Highlights from World Social Chess Initiatives Marathon
The Year of Social Chess launched with its first event – an online conference shedding light on innovative ways chess is driving social inclusion and empowering communities How can a simple board game transform lives, unite communities, and inspire change? On the morning of January 19, the FIDE Social Chess Commission launched its first event to celebrate 2025 as the Year of Social Chess. The World Social Chess Initiatives Marathon gathered coaches, scientists and NGO representatives who use chess in social inclusion projects to discuss their work and challenges. Spanning multiple countries and case examples, the participants of the conference shared their experiences, highlighting different perspectives on the role chess can play in social inclusion. The conference opened with a question to the participants – What does social chess mean to you? In a list of words proposed as answers to this question, two stood out as the most selected among participants: inclusivity and impact. This sentiment was also highlighted in the opening remarks by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who highlighted the importance his team has given to promoting social initiatives that bring people together. “Chess is more than a sport – it is a powerful social and educational tool. That is why FIDE takes it as its responsibility not only to promote chess competitions but to also make the game more available and accessible to everyone, everywhere. With this in mind, we proudly declare 2025 as The Year of Social Chess during which FIDE will organize projects and launch initiatives aimed at connecting individuals, organizations and institutions across the globe to use the power of chess for community building and personal growth,” Dvorkovich said. Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, Dana Reizniece, who has actively participated in social inclusion chess events in previous years, highlighted some of the biggest success stories of the projects so far: from the case of Héctor Guifarro, whose life was changed thanks to learning chess while serving a seven-year prison sentence, to the 3,000 refugee children trained by FIDE though the Chess for Freedom project. Reizniece also announced a new ambitious plan “to increase the number of kids engaged with chess in education from 25 to 50 million, and we will work hard to deliver that,” setting it as one of the key goals for the initiatives launched in the Year of Social Chess, which will continue in the years to come. “Be it yours or ours – every move counts,” said Reizniece, emphasizing the importance of every single effort made when it comes to social inclusion. FIDE Social Commission Chair Andre Vögtlin outlined that this Marathon is “the opportunity to start a process that will go beyond 2025”. “It is a start [of a process] to reunite all of us and bring all the social chess projects together and line the foundation for a social chess journey which will last for years to come”. Vögtlin noted that the goal for 2025 is to establish a global network of social chess enthusiasts, educators and players and create initiatives which will have an impact beyond 2025, engaging national federations, sponsors and local communities. The Social Commission also aims to conduct studies that showcase the impact of chess in different social communities, creating a valuable database for an evidence-based approach to using the game to empower different groups. These sentiments were echoed by Dr M. R. Das – the Indian Oil Corporation Executive Director and ambassador of Social Chess for India – who said that the low cost associated with playing chess, makes the game easily accessible everywhere in the world. He also noted India’s role in the social chess projects, including in schools and prisons. Key presentations from the first session of the Social Chess Marathon conference: Chess and the parallels of everyday life Ákos Vizsolyi, a mental health professional and chess coach, shared his experiences on the role chess can play in everyday life, including on the company level, helping executives and employees make decisions and better coordinate their work. Noting the complex dynamics which exist in multi-level organizations, whether formal or informal, Vizsolyi explained that chess can play a role in the development and strengthening of competencies, the practice of self-reflection, decision-making processes and strategic vision. Taking responsibility for the consequences of the moves in chess, the reality on the chess board reflects the reality of decisions in work and everyday life, thus providing a useful paradigm to test and experience potential scenarios. “The activities of chess players and decision makers are very similar in a long list of aspects – objectives and goal setting, conceiving of strategy, planning, visibility level and control level,” said Vizsolyi highlighting the multi-level connections chess has with everyday life. Chess against failure