Mediaboss Marketing

The Iranian chess official said she began seeing the messages of support from American government officials soon after she said she was afraid of returning to her country.

An image of the official, Shohreh Bayat, appearing not to wear a hijab at a world chess tournament in China had circulated online and in Iranian media and she quickly went public with her fears that she would be arrested if she returned to Iran. It is against Iranian law for a woman to appear in public without a head scarf.

No wonder Shohreh Bayat is afraid of returning to #Iran, the United States Embassy in Lisbon said on Twitter on Jan. 24, about a week after her story began appearing in news outlets around the world. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women risk harsh prison sentences for violating the mandatory hijab law.

Similar messages on the Twitter accounts of American embassies in Armenia and Madrid and the United States Consulate in Barcelona appeared around the same time.

Ms. Bayat, 32, a high-level chess referee, said on Friday she was grateful but also confused.

It does seem a little ironic to outwardly support individual Iranians while simultaneously barring their entry to the country, she said in an email.

Iran is one of five Muslim-majority countries that face restrictions under a policy enacted in 2017 by the Trump administration, which argued that those countries needed to satisfy security requirements for travel into the United States.

The administration has said the countries, which also include Yemen, Syria, Libya and Somalia, had failed to thoroughly assess the security threat of citizens traveling into the United States.

On Friday, the administration added six countries to the list of nations facing stringent travel restrictions, including Myanmar, where the Muslim minority is fleeing genocide.

A spokesman for the State Department, declined to say whether the tweets about Ms. Bayat signaled a change in how the administration viewed cases like hers and other Iranians who could be considered dissidents in their country.

We cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa, the spokesman said. Whenever an individual applies for a U.S. visa, a consular officer reviews the facts of the case and determines whether the applicant is eligible for that visa based on U.S. law.

Ms. Bayat was in Shanghai on Jan. 8 presiding over a chess match during the Womens World Chess Championship, which began in China and concluded in Russia.

During a break, she turned on her phone and saw a picture of herself at the tournament circulating on Iranian media, which is heavily monitored by the government. The picture appeared to show her without the hijab, and Ms. Bayat said Iranian media were accusing her of flouting Iranian law.

Ms. Bayat said she was wearing the scarf but it had slipped to the back of her head and the angle of the photograph made it appear as if her entire head was uncovered.

At first, I was deeply shocked and panicked, she said. If I could be condemned on Iranian media, with false motives ascribed to me, on the basis of a deceptive photo, without anyone from Iran having even contacted me, then the stark implications of returning home were clear.

She decided that day to stop wearing the hijab, which she said she never wore willingly. Ms. Bayat said she was soon getting supportive messages from around the world, including the American embassies.

Ms. Bayat asked to be interviewed by The New York Times by email because she wanted to answer questions carefully and make sure my answers wont cause a problem for me or my family.

The tweets from the embassies also linked to an article about Ms. Bayat on ShareAmerica, a website run by the State Department that describes itself as a platform for communicating American foreign policy worldwide.

The article described how Iranian women continue to strive for equality and noted the case of Kimia Alizadeh, an Olympic bronze medal winner who recently announced she was defecting from Iran.

The tweets underscore the hypocrisy of the Trump administration when it comes to Iran, said Mariko Hirose, litigation director of the International Refugee Assistance Project in New York.

She noted how the Trump administration verbally supported Iranian Christians, who face discrimination and persecution in Iran, but declined to allow many of them entry into the United States.

Now, while the American embassies express support for a woman fearing return to Iran, the president has doubled down on a ban that has for three years blocked Iranian families from reuniting with their loved ones in the United States, Ms. Hirose said.

Ms. Bayat is in London where she is trying to sort out her options. She declined to say whether she is seeking asylum.

But she said she would not ask for permission to come to the United States, primarily because she is ineligible under the current restrictions.

I had a U.K. visa so I came to the U.K., which is a lovely country, Ms. Bayat said.

She added that most chess events held by the International Chess Federation are in Europe.

She remains in contact with her husband and parents in Iran.

