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The tournament was held as planned despite warnings from local authorities. On the same day as the event started, regional Governor Andrey Chibis announced that all mass public events that included participation of foreigners must be cancelled.

Still, about 100 young people on the 13th March sat down by the chess boards as part of the Polar Gambit 2020, an open international tournament for young people. On the list of participants were youngsters from Estonia, France and Ireland.

As the event came to a close, it became known that one of the players, a young man from Ireland, had contracted the coronavirus. As he was about to leave the Russian Arctic city on the 16th March he was taken from the check-in area at the local airport and subsequently isolated at the regional hospital.

Following his positive testing for the virus, all participants were put in isolation. That included Murmansk City Mayor Yevgeny Nikora, who had been shortly at the event to welcome participants.

Nikora was placed in total isolation at the Murmansk Regional Hospital. The same was the case with a journalist, a member of the local parliament and two of the event organizers, newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reports.

Among the latter is Andranik Musatyan, the Head of the Murmansk Chess Federation. Musatyan is not happy with the reaction from the health authorities and argues that all participants should have been put in hospital confinement.

Hundred people were at the tournament, but none of them were put under observation. For some reason only we are here, all the rest are in their homes, he complains.

Why must it be worse for me? I was at the event only for 15 minutes, opened the tournament and left, he says to Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Neither he, nor City Mayor Nikora, tested positive for the virus.

Musatyan, a well-known local politicianand businessman, is not impressed with the work of Rospotrebnadzor, the state consumer and welfare agency responsible for public health.

The sportsmen sat for up to eight hours over the chess boards, saw each other in the eyes, shookhands and sneezed at each other. If there is an epidemic, then the most dangerous ones must be isolated, he says.

This must all be sorted out by the Rospotrebnadzor, he underlines and calls the agency anunprepared, defunct and incomprehensible body.

Several of the foreign participants had left Murmansk by the time the Irish chess player tested positive. But a group of Frenchmen were still in the city and have subsequently been placed in quarantine.

This week, French General Consul on St.Petersburg came to visit the young players. Along with Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis, Hughes De Chavagnac was a shown around in the hospital ward where they are isolated. If a third and final test shows negative result, the players will be allowed to leave Murmansk on the 30th of March, the Murmansk regional government says.

Most of the local Russian players that took part in the tournament are now in home quarantine.

However, not everyone that was on the site of the tournament have been followed up the health authorities. Guest of honor and chess grandmaster Valentina Gunina, who had come to Murmansk to lead and comment the tournament online translations, was reportedly not requested to enter quarantine.

There was a total mess, [and] nobody told me anything about what to do, nor what tests to take.

Murmansk by the 24th March officially had one case of coronavirus. On the 25th March, regional authorities announced that another two individuals are suspected to carry the virus.

See the article here:
The infected chess player that brought frenzy to Murmansk - The Independent Barents Observer

As most of us hunker down in our homes and as some of us struggle to determine what to watch since there is no March Madness, there are professional games being played and were getting excited. Theres a game of NFL chess happening.

We dont know what our New Orleans Saints and professional football reality will look like this fall after some stretch of important COVID-19 social distancing and other mitigation measures. But its clear that the Saints leadership team is focused on some serious off-season moves.

As this novel coronavirus situation continues, NFL franchises across the nation are scrambling to their bank accounts and balance sheets to see what and who they can afford to make the Black-and-Gold Super Bowl contenders.

Our favorite team is making some fantastic moves to ensure were best positioned to play another Super Bowl, this time in Tampa Bay, come 2021.

We had to have our all-star quarterback, Drew Brees, return. He signed a below-market two-year contract worth $50 million with a 2020 base salary of only $2 million. Though the team spread a $23 million signing bonus over the duration of the contract, thats some serious love. We know Brees is worth far more. Thanks, Drew. And thanks for the $5 million contribution that you and your wife, Brittany, have donated to our state to provide 10,000 meals per day as a part of our much-needed coronavirus stretch. Pledging that you're doing this for "children on meal programs, seniors, and families in need" and "for as long as it takes" proves what we know: You're a winner.

We hate to see backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater leave Louisiana for the Tar Heel state, but we thank him for a fantastic time that we wont soon forget.

After watching Teddy step in when Number 9 was injured, we know hes no backup player and we wish him the best of luck in Charlotte with the Panthers. Were happy that the Carolina Panthers saw in Bridgewater what weve known for some time. Hes a first-rate, first-string QB. They proved it by giving him a contract worth $63 million over three years, with a $40 million guarantee in the first two years and wait for it a $15 million signing bonus.

Were excited to see Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins return to the team that gave him his start as a first-round draft choice in 2009. Hes a play maker. Receiver Emmanuel Sanders has played for three Super Bowl teams, and now hes with us. If he helps us get to Tampa, hell be the first NFL player to play for four different Super Bowl teams.

There are others. We like what were seeing. Were excited about the possibilities late summer and the fall and next year.

