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Englands over-50 and over-65 teams completed a historic golden double on Wednesday in the world senior championships at Acqui Terme, Italy, Both led their tournaments from start to finish, overcame some dubious positions en route, and were virtually sure of victory with a round to spare.

The seven-times British champion Michael Adams turned 50 last November, and the Cornishman played a key role by winning an apparently drawn knight ending in the decisive match against the United States, then outplaying Italys Alberto David in a seemingly level rook ending. More England games can be viewed in the games section of chess-results.com. Nigel Shorts ninth and final round win against Canada is a model of how to play with rook and pawn against bishop and knight.

Adams and Short stand out as Englands two all-time best players, eclipsing the achievements of the 19th century icons Howard Staunton and Joseph Blackburne in a less competitive era. Their elite GM skills made the difference in the close struggle with the US silver medal team, composed of Soviet trained ex-Russians.

England over-65s, with seven wins, one draw, and a final-round loss to the bronze medallists, Israel, were boosted by their top boards, John Nunn and Paul Littlewood. Nunn is eminent as a chess writer, player, publisher and world problem solving champion, while Littlewood is a former British champion.

Six England players won individual golds: four in the 50+ (Adams 7/8, Short 6.5/9, Mark Hebden 6.5/8, Keith Arkell 4/5) plus the top two in the 65+ (Nunn 6.5/8, Littlewood 6.5/9).

There was even a third English team gold. England women 50+, fielding Sheila Jackson, Ingrid Lauterbach, Natasha Regan and Petra Fink-Nunn, were awarded a world title despite being the only team in their category. Seeded 17th out of 23, they finished 13th, defeated male opponents from Norway and Poland, and were ahead of two of the four England mens teams. Jackson was part of the England team which won silver at the Haifa Olympiad in 1976.

The outcome provided consolation after painful defeats in major finals of long ago. Nigel Short famously lost to Garry Kasparov in 1993, Michael Adams was beaten in the Fide world final in 2004, while Keith Arkell missed the 2014 World Senior title on tiebreak.

Acqui Terme proved an evocative and nostalgic occasion, one of the last hurrahs for a gifted generation. It was a reminder of the brilliant era of the 1970s and 1980s when England fielded the second strongest team on the planet, achieving silver medals in three successive Olympiads (1984, 1986, 1988) behind Soviet gold.

Ian Nepomniachtchi is on the brink of becoming Magnus Carlsens world title challenger for the second time within six months. The 31-year-old Russian, playing under a neutral Fide (International Chess Federation) flag, is unbeaten after 12 of the 14 rounds of the eight-player Candidates in Madrid, and needs just a single draw in his final two games.

Nepomniachtchi will be only the fifth player in Candidates history to win this competitive event twice in succession, following Vasily Smyslov, Boris Spassky, Viktor Korchnoi, and Anatoly Karpov.

However, the formality of the Muscovites victory in Sundays 13th and penultimate round will probably be just the start of his problems. Carlsen has said that he is unlikely to defend his crown against a player from his own generation, and that he may be ready to abdicate the title while remaining the clear No 1 in the rankings.

The tedium and grinding work involved in two months technical preparation followed by a month of the match itself is the major deterrent, and the 2m prize fund carries little incentive for someone who is already a multi-millionaire.

Fide rules state that if the reigning champion defaults, there will be a title match between the top two in the Candidates. Inconsistent play by all Nepomniachtchis rivals has led to a situation where second place and a potential championship series is still a four-way race.

Leading scores after 12 rounds are Nepomniachtchi 8.5, Ding Liren (China) and Hikaru Nakamura (US) 6.5, Fabiano Caruana (US) and Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) 6.

Caruana, who was clear second for several rounds, cracked with two defeats. Ding, who failed to win a game in the first eight rounds and then won three in a row, lost to Radjabov in round 12. Round 13 pairings include Radjabov v Caruana, round 14 features Ding v Nakamura. If it comes to Sonneborn-Berger tie-breaks, results against the tournament leader will be significant, and in that case Dings round one loss will count against him.

Nepomniachtchis strategy at Madrid has been a combative first half of the tournament, where three of his four wins were scored by direct attacks down the h-file against castled kings, then to dig in for the second half by keeping it simple and being satisfied with half a point.

This approach has worked amazingly well, aided considerably by his opponents. Ding arrived jet-lagged for round one, while Richard Rapport, faced with a forced draw from the Russian prep, avoided it with a losing alternative. Nakamura failed to drive home his big opening advantage, while Caruana chose to draw his first game with Nepomniachtchi from a superior position, then again missed chances created by his good opening prep.