For some time they were so emotional that it was even difficult for them to talk to me, but now they are recovering, Ms. Bayat said. It is extremely difficult to be far from my family, but I am doing my best to stay strong.

See the rest here:
U.S. Tweets Support for Iranian Chess Official, but Ban Wouldnt Let Her In - The New York Times

Jose Mourinho says he is playing a chess game without pieces at Tottenham as he does not have the players I want.

Injury struggles are handing the Spurs boss a serious selection headache at present.

Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela have joined the likes of Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies in the treatment room.

Mourinho was also denied the opportunity to call upon January signing Steven Bergwijn for an FA Cup fourth-round replay with Southampton on Wednesday as the Dutch winger was ineligible.

The Portuguese claims he is working with one hand tied behind his back at present, with the progress he was hoping to oversee in north London impossible to implement.

Mourinho told reporters after seeing Spurs edge out Southampton 3-2 on Wednesday: "I had to manage this chess game without pieces. You know. No bishops, no kings, no queens. Very, very hard with so many injuries and problems. No Bergwijn.

"I cannot speak about the progress I want to make because I don't have the players I want.

"And the team needs players to progress, collectively, tactically and dynamically. We need to have the players but we don't have the players.

"We lose so many. Sissoko, Harry, and today Lamela, Lo Celso and Bergwijn. It is so difficult.

"One game we have players A, B and C out and then the next game we are without D, E and F. It's been a very difficult season.

"So everything was like when you pull a blanket up and your feet are left out and then you cover your feet but half of your body is out. That's us. But amazing spirit, and that is something I like.

"The best team lost (referring to Southampton's 3-2 defeat to Spurs on Wednesday night). The best team on the pitch lost."

While frustrated at seeing his plans torn up on a regular basis, Mourinho has guided Tottenham back up to fifth spot in the Premier League table four points adrift of his former club Chelsea.

He also has them chasing down FA Cup glory, with a fifth-round date booked against Norwich, while a Champions League last-16 showdown with RB Leipzig is also fast approaching.

Visit link:
Mourinho playing chess without pieces as he doesnt have the players he wants at Spurs - Yahoo Sports

Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the youngest player in the worlds top 20, speaks to David Cox about his experiences of Polish reality television, being superstitious, and why he cant stand it when other players dont observe the dress codes in chess.

A new generation is beginning to make their mark on the chess elite. With Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Vladislav Artemiev, Wei Yi, and Alireza Firouzja all in the worlds top 30, the coming decade could see the emergence of a host of new pretenders to world chess biggest crowns.

Duda has long been a serial winner. A former world junior champion, he won more than 100 different tournaments before he even turned 18 and scored 8.5/11 on board two in the 2014 Olympiad. Now 21, he achieved a career-high FIDE rating of 2758 in December after reaching the final of the Hamburg Grand Prix.

In a few days from now, the second edition of the Prague Chess Festival starts. Duda is the top seed in the Masters, a 10-player round-robin with an average rating of 2708.

Dudas success continues a proud tradition of Polish chess which goes all the way back to Boleslaw III, the 12th-century Polish king, who learned the game from Crusader knights returning from Jerusalem. More recently, Poland has produced some of the most well-known players of the 20th century. Most notable is Akiba Rubenstein, who was poised to challenge Emanuel Lasker for the world title in 1914 before the outbreak of World War I. Duda will hope to go one better.

The interview was conducted via phone. Text may have been edited for clarity or length.

Chess.com: To start with, tell us how important your mum has been to your career. We know she played a particularly instrumental role in helping you take up the game.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda: Unfortunately, my dad passed away when I was two, and so my mum was raising me at the same time as running her own business. She wanted to find where my talents lay, and so when I was five, I tried many activities from sports like swimming, table tennis, tennis, gymnastics, and chess as well as music. I fell in love with chess, perhaps because I was capable of staying focused for a long time even as a child. I was always like this. I could play with a toy for many hours. And then when I started traveling to competitions, my mums job allowed her to travel with me. Until I was 18, she came with me everywhere all over the world. I owe her a lot.

A rare appearance from Duda's mother on stream.

