FIDE delegation visits Kakuma Refugee Camp
By Geir Nesheim, FIDE Social Commission On February 23, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola visited the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya to get first-hand insight into the FIDE-led chess education project. Since August 2021, some 800 learners have been introduced to the game of chess. In a parallel project, three girls’ boarding schools have been part of the “Girl Club” project, where some 100 girls have obtained chess training and interacted with experienced female chess profiles and heard their stories. The FIDE Social Commission is currently running its first big-scale project in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya together with UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Chess Kenya. The project aims to offer access to the game of chess to 1,600 schoolchildren in the Kakuma refugee camp, which is home to some 220,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. Since the project launched in August 2021, 10 refugee chess teachers and facilitators have been trained to give chess classes in Kakuma. The FIDE Trainer Commission has designed a special education package for the facilitators and conducted several training seminars. At the first stage, ten chess teachers (facilitators), who are actually refugees themselves, were trained to perform the actual chess lectures in the classrooms. The FIDE Trainer Commission designed a special education package for the facilitators and conducted several training seminars. In the project’s first phase, the facilitators engaged with 400 learners in 10 schools with the aim of bringing them from beginner level to a first command level of the game, which will allow them to participate in beginner tournaments. The first phase took place from September to December 2021 and concluded with a series of school chess tournaments. The second phase was launched in January 2022, with additional 10 schools and 400 new learners starting their chess class. At the same time, the first 400 learners were offered sustained chess training from project volunteers from the refugee community in Kakuma. In the “Girl Club” program, learners from three girls’ boarding schools in Kakuma, around 100 girls received chess training, lectures and inspirational storytelling from female chess players. The project has been specially designed to empower and inspire refugee girls. Head of sub-office Kakuma UNHCR Nicolas Kaburaburyo flanked by FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola and FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich On February 23, FIDE President visited the Kakuma refugee camp and met with partner representatives Nicolas Kaburaburyo, the Head of UNHCR Sub-Office in Kakuma, and Benard Wanjala, the President of Chess Kenya. During the visit to Kakuma, the delegation also met learners at the Angelina Jolie Girls Boarding School, where Dana Reizniece-Ozola gave them a chess training session and played with the chess trainees. The FIDE President then visited the “FIDE Project Office” in Kakuma, where the project staff, including project leader-in-camp Kong’or Deng Maketh and the facilitators, have their daily planning activities. “FIDE thanks UNHCR, LWC and Chess Kenya for their support in carrying out this very important social project. We all need goals to strive for in our life. And I hope that chess gives a meaningful scope to the lives of these displaced people. I hope to see the first refugee team being represented in the World Chess Olympiad 2022. Last year it was just an idea; today, it sounds like a plan,” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said. FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola added: “We want to use chess for empowering those who are less fortunate. We launched this project in Kakuma and Kalobeyei with the hope that our beautiful game would give the refugee children and youth valuable life skills and also a very important sense of belonging to the chess family. A few hundred kids have already been trained, and many more are still to be engaged in chess. We are also looking forward to expanding the initiative to neighbouring countries while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the current initiatives launched.” Head Teacher of Angelina Jolie Girls Boarding School (one of three girl schools in the project) Sabella Muthoni shared her feedback: “The program has really improved the learners’ critical thinking. The girls enjoy the game as part of their curriculum activity and break classroom boredom.” Head Teacher Angelina Jolie Headmaster Sabella Muthoni with FIDE Social Commission member Geir Nesheim, who is coordinating the Kakuma project on behalf of FIDE Social Commission Nicolas Kaburaburyo, Head of UNHCR’s Sub-Office in Kakuma: “The Chess for Refugees project has proven to have a real impact on a remarkable number of refugee children and youth in Kakuma refugee camp over a very short period. We are very pleased with the investments FIDE has already made in this innovative partnership and hope that the project will help to produce some long term positive solutions for refugees and their host communities in terms of providing meaningful activities and offer psychosocial support.” Benard Wanjala, president of Chess Kenya:” Chess Kenya has considerable working experience in Refugee camps. Chess Kenya launched the first tournament for refugees in 2014 on World Refugee Day. In 2019 we organized the South Sudan players’ travelling to the Zonal tournament in Nairobi. With their help, it would potentially be possible to get the trained kids involved in regular Chess Kenya activities. The Chess for Protection project aims to bring the game of chess to refugee children and offer them the benefit of playing the game, but also develop all the positive elements that chess could offer, such as cognitive skills, problem-solving, decision making, social training, and so many other elements, to better equip them for life ahead. A special focus is on making it sustainable, ensuring that the learners’ access to chess activity continues after the first project period. This will be provided through partnership and cooperation with the Kakuma Chess Club, which was founded in 2006, and have activities close to the Project office. The Kakuma Chess Club will be supported to continue with chess activities for the trainees, the Girl Club learners and new learners coming through in the years to come. The FIDE Social Commission plans to launch similar initiatives in
44th Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress will not take place in Russia
FIDE Council has decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities, as well as the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia. We will do our utmost to find another organizer for the Olympiad and, in due time, provide information on the location and dates of FIDE Congress 2022.
2022 Chess Olympiad to be moved from Moscow
The International Chess Federation has announced today its decision that the 44th Chess Olympiad, one of its flagship events, will not take place in Russia. This championship, in which teams from approximately 190 countries compete for two weeks, was supposed to take place in Moscow from July 26 July to August 8. Additionally, this year’s edition of the Chess Olympiad was supposed to include the first chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, to be played in Khanty-Mansiysk, a well-known skiing and alpine centre of global importance that annually hosts the Biathlon World Cup. Another event that will be moved away from Russia is the 93rd FIDE Congress, which was planned to take place alongside the Chess Olympiad. This year, the Congress should also include an electoral procedure, since the first term of the current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich is coming to an end. Dvorkovich was elected in Batumi (Georgia), in September 2018.Chess in Russia remains extremely popular, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and despite the fact that Russia has not won a Chess Olympiad since Bled (Slovenia) 2002. There are tens of millions of fans, and the sport is enthusiastically supported by its institutions and also by its private sector. The country often hosts top-level chess competitions, including official ones, like the previous Candidates Tournament that took place in Yekaterinburg amidst the pandemic. However, the rapidly deteriorating geopolitical situation has forced the FIDE Council to make this difficult move. During its extraordinary meeting, held today, Friday, February 25, it was decided that all official competitions planned would be moved from Russia. FIDE is already working on finding alternative dates and locations for these events.
Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi set up final
Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi set up a repeat of their world title battle in the Airthings Masters final on a day overshadowed by outside events. Nepo was among three Russians who had made it through to the last four of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event before their country’s invasion of Ukraine overnight. Despite the turmoil, all three expressed the desire to continue in the competition. However, it was clear world events had affected them. There was a sombre mood among all the players as Nepo finished his quarter-final against his fellow Russian, the 19-year-old Andrey Esipenko. In chess terms, he did it with a flourish, but there was little celebration. Ian, appearing from his home in Moscow, said his play was “very, very bad because I can’t think”. He added that he had to “just rely on intuition”. “Every day is a challenge, and today, yes, I would say especially.” Carlsen, meanwhile, had a dream start with two wins against Vladislav Artemiev and then secured the draw he needed to go through. Artemiev barely had a chance. Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi now face each other again after their World Championship match in Dubai, which Carlsen won. Carlsen said he’d also been following world events and described himself as a “concerned bystander”. Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. For further comments, contact: Leon Watson – leon@championschesstour.com About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide, determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com, with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information, visit www.championschesstour.com. About Play Magnus Group Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market-leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG.