Mongolians and chess, almost as traditional as herding and wrestling
International chess master Jigjidsuren coached the Mongolian national chess team until he turned 70. / Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo.

By Antonio Graceffo in Ulaanbaatar November 5, 2022

At this year's 44th World Chess Olympiad, Mongolia shook up the world when the Mongolian women’s team defeated the seventh-ranked Americans. Overall, the Mongolian men’s team placed 35th out of 188 countries, while the women placed 15th out of 162.

When one thinks of Mongolia, one very probably thinks of horses and wrestling, but certainly not chess. But chess has a long history in the country. Mongolians’ ancestors played ankle bones and chess during the 13th century, and possibly before, while Mongolian traditional chess, shatar, dates back to the Great Mongol Empire.

The Mongolian word for international chess is in fact shatar. A medieval variation of the game is called Hiashatar, which means “Bodyguard Chess” (Shatranj). The pieces are the same as in traditional chess except that there is an additional piece called a Bodyguard (also called 'Senior Adviser' or 'Warrior'), which can slide one or two steps in any direction. However, a Bodyguard cannot checkmate the enemy king. 'Hiashatar' is believed to be about 500 years old.



A Mongolian chess, or shatar, set (Credit: Immanuel Giel, cc-by-sa 3.0).

An ancient legend about the origin of Mongolian chess tells of a khan, or king, who lived “long, long ago”. After fighting in many wars, he decided that training alone was not enough for victory. So, he established the position of bodyguard in his entourage, and the position was then added to the game of chess.

The Mongol names for the pieces are:

King - noyon (prince, duke)

Queen - bers (fantastic animal resembling a big dog)

Knight - mori (horse)

Rook - tereg (chariot, vehicle)

Bishop - teme (camel)

Pawn - fu (child, young)

Bodyguard - hia (senior adviser, warrior, bodyguard)

The first Mongolian national chess championship was held in 1948, and the country’s first women’s chess championship was held in 1954. The Mongolian Chess Championship is currently organised by the Mongolian Chess Federation (Mongolian: Монголын Шатрын Холбоо). Bazar Khatanbaatar holds the record for most national championships won, with eight victories; Tsagaan Battsetseg holds the women's record, with seven.


Chess is hugely popular in Mongolia, it's not unusual to see a game taking place on a bench (Photo courtesy of Antonio Graceffo).

One of the proudest achievements for Mongolians in international chess came in 1967 at the Sousse Interzonal when American Bobby Fischer played against Mongolian champion Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren. Myagmarsuren won the Mongolian national title four times in 1965, 1980, 1981 and 1982, and was awarded the title of international master in 1967. His nickname in the Internet Chess Club is "Shatar” (the Mongolian word for chess).

Although Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren lost to Fischer, the match resulted in a new technique called The Mongolian tactic. According to the tale, Fischer had asked Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren his name several times, but could neither spell nor pronounce it. So, he just wrote “Mongolian” on the paper. Since then, Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren’s special technique has been known as the Mongolian tactic.

In 2020, the International Chess Federation awarded stipends to a number of retired players including Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren. His match with Fischer has inspired Mongolian chess players down the decades. There is even a photo of Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren hanging in Zuunii Shatar chess club near the centre of Ulaanbaatar.

In recent years, Mongolia has repeatedly distinguished itself in international chess. Khulan Enksaikhan (25) led her team to gold at the 2020 Asian University Chess Championship (AUC). In 2021, 12-year-old N. Sodbileg won a silver medal at the under-17 World Amateur Chess Championship held in Rhodes, Greece.

In 2021, a most unique chess honour was won by Mongolia, when Mongolian inmates won the first ever Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. In October this year, the Mongolian women’s chess team won the 2nd Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. The event, organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, US) was the largest chess event ever organised among correctional facilities.

International master and world grand master Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, who works at the Court Decision Making Agency of Mongolia, teaches chess in prisons and organiss tournaments. She explained that Mongolia has been organising chess events in its prisons since 1956, and it has now become a tradition.

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich attended the online closing ceremony where he congratulated the winning teams and extended a special message of encouragement "We all hope that at some moment of your life, you will be free to make your own choices, and chess will help you to make those choices rationally."

Tuvshintugs told Chess News that it was no wonder that the prisoners could play chess so well because the Mongolian amateur chess level was quite high, a sentiment supported by 76-year-old international chess master Jigjidsuren, coach of the Zuunii Shatar chess club, who believes that Mongolian children are exceptionally intelligent and particularly good at chess.

