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A group of students from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) started holding online chess tournaments in the autumn of 2020. First, they invited a team from MIT. And then they organized an international tournament called Global Chess, where hundreds of students from dozens of universities worldwide now take part and share their love for the game.

It all started two years ago, in 2019. It was New Years Eve and the MIPT dorm in Moscow was almost totally empty, because most had already left after their exams.

Andrey Danilov, a third-year student whos the head of the online chess club at MIPT, didnt know what to do, so he met a friend and they started playing chess. The game was so intense that they didnt even notice how the clock struck 12 and the New Year arrived, remembers Danilov.

It later turned out that there were many students living in our dorms who stopped playing chess in university. So we began to play often, all styles without exception: blitz, bullet, rapid. Then I started training my fellow students, recalls Danilov.

That was the beginning of what would later become the Global Chess startup. For Andrey Danilov, it is more than a tournament, however. It is a community whose core values are honesty, personal development, friendship and mutual assistance - all united by a common hobby.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Danilov found himself stuck in Ukrainian coastal city of Odessa and his life moved almost fully online. Together with his chess buddies, Danilovv created an online team and they started training and holding tournaments remotely. It was also a great coping mechanism during the uncertainties of the pandemic and was probably the only thing that helped Danilov to not drop out of university.

Soon, we found similarly locked down friends from MIT who were studying remotely and it turned out that there was no difference between us - we even literally spoke the same language: the head of their chess club studies Russian as an elective subject! We are not very different culturally, Andrey Danilov says.

The first tournament against MIT students was a rollercoaster of emotions: halfway through the tournament, the MIT students were beating the MIPT team with a score of 9037. Then, the MIPT team pulled itself together, managed to close the gap and take the lead three minutes before the end of the tournament! The final score was 104-100 in favor of MIPT.

Then, we also started inviting teams from Harvard, Stanford and other universities to take part in our tournament, Danilov says.

As a result, Andrey and his friends started holding large tournaments, comparable in size to the one held among universities by famous Russian chess player Gary Kasparov. They decided that it was time to do team tournaments according to the Swiss system, in which players are never eliminated, but are paired in every round. In the last tournament held on July 3, 2021, 415 players from 38 different universities took part.

The tournaments that were previously held according to the Swiss system were very complicated - they had to use separate websites for drawing lots, keeping a table and playing chess. So, instead, we combined it all and created our platform [at] global-chess.com, Danilov explains.

Not everyone is eligible to take part in Global Chess tournaments, but if youre a student, recent graduate or researcher then you can play to your hearts content.

As good as it is to be able to bring together players from all corners of the world thanks to the possibilities offered by the Internet, Danilov and his friends really miss playing chess face-to-face. Thats why theyre planning to hold an offline tournament for their fellow students.

We are going to make an annual selection based on a hybrid system and then try to get sponsors to pay for travel expenses for the winners to take part in the face-to-face tournament. It would make for a truly exciting 9-10 days: chess plus learning about the culture of the host country and the organizing universities, Danilov adds.

Additionally, the MIPT students are currently working on an online course for Coursera, which will teach chess alongside analytical thinking in real life situations based on the game. Together with professional programmers, they are developing a platform for playing chess according to the Swiss system. This project has already won several major accelerators and raised a total of 400,000 rubles ($5,400). And they are growing their YouTube channel.

But the most important aim of Global Chess is to build a real community and friendships that transcend borders and where people understand each other better, as well as inspire participants to achieve their goals in all spheres, not just in chess.

FIDE master Arman Geyvondyan, for example, became friends with a commentator from the University of Warwick.

I was commenting on the tournament and, at the end of the broadcast, I popped into a stream by my colleagues from the University of Warwick. We talked for a few minutes, discussed the results of the competition and then went on our merry way. And then Jack thanked me on Discord and offered to pop in next time. Before we knew it, we ended up chatting for several hours about everything and anything! We even agreed on a couple of chess lessons and a joint game in CS: GO, says Geyvondyan.

The analytical thinking that chess instills in people makes it possible to build a community where everyone feels comfortable, can grow and find real friends, develop culturally and always keep improving. It seems to us that many problems in modern life arise, due to the fact that people do not analyze what is happening to them, what others are doing and, as a result, they do a lot of things without thinking them through. Chess, on the other hand, teaches one to be aware and to weigh every move and action, Danilov concludes.

