Opportunities include memberships, summer camps and inaugural Corporate Chess Challenge to determine 'Indy's Smartest Company'

Michael Chapuran, executive director, Indy Chess

Chess is all about strategy and positioning and Indy Chess has made significant strides to nurture a new approach to a historic game, said Manasi Balagere, chairperson of Indy Chess. Hiring Michael Chapuran to lead Indy Chess makes all the difference. Michael brings a track record of success with philanthropic organizations, an economics background, coaching certification and a desire to improve players skills and ratings.

We also launched a fundraising campaign with $10,000 donated in just a few days, which is no small feat, she added. This will open up many new opportunities for us to expand our reach and impact in the Indianapolis area.

Indy Chess operations are funded primarily through an annual individual or family membership plan. Its menu of chess experiences includes weekly Tuesday student workshops and rated adult casual play as well as scholastic summer camps. Get information and sign up: bit.ly/INDYCHESS-SCHOLASTIC

In addition, the board is pleased to announce the inaugural Corporate Chess Challenge tournament on National Chess Day, Saturday, October 14 in downtown Indianapolis. Teams of four will compete for the prize of being "Indy's Smartest Company" all while raising money for scholastic programs at under-resourced schools. Get information: bit.ly/INDYCHESS-CHALLENGE

Its amazing we received 501(c)(3) status so early and it was essential to the legitimacy of our formation, said Chapuran. Nonprofit status signifies so much. It means that we can authentically fulfill our mission, receive tax-deductible donations and ensure that we are funded to enable scholarships and provide access to chess instruction to schools and children that otherwise might not have been able to afford it.

Chapuran was previously executive director of Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis, where he raised close to $5 million in seven years as leader to benefit the housing-focused nonprofit. In his free time, Chapuran tested the concept of organized chess through hosting a variety of chess competitions in the Indianapolis area through its previous affiliation, Naptown Gambit Chess Club. Chapuran is a United States Chess Federation-certified tournament director and coach.

Chess found a new audience during the pandemic, and it continues to boom right now, but it's all online, Chapuran said. While thats a great way to enjoy this activity, we want to make sure children are getting off their screens, connecting in person, and learning in ways only possible through traditional face-to-face play. As we provide instruction to them on how to do that, plus trophies to reward and incentivize progress, we think the future is going to be huge.

Led by Balagere as chair, Indy Chess' seven-person board seeks to promote the game of chess and its many benefits, including improved problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Board members also include Mandee Byers, Chapuran, Mike Dugdale, Gabe Hawkins, Greg Humrichouser and Tom Spalding.

The Indy Chess board represents an amazing group of diverse people who contribute different specialties chess enthusiasts, chess parents, and business leaders with specific talents who have come together to make sure this club has a bright future and engages everybody while respecting the values of trying to keep instruction affordable and accessible for all and inclusive of all, said Chapuran.

Chapuran added that Indy Chess is pleased to be running pro bono the inaugural IPS Chess Club Tourney & Celebration on Friday, May 19 at Broad Ripple High School. This first year, nine schools and more than 100 students are participating. IPS has a rich chess history, as Center for Inquiry 27 (then IPS 27), won the national championship in 1983 and visited the Oval Office. Indy Chess' executive director coaches at CFI 27 and restarted the club last fall.

Indy Chess is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to make the lessons that chess teaches accessible to all. Annual memberships are available at $45 for an individual and $65 for a family. For every two students that pay to attend camp, a scholarship is provided to another that can't afford to. Learn more at http://www.indychess.org

Thomas P SpaldingIndy Chess+1 317-656-7644email us hereVisit us on social media:FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

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Indy Chess Hires First Executive Director, Earns Nonprofit Status and Launches Events - EIN News

Modified May 02, 2023 15:05 GMT

Filipino superstar Danny Kingad knew Demetrious Johnson was good, but he didnt know to what extent until they squared off in October 2019.

Johnson and Kingad crossed paths in the final matchup of the ONE flyweight World Grand Prix, which took place in Tokyo, Japan at ONE: Century Part 1.

The Team Lakay representative was well-known for his striking capabilities, which Johnson tested early in the first round. However, it became obvious that while Kingad demonstrated great defensive technique, he had a hard time keeping the fight on its feet.

The takedown in the second round set the mood for what would happen next in the third and final round. As aforementioned, Kingad did well to scramble free and even attempt a submission of his own, but Johnsons techniques and athleticism dictated the pace of the fight.

