Chess From Alabama To Armenia And Other News
Chess and chess players have been venturing into the news all around the world this month. From Armenia to Alabama, chess and chess players continue to engage in mischief, mayhem, and the occasional game of quality chess.
Photo: Clapagare.
After a presidential board meeting on March 28 and 29, FIDE took strong action and struck the ratings of Ukrainian players after the Ukrainian Chess Federation failed to pay its dues as part of the allotted prize fund for the recent women's world championship. The situation is not without precedent as GM Kenny Solomon was denied the ability to defend his African championship while the South African Chess Federation was in arrears.
The issue seems to have been quietly resolved in the last month as the Ukrainian players once again are properly rated, and the federation is no longer listed as being in arrears.
The Armenian news outlet azatutyun.am released a profile of WIM Arianna Caoili. Caoili is the fiancé of GM Levon Aronian. She recently ended her post-graduate studies at Oxford to move to Armenia.
Since living in Armenia, Caoili has started a free newspaper, which circulates through free placement on public transportation. The newspaper, named Commuter in English, has been popular in Yerevan and prints 20,000 copies. Caoili asserts that the intention is both to interest the readers and to inspire thought and discussion regarding local issues in Yerevan.
A knight to the groyne? The local South Shields, England paper, the Shields Gazette, pranked its reader by asserting that the town's trademark red lighthouse was being replaced by a gleaming red knight in celebration of the 150-year anniversary of the South Shields Chess Club.
The story was all in good fun, but it must come as a relief to the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, which won't yet have to upgrade its king -- currently the world's largest chess piece.
The king outside the World Chess Hall of Fame (Photo: Martin Kalfatovic).
The New York Times Reviews The Dark Horse
While the New York Times isn't so crass as to give star ratings to movies, its recent review of The Dark Horse was quite positive.
The reviewer Stephen Holden spoke positively of the performance of the main actor, Cliff Curtis, of the representation of the Maori people and their struggle, and of the value of chess in the depicted community.
Readers who find their appetite whetted may sadly be left thirsty as the film has been released only in limited theaters. The film did hit European theaters last year, and Chess.com's Peter Doggers provided an extended take.
Sale Of Tata Steel Will Not Affect Tournament
During this year's Tata Steel chess tournament, news broke that Tata Steel would be selling its steel holdings in the United Kingdom. Many wondered whether this would affect the tournament, which has been one of the most longstanding in the chess world. Each year, the tournament draws numerous top grandmasters and vital young talents.
Chess players can now rest easier as the company has announced that it remains committed to the tournament and has no intentions to discontinue the event.
Bobby Fischer's name has resurfaced in the news as yet another luminary whose complex tax dealings have become available through the massive document dump that is the Panama Papers. Three months before his death, Fischer became an owner of a company called Kettering Consultants, Inc.
The purpose of this particular company was not clear, but such companies have been widely used to avoid taxes. While Fischer's specific case remains murky, readers may wish to note that tax avoidance is legal. If illegal methods are used, it is tax evasion.
This would not be the first time Fischer and taxes have failed to get along. Fischer once stated that he had not paid any U.S. taxes since 1976. His non-compliance with taxes was one aspect of his "falling out" with the United States government. The more prominent issue was that he defied an executive order to play his 1992 match against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.
The state of Alabama recently passed resolution SJR66, "Celebrating The Life and Legacy of Emory Tate, Jr." IM Emory Tate, who died Oct. 17, was champion of the state in 2010.
The resolution, put forward by Alabama state Senator Rodger Smitherman, acknowledges Tate's contributions to chess and his considerable internet fandom. Indeed, to many, Tate's name is synonymous with sacrifice, daring, and initiative.
The resolution was delivered to the World Chess Hall of Fame with encouragement to induct Tate. The resolution also encouraged the posthumous awarding of the grandmaster title, but there is no precedent for such awards within the history of FIDE.
I'm the Head of Community for Chess.com. I earned the National Master title in 2012, and in 2014, I returned to my home state of South Carolina to start Strategery: Chess and Games. In late 2015, I began working for Chess.com and haven't looked back since.
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