What Russia Taught The World About Chess
Written by Alexey Zakharov
In the last hundred or so years, Russia became almost synonymous with chess. The country in its many incarnations Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and now “just” Russia produced more grandmasters and world champions than any other, and its players enriched the ancient game immensely.
So, let’s now delve (shallowly, and then, of course, more and more deeply) into what Russia and its predecessor states brought to the world of chess.
Long, Tongue-Twisting Names
It’s more of a joke entry, of course, but GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, the new challenger to GM Magnus Carlsen, is only the latest in the long, distinguished line of Russian and Soviet players who look like an absolutely insurmountable wall of letters when written in English, such as Roman Dzindzichashvili, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Elena Fatalibekova, Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Olga Semenova-Tyan-Shanskaya, Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky, and Fyodor Dus-Chotimir
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Jasmine Goldband
At age 10, Ivry is interviewed by the Pittsburgh Tribune for his successes and achievements in chess.
My son’s love for chess began when we signed him up for a chess class at age 4. Three years later, he would compete against older contestants both in local tournaments and in the U.S. National Open ― many of these he’d won. At around the same time, he became the second-ranked player in Pennsylvania for his age group.
I was an amateur chess player myself, but with no ferocious desire to win. Still, I was ecstatic when he started bringing home prize money and trophies. He was featured in local newspapers. He played against grandmasters, including Renato Naranja, who drew against chess greats such as Bobby Fisher and Samuel Reshevsky. After Naranja played my son, Ivry, at the famous Marshall’s Chess Club in New York City in 2012, Naranja said, “Well, now we know the true meaning of