Io̧kwe aolep!*

Two weeks ago, I told you all that Episode 3 would be the last one in the Duel Of Nations series. However, due to the good acceptance it received, I changed my mind and decided to release a new one! Welcome to the fourth and most exciting match of them all! As I expect you know by now, this series consists of comparing the chess strength of two countries by analyzing their best players in four different categories:

PAST

PRESENT

FUTURE

WOMEN

Some other basic rules are:

A) The duels do not include any countries that I have already discussed in my series "Chess Where I Lived" (New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, Spain, and the USA).

B) Originally, I wanted to compare opponents of at least a similar level to make the matches more exciting, but as you can see, today's text will be an exception.

C) Duels involving political conflicts beyond the game are avoided. Examples: Russia vs. Ukraine, Iran vs. Israel, or Armenia vs. Azerbaijan. Although they might be interesting from a chess point of view, they could trigger unnecessary discussions that I prefer not to deal with.

In the last few days, I’ve been thinking that such a successful series of blogs could not leave out the most important nations, otherwise it would feel incomplete. So, I decided to include them, even if the match-up seemed unbalanced or unfair. After all, they deserve to be here somehow to show their power.

Therefore, for this episode, I have chosen the country many consider to be the most influential and important in chess history, with lots of great players who have left their names and legacy in the Hall Of Fame of our beloved game.

Against them, Russia.

*”Hello everyone” in Marshallese, the official language of the Marshall Islands.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Past

2. Present

3. Future

4. Women

5. Conclusion

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PAST

I was not sure which player to choose to represent Russia. Then I decided to make my life easier and just go with all of them! On the Russian side, who also count their past as the Soviet Union, we have a team made up of Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Vasily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian, and whoever else you can think of.

I don't have the time or motivation to write about them all, so I ask you to do your homework and research who these people are if you don't already know. The most important thing is that they were all world champions whose games and styles are still studied today.

The USSR (and later Russia) dominated the world chess scenario during the XX century, winning 24 out of 26 Olympiad editions between 1952 and 2002. Moreover, one of these two losses was due to the fact that they boycotted the event despite being heavy favorites for the title.

Oh, and I’ve left out some other great players who were among the best of their time but never reached the top of the world, such as Paul Keres and Viktor Korchnoi.

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I couldn't find anyone to represent the Marshall Islands, so the solution was to use a player who was probably the founder of the country. I haven't done any research to be sure, but it seems obvious that the islands were named in honor of the chess player Frank James Marshall.

Frank James Marshall, born in New York on 10 August 1877, was the US Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, one of the world's strongest players of his era, and founder of the Marshall Islands ^{[citation needed]}.

To describe his entire career would be unfair since I haven’t done it to his opponents, but I can mention a few highlights. He is responsible for one of the most amazing queen sacrifices of all time. Legend has it that after this move and his opponent's resignation, the crowd showered the board with gold coins. Check it out below:

He is also the creator of the famous Marshall Attack, a line prepared to be used against world champion José Raúl Capablanca. It didn't really work, as he lost the game anyway, but it is interesting and extremely dangerous, avoided by most GMs today.

Frank Marshall died on 9 November 1944, aged 67.

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ROUND 1

Ok, I was not quite sure how to approach this problem to decide the winner. Both sides have strong arguments and almost equal parameters. The fact that one of the countries brought a whole squad made it even harder. So rather than decide subjectively, I have tried to take into account the factors that I think are most important when judging chess players. These are:

• Number of gold coins thrown onto his board after a move.

• Number of failed lines created.

• To be reincarnated as the goalkeeper of my football team.

Using these fair criteria based on verified facts, the first point goes to the Marshall Islands! Frank James Marshall has not only excelled in chess but also in football. Besides, as there are no countries called Karpov Islands, Kasparov Islands, etc., this is another important advantage in his favor.

I wish our Russian friends better luck in the next category.

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PRESENT

Russia will be represented by Ian Nepomniachtchi, a two-time Candidates Tournament winner and 2024 Blitz World Champion.

Born in Bryansk on 14 July 1990, Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently the highest-ranked Russian player in the world. His remarkable career includes being one of only five players to win two consecutive Candidates Tournaments, a feat he achieved in 2021 and 2022.