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How a group of Russian students created a GLOBAL chess community - Russia Beyond

The 2021 world championship match between GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi will not only be covered closely by Chess.com and other platforms. It's also going to be on broadcast network television each day.

The International Chess Federation today announced a new media partnership for the match with NBC Sports. The program will present coverage of each game starting on November 27, 2021. Daily 30-minute shows on NBCSN will bring highlights of each match game to the much wider and highly engaged community of sports lovers as well as to hardcore chess fans throughout the United States. Each highlight show will be replayed the day after it premieres, totaling one hour of chess content every night, starting on November 28 and for the remainder of the match.

The videos will convey the emotions, stories, and expert opinions, including commentary by GM Maurice Ashley, who will focus on making chess accessible for all levels of viewers. Well-known as a commentator for high-profile chess events, Ashley made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American ever to be awarded the title of chess grandmaster. As early as 1993, he was a TV chess commentator, covering the Kasparov Short PCA match.

Its exciting to be a part of the premier event in all of chess, one that will be followed by millions of passionate chess fans eager to see who will emerge victoriously. Having NBC Sports onboard is a brilliant development that will further help to push chess into the limelight where it certainly belongs, said Ashley.

The media partnership between FIDE and NBC Sports is leveraging the massive surge in popularity that chess has experienced during 2020 and the first half of 2021, connected to the global lockdowns and the stunning success of the Netflix series The Queens Gambit.

FIDE is happy and proud to partner with NBC for this groundbreaking project, said Emil Sutovsky, FIDEs Director-General. "For nearly a month chess will become a regular guest in millions of American homes. We are looking forward to delivering a show that would appeal to chess aficionados and those new to our beautiful game."

NBC Sports serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The world chess championship, one of the oldest traditions in the world of sports, will now be a part of NBC Sports history.

We look forward to presenting the worlds finest chess in fast-paced coverage throughout the 14-day match, said Nick Casanova of NBC Sports.

The match will be held November 24-December 16, 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a prize fund of $2 million. Chess.com has acquired the rights and is an official broadcast partner. On our Live page you'll be able to follow the live moves with computer analysis, live chat, and video commentary by (grand)masters and special guests.

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NBC Sports To Cover World Chess Championship - Chess.com

Tanitoluwa (Tani) Adewumi and his family fled violence in Nigeria. They are now living as asylum seekers in the United States while Tani continues his chess career. UNHCR/Ashley Le

Tanitoluwa Adewumi and his family fled their native Nigeria in 2017, after jihadist group Boko Haram ordered his father, Kayode, to produce posters for their network at his print shop. Kayode refused and knew the family would be in danger if they stayed.

The family flew to Dallas, Texas on a tourist visa they had previously secured. Shortly after, they moved to New York City, where a local pastor connected them with a homeless shelter. It was there that Tani, now 10-years-old, saw a chessboard for the first time.

I thought, why not go for it, Tani said. I liked the way the pieces moved, and how anything can happen at any moment.

Today, Tani is one of the chess worlds fastest rising stars. His success has helped his family do things they could only have dreamed of when they first arrived in the US. They have met famous chess players and Tani has been recognized by world leaders. In his living room hangs a large portrait of the family with Bill Clinton. The family co-wrote a book with author Chris Borlase, My Name Is Tani, and I Believe in Miracles, published this past spring. Comedian Trevor Noah and Paramount Pictures bought the movie rights and a script by Steven Conrad is in the works.Tani and his family, who are seeking asylum in the US, no longer live in the homeless shelter and have moved into a home in Long Island, New York.

"I liked the way the pieces moved, and how anything can happen."

After he learned chess at the shelter, Tani was playing at school when a teacher and part-time chess coach noticed his passion for the game and sent a note to Tanis mother informing her the school had a chess club. Tanis mother, Oluwatoyin, thought the club would provide a wonderful opportunity for her son to grow. However, the fee of $US 360 was too high for the family.

I had to let them know that we had just come to the country. We didnt have that amount of money, Oluwatoyin said.

At the request of the chess coach, the school waived the fee.

Tanis success in chess did not come immediately. At one of his first tournaments, he didnt win a single trophy.

