In chess tactics, strategy, psychology, ability to foresee the future, intuition are essential skills. In politics the politician who can plan multiple moves ahead of his opponent is always at an advantage. So what was chess for the statesmen who liked this game? Exercise for mind to develop all these skills, a way to promote their political line and negotiate with other leaders or just a favorite pastime?

A friendly match during the XVII World Chess Olympics with F. Castro, Terrazas, B. Fischer, T. Petrosyan

Supposedly, this ambiguous match was initially being played between Terrazas and Fidel Castro, later the first player getting Bobby Fischer’s backup and Castro having Tigran Petrosian’s support. This blog investigated this unusual chess game(s) in detail trying to find a reasonable explanation of the occurrences.

Che Guevara was playing chess with an approximate force of a candidate master

The legendary revolutionary conversing with chess stars of the era: V. Smyslov (first from left); M. Najdorf and following the game of Taimanov in the third photo

Ernesto Che Guevara was famous for being an ardent chess player. He learned chess from his father and began taking part in local tournaments by the age of 12. Che participated in simultaneous games notably against Miguel Najdorf in 1962 and also Korchnoi in 1963, in 17th Chess Olympiad held in Havana in 1966. Che Guevara was also engaged in popularizing chess in Cuba as well as organizing various chess tournaments.

Che Guevara following chess games

Once Che confided that instead of being a minister he would rather be a strong chess player or make a revolution in Venezuela. The legendary revolutioner played chess with an approximate force of a candidate master and preferred attacking game to a positional one.

Napoleon vs. Bertrand (the first photo), playing against Madame de Remusat in the buff (second photo), and in the third and fourth photos Napoleon plays chess in the island of Saint Helena

Napoleon vs. Comtesse de Remusat: Pages 48-49 of Chess by Jean Pickles (Loughborough, 1980)

Throughout his life French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had a deep love for chess, though was not a player of the first rank. His contemporaries mention in their memoirs many cases when Napoleon played chess.  He also used to play chess during his campaigns with his officers. For example, in Egypt Napoleon played with M. Poussielgue, and M. Amédée Jaubert. During the Polish campaign, his opponents were Murat, Bourrienne, Berthier and the Duke of Bassano. Napoleon also played much during his captivity in Saint Helen.
Today there can be found not only some portraits of him playing chess but also those games in chess databases. There is also an opening named after him 1.e4-e5, 2. Qf3 which is however not used in today’s chess practice.

FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi playing chess in Tripoli in June 2011

To his interview to Whychess Mikhai Gorbachev admitted that there are a great number of parallels between politics and chess since before you take any kind of decision you should be able to look 5-10 steps ahead. “It’s one thing when there’s a face-to-face confrontation and everything’s clear, but usually you have to calculate the consequences of this or that political decision, what the results of implementing it will be”. Nevertheless, Gorbachev never played chess against people he negotiated with, as chess demands a great deal of time.

FIDE president Ilyumzhinov vs. Colonel Gaddafi

The president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov played a friendly game of chess with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during his visit to Tripoli in June 2011. As Ilyumzhinov proudly stated in his successive press release, chess contributed to peacebuilding process in the region and the world as a result of his visit!

13.2 Dress rules for the players during the games

In general, players are required to follow the code of casual dressing which means:

• for men dress trousers or jeans, a long-sleeve or shirt-sleeve dress shirt, alternatively T-shirt or polo, loafers or dressy slip-ons, socks, shoes or sneakers (no beach-wear slips, etc.) and, if appropriate, a sport coat or blazer. The trousers, the jeans as well as the shirts and polo’s worn should be crisp and show no excessive wear, no holes and shall be free of body odor.
• for women blouses, turtleneck, T-shirts or polo’s, trousers, jeans or slacks, skirts, dresses, and appropriate footwear (boots, flats, mid-heel or high-heel shoes, sneakers with sock) or any other appropriate clothing modification.
• a jacket, vest or sweater, a scarf, as well as jewelry (earrings, necklace, etc.) coordinated to the outfit may be worn.
• the pieces of the clothing should be crisp, show no excessive wear, no holes and shall be free of body odor.
• in respect to shirts, the second from the top button may also be opened in addition to the very top button.
• sunglasses, glasses, neck ties can be worn during the games, no caps or hats, except for religious reasons.
• in general, this category of appearance demands a pulled-together, harmonious, complete look with colors, fabrics, shoes, and accessories, for both men and women.
• national costumes which fit into the generally accepted dress code and are not offensive or indecent to others can be worn.

You can read the full text of the ECU Dress Code here .

As we see there is nothing written about the length of the skirts in the regulations. Well, legs remain under the board, and what happens under the chess board, stays under the chess board… However, as the General Secretary of the ECU Sava Stoisavljevic stated in her interview to  Chessbase there should still be some limit in the shortness of skirts. What about the allowable opening of cleavage the Dress rule is the following: “In respect to shirts, the second from the top button may also be opened in addition to the very top button”.