Jigjidsuren began playing chess in 1960 at the age of 11. He originally learned by watching his parents play in the countryside. Later, he studied under both Mongolian and Russian masters, eventually being admitted to the Russian chess university in 1971. He graduated in 1975. After a lengthy career as a world-class chess player, Jigjidsuren was asked to coach the national team, a job he did until he turned 70. Since his retirement, he has been coaching at Zuunii Shatar chess club.

Jigjidsuren explained “Mongolian children are very good at chess actually. The reason why is that Mongolians are much more intellectual and have a high brain capacity. And I came to this conclusion by observing many, many kids along the way of coaching and teaching lessons to the children.”

He estimated that 30 to 40% of the Mongolian population knows how to play chess. “We don’t have an exact number on this, but by observation, I have seen an instance where the whole town can play chess in the countryside. It is actually a rare occasion to find families without a chess board.”

When asked if Mongolians played chess in their gers (yurts) to kill time during the long winters, Jigjidsuren objected that while some may only be killing time, for most, “there is always a purpose when they are playing chess. The parents want their children to have a strong mind, a respectful manner and high potential, and they believe that chess helps in all those aspects.” He even drew a connection between herding and chess. “There used to be a lot of ways to educate kids back in the days of nomadic tradition.”

Chess is not only played in gers and chess clubs in Mongolia, it’s also played on the street.

Fifty-seven-year-old Naymtsogt is one of several chess experts who play outdoors, for money, on the benches in front of the central sports centre in Ulaanbaatar. He has been playing chess since he was seven. He first learned it from his parents, but later studied under Russian and Mongolian masters and grandmasters. While he can also play Mongolian chess, he focuses on international chess. Since 2008, he has been playing on the street, averaging five to six opponents per day.

Naymtsogt said that he particularly likes chess because, “There is nothing to cheat on in chess. It’s just simply a mind game. There is a lesson on how to start and how to proceed and how to end your moves and in chess you will be able to master it.”



After he defeated me in a relatively long game (pictured above), he said “You’re a very aggressive player. The game itself should be played like this.” Knowing I was a wrestler, he said wrestling was the same as chess. In Europe and America, catch wrestling is often referred to as physical chess. So, it was interesting to hear a chess master make the same comparison.

Jigjidsuren went on to draw more parallels between wrestling and chess. “Wrestling is a tradition which covers a minimum number of people that have a well built or developed body. For chess, it does not require anything physical or does not depend on gender. Secondly, chess is not a seasonal sport. You can play it anywhere you want, anytime.”

And the Mongolians do play chess anywhere, anytime. In the gers, in the streets, in the chess clubs and academies, in Russia, and at the world level.

Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China-MBA, is an economist and China analyst who has spent over 20 years in Asia, including seven in China, two and a half in Taiwan, and three in Mongolia. He conducted post-doctoral studies in international trade, at School of Economics Shanghai University, holds a PhD. from Shanghai University of Sport, and a China-MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University. Antonio is the author of seven books about Asia, three of which are about the Chinese economy. For the past 10 years, he has been reporting on the Chinese economy, the US-China trade war, investment, geopolitics and defence. Since 2019, Antonio has been based out of Ulaanbaatar, where he continues his China economic research, while also reporting on the Mongolian economy. In addition to publishing reports and articles on a regular basis, he makes frequent appearances as a China economic expert on NTD TV, Bloomberg Mongolia TV and VTV.

NO LONGER 'ELITIST' 
Game of chess teaches kids problem-solving, patience and creativity skills

On 'Fox & Friends Weekend,' Mark Kurtzman of Tri-State Chess touted the benefits of chess for kids

By Maureen Mackey | Fox News

UCF Life Master Mark Kurtzman and four-time national chess champion Adam Maltese share their love for the game of chess and ways kids can get involved with the classic game.

Speaking this morning on "Fox & Friends Weekend," two accomplished chess players shared their enthusiasm for the game of chess — and noted the many ways that kids today can get involved in the game and gain a host of benefits from learning and playing chess.

"Chess is just so much fun," said Mark Kurtzman, a United States Chess Federation (UCF) life master, on the program on Sunday morning.

He added that when he was growing up, there weren't many programs and offerings for kids as there are now in so many communities across the country.

NEW JERSEY 12-YEAR-OLD IS WORLD'S YOUNGEST CHESS GRANDMASTER

"Now there's so much structure around it. There are programs [for kids] and places to learn … Kids love it and it's so much fun."

Adam Maltese, a four-time national chess champion, spoke about the first time he won a multi-round chess tournament when he was just nine years old.

This giant chess set is perfect for an outdoor living space — and can work for adults or kids. (Donald Mensch)

"It's gotten a little bit tougher since I've been a kid," he said, commenting on the computerization of chess games today.

So what is the number-one tip for novice players?

"Think before you move," said Kurtzman.

