CHESS CONGRESS DRUSKININKAI 2015 (Druskininkai, Lithuania, January 9–11, 2015) - 2 Rapid and 1 Blitz chess tournaments (9 rounds, Swiss system) + international chess training camp).

Regulations    • Results:  [ Druskininkai Open ]  [ Aquapark Open ]  [ Blitz ]

Alexei Shirov Winter Cup 2015
Jurmala (Latvia) 1st-6th March 2015
The event will be held in two age groups - under 14 and under 10 as individual Swiss but with team rank as well. Each team consists of 3 boys and 1 girl. The participation of one reserve boy and girl in each team is possible.
There are 7 rounds in each group (both are FIDE rated), time control is 90 minutes per game plus 30 seconds increment per move.

Regulations:  EN

Vladimir Petrov Memorial - Jurmala, Latvia, March 7-8, 2015
The festival will feature leading Latvian grandmasters as well as a few strong grandmasters (such as Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Morozevich, Rapport and so on) and chess lovers from all around the world.
The tournament will be held in three groups A, B and C:
Tournament A is 11 round Swiss with the time control 15 minutes for each player plus 6 seconds increment for each move. The total prize fund is 12900 EUR.
Tournament B is reserved mainly for players rated 1800-2349. Swiss system, 10 rounds.
Tournament C is reserved for players rated less than 1800. Swiss system; 10 rounds.
The Blitz Tournament will be held March 6 at 16:50 in the Amber Beach resort (Jaunkemeri). The time control is 3 minutes plus 3 seconds for each move starting with the first move; 10 rounds. Prize fund 1700 EUR.

Regulations:  EN  LV  RU      • List of players:  [ A ]  [ B ]  [ C ]

[ Vladimir Petrov Memorial - 2014 ]

THE TOURNAMENT WAS HELD IN TWO STAGES AND IN ADDITION WAS HELD THE BLITZ TOURNAMENT
THE PRELIMINARY TOURNAMENT was a Swiss system 7-round rapid chess (15+15 minutes + a 5-second increment) tournament in one group.
THE MAIN TOURNAMENT was a 9-round rapid chess (15+15 minutes + a 10-second increment) round robin tournament. 5 participants, including at least 2 from Estonia, - from the preliminary tournament, and 5 was personally invited.

Regulations      RESULTS / GAMES

Friendly match between GM Alexey Shirov and GM Evgeny Sveshnikov - Riga, 26.-28.09.2014 (Time control: 50 minutes/game + 10 seconds/move.)

• Live Games rtu.lv - Statistics    • Results

24 - 25 October, Riga Technical University, Kalķu Iela 1 - 417th (4th floor)
2014 Universiade is open to players from all Latvian universities, as well as from  other European universities. Each school is allowed to enter up to 5 men and 5 women with no lower than 1600 FIDE rating.
The competition takes place in accordance with the rules of FIDE rapid chess playing 7 rounds in the Swiss system.  Representatives from the same university shall not meet among themselves. Time control - 25 minutes until the end of the  game, each participant + 5 seconds for each move made.
The tournament will calculate rapid chess FIDE rating.

Regulations:  EN  LV     • Results

Author: Yuri Agafonov

The international Baltic Summer Chess Camp (www.chessbaltic.com) held in Riga during August 13-16. It was an intensive and enjoyable training which will invigorate the chess practice of the children and adults with ELO below 2014. Participants from Latvia, Lithuania and the UK improved their chess skills and enjoyed Riga city (charming European Capital of Culture for 2014) celebration. City tour was held and participants were able to spend time wandering around the pleasant Riga Old Town exploring its markets, cafes and museums. The event was conducted in English which provided welcome cross-cultural and language experience for the participants.

Main trainer Verner Putka used a variety of teaching methods including lectures, game analysis, memory recall, exercises, consulting and pair games, simultaneous.  Fried Liver attack against the Two Knights defence was illustrated by the topical game Shirov (Latvia) – Sulskis (Lithuania) from the recent Tromso Olympiad which Shirov won in swashbuckling style.  Ričardas Fishmanas, the Lithuanian coach, presented some rare lines in the Kings Indian Defence. On the third day, Girts Kazmins navigated through the inevitable Latvian Gambit and showed it to be a dangerous weapon against the unprepared opponent. Valentin Kirilov, trainer of 8th World Champion Mikhail Tal, told about chess Heritage and showed a lot of personal materials. Participants were able to improve international chess ratings by playing in the local tournaments, including number of www.rtuopen.lv .

