Link: http://www.chessintranslation.com/2011/03/le-quang-liem-and-the-soviet-school-of-chess/

Spassky said he is looking at Russian chess pessimistically, but that youth chess is still strong.

http://a.blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F1508862%3Freferrer%3Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fsusanpolgar.blogspot.com%25252F2008%25252F11%25252Fcollection-of-chess-interviews.html%26source%3D3&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer.swf&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fchessvibes.blip.tv%2Frss%2Fflash&brandname=blip.tv&brandlink=http%3A%2F%2Fblip.tv%2F%3Futm_source%3Dbrandlink&enablejs=true

Here is a rare photo of a Mikhail Botvinnik and some of his students at his school. The picture is labeled but doesn’t include Alexi Shirov who is sitting on Kasparov’s right.

Interesting story about the Soviet School of Chess below. It is interesting that whenever I ask someone to define the term and/or methods, they are unable to do more than give very unoriginal ideas. I’m not sure there was a “Soviet School” but there was a culture developed.

Link: http://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/aa05g30.htm

Russia has the history and culture, but their decline is occuring for three reasons… (1) break up of Soviet Union (2) chess player “brain drain” to other nations (3) decreased government support and (4) widespread use of information technology.

Russia is certainly strong, but if you have an Olympiad team with an average rating of 2750 and you cannot win a medal, something is gravely wrong. What’s worse is that they may not win a medal in 2010 either. They cannot field a stronger team than in Dresden. I believe this is Azerbaijan’s turn to shine. Armenia, China and Israel will provide competition for the medals… so many sharks in the ocean now. Russia will gain Sergey Karjakin so maybe that will help. Ukraine will suffer, but they have some great young talent.

I like some of the activity I see in the Caribbean. I believe your idea of hosting the strong invitationals are the way to go instead of waiting every two years for Olympiad. Both Barbados and Trinidad have begun hosting good invitiationals while Bermuda and Curacao have done well too.

However, I’m not sure I endorse Turkey’s “massification” model. If he wants to produce strong players, he should not play the numbers game. Ali probably figures out of two million players, he’ll get some good talent and groom them. I do admire what he has done; however, I believe it’s inefficient use of resources. If he is doing it for education, then it’s a good approach; if he’s doing it to produce Grandmasters, I’m not so sure… we’ll see. Maybe.

Take China on the other hand. They are not using the massification model and are carefully grooming a cadre of strong players. Many opine that China doesn’t have many names on the top junior lists. That’s because they develop ahead of the curve. Who had heard of Wang Hao, Li Chao or the recent sensation Yu Yangyi? They came quickly and I believe all skipped the IM title.

India is using a variation of massification model, but they have a great icon in Anand to help get support. India’s 100th player is 2300+ ELO while China’s 100th player is not yet 2200. India has a chance to make a strong presence, but something is missing. Koneru Humpy seems to have topped out and some of the men seem to have stagnated a bit. What is the model to keep the momentum going? I believe Anand plays a big role here, but most countries do not have such a resource.

The state of chess in Africa appears to be in a state of limbo. As I stated, little coverage was given to Anand’s visit to Africa. The continent continues to be neglected and federations are very small. While Kirsan Ilyumzhinov held a World Cup in Libya, very little has been done on the continent apart from the CACDEC funds. Where will the investment come from?

A well-written, timely piece. Congratulations on stoking the “flames of intellect”.

It is all about the culture. Rusia still has the best chess “culture” and is the best chess country in the world although it has not done as well it hoped in the past three Olympiads. That is why its players dominate the various lists etc. This has led to an intriguing situation in world chess – not just in team events but in individual competitions such as the recent World Cup event won by Gelfand.

Countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean will not do well until chess is incorporated or inculcated as a way of life for the people. For example, in Jamaica we are fighting a serious war to have the authorities make the necessary decisions to have chess on the school curriculum as a policy. If we manage to achieve this then, in time, chess will not only rival athlectics (producing the equivalent of the Asafa Powells and Usain Bolts) and football/soccer (Reggae boyz) but will surpass those sports.

In my humble opinion, for a country to develop seriously chesswise the game must become a general part of the psyche of the people, appealing to key players in both the public and private sectors and creating virtually a new industry. With that will come sponsorship and the numbers and with the numbers will come the mass “infiltration” of the sport that will unearth the world beaters. With the numbers wil come many events; with the events will come greater competition and experience and ultimately players will get stronger – especially after a regular diet of playing strong, foreign opposition. This is what happened in athlectics with Usain Bolt et al and it will happen with chess.

I have been communicating with a number of persons from various countries and am planning a strategy (after all, are we not chess players!!???) to achieve the goals. President Ali Nihat from Turkey and I have discussed the matter and the Turkish model is not to be frowned on – c. two million students learning right now.

The players in the African countries can be world beaters with their history of determination and resilience. What is crucial is the political will and oftentimes people are needed to “nudge” that political will in the right direction.

Russia and the other top nations from the former Soviet union and other countries are better right now because they have a really serious chess culture. Their children often live and breathe chess just as Jamaicans live and breathe track and field. You must be good when you do that! It is time we got serious and adopt some of the more salutary policies and practices of these “chess countries” if we are to progress.

I urge administrators in every country not to give up in spite of the challenges that are frustrating and can seem quite insurmountable but to redouble their efforts because “a good thing never dies”. This is crucial because a chess culture in a country is not important for sporting reasons solely but can redound to the benefit of all concerned from a socio-economic perspective with improved literacy among the people, a better GDP, reduction in crime and violence etc.

The struggle continues!
Ian Wilkinson

I agree with your view. I have written this repeatedly, but I do realize the differences in the regions. India is a poor nation, but they have a growing tech sector and many of the companies have sponsored players. Perhaps the most notable company is NIIT, the company that sponsors Anand.

I was glad that Anand came to Botswana, but I was very disappointed that the event did not get any coverage in the African press. This is one of the main problems in getting the momentum you spoke about.

I believe there has been only one FIDE President to visit Africa for a reason other than attending a FIDE meeting or event. Dr. Max Euwe came to South Africa to do an assessment on whether Blacks were being excluded from the chess environment due to apartheid. After traveling about the country, he concluded that Blacks had equal access, but had to recant and South Africa was later suspended. Of course this was not a tour to promote chess specifically. (See story)

I remember a conversation with Amon Simutowe shortly after he earned his GM title. He mentioned the idea of taking a tour of African countries to promote chess. Awhile back, I had also considered such a “Chess Drum Tour”. Amon and I have traveled together before, but a tour would take a lot of planning and will most likely require sponsorship.

I believe Asia offers a very good case study for Africa Chess.

Our governments still need to awaken to the beneficial effects of chess to the cultural and cognitive well-being of a country. Asian governments give chess massive support. Iran, India (which I visit in 2006 and experience first hand) China, UAE, etc are case in point.

The quickest way in which Africa will generate the needed momentum to get massive state support for chess is if the FIDE President takes a grand tour of Africa. His position as a Head of State plus FIDE President will ensure that interest in chess will be high during and after his visit.

Perhaps it may have happen way-back, but I cant recall such a monumental visit by the FIDE President to Sub-saharan Africa.

Source: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5930

Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1948809,00.html

The problem I have with the article is that an inexperienced interviewer still believes in the myth that being an elite chess player makes you infinitely more intelligent than the next person. It does not. It merely means you know how to play chess better than the next person.