See the original post:
Our Views: The NFL chess game can be viewed now, since there's no March Madness - The Advocate

The FIDE Candidates Tournament was officially opened on Monday evening at theEkaterinburg Expo Congress Center in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The participants of the tournament did not attend, in order to avoid exposure to the more than a thousand attendees.

You can follow the FIDE Candidates Tournament with Chess.com commentary on Chess.com/TV during each round. The first round is on Tuesday, March 17 at 16:00 local time which is 12:00 Central Europe, 7 a.m. Eastern and 4 a.m. Pacific.You can follow the games live on our dedicated page on Chess.com/events. Find all the information about the Candidates Tournament in our info article.

Attended by over a thousand guests fearless of coronavirus contamination,the opening ceremony was hosted by the renowned Russian film actress Alena Babenko and sports commentator Viktor Gusev. Speakers included the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, and the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov.

The participants were not present at the opening of the tournament, which is one of the few sports events in the world that were not canceled due to the coronavirus this month. The topic that dominates the news couldn'tbe ignored on this evening either. Dvorkovich said:

"I would like to note that in terms of medical safety measures, the tournament organizing committee fully follows the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Rospotrebnadzor [the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing - PD] and fulfills all the prescribed requirements."

Earlier, Chess.com reported that everyone involved in the tournamentplayers, seconds, arbiters, organizers, and officialsare being medically checked twice per day. On top of that, everyone was tested for the coronavirus upon arrival in the official hotel and will be tested again on day 10.

Another health and safety measure is that spectators won't be allowed in the playing hall, and all additional mass events such as side tournaments and simuls have been canceled. Those measures are difficult to rhyme with the big crowd that gathered at the opening ceremony.

The official part of the ceremony was followed by a concert by the famous Russian violist and conductor Yuri Bashmet and his "Moscow Soloists" Chamber Orchestra. The concert featured other renowned Russian classical music artists such as Bolshoi Theatre soloist Alina Yarovaya and opera singer Vasily Gerello. The music event also included a performance of the top stars of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Somewhat ironically, it was during the opening ceremony that phones of some attendees started buzzing as the Russian Ministry of Sports canceled all international sports competitions in Russia until further notice. A FIDE source soon confirmed that the Candidates Tournament is not affected by the measure.

Earlier in the day, a press conference for the local media was held at the Sverdlovsk Journalists' Union. The building is located along the Iset river, across the Hyatt Regency (the tournament venue) and a stone's throw away from the famousChurch of All Saints, built on the location where Tsar Nicholas II and his family were shot by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.

Dvorkovich and Karpov were prominent speakers at the press conference, and they were joined by one of the Russian participants, GM Kirill Alekseenko.

Dvorkovich pointed out that the tournament might get more exposure than in normal times: "This is a big event not just for the chess world but, possibly, for the whole sporting community since almost all international competitions have been canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus."

Wildcard Alekseenko put smiles on the faces of the media as he not onlyexpressed his gratitude for being invited, but also stated that he is playing the tournament to win it: "Only the first place gives a chance to challenge Magnus Carlsen."

The Candidates Tournament has a prize fund of 500,00 euros ($557.720,00). Eight players will fight for a chance to play World Champion Carlsen at the World Chess Championship later in the year.

You can play in Chess.com's Candidates Fantasy Contest during the tournament for your chance at a share of $5,000 and premium memberships. Draft your team now and follow the action live on ChessTV.

Continued here:
FIDE Candidates Tournament Officially Opened In Absence Of Participants - Chess.com

NAGPUR: Under-15 chess players from across the globe should consider themselves blessed. That's because the game of sixty-four squares does not need an outdoor environment and neither does it need teammates to checkmate rivals. It's all an indoor thing.

And the icing on the cake for the brainy boys and girls is March 30, the day that will kick off an online chess competition for the talented lot.

Bring about this welcome change is the man of the moment, Swapnil Dhopade, who is also Vidarbha's first grandmaster.

After starting Chess Pathshala, an online academy to provide coaching to ambitious players, Amravati's Dhopade decided to make the most of the lockdown by creating a competitive environment for budding players.

The tournament being played in the shortest format of the sport will be a two-hour blitz for players below 15 years and top ranked Indian masters. GMs Praggnanandhaa R, city's Raunak Sadhwani, Gukesh D, IM Aditya Mittal and our very own girl, WFM Divya Deshmukh, will be seen in action.

"I am happy to play this online chess tournament. Unlike other sports, this is a great opportunity for young chess players. I hope this tense situation comes to an end soon," said the world's fourth youngest GM, 14-year-old Praggnanandhaa.

Read more here:
Cooped up indoors? Beat the best in Under-15 chess, online - Times of India

Continued from Part 1:A millennial trend

Dorsa Derakhshani is and Iranian International Master who immigrated to the United States in 2017, where shewas offered full scholarships from both the University of Texas, Dallas and Saint Louis University (SLU). Despite having family ties in the Dallas area, she opted for SLU on a pre-med track, which more closely aligned with her academic interests. Another plus was the chess team and its coach, GM Alejando Ramirez. Derakhshani was already friendly with Ramirez, ever since they played in a tournament in Denmark in 2014, and she knew his work as a coach.