Grateful acknowledgement is due to those who supported the UK participants including Chess in Schools and Communities for its award grant to Megan Richards (Cardiff), as CSC Pupil of the Year; the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust for its grants to Michael Green (Canterbury) and George Harman (Manchester) and for the donation of prizes. Training take place in charming chess club ROYAL BIOGRAPHY, located in the historical center of Hanseatic Riga, thank you to the owner – Dainis Deglis. The BSCC 2014 achieved what was intend, was value for the money and all participants would like to return next year.

[ Photos ]

Organizators of BSCC2014:
John Foley, Director of Training and Education, Chess in Schools and Communities;
Dr. Yuri Agafonov, FIDE Trainer.

Place and Time
Competition was held on 4th and 5th October, 2014 at Sigulda State gymnasium, K.Barona iela 10, Sigulda, Latvia. Preliminary application until Wednesday, 1st October, 17.00.
Management
The competition was organized and run by the Sigulda District Council Sports Department in cooperation with the Riga Chess Federation and Grandmaster Alexei Shirov. Tournament director Karina Putnina, e-mail: Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript , phone +371 67970207; organizer Visvaldis Gercans, e-mail: Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript , mob. phone +371 29277148.  The Chief Arbiter Alberts Cimins, e-mail: Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript , phone +371 28804664.
System, time control
11 rounds Swiss system, FIDE rules, FIDE rapid chess rating calculation.
Time control 12 min + 5 sec/move. Chief arbiter has the right to make changes.

Regulations     • Results    • Gallery:  [ 1 ]  [ 2 ]

***

Sigulda District Open Rapid Chess Championship 2013

27 th International chess tournament Panevezys Open 2014
Date: 2014 09  5 – 11
Venue: Panevezys Kolegija, Laisvės square 23.
Organizer: IO Arvydas Baltrunas and Panevezys chess club
Address: Laisves sq. 25 B , LT – 35200 Panevėžys
Tournament Director: IO,FA Arvydas Baltrūnas Mob.tel. +370 (676) 32388; +370 (688) 34262
Email: Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript , Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript   Web site: www.chesslyga.lt
System and rate of play: 9 rounds, played in the Swiss system in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess. The playing time will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 min. to end game with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from first move. FIDE rated. Chief Arbiter IA Raimondas Paliulionis.

Regulations     • Results:  [ Open A ]  [ Open B ]  [ Blitz ]

48th Ilmar Raud Memorial - In memorial of member of the Estonian team that scored 3rd at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. Organizer: Viljandi CC Fellin. The event is a part of Kodumasinad series 2014 (http://www.eestimale.ee/sari2014/) held by The Estonian Chess Support Organization. Time and place: June 30-July 6 2014 in Viljandi Sports Center (http://www.viljandimaa.ee/spordikeskus/) Vaksali 4 (500 meters from the bus station, by the Square of Liberty).

Regulations     • Results    • LIVE GAMES

The Baltic Summer Chess Camp 2014 (BSCC2014) is an event in which children from different countries assemble together for chess training and competition and have fun. Participants are expected from the Baltics, UK and elsewhere. It is an opportunity not only to play chess but also have a family holiday in the European Capital of Culture for 2014.

[ Read more ... ]

3rd International Chess Festival “Vidzeme Summer” - LIMBAŽI, Latvia, July 24-27,  2014 (Children, Blitz and Open rapid tournaments)
The festival is supported by the Limbaži Region Council, Limbaži City Council and Riga Chess Federation. GM Alexei Shirov confiirmed his participation in A tournament. The venue of the tournament is administrative building of Limbaži Region, 16 Riga Street.

Regulations     Results:  Open - | A | B |   Children - | A | B |   Blitz      Gallery

„BALTIJA CUP 2014” - June 15-21, 2014, Palanga, Lithuania - Open, Youth and Blitz tournaments.