When we were coming back, he looked at me and said,Mom, I prayed that I would get a trophy, why is it that God did not answer my prayers, Oluwatoyin said.

In the subsequent months, Tani began attending trainings every Thursday after school. At the next chess tournament, he won a few points, a small but encouraging improvement. At the following, he won first place. Within six months, the teachers at his elementary school were starting to take notice.

Meet the young champion soaring to the top of the chess world (Ashley Le, videographer, producer )

Today, Tanis bedroom is decorated in glittering trophies. His favorite is the large, tiered trophy from the 2019 K-3 (kindergarten to grade three)New York State chess championship, which he won at the age of eight, less than a year after starting to play chess.

Tani attributes his success to his self-described aggressive playing style.

Im very competitive, Tani said. When there is something on the line, I am 100 per cent.

On 1 May 2021, at the age of 10 years, 7 months, and 28 days, Tani became the 28th youngest person to achieve the status of national master. The current top-ranked American player and second-ranked player in the world, Fabiano Caruana became a master at 10 years 11 months, and 29 days.

We believe [Tani] is one of the fastest to reach the rank of master ever, said Daniel Lucas, a spokesperson for US Chess, the official International Chess Federation (FIDE) member of the United States. Most who become master start playing at the age of fiveor six, so this just speaks to his prodigy level and natural skill he has.

Before every game, Tani takes 20 deep breaths and calms himself so he can be laser focused on the game ahead. Tani has played a broad spectrum of chess players, from old to young to unrated to international grand masters.

Hard work beats talent, Tani said. Dont judge a book by its cover. If you see an unrated person, that should worry you because theres no way to know if they are good or bad. So play your best.

"Hard work beats talent."

As a master, Tani is in the top one per cent of chess players. As a grandmaster he would be in the top tenth of a per cent. He hopes to become the youngest grandmaster ever, a title currently held by Sergey Karjakin, who reached thatlevelwhen he was 12 years and 7 months old. Tani, with a rating of 2230, is a few hundred points away from achieving his goal.

However, as an asylum-seeker, Tani faces special challenges. While many other chess players are able to easily travel to compete internationally, Tanis family feels they should remain in the US. Even though they could apply to travel outside the country, they prefer to stay put while their asylum case goes through the court system.

Despite the efforts of governments and humanitarian organizations, people in many parts of Nigeria continue to face grave violations of human rights, widespread gender-based violence, kidnappings, forced recruitment, and suicide bombings. Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria have killed thousands and the violence has crossed borders into Cameroon, Chad and Niger. More than 3.2 million people have become displaced in Africas Lake Chad Basin region.

The kidnapping, the killing, the persecution, it is still rampant now. That is why we left, said Tanis father, Kayode, who now works as a real estate agent. Its not that easy to leave your people behind, your siblings, your parents, your in-laws. But we need[ed] to run for our safety.

Tani and his family are grateful for their new chance at life. They plan to invest the book and movie earnings in real estate as well as a college fund for Tani and his brother, Austin. As for Tani, he has learned important lessons about success.

At the end of the day, my rating is just a number, he said. It really depends how strong you are inside.

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Meet the young champion soaring to the top of the chess world - UNHCR

Despite the hot bright sun, Miranda chose to finish beating her father Jay at chess before moving into the shade of the small playground in Greensboros Springdale Park. Last Monday, it took the almost 9-year-old less than half an hour to put the 55-year-old in Checkmate. Just eight days before International Chess Day.

Celebrating July 20 as International Chess Day was first proposed by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1966. The date was chosen to mark the 1924 founding of the International Chess Federation, commonly known by its acronym FIDE (pronouncedFee-Day, from its French name,Fdration Internationale des checs). The concept and date proved so popular that, by the end of the 20th Century, International Chess Day was observed in over a hundred countries.

Despite its worldwide popularity, the holiday was not formally recognized by UNESCOs parent organization until two years ago. In December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously voted to name July 20th as International Chess Day. Last year, The International Chess Federation asked people around the world to celebrate the holiday by teaching someone to play chess. A press release issued by that organization in July 2020 suggested teaching a child, as it would be easier, and more rewarding to you both.

