South vs. North Chess Star Online Match ended in a draw
On March 30 – April 10, the Chinese Chess Association organized an online North vs South match that was live on CCTV5, the main sports broadcaster in China. The show reached 2 million views. Each team consisted of eight players five male and three female members, including such stars as grandmasters Yu Yangyi (2709), Wang Yue (2669), Li Chao (2683) playing for North and GM Wei Yi (2732), former women’s world champion Tan Zhongyi (2510) representing for South. There was a rule regarding the players’ age: 2 players in each team had to be born in the 1940s-1950s, 2 players in the 1960s-1970s, 2 players in the 1980s, 2 players in the 1990s and 2 players in the 2000s. The gimmick of the show was that the players were hidden under nicknames and neither audience nor commentators knew who was playing the game. The coaches of each team chose their players without knowing who the opponent would be. The Chinese chess community called this tournament a mystery TV series, as in each “episode”(round) spectators and commentators could guess the real identities of the players by their silhouette photos. The players were revealed after the games were over and proceeded to a flash interview where they shared their emotions and told stories from their chess careers. The match ended in a draw, 4:4.
FIDE Newsletter #003 is out
Welcome to the FIDE newsletter Welcome to the bi-weekly FIDE Newsletter. The coronavirus crisis conditions most of the content in our third issue: all official competitions have been halted, but the online chess activity never ceases, and in fact, it is thriving. For many, the global lockdown is a great opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills, so FIDE is launching a series of online seminars and workshops, as well as a campaign to encourage the members of our chess family to strive for self-improvement. Content: Stay home, stay safe, stay sharp! FIDE news and activities Online events FIDE distributes €35,000 among chess veterans Chess in outer space Happy birthday, Garry Kimovich! Stay home, stay safe, stay sharp! The UN considers the COVID-19 pandemic the most challenging crisis since the Second World War. Probably it is also the most global event ever experienced in human history, and many think that we will come through the crisis reinforced as a society. With an estimated four billion people under a lockdown of some kind, this can also be an opportunity to improve and grow as individuals. From the International Chess Federation, we would like to encourage you, first and foremost, to follow the public health recommendations. Stay home, and stay safe! But we would also like to encourage you to stay active, both mentally and physically. Exercising will strengthen your immune system, improve your mental health, and make you feel better about yourself during this frightening period. Maybe you can’t go to the gym, but you can still get great workouts anywhere you are thanks to YouTube. There are plenty of fitness channels with free videos, offering a huge variety of exercises, from aerobics and pilates to bootcamp and boxing. Most people will enjoy more free time than usual during the lockdown. We have a near-limitless offer of TV shows, but, what if we make productive use of this time instead? A book is usually more enriching. Learning a new language is always a good option. Doing the same things but in a new and different way is common advice to prevent and limit brain aging, so why not to take up a new chess opening? Or set yourself a goal, like coming out of the quarantine as a stronger player: try and break your own rating record online! SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF HERE
TTCA receives Award for Top Sporting Organization
The Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA), was awarded the Jeffrey Stollmeyer Award for Top Sporting Organization-Large for 2019 during the First Citizens Sports Foundation Awards virtual presentation aired last night on local TV stations. This honor followed previous awards received by the TTCA as Top Sporting Organization-Small Category in 2015, 2016 and 2018. The other nominees for the Large Category were the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board and the National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago, both of which were dominant recipients of this award in the past. This was indeed a milestone for chess in Trinidad and Tobago as it was benchmarked against mainstream sports in the country. The Jeffrey Stollmeyer Award is given to a national governing sports body that has outstandingly showcased initiatives and made significant administrative improvements and real steps towards the development of its athletes. Additionally, the youth nominees for chess, WCM Shemilah James and IM Alan-Safar Ramoutar, were shortlisted as two of the top 10 youth athletes for their performances in 2019. The TTCA President, Sonja Johnson, told that she was very proud yet humbled by the recognition given to the TTCA in the national sporting landscape as this puts the TTCA well on its way to becoming one of the Top 5 sporting organizations in Trinidad and Tobago. Ms. Johnson also remarked that this achievement was a collective effort and expressed her heartfelt thanks to her executive members. She also expressed gratitude to the players, parents, arbiters, clubs and the International Chess Federation. “The funding granted by FIDE really assisted us in achieving this milestone and I would personally like to thank FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich for providing the level of support to help us make such an impact.” Ms. Johnson added. Ms. Johnson also cited the increased focus on developing strategic partnerships as one of the key elements of success of the TTCA and specifically recognized FIDE, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, The Trinidad and Olympic Committee and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.