+370 686 82025, Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript

• Regulations    
• Results:  IM  |  Open A  |  Open B  |  Open C  |  Open C7 |  Blitz - ( I ) ( II ) ( III ) ( IV )
• Gallery:  |  IM, Open A  |  Open B  |

Author: Juri Agafonov  |  Translated by Lauris Laimiņš and John Foley (CSC, Chess in Schools and Communities)

A major "Chess and Education Conference" was held in London on 7-8 December 2013. The conference was held during the 5th Congress of the London Chess Classic, which also included chess tournaments for children and adults, amateurs and professionals, as well as exhibitions and seminars.

The Chess in Schools movement is being developed around the world by public organisations with the support of enthusiastic individuals, state and municipal structures, chess federations and clubs. Three dozen countries were represented on the conference. The only notable absentee was the international chess federation (FIDE) which has its own programme.

Conference participants shared their experiences of teaching children chess in different countries, discussed the organisation of learning, the choice of strategy, fundraising, and public relations policy. In an extra day, December 6, there were specialist talks about issues of science research - teaching methods and the impact of chess on children's development.

Key topics:

• Chess as a separate course or as an aid in the development of mathematical, logical, and communication abilities;
• Education for all children (chess as a compulsory subject) or on a selective basis as an elective;
• When to start training - in kindergarten or in primary school;
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of investments in ''Kids Chess movement'' and financial models;
• Chess for boys and girls;
• Schooling books and computer solutions.

The ways of developing chess in schools varies across the world. The Chess in Schools project is rapidly developing in  Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Armenia, Hungary, South Africa, Germany, Britain and France. Latvia lags behind in implementing the social and educational benefits of chess, so its development deserves a detailed consideration.

Juri Agafonov,
yuri.agafonov (at) gmail.com

Related links:

• PHOTOS: |  Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript   |
• Presentations
• Chess and Education London Conference 2013

Author: Juri Agafonov  |  Translated by Lauris Laimiņš and John Foley (CSC, Chess in Schools and Communities)

The “Chess in Schools” movement is developing worldwide.  An interesting approach has been developed in South Africa by Marisa van der Merwe. Although South Africa is the most economically developed country in Africa and has huge reserves of natural resources  there are also severe social problems. Its population of 52 million people have an average annual per capita income of $12,000  (compared to Latvia - 2 million people and $21,000) with a very uneven distribution.  Unemployment is around 40%; one in seven of the population is illiterate and a third of working people earn less than $2 a day. There are high levels of crime and HIV infection reducing life expectancy to around 50 years. The schools experience difficult conditions - not all schools have access to electricity and the water supply and it is necessary to accommodate the 11 national languages.

Marisa uses chess as a way to introduce children to mathematics, science and life skills. This concept, which is branded as the MiniChess Program, is intended to make children “school ready”. It consists of a 4-year course for children from the ages of 5 to 9, starting with the simplest concepts and gradually, step-by-step , developing their knowledge and skills. Using chess problems and examples, children learn arithmetic as well as geometric notions of space and the shapes of objects. The programme improves concentration and ability to solve logical problems. Amongst the other improvements cited are literacy, planning skills, co-ordinate systems, and learning to comply with the rules of a game. Marisa claims that all this develops children's thinking and confidence in a fun way, preparing them for our rapidly changing world. The MiniChess Program consists of text books, teachers guides, workbooks and computer programs to support the learning process.

As of now there are no chess grandmasters in South Africa but 45,761 children were engaged in Marisa's programme in 2013! The World Junior (under 18 years old) World Chess Championship for 2014 will be held in South Africa which is likely to stimulate interest in the game further.

Related links:

• www.minichess.co.za
• http://youtu.be/YyizX8WgebA
• Marisa van der Merwe – MiniChess: Understanding Maths and Science through Chess at Presentations
• MiniChess Shoprite/Checkers Woman of the Year project
• Presentation at Chess and Education Conference at the Classic (8 December 2013) -  [ Video ]  [ Docs ]

Juri Agafonov,
yuri.agafonov (at) gmail.com

Chess weekend in Kaunas, 9-11 May, in hotel Europa Royale****  (Miško g. 11, Kaunas)
Tournament A – classical control: 3 days (5 rounds: Friday at 18:00, Saturday at 10:00 and 16:00, Sunday at 9:00 and 14:00), time control - 90 min. + 30 s, arrival until 17:30,  registered in FIDE. Fee - 75 Lt.
Tournament B – rapid chess:  2 days (9 rounds: Saturday from 11:00, Sunday from 10:00 ), time control 25 min. + 10 s, arrival until 10:30 on Saturday. Registered in FIDE. Fee- 40 Lt.
A separate tournament for children up to 10 years may be organized, if necessary (not registered in FIDE).

