Trainer Workshop: “How to Teach Calculations” by Artur Jussupow
FIDE Senior Trainer and GM Artur Jussupow, a World Championship Candidate who has been ranked as high as third behind legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov at their peak, will conduct a workshop “How to Teach Calculations” on 14 May 2022. The workshop will be held in online format. This is the second of a series by Jussupow where he shares his experience and methods, and which is part of our Trainer Professional Education and Development workshops where we look to help trainers enhance their skills. Photo: Vladimir Jagr Credits are also awarded towards bonus points at seminars towards future title upgrades. The most important topics that would be discussed in this workshop are: Candidate Moves Method of Elimination Comparison Method Priorities in the calculations Typical mistakes Training methods Held at Central European Time, the workshop will be in two three hour sessions, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eligible are licensed FIDE trainers and the fee is €50. Please download registration form complete it and send by email to trainers@fide.com. The payment options can be found here: https://trg.fide.com/trg-billing-collection-procedures/
Qualification Commission renews its leadership
Nick Faulks, chair of the Qualification Commission (QC), and Alex Holowczak, its Secretary, have decided to step down from their current positions. They both will remain as Councillors and will also keep cooperating with FIDE in other areas, putting their invaluable experience to use. The intention of this change of leadership is to allow for a fresh approach to the work of the Commission. Nick Faulks will pass the baton to Sabrina de San Vicente (pictured above), from Uruguay, who has been one of the most active members of the Qualification Commission. Sabrina is a very experienced IA, a member of the Green Panel of arbiters, and the current Chair of the Arbiters Commission at the Confederation of Chess for Americas. “I would like to thank my colleagues Nick Faulks and Alex Holowczak for their trust and support. Nick has been a member of the Commission for more than ten years. Their contribution to the QC was and will be invaluable. I look forward to keeping working with them,” said Sabrina. Gunther van den Bergh, from South Africa, will take the position of Secretary. Like Sabrina, he has been a member of the qualification Commission during the past years, besides being the Chair of the arbiters Commission of the South African Chess Federation. A programmer by profession, he is one of the most experienced arbiters in the African continent. Besides his work at the QC, Gunther’s predecessor Alex Holowczak has been heavily involved in renewing and improving its most important documents, like its Handbook and tournament regulations. Leaving his post as Secretary of the QC will allow him to focus completely on this area of work. “After more than ten years on QC, as Secretary and then Chairman, I believe this is a good moment to pass control to a new group,” said Nick. “I hope that I have helped to maintain the long tradition of the Commission’s work and am particularly pleased that we have recently finalised a fully revised set of Title and Rating Regulations. I look forward to working closely with Sabrina and Gunther in the coming months. I know they can rely, as I have, on full support from their Commission and also, most crucially, from the professional staff at the FIDE office.” Photo: Lourdes Porta
Ten years of Chicago chess in jail
Ten years ago, a very fortunate connection happened in Chicago when Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart approached his children’s chess coach, Mikhail Korenman. Apart from being a seasoned teacher, Mikhail had already been engaged in all kinds of chess activities, from founding chess clubs and schools, to organizing events. Sheriff Dart thought that the game could also play a very important role in jail. Dart’s vision appealed to Mikhail, and the two agreed to start a ‘chess in jail’ program. “Chess is more than an entertaining pastime. The game teaches its players valuable life lessons,” Sheriff Dart said in a statement. “It requires critical thinking and to consider the risks and rewards of their decisions, which are valuable skills that help foster a reduction in violent behavior.” The program has grown with about 3,000 individuals in custody participating in the last 10 years. “About 50% are completely new to chess, and they learn the game from scratch,” Dr. Korenman said. In 2020, the Sheriff’s Office and FIDE agreed to host online, international chess competitions with detained individuals around the world. Cook County Department of Corrections, where “Chess for Freedom” meets “The Year of the Woman in Chess” The program’s tenth anniversary was celebrated on April 1st, and FIDE was represented by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, who travelled all the way to Chicago to have the opportunity to meet some of the people she had been working with, “closely but remotely”, during the last year through the program “Chess for Freedom.” Along with Dana, representatives of the consulates of Mongolia, Bulgaria and Australia — countries that participated in the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners — also joined the celebration. “The Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiative has now grown into a great movement which we call “Chess for Freedom”. Last year we organized the First Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. 40 teams from 31 countries, including 5 female teams were participating. And this year we aim to expand the event to at least 64 teams,” explained Dana. “Such flagship events give a great deal of motivation to inmates. However, the most important part is the everyday work behind them. It is about passionate people like Mikhail Korenman who work with inmates on a regular basis and become role models for them. Chess teaches patience, respect for the opponent and the relationship between the cause and the consequences. It also stresses guiding to little victories and greater success through discipline and lots of work. Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart with some of the organizers and representatives of the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. It is also about leaders like Sheriff Thomas Dart who support such programs and understand how important it is to provide skills and support to those who have made mistakes in their lives. That way there is a chance they can get back to normal lives with less inclination for repeating infringement of law.” Apart from its proven effect in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in human groups under difficult circumstances, research in other countries also demonstrates the efficiency of chess as a tool for insertion. A study presented by GM Darcy Lima (“Chess that Liberates”) analyzing the experience in Brazil shows that with inmates participating in a chess program for longer than two years, their repeated infringements rate reduces from 72% to 12%. That is why we at FIDE are so enthusiastic about expanding the program in those countries that have not yet started their chess in prisons activities. If you need any advice or assistance with reaching out to authorities, or sharing methodologies/best practices, please contact us at socialchess@fide.com, and we will try to assist.