Problem-solving skills, patience, creativity and consequences for one's actions are some of the many benefits of learning to play chess.

He noted that there are many skills that kids learn from the game of chess — including problem-solving skills, patience, creativity and consequences for one's actions.

Chess is a game of strategy and tactics that anyone of almost any age can learn to play. (iStock)

Players were deeply involved in their chess games on Fox Square this morning as the chess masters evaluated some of the matches.

Some of the children were as young as five as they played chess.

Kurtzman commented on the kids that he teaches today — "We get 250 players," he said, who are rated by the chess foundation.

"Students enjoy themselves while learning to become mature and well-respected chess players."

He also said there are chess camps available to kids, too.

"The players are developing their pieces … preparing for the battle," noted Kurtzman of a game that had just begun.

This young person learned how to play chess when he was four years old. (Kori McConnell)

Kurtzman runs Tri State Chess (tristatechess.com), an organization based in New York City and in operation for over 30 years.

It is "devoted to establishing competitive chess programs in elementary schools throughout the Tri-State area," its website says.

TEEN EARNS NATIONAL CHESS MASTER TITLE AFTER 4TH BRAIN SURGERY: ‘UNHEARD OF’

"In order to maintain the highest possible standards," the group adds, "experienced chess coaches are personally trained by our professional staff."

It also said, "All coaches are instructed to implement an established teaching system, proven effective through years of use."

"In this way, students enjoy themselves while learning to become mature and well-respected chess players."

To learn more about chess and its benefits, watch the video Student chess players face off at Fox Square

Opinion: Putin is still king at world chess organization FIDE

The world chess federation FIDE has chosen to continue with Russian Arkady Dvorkovich as the head of the organization. This despite the international sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.


Putin likes to be seen with prominent chess players, including Dvorkovich (far left) in 2014

In the world of chess, everything is apparently still in perfect order. While there are sanctions in place against Russia and Belarus in the sport, they only apply to the players. At the FIDE Congress in Chennai, India, on August 7, the incumbent president Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected.

Until 2018, Dvorkovich was Russia's deputy prime minister and chairman of the board of the (wartime essential) Russian Railways. Since then, he has been the head of the World Chess Federation, and will remain in the post for another four years.

Among chess officials, there's a pretense that President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine does not exist — a politically and morally bankrupt declaration. Dvorkovich's opponent could not even achieve respectable success: The Ukrainian chess grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets received just 16 of the 173 votes. The German Chess Federation — as announced two months ago — supported the defeated Ukrainian.

Arkady Dvorkovich has been re-elected as the president of FIDE

Chess is also politics in Russia

Sports federations like to claim they are apolitical. This has never been true for chess, particularly not in Russia. Chess is much more than just a niche sport for nerds. Putin, a chess enthusiast, always likes to be seen with prominent chess players, although Dvorkovich has tried to distance himself a bit publicly from the Russian war of aggression.

But the bottom line is that the signal sent by chess is fatal: once again, Russia's overwhelming influence in the sport has not been contained. On the contrary, despite global sanctions, Russia has managed to keep one of its own at the helm of an international sports federation. For Putin, that's cause for celebration.

Sure, Dvorkovich had a comparatively good record. After decades in which FIDE had been marked by chaos and corruption, he had brought professionalism and (mostly Russian) sponsorship to the notoriously cash-strapped sport. He also had the smart idea of choosing the universally esteemed former world champion Viswanathan Anand as his deputy, as a representative of the up-and-coming chess nation India.

Magnus Carlsen does not intend to defend his world title

FIDE on the sidelines?

But it's doubtful that FIDE under Dvorkovich can simply carry on as before. Western sponsors have deserted the sport and Dvorkovich himself may soon appear on international sanctions list. "If that happens, it's over," even Putin-affiliated former world champion Anatoly Karpov speculated before Dvorkovich's re-election.

It is all a disaster for chess. After all, the board game is actually booming. In the COVID era, the sport has partly shifted online. Chess has long since ceased to revolve around the somewhat cumbersome official world championships.

The still reigning champion, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, has recognized the signs of the times. The 31-year-old does not intend to defend his title for the time being, but the world's best chess player by far will continue to play the game — on his own. He brings money into the sport with his listed Play Magnus Group.

A world chess federation that stands closely alongside the economically and politically isolated Russia will find it difficult to keep up. Other major chess federations — like Germany's — will distance themselves even more. It is quite possible that game has checkmated itself.

CHESS: THE GAME OF KINGS AND ARTISTS
Pastime of the stars
American Western actor John Wayne (right) was an enthusiastic chess player. German film diva Marlene Dietrich (left) is said to have always traveled with a huge chess board. The board game was particularly popular among Hollywood stars in the 1930s to 1950s. Dietrich and Wayne are pictured here in 1942 on the set of the film "Pittsburgh."
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This article was translated from German.

 How Chess Helped Alisa Melekhina Become A Successful Attorney

This month's Professional Spotlight focuses on Alisa Melekhina, a FIDE master and successful attorney from New York City.

Updated: Feb 19, 2020

Many American chess enthusiasts regard FM Alisa Melekhina as one of the strongest female players in the United States. Melekhina has participated in eight different U.S. Women's Championships and has represented the country abroad in two different Women's World Team Championships.

While the 28-year-old has achieved a myriad of accomplishments in the chess world, she has been extremely successful off the board as well. While she was at the peak of her chess career, she was pursuing a J.D. (Doctor of Law) at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Today, Melekhina works as an attorney for a large corporate law firm practicing white-collar, commercial, and intellectual property litigation.

Melekhina most recently played in the US Women's Championship in 2016, one of her eight appearances in the event. Photo: Spectrum Studios

Since becoming a full-time attorney, Melekhina has been outspoken about how chess has helped her professional development. She even wrote the book Reality Check: What the Ancient Game of Chess Can Teach You About Success in Modern Competitive Settings in 2017, discussing the crossover between chess and the modern workplace.

Currently, Melekhina runs the New York City Corporate Chess League (NYCCL), a corporate chess league which she founded, featuring teams from esteemed companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. The NYCCL finished its second season last November and features a healthy mix of titled and untitled players.

Chess.com: Can you tell us about what made you choose a career as an attorney? Did chess play a role in influencing your decision?

Alisa Melekhina: Law seemed like the natural career option when considering my varied interests. When I was young, I was always intellectually curious and enjoyed puzzle-solving and detective stories. During my high school years, I focused more on science but renewed my interest in writing and logic upon studying philosophy. From there, law was the natural progression given that it draws on essential skills for analytical thinking and persuasive reasoning.

Unsurprisingly, these are also skills prevalent in chess. The skill of planning and anticipating an adversary’s response especially overlap in both fields. Thus, I do credit chess as influencing my decision. On a practical level, at the time I was considering law school, I was also intrigued by the various intellectual property issues present in chess (for example, copyrights over games or player images) and was excited to study this field in law.
How did balancing chess and your academic career help you grow (in both pursuits)? Did you have any setbacks along the way?
I went straight to law school after graduating with my bachelor’s degree in philosophy (summa cum laude) in two years in 2011. I graduated from Penn Law in 2014. Indeed, during this time I was very active in chess and achieved several chess career highlights. Those who were aware of my academic pursuits might have underestimated how seriously I could still compete in chess. However, that inspired me even more because I thought I had to “prove myself” in being able to succeed in both fields

However, my chess play was very volatile during this time, and I had as many “downs” as “ups.” It is easy to blame the setbacks on lack of time. Yet, I found that time was not the culprit. It was the lack of prioritization on my part and seeking “escapes” in one field when the other wasn’t going well. For example, if I had a lamentable tournament, I would bury myself in my law casebooks the next day and forget about the tournament (at the exclusion of taking the time to analyze and learn from my games). Conversely, if I had a setback with law applications, I would refocus on chess and enter an all-consuming, long tournament. This created a toxic cycle.

To exit, I ultimately had to decide what I wanted to prioritize, and importantly, why. I explored this dilemma in one of my debut articles for the United States Chess Federation's Chess Life Online (“Legal Moves: Melekhina on Chess & Law School”) in 2014, which turned out to resonate with many readers and has inspired my subsequent chess journalism.

Looking back, do you think chess has helped your professional growth? How might it help others who have a career outside of law?
Chess 100 percent contributed to my professional growth. Coming from an immigrant family and being a first-generation lawyer, I was coming into the corporate world with a blank slate. Especially for a field that depends as much on networking as it does on academic excellence, I had limited resources to consult and had to figure out everything —from law school admissions to internships, to the job application process — on my own.

Chess 100 percent contributed to my professional growth.

—Alisa Melekhina

I credit chess for the strategic and planning skills required to navigate this process. All job candidates have different strengths, and chess equipped me with a unique skill set that helped put me at least on a level playing field with colleagues much older and with more distinguished pedigrees than I had.

In 2017, you wrote and published your book, which discusses why you believe chess helps navigate the modern workplace. What inspired you to write this book?
The book is a collection of my thoughts and introspection on the connections between chess and other competitive fields. Its incipiency was my early writings on chess.

The book adopts a meta-perspective on the motivations behind chess, the mindset required to succeed—whatever that means, a concept also discussed—and what we can glean from those lessons as applied to the external world.