Firouzja prepared for his round 11 encounter against the leader by playing a 250-game match of hyper-bullet (30 seconds each for the entire game) against the New York Times columnist Daniel Naroditsky, an action greeted with incredulity by Nepomniachtchis rivals.

Magnus Carlsen is expected to be in Madrid to watch the decisive final two rounds. The No 1 has also confirmed that next week he will travel to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Earlier this year he finished 25th out of 1050 in the Norwegian Poker Championship. It seems that card and bidding skills have taken over as his offboard interest from Fantasy Premier League, where he briefly led the world in December 2019.

3822 1 Nb7! Resigns. If 1...Bxb7 2 Qxe7 pins and wins the bishop, as does 1...Rxd5 2 Qxe7 h6 3 Qe8+ and 4 Qxc8. But the real idea kudos if you spotted it is the queen sacrifice 1...Nxd5 2 Nxd8! Nxb4 3 Re8 mate.

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Chess: England win three world titles while Ian Nepomniachtchi nears victory - The Guardian

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 2 (ANI): The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached Maharashtra today and travelled through prominent locations of Nagpur and Pune.

The Torch will reach Mumbai from where it will depart from Maharashtra to Goa on Sunday.

As India is celebrating its 75th year of independence, the Chess Olympiad torch is being taken to 75 cities of the country before reaching Chennai, the host city of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad from July 28 August 10, 2022.

The Torch relay reached Nagpurs famous Zero Mile, the geographical centre-point of India, from Daman at 6 a.m. Grand Masters Raunak Sadhwani, Divya Deshmukh and Sankalp Gupta received the Torch. NCC Cadets of the 20th Maharashtra Batallion, Nehru Yuva Kendra and District Sports officials and other sports enthusiasts gave a grand welcome to the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay.

Later, the Grand Masters took the Torch forward in an open jeep to various locations. The rally passed through the main square of Nagpur city through Sanvidhan Chowk, All India Radio, Maharaj Bagh, Law College, Ravi Nagar Chowk, Wadi T Point, Hingana Link Road or GH Raisoni Institute of Engineering and Technology, Shraddha Park, near MIDC Police Station, Chhatrapati Square and Hingana Wadi Link Road. Later, the Torch was taken to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur at around 8 AM for its onward journey.

Grand Masters Isha Karwade and Abhijit Kunte, Representatives of Maharashtra Chess Association, Officials of Department of Sports received the Torch at the Pune Airport.

The Torch was carried by the Grand Masters to Amanora Township in Hadapsar at around 12 noon where it was greeted with a grand reception. State Sports Commissioner Om Prakash Bakoria, Commissioner, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Dr Suhas Divase, Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar and office bearers of Maharashtra Chess Association were also present on the occasion.

After the grand reception the flame was taken on a road journey to prominent locations in the city, including the historically significant Shaniwarwada, before commencing its road journey towards Mumbai.

The Torch is expected to reach Mumbai at 6:30 p.m where it will be received by Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay. Grandmasters Abhijit Kunte and Soumya Swaminathan will also be present. A grand reception for the Torch has been organised at Wankhede Club at around 7 p.m.

India has been the first-ever country to start the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay as per the Olympic tradition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the historic torch relay at Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi on June 19, 2022 and handed it over to Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand

Since its launch, the torch has travelled to iconic locations including Red Fort in Delhi, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, the Attari Border in Amritsar, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow and Dandi in Gujarat among others.

Hosts India is fielding 20 players at the Olympiad being held at Mahabalipuram, near Chennai. With 188 countries registered for the Olympiad, India is set to witness a huge congregation of nations for a sporting event for the first time on Indian soil.

Chess, as we know it today, traces its origin to the Indian game of Chaturanga, dating back to the 6th century CE. The game spread throughout Asia and Europe over the coming centuries, and eventually evolved into what we know as chess around the 16th century. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

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The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay travels through prominent locations of Nagpur, Pune - ThePrint

Has there been a plot to sabotage Nigel Short s prospects of becoming President ofFID,the governing body of world chess? Already Vice-President, England s greatest ever chess player and chess politician since the days of Howard Staunton would, as I hoped, take the logical next step, identify a Ukrainian running mate, and stand for election to the supreme post in the elections due later this month, to coincide with the Olympiad in Chennai. With the incumbent President Arkady Dvorkovich a Russian, hardly conceivable in the current climate after Putins violation of Ukraine , I believed that Nigel would be a shoo-in for the top job.

Instead, Short has become enmeshed in a scandal that has resulted in his being censured and suspended by the FID Ethics Commission. Coincidence or a blatant and politically motivated example of that pithy Antipodean formulation, the Tall Poppy Syndrome?