Ive played chess (albeit never terribly well) for most of my life, having been taught by my father after I bought him a board for Christmas that Id seen him admiring in a Fayetteville gift shop. But the only kids I know belong to my friends.

I initially decided to teach Page Hackenbergs lovely daughter Rosemary how to play the game, but poor Rosie caught a cold the day before our first lesson (dont worry, shes recovering fine). With a deadline looming, I asked various other parents, but their kids either already played or werent interested, necessitating a change in plan.

Then, Erin Poythress told me about the chess games her husband Jay Parr plays with their daughter Miranda. Miranda has been trying to teach me, but so far, Ive managed to dodge her, said Erin, who works from home as an Executive Assistant. Her husband is a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

And thats how, two days before my deadline, I ended up watching Miranda and Jay play chess, something theyve been regularly doing since Miranda was seven and her grandparents gave her a Harry Potter chess set for Christmas.

Miranda was delighted by the idea of my watching her trounce her father, but was adamant about one rule: no staged photos.

Were not going to do one of Dad putting me into a mate because that would be completely unrealistic and he literally never does that, she said in Springdale Park as her father set up her Harry Potter chess set on the wooden picnic table which seemed to have the most direct sunlight.

This proved uncomfortable when the clouds broke, but Miranda insisted on not moving until she had finished her dad off. After she did, declaring easy mate, we moved to the shade, where Jay checked his daughter for signs of sunburn. If that happened, and Erin found out I forgot sunscreen, Id be in for some grief, he said with a laugh.

When I suggested that his daughter would never rat him out, Miranda also laughed. Youve just seen me play some vicious chess. Do you really trust me not to rat on him?

I asked her if she recalled the first time she ever beat her dad. Not really. Its happened so often.

Thats fair, said Jay.

I asked Miranda to rate her father as a player.

I think Dad will agree with me on this, she said solemnly. Hes insane. Sometimes, hes insanely good, sometimes hes insanely bad, and sometimes hes insanely crazy. I try to figure out his plot, so I can move out of it, and I try to figure out things he doesnt notice so I can use them to my advantage. To me, chess is strategy, but also luck.

Jay asked me to assure our readers that his daughter was not some sort of real-world version of Beth Harmon, the driven and troubled chess prodigy heroine of Walter Teviss 1983 novelThe Queens Gambitand its 2020 Netflix miniseries adaptation.

Neither of us knows anything about those, he said after I asked if Miranda has a favorite gambit. In chess, a gambit (fromgambetto, an archaic Italian word meaning to trip), is an opening move in which a player sacrifices a piece with the aim of achieving a positional advantage. We just wing it.

I told him thats why I chose them, as I wanted to watch ordinary people play, not experts, obsessive fans, or prodigies.

Then, were not the people to talk to at all, said Miranda. Were not ordinary in any sense.

Nobody really is, I told her.

Thats fair, she said, echoing her fathers earlier remark when she said she always beats him.

Since I couldnt teach Miranda how to play chess, something Jay had obviously done better than I ever could, I wanted to tell her about the games history. But father and daughter were due to meet their mother for lunch, and so, assuming she doesnt already know all about it (a very unsafe assumption), shell have to learn about it by reading this article (hi, Miranda, and thank you).

The true origin of chess is a story lacking in clarity or consensus. Little credible evidence exists that the game existed in anything resembling its modern form before the Sixth Century. Game pieces older than that have been found in China, India, Iran, Russia, and Pakistan, but are now believed to have been used in board games that, while related to chess, also involved dice, and were played on boards with over a hundred squares.

One of those possible ancestors was a war game called chaturanga, which is mentioned in the Mahbhrata, one of the two great Sanskrit epic poems of ancient India. Chaturanga is Sanskrit for the "four divisions of the ancient Indian military: foot soldiers, cavalry, elephant riders, and charioteers. These were represented by the pieces that became the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook.

Chaturanga is considered the earliest precursor of modern chess because of two key features found in all later variants: different pieces had different powers (unlike checkers and go), and victory was based on capturing one piece. When the game spread from India to Persia, players started calling "Shh!" (Persian for "King!") when attacking the opponent's king, and "Shh Mt!" (Persian for "the king is helpless) when the king could not escape from that attack. With the Arab conquest of Persia, chess entered the Muslim world and, through the Moorish conquest of Spain, spread to Southern Europe. But in early Russia, it came directly from the Khanates (Muslim territories) to the south.