In your book, you write:

"Rather than reacting to every obstacle or dashed expectation, incorporate the event into your overall plan. Real-life setbacks like rejections, broken promises, and unfair disadvantages will happen. Rethink the meaning behind the emotional triggers and how your reaction will further your purpose. Manage emotions by recognizing their place, but do not allow them to control your moves."

Can you give an example of how managing your emotions and decision-making process at the board has translated into your day-to-day responsibilities as an attorney?
The day-to-day of an attorney includes —if not already working on meeting a tight deadline—requests for immediate responses from clients or senior team members. When first assimilating to such a demanding work environment, the intuitive reaction is to crank out a hurried response. Chess, on the other hand, teaches you to stay calm in the face of pressure and competing demands.

I’d like to think that chess reinforces a default setting where I’ll first contemplate the best way to approach a demanding situation from all angles of substance and timing, rather than making an impulsive reaction.


Your experience as both a top chess player and a successful attorney is unique in that both fields are traditionally dominated by men. What advice would you offer young women looking to follow in your footsteps? What were some obstacles you had to overcome to get to where you are now?
Indeed, the chess and law fields share many parallels concerning overall female participation and retention in more senior roles. Similar to scholastic levels in chess, the starting law school and firm associate classes tend to be evenly split among men and women. When considering ascension into senior roles such as partnership, however, the numbers begin to dwindle. Last I checked the stats, the number of female equity partners at law firms was less than 20 percent. In chess, I believe women comprise about less than three percent of all national masters and less than two percent of grandmasters worldwide.

Because I grew up playing in mixed open tournaments since the age of seven, when I regularly won against men eight to 10 times my age, I was never even cognizant of gender disparities until I got older. Chess is an opportunity to resolve all battles over the board, regardless of age, gender, or background. It is an excellent tool for instilling confidence, in all kids, to level with adults, precisely because the moves speak for themselves.

In corporate settings, on the other hand, information is not as transparent as a recording of chess moves. Implicit biases based on gender and youth are significantly more difficult to overcome because the “results” are not as definitive and there is no inherent “rating” that you can rely on as an indication of your strength.

Chess is an opportunity to resolve all battles over the board, regardless of age, gender, or background.

—Alisa Melekhina

Chess reinforces self-reliance, and likewise in the real world, you have to be your number one biggest advocate. Regardless of the setting, don’t ever be shy about speaking up to either offer your opinions or else vouch for yourself. (Because if you don’t, it’s not likely that someone else will).

What inspired you to run the New York City Corporate Chess League? What does the league's popularity say about how these companies view chess as an asset for potential incoming talent?
I am very pleased with the success of the NYCCL to date. It initially formed as the natural next step in finding a common forum for myself and my friends—all longtime chess players who found themselves at major NYC financial/business institutions. We all came across other chess enthusiasts at our respective companies but needed a formal outlet to share our common interest.

As you mentioned and as I discussed recently on the Ladies Knight podcast with WGM Jennifer Shahade, the NYCCL facilitates play among corporate professionals of all skill and seniority levels. It’s not that the league led to its popularity; rather, the league came to be because of the existing popularity of chess among various players at these large institutions.

The New York City Corporate Chess League features teams from companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Photo: Alisa Melekhina, NYCCL.

Because of how large the participating banks and companies are, it is impossible for a particular person to know everyone within the company. The league offers a medium for reaching out to chess players in any role within the company in order to represent the company as a collective team. Thus, the NYCCL arose primarily as a way to harness and organize that existing shared interest. For example, it created a sustained network among otherwise decentralized information.

I am most proud that the league accomplishes the goal by providing a forum for chess players of all skill and seniority levels to compete. It’s a way to look past the traditional corporate hierarchies and bring people together within companies and among the external teams. The common factor is that chess is highly respected, and a setting such as the NYCCL helps elevate the status of chess as a mainstay in corporate culture. Our goal is for this sentiment to spread, which would then organically inform staffing or hiring considerations down the line.

For novice players interested in learning chess to boost their professional development, what advice would you offer? Does one have to become master-strength to grow?
The goals in learning chess differ depending on whether you decide to play to be competitive, as a scholastic extra-curricular, or as a working professional. In the latter category, the greatest takeaways that chess can offer, in my opinion, are skills enhancing sustained focus, patience, and organization.

Melekhina is still an active representative of the chess community and has written about chess in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. (Photo: Austin Fuller)

It is certainly not necessary to be master-level to appreciate these aspects. However, it is important to keep in mind that progressing in chess requires more than just playing online. I meet many working professionals whose experience in chess is limited to playing quick, online games. That will only take you so far, and in fact, will become detrimental to your overall growth because it will reinforce bad habits. If you are considering playing chess on an adequate level to compete among colleagues, you have to be prepared to budget in time for studying in addition to playing. It doesn’t have to be a major time commitment so long as when you do focus on chess, you are focusing on the right things.