This syndromeis a cultural phenomenon in which detractorscriticise or sabotage those who have achieved notable success in one or more aspects of life, particularly in intellectual or cultural arenas; cutting down the tall poppy describes a push towards mediocrity and conformity.It will be recalled that when Nigel Short (pictured above, in 1976) first stood for high office in FID, four years ago, that the English Chess Federation pulled out all the stops to frustrate his ambitions and in fact made it pellucidly clear that they would cast their vote for the Greek rival candidate, Makropoulos, rather than support their compatriot Nigel.

Instead of fighting his corner, Nigel has instead, and to my dismay, now resigned. I had hoped that he might soldier on, but I also fully respect, understand and sympathise with his presumed sentiment : If they don t want me, after all I have done for them in promoting chess globally,then I want nothing to do with them!

Dvorkovich himself has not stepped down, thus leaving FID as the only international body of anyprominence still led by a Russian. Indeed, Dvorkovich will stand again and probably win, due to the master stroke of recruiting Viswanathan Anand, the Indian former World Champion as his running mate, for an election to be held in India.

Dvorkovich s tears at Shorts resignation struck me as singularly crocodilian. This is his statement:

I learned with deep regret about Mr Short s decision to resign from the position of Vice President today. I would like to note that all these years, Nigel has worked tirelessly to promote chess on all continents. Thanks to his efforts, the FID family has been expanded by several new federations.

Often the fruits of his dedicated work were to be appreciated only years later. As an example thanks to his efforts, the long-standing conflict in the Pakistani Chess Federation began to be resolved, ending with legitimate elections in June 2022.

I am sincerely glad that in 2018 Nigel agreed to accept my nomination as the Vice President of FID. Several more candidates from his 2018 ticket currently work in the FID Council and make a significant contribution to our common duties.

I would like to highlight Nigel s organisational and leadership abilities, as well as to reiterate that his intentions have always been consistent with the mission of FIDE.

Nigel s decision is open and sincere, perhaps even a little emotional and related to the decision of EDC, but I believe that Nigel will continue his mission and agree with my proposal to find the right format for our joint work for the benefit of chess.

Arkady Dvorkovich,FID President

If the Presidents conscience remains clear, I would like to take this opportunity to draw his attention to the words of that great Roman historian Tacitus, which seem astonishingly relevant to the war in Ukraine.

Tacitus Agricola (c. 98 AD)recounts the life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general and Tacituss father-in-law. It also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Britain. Tacitus favourably contrasts the liberty of the native Britons with the tyranny and corruption of the continental Empire. The book contains eloquent polemics against the greed of Rome, one of which(thatTacitus claims is from a speech bythe native chieftain, Calgacus, at the Battle of Mons Graupius in Caledonia) ends with the celebrated assertion: Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, this they call empire; and wherever they make a desert, they call it peace.

Nigel Shorts resignation as FID Vice President appears to have been the result of losing a FID Ethics Commission case, involving his trip to a Caribbean island where theMerovingianly fain ant official federation had provoked the formation of a rival organisation, now claiming to be legitimate.In that context pleasesee this link to the bloviatingly self-important concoction of typographically challenged diatribes from fides quasi judicial kangaroo court.

Were FID insuch a hurry to get the censureout thatthey forgot to proof read it? This shambles involved a cornucopia ofrickety legal arguments, through whichany competent BritishQCcoulddrive through not one, but several coaches and horses, had Nigel felt motivated to go down that route.

Thus,in a British civil contract case (Peabody Trust Governors vs.Reeve [2008]), The Court decided that the clauses didn t make sense, rather they contradicted one another. On that basis, the Court was obligedto interpret the agreement in the[respondent s] favour.

This invalidity of a self-contradictory clauseis certainly evident in the case ofArticle 4.10 of the FID Charterwhich ostensibly proposes to bestrictlynon-judgemental whilesimultaneouslyinthe definitive process ofexercising a judgement. It is thus invalid and should be struck out.

Everybodys playing the game But nobodys rules are the same Nobodys on nobodys side Better learn to go it alone Recognize youre out on your own Nobodys on nobodys side.

Tim Rice/ ABBA(malehalf) Chess the Musical.

Let us close the curtain with a potpourri of games across a decade, from the tall white poppy of modern British chess, up against a rather good former Russian world champion.