Within SLU's chess team she's known as "the girl who knows a lot about a lot". In enacting her immigration plan, she learned FIDE's transfer rules and her rights, via FIDE handbook. With some guidance from the US Chess Federation, she switched to FIDE flag first for a short period of time just few weeks as did her younger brother Borna, then Dorsa switched to the USA, while her brother joined the English Chess Federation a few months later.FIDE gave its approval in both cases. This way, the pair didn't have to involve the Iranian federation at all. Transfer fees are only necessary tocompete in certain international events, which was not the immediate goal.However, this strategy did preclude her from playing in the2019 US Women's Championship it was a FIDE event which would have required paying the transfer fee. She is looking forward to representing US in future international competition.

"I wanted to represent the US in the [2018] World Junior Championship but I couldn't because I honestly couldn't miss too many days of school. That was the big problem for me. And I still can't miss 20 days."

At SLU, her pre-med track is very demanding and precludes her playing in any long events.

"Even if you miss one class you're going to have to work twice as hard to make up for it. I had a very hard first semester at SLU, because I didn't know what I was doing, everything was new to me and I didn't have the best of grades. But now that I'm getting pretty much all A's, I really want to keep that grade."

The plan now is to takeher university educationas seriously as she did chess in earlier years. But that's not to say there's no chess to be played after all, she is on a chess scholarship, so has time set aside to take part in all team tournaments. She's also looking forward to trying to a stab at the U.S. Women's Championship and qualifying for the US Olympiad team, if possible. "That's one of the things I have on my to-do list," she told me before both tournaments were postponed.

Pointing to a write-up at SLU about her TED talk

Neuroscience research, is an area of interest, which naturally fuels curiosity into the apparent gender differences in professional chess. Conversations with her teachers and researchers at neurosurgery department at SLU and at the hospital supports her view that there's nothing biological in neuroanatomy that would necessarily explain the gender gap we have. She recognizes that various biological factors can influence chess performance, such as general athleticism,or the menstrual cycle, but these arenot to be found in the brain. She regards the status quo as lamentable, but the "main issue is psychological or environmental circumstances".

Men have bigger brain sizes, but women have bigger Hippocampi (essential for learning and memorization), and these differences between brains doesn't support one gender's dominance. "Different not better", is her credo, noting there are more than 30,000 scientific papers published on sex differences since 2000, and in she's only in the early stages of learning about the topic.

Derakhshani believes the ratio of male to female players needs to be improved and that US Chess' support for women and girls is commendable. In collegiate chess shesupportsthe notion that schools give scholarships to WGM-title holders, not just IMs, even when they have the same rating, and would welcome afemale board a requirement in competition, which would encourage all schools to include girls on their teams, creating more opportunities for WIMs or 2200 players. Teach kids early on about differences and abilities, with the focus on ability and talent to help children reach full potential. She's a firm believe in equal opportunity and equal pay.

In a New York Times Op-Ed in 2017,Derakhshani wrote "Chess...is pure. It doesnt care about gender, ethnicity, nationality, status or politics. But too often the countries, organizations and people who enforce the rules in the world of chess are anything but."

Strategic manoeuvring in chess is a metaphor for removing herself from toxic environments and finding new support group. "I firmly believe that you have the ability to make a difference in the world with the choices that you make."

Derakhshani thinks heroverall chess understanding is also improving her openings or calculation may have declined a bit, but compensates by playing simple but tricky moves, using her time more efficiently, and working on prophylaxis techniques.

"I feel like just because I've grown more and I've matured more I understand some things way better than I used to when I was playing 30 games in a row...So I understand the concept of playing chess annoyingly pretty well."

She also more readily takes practical decisions, for instance,to go for a better endgame rather than grapple in a complex tactical situation."I would much rather try to dominate the board rather than create a premature attack."

One illustration was her2018 US Championship draw against GM Irina Krush, in which she was dominating board but time trouble intervened in what might have been a beautiful game.

"I really played a beautiful game, that's one of my most favourite games though not my most favourite result!"

After getting her green card Derakhshani was able to work at the Saint Louis Chess Club as the GM in residence, where she has already done two stints before the Club was forced to close temporarily due to the COVID-19 outbreak.There she teaches kids classes, gives lessons and group lectures, and comments on videos for the Chess Club's YouTube Channel (a selection of which we've added below).

"To me it feels like having the doctor on call if anybody wants to play chess, I'm on call as well, and playing with them. If anybody just wants to chat on chess or wants to pick a chess book I'll try to help them. If anybody wants to go through, say, Sinquefield Cup games, I'm there and I'll take them through it. I feel the position is mainly about bringing more awareness to chess and making people feel comfortable talking to a [strong player] to see that I'm not this cold ice monster sitting behind a desk eating up Stockfish.

"I would love to do it again towards the summer when I don't have organic chemistry!"

Dorsa on the Ladies Knight podcast with WGM Jennifer Shahade

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Dorsa Derakhshani: From Iran to the USA (Part 2) - Chessbase News