Several titled players have already registered for the event. What are you waiting for?

GM Vishnu Prasanna V |Photo: Shahid Ahmed

IM Jubin Jimmy | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Deepan Chakkravarthy | Photo: Himank Ghosh

IM Srihari L R |Photo: Shahid Ahmed

IM Nitin S | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

IM P D S Girinath |Photo: Shahid Ahmed

IM Ratnakaran K | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Laxman R R |Photo: Shahid Ahmed

IM D V Prasad | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Total prize fund for the Classical Rating Open - 500000

The Below 1600 Rating tournament will take place from 29th April to 1st May 2023

Total prize fund for the Below 1600 Rating - 400000

Rapid

Details

Blitz

Details

Open

Details

Below1600

Details

There will be a total of four tournaments. Rapid - 22nd and 23rd April, Blitz - 23rd April, Classical Rating Open - 24th to 28th April and Below 1600 - 29th April to 1st May 2023.

Event summary of thecarnival and contact details

For registration: Click here.

For Enquiries:

97474 86494

99003 02302

99477 54122

89435 04084

99940 29796

90749 07893

In addition to the several feedback we received from the players and parents through the course of the event, we received 100+ written feedbacks. Its our pleasure, to share a few below:

Congratulations Cademic team, for your efficient, professional approach in planning, executing the very 1st event. We witnessed great commitment and passion from the team. Kudos to all organizers, arbiters. Thank you and we wish many such events from Cademic.

Thanks for efficiently conducting this event- tournament fee, food - both were economical. Tournament started on time for all rounds, kids were treated with patience. Parents are treated with respect. Enough seating as well. All our questions were answered, without changing the group to admin only. Thanks again and looking forward for more tournaments from the organisers.

Very well organised. Thanks for giving such an opportunity. Looking forward for more successful endeavour from the same team...

Very well organised tournament.. Very good venue and arrangements.. Congratulations to the whole team. Best tournament played so far. Looking forward to such tournaments in the future .

Well organised tournament. Venue, timing, food everything super. Congrats to team worked behind. You set a mark. Thank you

I got a lot of energy and inspiration through this tournament. Again I say a wonderful organising and a great atmosphere. Lucky to be part of this great event

Well organized tournament

Always punctual

Nice venue for a chess tournament

Rectified the mistakes quickly that pointed out in the reviews

Soft handling with kids and parents

Good team performance

Kudos guys... Keep it up

Yes, team did a great job!! Highly appreciate your proactive communication on arrangements and action on inputs!!!

It is very wonderful tournament with excellent coordination and well organized. We expect same types of tournaments in future in Trivandrum city

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Cademic Chess Carnival 2023 offers a prize fund of 1299999 ... - ChessBase India

One of the worlds greatest chess minds who, when seated across the board, could see well into the future is consumed by a nagging fear that, from behind the microphone, hed miss something obvious that everyone in the world can see.

My fear, says Viswanathan Anand, is Im sitting there rambling and then they play something (else) Id be slightly embarrassed. Thats the danger of not having a computer. One of the things I tried in Dubai (during the 2021 World Championship) and I stuck to here was almost never consulting a computer.

These fears, as it turns out, have proven unfounded. In fact, the five-time world champion almost flawlessly predicts moves and foresees the breakdown of thoughts of champions and challengers alike with his quick-witted analysis, typical self-effacing humour, and without any help from the supercomputers.

There might not be any direct Indian interest in the ongoing World Chess Championship match between Chinas Ding Liren and Russias Ian Nepomniachtchi. But Anand continues to be the link as a commentator. I enjoy commentary these days, says the 53-year-old, talking to Express. Ive also done commentary for the World Team Championships, and Ive done it in other places. So Im happy to continue doing that.

Its the little things he likes about commentary for instance, the idea of enjoying everything about chess without any tension. Its very nice to go into a World Championship without the tension of preparing, Anand says. When I play tournaments, thats a different kind of joy. But attending a big chess event, you know, its the most natural feeling in life and (when) you dont have the associated tension, thats kind of fine as well.

Anand knows a thing or two about the stress of a World Championship, having competed in 10 of them since 1995. Through this period, hes obsessed endlessly over openings and spaces and lines; and found himself huddled in tiny rooms with a team of seconds, whom hed sometimes ask after a match, did any of the commentators find anything interesting? And if they said, yes, this one found a very good move here or position there, thats actually useful and nice to have, Anand says.

Thats his guiding principle as a commentator. He is careful not to slip into Grandmaster talk, speaks with refreshing candour and regales the audience with delightful anecdotes, which are laced with humour. Hopefully, it comes across naturally, he says.

This one time, when he was commentating during the 2021 World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi, Anand recalled how he made Anatoly Karpov wait during a World Championship match in 1998 after the Russian made a habit of turning up late for every game, among the many mind games chess players resort to during big matches. For the first two minutes, the only people who were there were FIDE (world chess body) officials and some invited guests and the players had disappeared, he laughed.

In a sport where the action is often subtle, the consequences of a move might not be immediate and there could be long, dreary pauses during a match, so stories such as these can keep the audience hooked. But Anand is also mindful of not slipping into the personal stories of the players.

As long as Im not crossing some private line if a player tells me something in confidence, obviously, Im going to keep it in confidence, that sort of thing. My general thing is what is publicly known, you cannot expect something unreasonable there. But I would never say something that might embarrass them.

As has been the case with his playing career, where hes had to unlearn and learn different aspects with the increasing use of technology, this too has taken some time getting used to, given there wasnt a lot of live commentary when he played in the World Championships certainly not on a scale as big as it is now.

Anand marvels at the mind-boggling growth in chess due to the exponential rise in the number of devices and internet connectivity. But in a crowded space, where GMs have made alternate careers as streamers by merely sitting in front of a web camera and behind a microphone, Anand says he keeps asking himself a basic question: What are the questions the audience will have?

Foreseeing moves

In these times when commentators are often accused of being too indulgent, loud and over the top, thats not a bad place to begin. I see my key role is to bridge the gap between what anybody can see on their computer screen and what a player experiences at the table because I think very few people actually know that side, he says.

And so, Anand who does not take help from computers in reading match situations often takes the audience through his thought process by putting himself in a situation a player finds himself in. In the ongoing championship, Anand could flag Nepomniachtchis meltdown when he blundered in Game 4, which the Russian eventually lost.

There, I could see inside of the player. I could see a breakdown of Nepos thoughts. Its unpleasant because you are losing control and you are the one person who doesnt realise. I could see it happening because it has happened to me, so I was able to say it, Anand says.

Once before, during the Carlsen- Nepomniachtchi World Championship match 2021, Anand put himself in the shoes of Carlsen, who had been pondering a move for a while in a tight situation. He suggested a routine Knight move so the Norwegian world champion could preserve energy for making critical decisions in the later stages of a match. Five minutes later, when Carlsen played that exact move, Anand rejoiced in the commentary box. Yes! Thats my boy, he exclaimed.

Quite often, he says now, I will be talking about something well before it happens. And when it finally happens, I feel good about myself.

For a man consumed with fear of missing the obvious, Anand can still see well into the future even from behind the microphone.

Original post:
My role to bridge gap between computer screen and what a player experiences at the table: Viswanathan Anand - The Indian Express