Weve seen this theme with many of the top players. Theyve often benefited from the support of a parental figure traveling everywhere with them. Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana had their fathers for instance, and Wesley So still travels with his stepmother Lotis. Given that chess can be such a tough game psychologically, can you tell us more about the benefits of this parental support?

In general, it meant I didnt have to think about other things, only chess. She was kind of my manager as well, so she organized coaches, flights, everything. I just played chess, and that was that. But she also knew what to do when I lost a game. Because I was young, I wasnt always capable of dealing with losing. I would react very badly afterward, like in a physical way, jumping on the bed and stuff. Some old friends of mine still tell me stories! But she always knew how to calm things, before I grew up and this kind of thing stopped!

Thats pretty funny. We heard that alongside your chess career youre also studying physical education. How important is staying in shape for a chess player?

Yeah, at present Im studying at the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow, and through this, I have an opportunity to work with top Polish trainers and sports specialists, for example, the physiologist of former Polish tennis star Agnieszka Radwanska. Without this, I would just be a weaker player because I wouldnt be capable of withstanding the tension. I think being in shape is a must for a very, very top player. Magnus is a good example of this because hes a very sporty guy, and he was capable of getting rid of the pressure in his World Championship matches against Anand, better than Vishy. Ok, he was a lot younger, but I think it was one of the reasons why he won so apparently easily.

Do you have any other ways of coping with the tension?

In general, Im kind of superstitious; many chess players are. I dont really believe in superstitions, but I like to have them just to be sure! So I used to have my lucky pen, and now I have my lucky shirt. But if you win too many games in a row, that can be a problem! For example, when I won the Polish Championship in 2018, I drew four games in a row pressing in most of them but not able to convert the win. Then after I won my first game, I won the next three, all wearing exactly the same clothing. The worst part was I was eating the same things as well. And Id had steak on the day of the first win, so from then on, it was two steaks a day. It was kind of expensive, but whatever! I love steak, anyway.

Wow, thats a lot of steak. Any other vices?

I tend to sleep for too long, or in other words, I manage my rest well! I think most chess players are night owls, and Im not sure why. As a child, Id go to sleep very early and wake up early, but now Im more efficient in the night. So during the Hamburg Grand Prix, I was waking up at 11.30 and getting to bed around 2-3 am. But this can be a problem. When the last round is in the morning, its not so easy to cope with. During the European Team Championship in November, the last round was at 10 am, and I was hoping the captain wouldnt select me! Unfortunately, he did, so I had to play Dmitry Andreikin with Black. I was sleepy, but somehow I managed to draw quite easily. In general, I think my last rounds are a bit below par.

Talking of shirts, you always tend to be very well dressed. Is this something you pay a lot of attention to?

Completely the opposite. Im actually surprised to hear this. Its the FIDE dress code to wear a suit. I used to dislike playing in a suit a lot, but Ive got used to it, although I really dont like situations where Im wearing one, and other players arent respecting this rule. It kind of makes me angry. Perhaps because of this, I lost to Wesley So in the Moscow Grand Prix when he wasnt wearing a proper shirt, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in Riga who was wearing jeans, and Jeffrey Xiong in the World Cup who was in a t-shirt! Im the kind of man who follows the rules, even if Im not happy with them. It is a sign of professionalism.

Lets talk about the Hamburg Grand Prix where you made the final, losing to Alexander Grischuk. Afterward he gave an interview where he compared the experience of playing you to playing an old Fritz, where the machine had no opening book, but yet still managed to slowly outplay him.

I like it. Grischuk always has a good mouth! But its actually kind of true because my openings were not very good in this tiebreak. Basically I was playing some random stuff. If my openings were better, then I would have had a much greater chance to win. But I think intuition is one of my strengths. When I was very young, I studied a lot of classical games. I grew up with Garry Kasparovs book 'My Great Predecessors,' a bible for chess players, and I think that might be the reason why my intuition is so strong. As a player, I wouldnt say Im a particularly good calculator.

I believe that was the biggest final youve been in so far. What was that experience like?

