In Brazil: Itaberaba is a epicenter of a small (and inspiring) wave of change in chess
The Chess Federation of Bahia and the Itaberabense Chess Club promote the Itaberaba Chess Festival on October 28th and 29th. The Chess Festival is an opportunity for the development of chess in the territories of Chapada Diamantina in Piemonte do Paraguaçu. Festival participants will have the opportunity to participate in an exciting rapid 10+5 chess and simultaneous chess exhibition with IM Roberto Molina (Minas Gerais), GM Everaldo Matsuura (São Paulo) and FIDE CM Luciano Zallio and Jayme Miranda (Bahia).
Before celebrating chess, allow me to give a little context. Bahia is a State of Brazil as large as France. It is ecologically and culturally diverse. You can find Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic Forest and the Coastal and Marine biomes. From the the XVI century, indigenous peoples were subjected to Portuguese colonization, millions of African people were slaved to work in plantationsand, Nature was exploited to serve foreig interests, several internal conflitcs took place and at the end few people concentrate power and resouces. That was how Brazil was shaped. Bahia inherits indigenous, African, European, Catholic and Moor traditions. This led to a diverse but also an unequal society. Unfortunately 12 of the 50 most violent cities of Brazil are in Bahia, so society faces huge challenges. That is where I speak from.
The Itaberaba Chess Festival will be at the forefront of taking a step towards guaranteeing the participants rights by expressing in its regulations that harassment, discrimination and offenses are subject to punishment. Lawyer IA Adriana Lot, and IA and IO Kaiser Mafra recognize that the Festival is pioneer in Brazil in that matter. The topic of sports discipline and ethics is an issue that has gained more relevance in international sports with several cases of allegations being publicized. The Bahian Chess Federation and the Itaberabense Chess Club, were open to discuss with the Brazilian Women's Chess League ideas to improve regulations to build together a more respectful environment for everyone. A move forward to the build a more equal society.
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The Chess Federation of Bahia was founded in 1960 and is the highest entity of chess in Bahia. Its founders include Ruth Volk Cardozo, the first Brazilian to win the title of international female chess master, seven-time Brazilian and two-time South American champion, represented the country five times in the category's Olympics, winning the silver medal in 1972, in Skopje,Macedonia. The Federation is associated with the Brazilian Chess Conferedation.
The Clube Itaberabense de Chess is a dynamic team that holds weekly tournaments transmitted in live streaming since November 2020. It currently has more than 1300 participants.
The Brazilian Women's Chess League is an independent movement that began in 2013 with the aim of publicizing, promoting and bringing together women chess players and those involved in chess in Brazil. This is a space for articulation and dialogue between amateur and professional chess players that aims to create a strengthened community that seeks solutions to transform national chess so that it truly becomes an absolute space.
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Itaberaba Chess Festival [Website]
Date: October 28th and 29th, 2023
Location: Itaberaba Sports Gym, Praça Presidente Costa e Silva
Rapid 10+5 Tournament: October 28th, 1pm
Simultaneous exhibit: October 29th, 9am
The event is supported by the city of Itaberaba and the Rapid Chess tournament is supported by the Superintendence of Sports of the State of Bahia, an agency linked to the Secretariat of Labor, Employment, Income and Sports.
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Contacts:
Bahian Chess Federation: Luciano Zallio, 71 9252-8341
Itaberabense Chess Club: Vinicius de Carvalho, 71 9675-4787
Brazilian Women's Chess League: Gina Leite, 71 99410 5295