Regulations

Author: Yuri Agafonov

All through the long history of chess people try to understand what it is: game, art or science. An interesting research on chess and its role in society has been conducted in year 2014 by Estere Fedoseeva, 11th grade pupil of Plaviņas Gymnasium, under the guidance of teacher of mathematics and physics Anita Seikovska.

The objective of the study was exploration of development of chess in Latvia and particularly in Plaviņas district. Issues on history of competitions, dynamics of chess popularity and reasons for absence of interest towards chess have been explored. Different research methods were applied: gathering and analysis of the public information, interviews with chess players of the district, videorecordings of competitions, survey of 421 pupils and 21 teachers of Plaviņas Gymnasium.

In primary school (1-4 grades) 44% of scholars know how to play chess, another 18% of children would like to learn to play, other 38% are not interested in chess. Why they are not interested? They prefer computer games (52%), 45% do not have free time for chess. In 5-9 grades interest for chess gets lower. 30% of scholars know how to play chess, 49% of pupils are not interested in chess. The reasons are “no free time” and “do not like chess”. In upper grades (10-12) proportion of pupils who consider that they know how to play chess reduces to 26%. Reasons for absence of interest towards chess are the same and in the same ratio – no time and do not like chess.

Teachers have a more positive attitude towards this intellectual activity: 52% know how to play, 10% would like to learn to play, 38% have no interest (63% are involved in other activities, 25% do not need chess, no physical activity – 12%).

Overall result for Plaviņas Gymnasium: one third of the pupils know how to play chess, almost a third would like to learn to and one third does not wish to attend. At earlier age chess is more interesting. This result was also confirmed by survey of local chess players. Consequently, chess training should start from early age, when interest is higher!

Estere has gathered and summarized statistics of local chess tournaments that are regularly held thanks to enthusiasm of U.Melderis.

Extensive school research included also video clips of blitz chessplayer games in lack of time. This part of the work was one of the reasons for undeservingly low assessment of the work on school research contest. The jury considered that a human can not think and make moves so fast, that “this video is a trick – high speed recording”. Obviously, they do not know how quickly founder of Microsoft Bill Gates has lost Magnus Carlsen. The richest man on Earth had two minutes and the world champion – thirty seconds in his disposal. However, eleven seconds were for Carlsen sufficient to checkmate the opponent: http://youtu.be/84NwnSltHFo.

• Presentation: Chess in Plaviņas - 2014
• Video: Blitz Chess / Estere Fedoseeva, 2014

Yuri Agafonov, PhD
yuri.agafonov (at) gmail.com

International Chess Festival “Pskov 2014”:  June 20 - July 1, 2014, Pskov, Russian Federation – Blitz Marathon, Classical and Rapid Chess Tournaments, FIDE rated.

Regulations:   EN  RU      [ Read more ... ]     Results: |  E  |  D  |  A  |  B  |  T  |  K  |

The IV International Chess Festival „RIGA TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OPEN 2014” - August 15-24, 2014, Riga, Latvia. Five main ELO tournaments and an additional blitz tournament; the total prize pool of the festival - 25000 EUR.
   
     
Regulations:  EN  LV     Official Site      • Results:  | A | B | C | D | E | F |      

[ Read more ... ]   • Games (chessbomb.com)
 

***

RIGA TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OPEN 2013

Chess Festival "Liepajas rokade - 2014": July 10 - 13, 2014, hotel "FONTAINE ROYAL" (Stūrmaņu iela 1, LIEPAJA, LATVIA). Total Prize Amount: 5 000 EUR.

      
Regulations     Results:  [ Open ]  [ Team ]  [ Blitz ]   
      

***

Liepajas rokade - 2013