In fact, such amendments in organizing and holding the tournaments can serve as a good platform to the improvement of public relation to chess. Especially, if it concerns official tournaments, like Grand Prix series, where players have to look professional because sometimes they really dress too casual. However, on the other hand, we have to admit and confess that in female chess events not only chess itself attracts fans, but also the sex appeal of the women and  their looks. Hence, making women cover their beauty can be an impediment to the promotion of women chess to some extent. Moreover, if the event is held only among women then there is really no reason to worry that a low cleavage can distract the opponent from delivering checkmate. Hence, to restrict some number of buttons is not a fight against gamesmanship. Thus, especially prioritizing the gaming-comfort of women it is really important that they are allowed to wear to what they are already accustomed during their chess career.

Seneca

Travelling is an indivisible part of a chessplayer’s lifestyle. After the Correspondence Chess has gone out of practice, apart from Internet chess in order to ensure a participation in a tournaments a chess player volens nolens has to travel. On the other hand there are players who are also ardent travelers and they sometimes participate in a tournament not in sake of chess itself but in order to visit the place where it is being held. One round a day and… vagabonding the rest of the time all around the city enjoying the foreign atmosphere… And for sure such players normally never limit their visit to a foreign country with the venue or just the town of the tournament. On the contrary, they go farther to explore the neighborhood in order to feel the native coloring of the whole country as much as possible.

Voilà. Such a chess-travel target has recently become the Belgian northern city Bruges. It is the capital and the largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium and is located in the northwest of the country. Bruges is often called ‘’Venice of the North’’ as this canal-based city can easily be associated with that famous Italian city because of abundance of bridges and waterway lined with historical old buildings.

Bruges has most of its medieval architecture intact. The main square of Bruges is Markt which is located in the heart of the city. It has an oval-shaped appearance and is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO since 2000. Markt is surrounded by a collection of buildings dating back to various time periods in history.

Markt (market square) buildings

Right in the historical centre of Bruges the Belfry of Bruges, or Belfort, a medieval bell tower is located. The Belfry was added to the main market square in around 1240, when Bruges was prospering as an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry. The tower suffered from a few devastating fire experiences, thus having been reconstructed a few times. As a result, today it bears marks of various historical and architectural styles. Climbing 366 steps up to the top of the tower a picturesque view is opened in front of the visitor. If the weather is clear even the sea can be seen.

Markt. The inclination of Belfry or Bell Tower is slightly visible

Besides being a famous textile industry center, Bruges has also historically been famous for its well-established lacemaking traditions. On the question where handmade lace is still made, the immediate answer that strikes is Bruges. Of course, it is not the only place where lace is made, but certainly is the most famous one. Any visitor to the city can easily find many lace shops quickly. In addition, the demand of lace by tourists who wish to bring a sample or two of lace to home is so great that these shops hardly manage to keep up with supplying it.

As to the married couples, may they be blessed with love and happiness forever and all the things they are hoping for turn out the way they have planned!

Olga Dolgova and Aleksei Shirov

Adina Hamduchi

Tigran Petrosian L.

Natalia Pogonina

Kateryna and Robert Fontaine

Nana Dzagnidze and Lasha Kakulia

Anand and Aruna

Tatiana Kostiuk and Philippe Dornbusch

Photos are taken from ChessBase, Facebook and personal blogs.

It’s not too difficult to notice likeness between these chess stars and celebrities when having a closer look at them. With some of these resemblances you will probably disagree, however, please keep in mind that there is of course a little dose of humor
Enjoy!

Anyway, guys, you are heroes!

Yury Dokhoyan, Russia's team captain

Matthieu Cornette, French women's team captain

Efstratios Grivas, captain of Turkish men's team

Captain of Armenia's team Arshak Petrosian

Captain of Switzerland's team

Poland's women's team captain

Join the party to feel the spirit…

Alina and Erwin L'Ami

Marie Boyard and Tornike Sanikidze

Yekaterina and Suat Atalik

Siranush Andriasian

Kateryna Dolzhikova and Sergey Karjakin

Varuzhan Akobian

Vladimir Kramnik and Marie-Laure Germon

To be continued…

Photos are taken from ChessBase, Facebook and personal blogs.

Apart from chess games what is always attractive about European Chess Team Championship is  its multicultural and vibrant atmosphere. Besides, the participants, in this case girls are united not only under the same ”gens una sumus” slogan, but also because of there love to fine hairstyle, hair bands and  fashion at large. Chess girls are aware that hair accessories are a great way to upgrade looks and style without almost any effort. Let us enjoy the way they do it.

Dominyka Batkovskyte from Lithuania

WGM Andjelija Stojanovic from Serbia

Giedre Vanagaite and Dominyka Batkovskyte (in white) from Lithuania

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