Of all the games you've played, which is your favorite?

I’m most proud of my win over Alexander Shabalov because I figured out a new move order over the board, and had numerous successes with this line of the Alapin opening later in my chess career:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/alisa-melekhina-chess-interview

World Chess Changes Logo to Anti-War Version

Russia attacked Ukraine. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe that appears to be as painful as it is unnecessary. We very much hope for a peaceful solution. We changed our logo into a sign of peace to show our support for Ukraine and as a call for an immediate ceasefire.

While the war is taking place in Ukraine, World Chess will use the anti-war logo in all of its broadcasts and will join the chess community and the world in calling for peace.

‘Disgrace’: Photo reveals chess world divided by Russia-Ukraine crisis

The chess world has been riven with division over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the sport’s main governing body taking a stand.

Andrew Backhouse
  @andytwit123

March 2, 2022

Sergey Karjakin (right) sits next to Magnus Carlsen of Norway during a press
conference in 2016 in New York. Picture: AFP

German chess grand master Georg Meier responded by calling the Russian a

 “disgrace to the chess world.”

A photo of a Ukrainian chess player with a weapon is symbolic of a crisis that has gripped the chess world since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

FIDE, the governing body of international chess, has announced it is essentially banning Russian players from tournaments after it held an extraordinary meeting on Sunday.

“No official FIDE chess competitions and events will be held in Russia and Belarus,” FIDE said in a statement.

“Following the call from IOC, the FIDE Council decides that no Russian and Belarusian national flag be displayed or anthem be played in all FIDE-rated international chess events.”

The 2022 Chess Olympiad, that was scheduled to take place in July, will not take place in Russia as previously planned.

Captain of the Ukrainian national chess team Oleksandr Sulypa. Picture: Twitter

The war has been incredibly divisive for the chess community. Notable players like US grand master Hikaru Nakamura and others have publicly supported Ukraine, raising money for charity on Twitch.

Nakamura wrote: “It has been many years since I was in Ukraine, but to see what is happening now is heartbreaking. Stay strong.”

Captain of the Ukrainian national chess team Oleksandr Sulypa posted a photo on Twitter, holding a weapon, indicating he was ready to fight.

Russian Sergey Karjakin has been outspoken on social media, defending his country’s actions and drawing sharp criticism from the chess world.

Karjakin, who unsuccessfully challenged world chess champion Magnus Carlsen for the crown in 2016, came under fire for an anecdote he posted on Twitter.

“Taxi driver in Dubai: -Where are you from? – from Russia – Russia is great! Our Prime Minister is there now! In a few years we will be close friends with Russia! We are not so stupid as Ukraine!” he posted in the now-deleted tweet.

Krjakin, who formerly represented Ukraine, sparked a firestorm with his tweet but hasn’t backed down.

He slammed FIDE’s move, writing, “For many years, [FIDE] has existed on Russian money. World cups, World Championship matches, candidates tournaments. Everything was sponsored by Russia. With its decisions, FIDE will worsen the situation of chess players all over the world.”

FIDE sanctioned Karjakin for his comments.

“FIDE Council condemns any public statement from any member of the chess community which supports unjustified military action and brings the case of chess grand masters Sergey Karjakin and Sergey Shipov to the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission,” the body said.

Karjakin also lashed out at chess website Chess24, writing: “What was originally a chess portal continues to be cowardly silent. Forgetting that I spent a dozen streams there, where I played with everyone. Chess24 doesn’t exist for me anymore.”

Magnus Carlsen posted a message from Chess24 stating the site was “devastated” by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that it “strongly condemned” the attack.

An article posted by Chess24 stated that FIDE “appears to be riven with division over” the invasion and noted the “organisation is largely funded by Russian corporate donors and Russian sponsors such as Gazprom and Nornickel.”

French Chess Federation organizes “Chess for Mental Health” conference
by ChessBase

2/28/2022 – In the second week of March, the French capital will host the “Chess for Mental Health” international event. The conference will cover various topics related to mental health, including autism, DYS, concentration, hyperactivity. The event’s keynote is how chess can improve multiple aspects of mental health.


Focusing on Autistic Spectrum Disorder

In the second week of March, the French capital will host the “Chess for Mental Health” international event, a joint effort of FIDE, the French Chess Federation (FFE), Imagine Institute, Teladoc Health and AESIO Mutuelle.

