Chess for Freedom Conference: List of speakers announced
FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) have revealed the first group of speakers for the Chess for Freedom conference taking place from the 17th to 20th of May, 2023, in Chicago, USA. The first in-person Chess for Freedom Conference features many experts from the worldwide chess community that will take the stage over three days to introduce more than a few new concepts and approaches to using chess as a rehabilitation tool for incarcerated people. Sergejs Klimakovs is FIDE Master from Latvia. He is the Leader of the National Correspondence Chess Team of Latvia and has 15 years of experience working as a coach with talented youth. Sergejs is also a voluntary Chess for Freedom trainer in Latvian prisons. In October 2022, Latvian inmates trained by Sergejs Klimakovs participated in the 2nd International Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. His topic at the conference will be “How to turn a crowd into a united chess team? A voluntary work experience in three different prisons in Latvia.” Franck Droin chairs the ECU Social Commission and the “Santé Social Handicap” Commission of the French Chess Federation. In this capacity, he leads and creates many programs to develop chess in the social sphere, including chess projects for educating and empowering prisoners. In Chicago, he will present an overview of the Chess for Freedom project in Europe. Founder of the nonprofit organization “The Gift of Chess” Russell Makofsky and Kansas Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda will discuss implementing a chess program in correctional facilities statewide. In December 2022, the 1st annual Kansas Department of Corrections Chess Championships were held. It was a long-awaited event that the entire Gift of Chess team coordinated, organized and believed would come to fruition. Sonja Johnson is the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association. She introduced the Chess for Freedom initiative to the prisons’ programmes team in her country in July 2021, and it has received the full backing of the Trinidad and Tobago Prisons Service. From the federation to the ministry of communication – everyone was involved in making the national team play in the International Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. Sonja will share her experience on how to run the Chess for Freedom program for male, female, and youth correctional facilities in a small country. Professor Jerry Nash is the Chair of the FIDE Chess in Education Commission and FIDE Developmental Instructor, whose professional experience is centred on teaching. A long-standing educator who is passionate about helping others, Nash asserts: “Chess can really positively alter the environment by improving people’s behaviour and engagement”. At the conference, he will talk about the implications of the Chess for Freedom project on chess in education as a diversionary activity for those just entering the juvenile detention system. Hector Guifarro will be one of those proving by personal example that the game has a positive impact on the lives of people who have ended up in jail after making a wrong choice. A former convict picked up chess while serving his sentence, and, in his telling, it saved his life in prison — and is saving it now. At the conference, Hector will speak on how the game helps people to find another chance in life. Nebojsa Baralic is FIDE International Arbiter and Organizer, FIDE Instructor, and Arbiters’ Commission Secretary. He is also Chief Advisor to the President of the Serbian Chess Federation and Director of the 2nd FIDE Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. On October 2022, Serbia was the only country to win two medals in the event – taking gold in the youth tournament and silver in the women’s section. He will share his experience on how to conduct online competitions for prisoners. Dr Jane Gubser is the Executive Director at the Cook County Department of Corrections. In 2012 Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart launched a chess program at the county jail in the hopes that inmates can take what they learn from a game that rewards things like patience and problem-solving and apply it to their own lives. The program has grown, with about 3,000 individuals in custody participating over the last ten years. About 50% of these people were completely new to chess, and they learned the game from scratch. Jane Gubser will present an overview of educational and restoration programs at the Cook County Department of Corrections and the results of ten years of implementing a chess program for the incarcerated population. Chess for Freedom Conference schedule: May 17th: Guests arrive. May 18th: Cook County Jail tour (includes meeting with CCDOC administration and Program’s staff). May 19th: Conference plenary session featuring various breakout topics. May 20th: Sightseeing throughout downtown Chicago. May 21st: Guests departure. Chess for Freedom Conference – Lodging Details The official hotel for the Chess for Freedom Conference is the Hyatt Place Chicago/Schaumburg, located at 1851 McConnor Parkway in Schaumburg, Illinois (60173). Please click this link above for special conference rate details. All attendees are required to register for the conference via this link. Chess for Freedom Conference – Contact Information Mikhail Korenman Chess Program Coordinator at CCDOC, FIDE International Chess Organizer and Member of FIDE Social Commission E-mail: Mikhail.Korenman@ccsheriff.org WhatsApp.: +1-785-906-0402
FIDE President visits Saudi Arabia
Following the invitation from the Saudi Arabia Chess Federation to participate in their board meeting represented by the new members and as per invitation from Mr Turki Al-Sheikh to meet on the occasion of Riyadh Calendar Chess Championship 2023, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited Saudi Arabia. FIDE President had a chance to check and test the playing conditions of the championship and praised both the venue and the organizers’ efforts. Arkady Dvorkovich used the visit as an opportunity to discuss further chess development in Saudi Arabia, reiterating FIDE’s support for children’s education, social initiatives, professional chess events and the possibility of hosting the World Teams Championship. Saudi Arabia has been very supportive of the FIDE Year of Women in Chess celebration by initiating a new tradition of Queens Awards that allows paying tribute to the great personalities in women’s chess. Improving gender balance is one of the top priorities for Saudi Arabia and FIDE, which both intend to pursue in their policies and development projects. When asked about his impressions on the Saudi Arabia Chess Federation board meeting, the future of chess in the world in Saudi Arabia in particular, FIDE President said: “I really appreciated the invitation by the Saudi Arabia Chess Federation to come to the first board meeting. The board members are very active in supporting chess in the country. We, in our turn, are ready to contribute our share to chess development in the country, supporting new initiatives, especially in chess education and training young talents and hosting big international events here in Saudi Arabia. We stimulate professional chess but also believe in the social role of our game in helping disabled and incarcerated people. We are eager to ensure a good gender balance so young girls and ladies can play chess actively. I think we can do all this together here, in Saudi Arabia.”
Nukhim Rashkovsky (1946-2023)
FIDE is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of GM Nukhim Rashkovsky in his 77th year of age after a long and serious illness. Born in 1946 in Sverdlovsk, Nukhim Rashkovsky showed early promise and became one of Mikhail Botvinnik School’s first students. In 1958 he won the USSR Championship among schoolchildren and four years later came out on top in the RSFSR Youth Championship (1962). Two-time champion of the RSFSR (1974 and 1976), he debuted in USSR Championship in 1972 and received favourable reviews of his style from many experts, including the winner of the event Mikhail Tal. In 1979 Nukhim Rashkovsky performed excellently in a strong tournament in Sochi and became a grandmaster. A teacher by education, Nukhim Rashkovsky also proved himself an excellent trainer. Over the years, he successfully worked with Nona Gaprindashvili, Vitaly Tseshkovsky, Kazakhstan’s national team, and the RSFSR women’s team. In the 1990s, he was the head of the Russian women’s team, who became the bronze medalist of the World Chess Olympiad in Yerevan in 1996, and the silver medalist in Elista in 1998. From 2001-2003, he trained the Russian men’s team, which won the Chess Olympiad in 2002 and the European Chess Championship in 2003. Nukhim Rashkovsky founded and captained Agat, MaxVen and Ural chess teams for many years. Under his leadership, the Yekaterinburg team became a three-time winner of the Russian Club Championship and a winner of the European Club Cup. In 2008, Rashkovsky became the director of the Ural Chess Academy. In 2013, he revived the club under a new name Malachite, and in April 2014, his team won the Russian Club Championship. Nukhim Rashkovsky won three titles at the World Senior Teams Chess Championships (Germany, 2018; Greece, 2019; Czech Republic, 2020). FIDE extends its sincere condolences to Nukhim Rashkovsky’s family, friends, and loved ones.