It was very stressful, but I didnt expect to get to the final. It was a bit unpleasant that it was against Grischuk because in the Grand Chess Tour before, I had crushed him 3-0 in rapid and blitz. And while I was aware that I wouldnt crush him in this match, it was kind of stressful knowing that I had such a good score against him. Psychology is a funny thing. Hes very strong, and I possibly could have done better, especially after winning the first game, but it wasnt a disaster. I could have been eliminated earlier in the tournament, for example when I lost with white to Daniil Dubov in the first game of the semi-final tiebreak. Its knockout so theres a lot of pot luck.

I know you were worried about doing this interview in English. What made you more nervous, this interview or playing Grischuk in a Grand Prix final?

Haha, my English is terrible! Its so, so different in comparison to Polish. Its sometimes difficult. Ive studied for so many years in school, but Im too lazy to try and improve it on a daily basis. When I flew to St. Louis, it wasnt great. But its all relative. When I speak to some Chinese players, I dont feel such misery about my English. Its funny though because sometimes I end up saying things in English that are quite different from what I actually mean. For example, I did an interview after my Chess.com Speed Chess Championship win over Anish Giri last year. I read the story a couple of days later, and there was a quote which had come out completely different to what I meant to say. It made me laugh.

English issues aside, do top chess players ever hang out at tournaments and perhaps speak about things other players have come out with at the press conferences?

Actually I dont talk much with these guys, only after the games, and then its mainly about the match we just finished. But sometimes I do like to watch interviews with other players because usually chess players are not very good at them! And generally I tend to overestimate the top players at everything in life, so when I see theyre not good at something, it makes me feel better.

Why do you think you tend to overestimate them?

I dont know. Ive always had this. You read about guys like Magnus who crossed 2880, won so many tournaments in a row, and you see him as this kind of god. It doesnt help because then you have to face him, and hes creating pressure with every move. Ive never won a match against him, but I think I just need to play him more. When I beat him, I will feel like, Ok Im at the very, very top. Basically playing Magnus is like playing Leo Messi when you compete for a team in the Polish football league. But I dream to be like a Polish Robert Lewandowski, so I must play on Messis level more, much more.

Whos the most intimidating to face out of all the top players?

There are always some players who play particularly well or badly against you. Ive always had a hard time playing against Wesley So. For some reason, he doesnt suit me very well, but at the same time, Ive also won several miniatures against him. I crushed him once in 17 moves, and in last years Grand Prix, I also beat him in 25 moves in one game. But if he survives the opening, hes an unpleasant player to face!

Duda's 25-move victory against So.

But in the past, I also used to be afraid of Chinese players. I would always play badly against them. I remember playing Wei Yi in the World U14 Championship. I got an entirely won game and could have forced victory in 2-3 moves, but I missed a combination. Then I was two pawns up in a queen endgame, but I still didnt convert it, and he went on to win the tournament and became a superstar in his country. I always felt guilty that because of me, this guy became a big star, as without this victory, he could have become lost in China. There are so many talents out there.

Anyway this has changed after the Chinese Federation invited me to play a tournament in China a couple of years ago, and after having good games against all the Chinese super-gransdmasters, I learned I am not different. This was a time when I realized I can do more. On the other hand, I like to play with Russian players. They represent a kind of chess culture, and every game is more than just a competition, it is an experience of all elements of chess the art, science, and sport in one.

For many years, Radosaw Wojtaszek has been the strongest Polish chess player. Has he helped you at all in your rise to the top?

When I was younger, the Polish Chess Federation developed a special program around Radek for the most promising juniors. I was a part of that program and had an opportunity to learn from him. We are two totally different players with totally different approaches. He was a second for Anand, and after that, he crossed 2700 and basically became an opening freak. He puts a lot of effort into checking, checking all the time, memorizing lines, while I dont at all. But I also have some skills he does not possess. For example, he cannot bluff. Especially in the opening. He would never play something he hasnt checked, even in blitz, and I think that if he develops more courage and takes more risks, he might reach the very top. To compete with the top ten, you need to be capable of playing almost anything and having a wide knowledge.

Finally, we heard that in 2017 you won a reality TV show in Poland called The Brain A Brilliant Mind. Tell us about that experience?