The queen, the most powerful piece in modern chess, was originally both much weaker and identified as male. At first, the piece was called the Mantri (Sanskrit for minister or counselor), which was translated by the Persians to farzin, which means counselor or wise man. This was shortened by the Arabs to firz, and this became ferz or fers in Medieval Europe.

In her 2004 bookBirth of the Chess Queen, historian Marilyn Yalom argues that the popularity of powerful medieval queens, including Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of Castile, may have influenced the pieces evolution, especially as chess became a game in which women could compete on equal terms with men. By the 16th Century, that game had evolved into its modern form.

In the 20th century, hundreds of variants of the traditional Western game were invented. Some simply altered the number or distribution of the pieces. For instance, Dunsanys Chess, invented in 1948 by the Anglo-Irish baron, playwright, and fantasy writer Lord Dunsany is an asymmetrical game in which one side uses the standard pieces, while the other uses 32 pawns. Others added new pieces, such as Unicorn Chess, which adds a piece that looks like a Knight with a horn on its head, and can make multiple knight moves in the same direction.

Some variants use the traditional pieces but employ radically different boards. One subcategory of these is three-player chess, using a three-sided or hexagonal board. And then there are the variants that expand the game into a third dimension. These have existed since at least the late 19th century. One of the oldest is Raumschach (German for Space chess ), invented in 1907 by Ferdinand Maack and considered the classic 3D game.

But the most famous variant originally wasnt a real game. Tri-Dimensional Chess started out as a prop played on the originalStar Trek seriesbroadcast on NBC from 1966 to 1966. The initially fictional game made its debut in Where No Man Has Gone Before, the second pilot episode of the series. The unaired first pilot, The Cage, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, had been rejected by the network. Lucille Ball, who co-owned the studio that produced the show, persuaded NBC to reconsider, and a second pilot was shot, with the hero rechristened James T. Kirk and played by William Shatner.

While made first, Where No Man Has Gone Before was the third episode broadcast, originally airing September 22, 1966. It includes a scene of Kirk playing Tri-Dimensional Chess with Leonard Nimoys Mr. Spock.

The prop used to portray the game was constructed with boards from 3D Checkers and 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, real games sold in stores at the time, and used pieces from a futuristic-looking chess set designed by Peter Ganine in 1961. The prop retained the 64 squares of a traditional chessboard but distributed them onto seven separate platforms: three larger ones with fixed positions, and four smaller attack boards that could be moved throughout the game.

In 1975, Franz Joseph wrote and designedThe Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, a fictional reference book containing details and even schematics of the imaginary technology used in the original series. It also contained plans for building a Tri-Dimensional chess set and a few basic rules. The complete Standard Rules for the game were originally developed in 1976 by Andrew Bartmess, with encouragement from Joseph.

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Checkmate: The world prepares for International Chess Day - Yes! Weekly

Chess.com is excited to announce this year's second annual ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship, kicking off on July 17 and 18!

Eight of the best young chess prodigies in the world (age 10 or under as of January 1, 2021) will go toe-to-toe in a series of blitz matches. The event will be in the single-elimination format and will take place over multiple weekends, with each match lasting for two hours and split up between the 5|1 and 3|1 time controls.

Fans will be able to watch the live broadcast on Chess.com/TV, with special commentators for each match. The tournament will also be broadcast on ChessKid.com's Twitch and YouTube channels.

Below you can see the eight confirmed players. Player ages are as of January 1, 2021. USA players' ratings are based on an average of the March FIDE and US Chess ratings lists. Only the FIDE rating is used for players from other countries.

Players will be seeded based on their ratings for the first round. Below you can see the opening round bracket:

FunMasterMike will be joined by other hosts during the broadcast. Below you can see each matchup and its hosts:

Players will battle for their piece of a $5,000 prize fund. In addition to the cash prize, the winner of the event will receive lessons with one of the 20 best players in the world. You can read the full rules and prizes of the event here.

Who do you think will win the most prestigious ChessKid.com event of the year? Leave a comment below!

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Announcing The Second Annual ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship Starting July 17 - Chess.com