Frédéric Zaborski, a retired French teacher, founded the NGO “Échecs contre échec” (“Chess against failure”) in 2016, running in France, Cambodia, Laos, Brazil and Mexico. The focus of the organization is to use chess as an educational tool to combat failure and promote personal development, primarily among students and marginalized communities. The organization aims to provide schools with chess equipment, sending club members or local players to educational institutions to introduce students to chess. Drawing on his experiences in chess education, Zaborski emphasized the need for a clear agreed commitment and action plan with the schools on introducing chess to children, in order for the projects to thrive. “As a former teacher, each student has their own way of understanding things. A teacher therefore must use different modes of approach,” Zaborski said. “The main mistake is that the presentation/discovery of the chess board is often made too quickly, discouraging many students. Before being introduced to the rules, the student must understand the board – the geometry, space. That is not easy for all. Chess teachers must spend more time on this initial step,” he noted. OLIMPIA Chess Academia (Spain) and Chess2all (Portugal) Jose Francisco Suarez Roa a psychologist and chess player from Spain spoke about the initiatives OLIMPIA Chess Academia has been organizing on the
Tata Steel Chess 2025 commences in Wijk aan Zee
One of the most prestigious events on the chess calendar, the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, has kicked off in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands on January 18. Traditionally referred to as the “Wimbledon of Chess,” the tournament attracts the world’s top chess grandmasters, emerging talents, thousands of amateur players, and a global audience of live and online spectators. In 2025, the Tata Steel Chess Tournament celebrates its 87th edition. Both the Masters and Challengers events count toward the FIDE Circuit 2025, with valuable points at stake. The Masters event, a 14-player round-robin with classical time control, features a stellar lineup, including reigning World Champion Gukesh D (playing his first event after claiming the title), world #2 Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi (recently joining the prestigious 2800 Elo club), last year’s winner Wei Yi, and Uzbek prodigy Nodirbek Abdusattorov, among others. The first round provided several exciting battles that kept chess fans on the edge of their seats. Pentala Harikrishna, Vincent Keymer, and Gukesh D secured victories, taking an early lead in the tournament. Masters Round 1 results: In the Indian derby, Harikrishna – Erigaisi Black comfortably equalized in the classical variation of Dragon Sicilian, but one inaccuracy by Arjun allowed Pentala to trade his queen for two rooks and get an edge. Forced to defend an inferior position, Black did not demonstrate necessary resilience and accuracy. Harikrishna slowly but surely took full control and forced capitulation on move 63. Leon Mendonca and Vincent Keymer had a theoretical discussion in a topical line of the Two Knights Defence in which Black has a compensation for a pawn. On move 18 Vincent introduced an important novelty 18…d4! and reached an equal position. However, in subsequent play, White did a better job and after advancing his queenside pawns achieved a winning position. Still, with active black pieces lurking around the white king, precise calculation was required. Leon Mendonca – Vincent Keymer After 31. Qxh5+ Kg8 32. Bd4! White would have been still better. The point is that the natural 32…Bxg2? fails to 33. Qxg6, followed by 34. Rxg2, winning. Instead, the Indian GM blundered with 31. Rc1?? immediately resigning after 31…Qxh3, in the face of imminent checkmate. 0-1 In the most exciting game of the round, the reigning World Champion Gukesh D sacrificed a bishop, but Anish Giri was up to the challenge. The home player defended resourcefully, repelled White’s threats and launched an attack of his own. In an extremely complicated position, the opponents traded mistakes several times, but Anish eventually obtained a winning position after a series of brilliant moves. Gukesh D – Anish Giri Unfortunately for the Dutchman, he missed the decisive 35…Ng4!! (the only move). The main point is that 36. Re4 loses to 36…Qb6+ 37. Kh1 Qb1+. Instead, Giri played 35…Qb6?? immediately, allowing Gukesh to turn tables with 36. Qf6+! After 36…Qxf6 37. exf6 Bxg2 38. Kxg2 Nd3 39. Re8+ the endgame is absolutely hopeless for Black. Anish threw in the towel three moves later. 1-0 Challengers Round 1 results Round 1 of the Challengers event, that attracted several promising youngsters, including Faustino Oro, Ediz Gurel, Aydin Suleymanli and Nogerbek Kazybek, was even more combative, with five games out of seven ending decisively. As a result, five players share the lead going into the second round. Photos: Tata Steel Chess, Jurriaan Hoefsmit Official website: tatasteelchess.com