It was quite a stressful experience for me because Im not a showman or a TV guy, and I was aware that all my friends and even teachers would be watching this! But it was enjoyable because in the end I won. The producers asked my mum, and we werent initially aware of what Id got myself into. But then they sent me a 20-page contract. I found out it was being held in Warsaw, and I realized it was a serious thing, and it was too late for me to get out of it! But it was a good thing to do as it promoted chess a little bit. Its funny how stress affects the mind as part of the contest required me to solve ten mates in one within 60 seconds without knowing who is to move. And everything is going on live, so 60 seconds hero or zero! For one of them, I looked and looked, and I couldnt see the mate! I was panicking like, What the hell? Should I tell them that something is wrong with the exercise? But in my panic, Id seen one of the pieces as being the opposite color in my head! In the end, I realized and managed to solve it.

It was an interesting experience as this kind of reality show stress is different to chess. And competing with other talented people was very interesting. All my competitors were equivalent to top grandmasters in their own specialist area.

Originally posted here:
Jan-Krzysztof Duda: 'When I Beat Magnus, I Will Feel Like Im At The Very Top' - Chess.com

The Bangladesh Chess Federation is set to organise its first Grand Master Chess tournament in 11 years after the government has approved its budget for the birth centenary celebration of countrys founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Federation said it had planned two GM tournaments, one each in Dhaka and Chattogram and a youth tournament across the country as part of the celebration.

The first Bangabandhu GM tournament is scheduled from April 15 to 23 while the Federation said it will host the second tournament in June.

The ministry for youth and sports has already approved a budget of worth Tk 2.35 crore for three tournaments two GM tournaments in Dhaka and Chattogram and a youth championship across the country, said BCF general secretary Syed Shahabuddin Shamim.

We have already informed about the GM tournament to FIDE and are waiting for them to confirm the final schedule, which we hope will come by February 15, he said.

The Federation hoped that 15 to 20 GMs from India, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Malaysia and Indonesia along with GMs and rated players of Bangladesh will take part in the Dhaka competition.

BCFs chief arbiter Haroon-Ur-Rashid informed that they were yet to start sending the invitation letters to the foreign GMs.

Five GMs and above 2,000 rating players from hosts Bangladesh will be given opportunities to take part in the tournament, so that the local International Masters and FIDE Masters can get their chances to gain norms.

The last time a GM tournament was organised by the chess federation was the United Insurance and Leasing GM Chess Tournament in 2009.

However, four more GM tournaments were held later by other oganisations two by Six Seasons and two by Chittagong Jilla Krira Sangsha.

Visit link:
Chess Fed to hold 1st GM tourney in 11yrs - newagebd.net

Gibraltar has been one of the top world open tournaments for nearly two decades, and its 2020 edition kept up its high reputation. After a close race, a seven-way tie was resolved by a speed play-off.

David Paravyan, 21. was the surprise winner. The Russian is a new name, and the 30,000 first prize is by far his biggest success to date. Luck favoured him against Andrey Esipenko, 17, a rising star who has been compared to the legendary Anatoly Karpov.

The next major chess event is the eight-man world championship candidates at Ekaterinburg starting March 15. The favourites are the world Nos 2 and 3, Fabiano Caruana of the US and Ding Liren of China, and the winner will meet Magnus Carlsen for the global crown over 14 games in November.

There must be a slight question mark over Ding and his candidate compatriot Wang Hao, who also reached the final against Paravyan in Gibraltar. Six weeks away, could the coronavirus epidemic affect their participation?

If any player at Ekaterinburg should withdraw, the replacement would bring a change of fortune for Frances Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The world No9 from Lyon narrowly missed qualifying by three different routes for the candidates, and had more bad luck when he missed the Gibraltar tie-break by a fraction.

2353

White mates in four moves. Ukraines Vassily Ivanchuk has defeated many grandmasters with this puzzle, which has just a single forced line of play and no side variations. Can you crack it?

Click here for solution

Read more:
Chess: what is the single line checkmate in four that defeated grandmasters? - Financial Times