Short vs. Karpov (SWIFT Blitz, 1987) Short vs. Karpov (Linares, 1989) Short vs. Karpov ( 1992 Candidates semi-final , Caro-Kann) Short vs. Karpov ( 1992 Candidates semi-final , Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack) Short vs. Karpov ( 1992 Candidates semi-final ,Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack 1) Short vs. Karpov ( 1992 Candidates semi-final ,Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack 2) Short vs. Karpov (Dortmund, 1997)

As Nigel withdraws from chess politics, he has staged a resurgence as a player in the winning England squad which late last month triumphed in the World Senior Team Championship held in Italy. Remaining members of the victorious World Over 50 team were Micky Adams, John Emms, Keith Arkell and Mark Hebden.England also won the Womens Over 50 and the Mens Over 65 titles a triple gold medal triumph.

Raymond Keene s latest book Fifty Shades of Ray: Chess in the year of the Coronavirus, containing some of his best pieces from TheArticle, is now available from Blackwell s .

We are the only publication thats committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one thats needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout the pandemic. So please, make a donation.

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Tall poppy cut short: Nigel Short and the politics of chess - TheArticle

These accolades take the game's impressive achievements even further, which already include the People's Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award, a Webby Award in the Games: Family & Kids category, ASTRA's Best Toys for Kids and TIME 100 Best Inventions. Since 2020, the game has been awarded 19 times.

"Story Time Chess has got to be one of the most awarded board games ever," said Tom Hodgkins, CEO of Game On! International, a toy industry veteran with 25+ years of experience bringing some of the most successful toys to market across the globe. "The game has been recognized across industries, from toys to creative, to education, and has received some of the most prestigious awards, including ones from the ultimate critics and Story Time Chess super fans: moms, dads and kids."

Story Time Chess won the Platinum Hermes Creative Award in the Individual's Specific Project Achievement Category as "the most awarded board game ever." Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals that recognizes outstanding work. It is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), which consists of thousands of marketing, communication, advertising, PR, digital media production, and freelance professionals.

The game also received the Creative Child Awards' Game of the Year. Story Time Chess was tested, reviewed and scored by moms, educators, and early education professionals. The awards program is administered by Creative Child Magazine, a national monthly parenting magazine and resource for parents that provides originality and spontaneity to nurture children's creativity.

Story Time Chess was also chosen for the Good Toy Guide, a trusted resource for parents and gift-givers to find truly Good Toys. The guide is created by the Good Play Guide, an independent, expert accreditation service for children's products. After undergoing reviews by kids, child psychology and user experience experts, Story Time Chess earned the accreditation with the highest ratings across skills development, ease of use and fun/level of engagement.

Story Time Chess is available now on StoryTimeChess.com for $49.99 MSRP and is for ages 3+.

About Story Time Chess

Story Time Chessis based on a chess teaching method, established by New York City-based tutoring company Chess at Three, that has been utilized and perfected over the last 12 years of successfully teaching more than 100,000 children how to play chess through storytelling. The same story-based curriculum is used by more than 1,000 schools across the U.S. The board game compresses a decade plus' knowledge from teaching young children into a beautifully designed game that can teach anyone ages 3-103 how to play chess through fun, engaging stories and exercises.

Media Contact:

Linda KrebsLKPR, Inc.[emailprotected]646-824-5186

SOURCE Story Time Chess

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STORY TIME CHESS CONTINUES ITS WINNING STREAK, NAMED "MOST AWARDED BOARD GAME EVER" BY HERMES CREATIVE AWARDS, "GAME OF THE YEAR" BY CREATIVE CHILD...

WICKLOW County Council intends to install outdoor chess tables at locations in each Municipal District, with two tables already in place at Wicklow town and one in Greystones.

hess players have been enjoying playing alfresco at the Riverwalk and Bachelors Walk in Wicklow town and at Burnaby Parkin Greystones. Additional tables are also due to be installed in Bray, Blessington, Baltinglass and Arklow.

This latest initiative from the Council is designed to encourage more outdoor activity as we emerge from the COVID pandemic. Chess is an increasingly popular activity, heightened by the critically acclaimed Queen's Gambit series recently shown on Television. The chess tables have been specially designed to the Council's specification and are accessible to all.

Welcoming the installation of the chess tables, the Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Tommy Annesley, paid tribute to the Community Cultural and Social Development Directorate for coming up with the idea of the tables and added that this initiative, together with others such as the recently completed dog parks, will allow everyone to enjoy the outdoors.

Chief Executive Brian Gleeson acknowledged the funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development under their Community Enhancement Funding Scheme and added his congratulations to the Council staff in the CCSD Directorate. He encouraged existing chess players and those wishing to take up the sport, to make full use of the tables.

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Council makes all the right moves with outdoor chess tables for each District - Independent.ie