FIDE Trainers’ Commission continues its program of Seminars & Workshops in 2022
Five seminars are being organised in India under the All India Chess Federation’s “Chess for Everyone” initiative and to ensure there are certified trainers everywhere in India to support capacity building, there will be FIDE Trainer Seminars in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, from 18-20 February, in Patna, Bihar from 25-27 February, in Bengaluru, Karnataka from 4-6 March, in Guwahati, Assam from 11-13 March and in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 25-27 March. These will be conducted by a team led by FIDE Senior Trainers Ramesh RB, Vishal Sareen, Sekhar Sahu and Praveen Thipsay. Europe, Africa and Asia will be served by a FIDE Trainer Online Seminar being organised in English from 11-13 March by the Asia Chess Academy. Perhaps the most exciting development is the first of four workshops to be conducted by FIDE Senior Trainer and Grandmaster Artur Jussupow, himself a student of the great Mark Dvoretsky and also a World Championship Candidate who has been ranked as high as third behind legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov at their peak. Photo: Vladimir Jagr Jussupow will share his methodology and approach on ”How to Teach Pawn Endings’ for six hours online on 26 March, offering complete lessons for use by trainers and which is also invaluable training for any player. It is a part of the FIDE Trainers’ Commission Trainer Professional Education and Development Program, and so existing licensed trainers will get credits towards title upgrades while new trainers will be given bonus points for the written exam in future seminars. Other languages are not forgotten in this period leading up to the World Chess Olympiad in July. To start with, amongst many more planned, there will be a FIDE Trainer Online Seminar from 15-17 April to serve Spanish speaking Americas, May is expected to see a seminar in Serbo-Croatian languages for the Balkan states, while 3-7 June will have a seminar in Olginka, Russia.
Borislav Ivkov (1933-2022)
The legendary Yugoslav (Serbian) Grandmaster, Borislav Ivkov, passed away in Belgrade at the age of 88. He was not just a master of chess but also a maestro of the written word who sought the meaning of life. Milan Dinic, Editor of the British Chess Magazine, relives the moments with the Serbian legend, a friend of his family, in this distinctive obituary that he kindly shared with us. Borislav Ivkov was born in 1933 in Belgrade, then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He became the youth champion of Belgrade at the age of 14, and at the age of 17, he won the first World Junior Championship in Birmingham in 1951. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1955 and for many years was considered one of the strongest Yugoslav and world players, next to Svetozar Gligoric. His peak was in the 1950s (when he was in the top 10 in the world) and in the 1960s. A stellar career Ivkov had an outstanding career marked with successes in both national and international events. A three-time champion of Yugoslavia, he qualified for the 1965 Candidates matches (he lost to Bent Larsen) and played four more Interzonal tournaments during the 1960s and 1970s. The winner of numerous strong tournaments (including Mar del Plata 1955, Buenos Aires 1955, Santiago 1959, Beverwijk 1961, Zagreb 1965, Amsterdam-IBM 1974), Ivkov also took the champion title at the European Senior Individual Championship in Davos in 2006. Borislav Ivkov was a regular member of the Yugoslav chess team from 1965 until 1980, winning ten team medals in 12 Olympiads (six silver and four bronze medals) and five board medals. He played for Yugoslavia in the European team championships six times, winning three team silvers, one bronze and one gold board medal. Ivkov also took part in the historic match USSR vs the Rest of the World (1970), playing on the tenth board. Photo: Dutch National Archive At these and many other events Ivkov was ahead of the likes of Gligoric, Najdorf, Larsen, Uhlmann, Portisch, Bronstein, Petrosian (when he was World Champion), Stein, Korchnoi and Jansa. Several world champions fell prey to Ivkov, including Bobby Fischer, Tigran Petrosian, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal and Anatoly Karpov. He also drew all of his games with Botvinnik. A great writer Apart from being a world-class grandmaster, Borislav Ivkov was known as a prolific writer. In his native Serbia, he published several books about chess and life, including ‘My sixty-four years in chess’, ‘Black on white’, ‘Mesmerized by chess’, and ‘Parallels 1 and 2’. His books are dedicated to his career in chess but also – to the lives and characters of great players, the people he met, the places he visited and the experiences he had. In one of the books, instead of a foreword, he wrote a few joking lines dedicated to my father: “Vladan Dinic, the bard of Yugoslav journalism and a well-known chess lover, said to me: ‘From all of your books you may be able to put together one decent book!” Recently, he told my father that he was working on another book. We don’t know if he finished it or not… A big Character Borislav Ivkov – or, Bora, as he was known – a true gentleman, one of those people who can charm their way in and out of any conversation, showing their vast knowledge about almost every topic but never coming across as arrogant or impatient. To me, he was an example of what chess really needs – a friendly person, well-spoken, well-dressed, knowledgeable, interested in the world, happy talking to others and interesting to talk to. One occasion stands out in my memory when I think of Bora Ivkov. Several years ago, he spoke at the promotion of my father’s book about Bobby Fischer and his time in Belgrade during the 1992 rematch with Spassky (at the time, my father was closely involved in the event and covered it as a journalist, spending a lot of time with Fischer). One of the guests at the promotion was a famous opera singer from Serbia, Jadranka Jovanovic. Bora started by saying how in one tournament in the 1950s in Latin America (I can’t remember which one), he was rushing to finish the game so he could go and see – of all the things – a boxing match! What was even more surprising was that after the match Bora went to see a classical music concert. Now, boxing and classical music are two things you don’t place together, let alone someone seeing both in one evening. Bora shared this story as a prelude to another one: he was flying back to Europe from a tournament and, during the long-haul flight, most of the players took out their pocket sets and played or analyzed games. However, Ivkov, at some point, noticed an unusual hat which belonged to one of the female passengers a few seats in front… ‘I was so intrigued that during the whole flight, I was trying to find a way to politely approach that woman…’ As he, later on, found out – that woman was the very person present at the book promotion, the opera singer Jadranka Jovanovic! And, for me, that is Bora Ivkov – not just a great chess player but an amazing fountain of interesting stories about life, people and places. Back in 2017, I interviewed him for the British Chess Magazine, which I edit. As I sat down to write this obituary, I read the interview and looked at my notes. We discussed famous players, events, topics, chess and computers, as well as life in general. The interview was so extensive that I had to break it down into two parts. Here I share a few of the things Bora said, which should be noted in the history of the great game. Ivkov, in his own words: “My whole playing life I did not understand chess” In one of the first sentences in that interview, Bora Ivkov summed up his chess life: “To be honest, my whole playing
FIDE Grand Prix: Andreikin replaces Ding in Belgrade
FIDE regrets to inform that GM Ding Liren will be unable to play in the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series organized by World Chess, to be held in Belgrade from February 28 to March 14. Despite the will and the efforts from both parties, there are insurmountable obstacles that prevent him from playing. According to the regulations, GM Dmitry Andreikin will take his place in Belgrade. FIDE has already communicated with Andreikin, who confirmed his readiness to compete in the event. In the eventuality any of the participants expected for the third and last leg of the FIDE Grand Prix being forced to withdraw for whatever reason more than 15 days prior to the start of the tournament, GM Ding would be considered, by rating, the first reserve. FIDE is also willing to count on Ding in case any unforeseen circumstances force us to designate a wildcard. However, we realize that the chances of him getting to actually play in the Grand Prix this year are very slim under the current circumstances. We are very sorry that the travel restrictions have impacted Ding’s career during the past two years so dramatically. We look forward to having him compete in the international circuit again as soon as possible.