In 2021, FIDE organized two virtual conferences dedicated to introducing chess to children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and we are happy that more and more institutions are turning towards embracing the benefits of chess for mental health. The Infinite Chess Project is one of the key social initiatives of FIDE, and it aims to enhance knowledge and awareness about chess for children with ASD, give practical advice for teachers and parents, study the benefits of introducing chess and develop teaching methods. A huge part of the upcoming conference will be dedicated to the topic of ASD, with trainers sharing their practical experience.

Eloi Relange, the President of FFE, explained:


Among its many assets, the game of chess brings many benefits in the service of mental health. Achievements and projects are multiplying at the international level. The French Chess Federation is proud to invite you to this international conference organized by our Health Social Disability Commission and our International Commission.

The conference will cover various topics related to mental health, including autism, DYS, concentration, hyperactivity. The event’s keynote is how chess can improve multiple aspects of mental health.

The list of speakers includes:
Eloi Relange, FFE President
Franck Droin, FFE, President of the “Health Social Handicap” Commission
Franck Belivier, Ministry of Health and Solidarity
Dana Reiniece-Ozola, FIDE Managing Director
Claire Compagnon, Prime Minister Services Interministerial Delegate Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Devora Kestel, World Health Organization Director, Mental Health and Substance Use
Maurice Bensoussan, President of the Psychiatric French Society and President of CNQSP FFE, “Health Social Handicap”

Towards the second hour of the conference, Anastasia Sorokina, FIDE Vice President and leader of the Infinite Chess project, will open the discussion on chess for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, followed by presentations and practical advice from Natalia Popova, Trainer of the FIDE Chess Academy in Belarus, leader of the 2-year-long project teaching chess to children with ASD, Ala Mishchanka, Special needs educational assistant with more than 15 years of experience, Luis Blasco De La Cruz of FIDE’s Commission for Chess in Education, María Rodrigo Yanguas, WFM and a sports psychologist, Erick Takawira, Director of the KZN Chess Academy, and Kanthi Devi Sarjoo, speech/language pathologist/audiologist from the Browns’ School. Chess Trainer Emmanuel Nieman, Eric Desailly of Foundation Ellen Poidatz, François Lescure, President of Teladoc Health France, and Sophie Krief, CEO of AESIO Mutuelle, will talk about the French experience.

Finally, Aurélie Renard-Vignelles, Edith Jebob Duvernet, Maxence Augier, and Dr Maurice Bensoussan will discuss troubles of DYS, concentration, and hyperactivity.
"Chess for Mental Health" Conference Program (pdf)

To participate in the Chess for Mental Health international conference, please fill out the registration form.

Links
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YA THINK

Female chess players may DO  experience gender bias from parents, mentors

Girls seen as having less potential to succeed in chess than boys, study finds

IT'S AN UNFOUNDED UNSCIENTIFIC SOCIAL BIAS

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Young female chess players often face gender bias both in the male-dominated chess world and among parents and mentors who believe girls have less potential to succeed in chess than boys, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.  

“It’s disheartening to see young female players’ potential downgraded, even by the people who are closest to them, like their parents and coaches,” said lead researcher Sophie Arnold, a doctoral student at New York University. 

The study, which was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, presents what the researchers say is the first large-scale evidence of gender bias against young female chess players. The study included participants from a U.S. Chess Federation mailing list, comprising 286 parents and mentors of 654 children. Ninety percent of the adults were men, and 81% of the children were boys, mirroring the gender disparities in the chess world. 

In response to an online survey, the parents and mentors said they thought girls’ highest potential chess rating was lower than boys’ ratings, especially if they believed that brilliance was required to succeed in chess. Mentors, but not parents, who endorsed this brilliance belief also were more likely to say that female mentees were more likely to drop out of chess because of low ability. 

The chess world has always been dominated by men. In 2020, only 14% of all U.S. Chess Federation players were girls or women. More than 100 high-ranking female chess players and coaches recently signed an open letter about “sexist and sexual violence” perpetrated in the chess world, deeming it “one of the main reasons why women and young girls, especially in their teens, stop playing chess.”

“Gender bias also may prevent girls from even starting to play chess competitively if their own parents and mentors aren’t convinced that they will succeed,” Arnold said. 

In the study, parents, but not mentors, believed girls had a less supportive chess environment than boys. Nevertheless, neither parents nor mentors believed girls were more likely to drop out of chess because of an unsupportive environment. 

The study did not include enough mothers and female mentors to determine if their views differed from those of fathers and male mentors. The findings also may not reflect the opinions of the general public because the participants were already involved in competitive chess and had extensive interactions with the players they were rating which usually reduces bias. 

There has been a huge resurgence of interest in chess by girls and boys across the United States. While some strides have been made to address gender bias in the chess world, more work needs to be done, Arnold said. 

“Continued structural support for all female players is needed to improve girls’ and women’s experiences in chess,” Arnold said. “Our research also suggests that bias can come even from those closest to girls.”