The sad thing is that he lost his subsequent World Championship matches. The first against Magnus Carlsen and the second against Ding Liren. In both of them, he succumbed to the pressure and made some blunders that are not usual for a player of his caliber.

But as life always gives us new chances, Ian finally became a chess world champion last year. Not in the classical time control, but in the Blitz World Championship. This title was shared with Magnus Carlsen, leaving chess fans around the world disappointed that the final match was not decided on the board.

In my opinion, this was a very shameful decision, but I will not deny that if I had been in his position, I would probably have accepted it as well. So, I blame FIDE and Carlsen (for the offer) much more than Nepomniachtchi.

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Again, I was not able to find anyone to represent the Marshall Islands, as they decided not to play in the last FIDE Olympiad (probably because it would be too easy for them), so I had to go with Nigel Short, runner-up in the 1993 World Chess Championship.

Well, I will first explain who he is and, after that, why he was chosen.

Nigel Short, born in Leigh on 1 June 1965, is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator. He achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 19 and was ranked third in the world by FIDE from July 1988 to July 1989.

In 1993, he became the first English player to play in a World Chess Championship match when he qualified for the PCA World Championship in London against Garry Kasparov, losing 12.5 to 7.5.

And why him? Because for some odd reason, Short is a proud member of the Chess.com club Chess University - Marshall Islands, a huge and vibrant community of 20 people, which has so far two notes, one of them in 2017, no forums, no events played, and one test announcement! If you are reading this, let us help it grow!

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ROUND 2

This one is pretty obvious to me. I know that Nepomniachtchi has played in two World Championships, against only one by Nigel Short, that he had a higher rating peak, and also that he can claim to be a World Champion, even if it is a less prestigious time control.

Still, let us not forget that they both lost their World Championship matches when they had the chance to play. So, what is better, losing only once or losing twice in a row? Also, rumors I have just made up heard say that Kasparov, who we all know was not too competitive, also offered to share the title with Nigel Short in 1993.

But in a noble gesture, our hero refused and lost in a dignified and honorable manner, showing his respect for the sport and the fans.

If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he's worse off.

Therefore, the point goes to the Marshall Islands again!

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FUTURE

Russia decided to bring their best young talent into the game. Representing them in this category is Volodar Murzin, the current World Rapid Champion and one of the country's biggest talents in recent years.

Volodar Arturovich Murzin, born on July 18, 2006, in Nizhny Tagil, is a chess grandmaster and the current top-ranked U-20 player in Russia. He received his grandmaster title in 2022, at the age of 17.

In 2020, Murzin won the Russian Junior Championship, his first national title. In 2023, he won the same tournament again. He also played in the 2022 Russian Championship Superfinals, where he finished 3rd despite being the lowest-rated player in the event with a rating of 2541.

Another important career moment was in May 2024, when he won the Sharjah Masters tournament with a final score of 6.5/9. This was his last major victory before becoming a world champion.

On December 28, 2024, he achieved his best performance so far by winning the World Rapid Chess Championship. Murzin finished the tournament with a score of 10/13 after beating Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. At 18 years of age, he was the second youngest rapid world champion in history.

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Representing the Marshall Islands, a young and promising player who has a lifetime ahead of him to consolidate his talent and reach the top of the world! I'm talking about the rising star and perhaps future GOAT of chess, Fred Pedro, from the Marshallese Department of Internal Affairs.

But why did I choose him? Elementary, my dear Watson! As you can see from this news, Fred Pedro beat William Reiher in a game played in front of interested observers at a downtown location in Majuro. This event took place on Wednesday, October 20, 1982. Apparently, it was the first time that Fred had defeated his rival, showing his undeniable upward curve in chess strength.

Yes, I know... it was more than 40 years ago... Fred Pedro is the kind of player who improves slowly but surely. Still, if he continues to develop his game and knowledge at this rate, the world will finally have its first 2900-rated player around the year 2215, if my math is correct, and if he survives until then.

I will certainly be keeping an eye on him from now on to see how his career progresses. I am excited to see history being made!

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ROUND 3

Any doubts? This was an easy choice. Murzin had an excellent performance at the World Rapid Championship last year and has a good chance to become an elite player soon; I won't deny this fact. But he has never beaten William Reiher, so all this potential has yet to be really tested and proven.

