Nothing can stop Chess!
The start of the year 2020 saw a radical change in the world. Yes, the Coronavirus pandemic nearly put an end to everything. Earthlings were simply caught off guard. Lockdowns were implemented here and there, events in almost every sector were canceled or temporarily moved, varying quarantines were ordered, markets plunge to record lows, uncertainty escalated, fear of what’s next… the list seems endless.
The sporting world just like other sectors or industries were not spared. Even the centerpiece 2020 Tokyo Olympics has to be re-titled 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Saved for Chess!
Chess nonetheless managed to continue! thanks to online chess. As the sudden change of the battlefield shifted from over the board or OTB (for brevity) to an online platform, a new challenge was born. Organizers had to learn the need for these new crafts to negate or maybe soften the big adjustment. The need to shift to “the new normal” has to get started.
Of the many thousand event organizers, I would like to single out first Mr. Peter Hornsby, a fine young man from the United Kingdom who rise to the challenge. Thus the birth of 2020chess worldwide league on Chess.com platform came to full fruition.
With more than a hundred teams in attendance from around the globe, Mr. Hornsby's magical aura captured the hearts of players in various demographics such as from masters to feeling masters to mediocre to newbies, from youngsters to feeling youngsters to adults to retirees, from groups of friends to club teams to college or university teams to country representations. Seemed like everyone wants to join the party!
Though the overall atmosphere is designed to be one that can be called "friendly competition", one would be awed with the seriousness or intensity of most teams. This beautifully managed event saw the participation of 17 Grandmasters, 52 International Masters, 73 FIDE Masters, 30 National Masters, and 29 Candidate Masters. Looking at these numbers one needs to rethink if this is still a friendly competition.
Together Everyone Achieves More = TEAM. The seemingly untiring Mr. Hornsby just like a President of a country, of course, has his members of the cabinet. For this, he would like to thank,
Aloysius Lip, Justin Wilken, Robert Starley, Adam Raoof, Paulo Fanha, Miles Lee, Tyler Pity, Andrew Horne, Hamish Olsen, Alex Taylor, Justin Moston, Corno Klaver, Dan Hardman. He is very thankful for these selfless people for making things run smoothly just like a well-oiled engine. He would also like to express his profound gratitude to; North East Trophies, Chess and Bridge, and of course Chess.com !!!
Postscript:
Chess activity doubled during the pandemic! People who normally can't find time to play before even for just a mere blitz game due to the number of varying commitments suddenly had all the time. A big number of former players who had lost their enthusiasm for their chess career or adventures have found their love for the game of Kings once again. Chess after all is a proven time killer. Chess.com even reported an astronomic overnight surge in the number of games played in its server during this global crisis.
Shall we say Coronavirus is a blessing to Chess? Well your guess is as good as mine
All the best,
NM Winston Joseph R. Silva
Captain, Thailand Dragons