Article: “Checking Gender Bias: Parents and Mentors Perceive Less Chess Potential in Girls,” Sophie Arnold, BA, Wei Ji Ma, PhD, and Andrei Cimpian, PhD, New York University, April H. Bailey, PhD, University of New Hampshire, and Jennifer Shahade, Woman Grandmaster, International Chess Federation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published online Oct. 5, 2023. 

Contact: Sophie Arnold, BA, may be contacted at sophie.arnold@nyu.edu.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes over 146,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication

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JOURNAL

Journal of Experimental Psychology

DOI

10.1037/xge0001466 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Checking Gender Bias: Parents and Mentors Perceive Less Chess Potential in Girls

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Oct-2023

In checking chess’s gender bias, researchers find parents and mentors shortchange girls’ potential

Findings of NYU study, co-authored by former US Chess champion, show barriers girls and women face when it comes to perceived intellectual ability

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

“The Queen’s Gambit” miniseries portrayed the life of a fictional chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, who is continuously underestimated in male-dominated competitions. A team of New York University psychology researchers has now found some “real-life” evidence of what Harmon faced as a younger player: Parents and coaches of youth chess players peg the highest potential rating of girl players to be lower than that of boy players.

Moreover, the study’s authors, who included Jennifer Shahade, a two-time US Women’s Chess champion, found that coaches who think “brilliance” is required to succeed in chess also believe that their female mentees would be more likely to stop playing the game due to lack of ability than their male mentees would. But, at the same time, coaches and parents don’t think girls encounter a less supportive environment than do boys—or that girls might be more likely to stop playing as a result.

“While it is inspiring to see a fictional woman winning in a space dominated by men, real-world women remain underrepresented in chess,” says Sophie Arnold, an NYU doctoral student and the lead author of the paper, which appears in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. “This study identifies one contributing reason as to why: Parents and coaches are biased against the female youth players in their own lives.”

“It is striking that even the parents and coaches who have a vested interest in girls’ success hold biases against them and may also have some blind spots about the barriers to girls’ success,” adds Andrei Cimpian, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and the paper’s senior author.

“These beliefs are likely to be harmful both to girls who already play chess and to those who could want to: Would you be interested in participating in an activity where your potential is downgraded by your parents and by your coaches before you have even started?” says NYU alumna Shahade, author of Chess Queens and Play Like a Girl!, who was involved in the study design. 

In the US Chess Federation (“US Chess”), only 13% of players are women, raising questions about what drives the gender disparity. Previous studies have largely focused on potential deficits in chess ability among girls, which overlooks the role of adult leadership.

“This line of scholarship can make the overrepresentation of men in chess seem like it’s a ‘girls and women problem’ rather than a ‘chess problem,’ ” says Arnold. 

In the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General work, by contrast, the researchers considered how the important people in girls’ lives—coaches and parents—may be biased against them when assessing their potential, even at a young age, and how these perceptions may help explain the huge gender gap in who plays chess.

To do so, the team interviewed nearly 300 parents and mentors—90% of whom were men—who were recruited through the US Chess Federation. In the survey, they reported their evaluations of and investment in approximately 650 youth players. In addition, parents and coaches were asked if they thought aptitude in chess requires brilliance—a measure Cimpian and his colleagues have used in the past to detect stereotyping and gender bias in academic fields.

The researchers found bias against girls across multiple measures. Parents and coaches thought that female youth players’ highest potential ratings were on average lower than those of male players—a bias that was exacerbated among parents and mentors who believed that success in chess requires brilliance. (The researchers note that the sample of mothers and female coaches was too small to analyze separately—a reflection of women’s underrepresentation in chess more generally.)

Notably, these coaches and parents didn’t recognize that their own presumptions may function as a barrier to girls succeeding in the game. Specifically, coaches who thought brilliance was required to succeed in chess also thought their female mentees would be more likely to stop playing chess due to a lack of ability than their male mentees. And, in fact, parents and coaches did not believe that girls—relative to boys—encounter a less supportive environment in chess and might stop playing chess as a result. 

However, not all news was bad. For example, the researchers found no bias in the amount of resources—such as time and money—coaches and parents reported being willing to invest in female relative to male youth players.

“This study provides the first large-scale investigation of bias against young female players and holds implications for the role of parents and mentors in science and technology—areas that, like chess, are culturally associated with intellectual ability and exhibit substantial gender imbalances,” notes Arnold.

The paper’s other authors were April Bailey, an NYU postdoctoral researcher at the time of the study and now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire, and Weiji Ma, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science who has previously examined gender bias in chess.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Experimental Psychology General

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Oct-2023