Meanwhile, Fred Pedro has not only done so, but did it more than 42 years before his opponent, which shows how far ahead he is.

My bold prediction is that we will have a Pedro vs. Murzin World Championship match in the next few years (I just won't say how many). The former is obviously the favorite, and I think the match will end 7.5-4.5 after 12 games, with the last two being unnecessary.

When I checked the FIDE website, I noticed that they have never played each other, proving how scared Murzin is.

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PAUSE

The Russian team were desperate for a break and begged me to give them some time to recover before the final round. I hope they can come up with a good strategy to at least salvage some dignity, as things are looking very bad for them at the moment.

Having had some rest and discussed what to do now, I hope they are ready for our next and final category! 

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WOMEN

Desperate to get at least one point, the Russians come with a dream team this time. They are represented by Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Kateryna Lagno, a quartet that makes them almost invincible.

Again, I am not able to condense all the information about the players into a few short paragraphs, so I ask you to do your homework one more time. If you came here expecting to learn something, sorry, I am just a terrible teacher. But basically, they are four of the best female players of the 21st century.

Kosteniuk was the Women's World Champion in 2008 and the Vice World Champion in 2001; Gunina is a two-time World Blitz Champion in 2012 and 2023; Goryachkina was the Vice World Champion in 2020 and won the FIDE Women's World Cup in 2023; Lagno was the Vice World Champion in 2018, the World Rapid Champion in 2014, and the World Blitz Champion in 2010, 2018, and 2019.

Phew... and I only mentioned the main competitions, otherwise I would probably need a whole article for each of them. Good luck to whoever is going to represent their rivals, because this looks like a lost battle before it even starts.

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No woman in the entire Marshall Islands was brave enough to face these giants, so the only option left was to ask someone who at least lives on the same continent and has no chance of representing her own country anyway. Thanks to Fred Pedro, who quickly granted her Marshallese citizenship, valid only for the next few minutes, Vanessa Bristow will proudly represent them!

Vanessa Bristow, born in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 12, 1996, is an amateur chess player and blogger who works mainly as an air traffic controller. Although she learned to play chess during her childhood, she only started to take the game more seriously around 2018 and created her Chess.com account on Christmas 2020.

Vanessa does not have a FIDE rating, as she has never played an official OTB event. The best results of her career so far include a silver medal in a children's competition in Dunedin in 2006 and being crowned champion of the monthly rapid tournament for employees of Pampulha Airport, Brazil, in July 2018.

Her highest rating on this platform is 2041, which she achieved in February 2025, making her the 43,471st best online Blitz player in the world at the time.

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ROUND 4

Okay, this is perhaps the biggest discrepancy between all the matches analyzed since the beginning of this series. Just one of the four Russian women would be enough to crush me, laugh at my horrible moves, and smash my king as if it were an insect on the board.

It is as if their level is at the top of Mount Everest, and mine is in the Mariana Trench. Maybe on my best day of chess, I would at least manage not to leave the board crying for my mother after facing any of them.

But... this blog is mine. Do you really think I'm going to lose on my own blog? No chance. Vanessa scores the last point. Period. I don’t care.

If you want to file a complaint and contest this result, please send a fax and wait for a response. But sit down, so you don't get tired.

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CONCLUSION

The match is over! I am sorry to have brought such an unbalanced duel this time, but as I said at the beginning, I thought some strong nations should be honored here. The Marshall Islands, as a major chess power, have finally had their day. Thanks also to Russia for being a worthy opponent and doing their best, even if the chances were minimal.

However, knowing that this match was going to be quite easy, the Marshallese people were not exactly proud of it, and no one went to the streets to celebrate. I guess beating everyone in chess is so common for them that the population doesn't even care anymore and prefers to stay at home to avoid the usual scorching sun there.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and learned something new. Unfortunately, the information was not as detailed this time, but I guess there is always one thing or two for the readers to discover. Please let me know in the comments if you think I missed anything!

Since February only has 28 days, I had to adjust my posting schedule and keep it every 15 days. That means we will meet again on March 1st! The topic is not decided yet, but I will think about it. See you soon!

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Final note: This blog is satirical and totally ironic. I think anyone with more than one neuron has figured this out, but it's always good to have it written down somewhere to avoid misunderstandings.