After three exciting rounds, the American superstar captured the decision to claim the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship and a one-way ticket to a world title fight against the then-flyweight king, Adriano Moraes.

Demetrious Johnson, the now reigning ONE flyweight world champion, settles the score in a massive world title trilogy bout against Adriano Moraes, relive the technical chess match between Johnson vs. Kingad below:

ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III goes down on Friday, May 5 at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Colorado. Fans in Canada and the U.S. can watch the historic main event live and for free via Amazon Prime Video.

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Relive the technical chess match between Demetrious Johnson and Danny Kingad - Sportskeeda

APM Blitz & Rapid chess tournament at City Mall North Town

By Lito delos ReyesPhilBoxing.comWed, 03 May 2023

THE APM Open, Junior and Kiddies Blitz & Rapid chess tournament will be held on May 6 and 7 at City Mall North Town in Cabantian, Davao City.

The Open Division will be played on May 6 while the Junior and Kiddies will collide on May 7.

The Junior must be born from 2003 to 2008 while Kiddies are born 2009 to 2020, said National Arbiter Alfred Moulic.

Games will start at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Blitz prizes will be announced at the venue after round 2. No pooling of cash prizes, said Moulic.

The Open Division champion will pocket P2,500 while the second will earn P1,000.

The 3rd will get P700, 4th for P500, 5th for P300, 6th t0 10th a P100 each.

The champion in the Junior and Kiddies will earn P1,500. The 2nd will get P1,000, 3rd P500, 4th P400, 5th P300, 6th to 10th for P100 each.

The first 60 participants will get a merienda, said Moulic.The champion and second placers in the Junior and Kiddies will also get a slot in the Kamatyas tournament in June 2023 in Koronadal City.

The event is organized by Megans Society Cabantian Alumni Chapter in coordination with Mindanao Chessmates, Barangay Cabantian and City Mall North Town.

Click here to view a list of other articles written by Lito delos Reyes.

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APM Blitz & Rapid chess tournament at City Mall North Town - PhilBoxing.com

Jonah Audu and MichelleChiamaka Nwankwo, at the weekend, emerged champions of the inaugural Eduline Chess Academy Primary and Secondary School Championships held at Fun Plex Resort, CMD Road, Magodo, Lagos.

The competition, which featured over 75 students, was supported by Cornerstone Believers Church.

Organiser of the event, Gabriel Airewele, said the Eduline Chess Academy tournament is aimed at grooming and exposing children to the game at the grassroots level, adding that it would be every month to sustain students interest in it.

Airewele said: The Eduline chess competition brought students from all over Lagos State to participate in the games.

Prizes were won under different categories, but the main champions, Michelle Chiamaka Nwankwo, who excelled in the Primary Schoolcategory and Jonah Audu, who won the secondary school category,gave a good account of themselves to emerge tops among other students at the event.

The competition is for students not older than 18 years.

The parent body, Eduline Learning Co., according to the organiser, is promoted by Airewele, a partner, Rocklegal Law Firm and Pastor Emmanuel Okonkwo, the senior pastor at Cornerstone Believers Church.

Airewele affirmed his commitment to youth development through chess, adding that to encourage the students, cash prizes, books and other gift items were given to participants at the end of the event.

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Audu, Nwankwo are inaugural Eduline academy chess champions - Guardian Nigeria

There are many angles to the wily old foxs well-timed announcement on Tuesday morning; but the one that stands out is this: those trying to weaken the NCP from the outside will now have to contend with a charged-up cadre

NCP chief Sharad Pawar with his nephew Ajit and other party leaders, at the launch of his autobiography on Tuesday. Pic/Shadab Khan

Sharad Pawar*s decision to step down from the Nationalist Congress Party*s leadership wasn*t taken in isolation. His wife Pratibha, daughter Supriya and nephew Ajit were kept in the loop, before taking an unexpected route, a non-political function such as a book release, to startle the first and second lines of leadership and the cadre.

Pawar had come fully prepared. He read from a written document, which was circulated in English as well, considering the national news value. Following protest and emotional outburst of leaders and party workers, Ajit told media persons that when the senior leaders met Sharad Pawar later in day, he sought two-three days to rethink about reconsidering his decision to resign. This calmed the youngsters who had sat in protest at Y B Chavan Centre.

Also Read: Maharashtra: The bombshell that shook rank-and-file

NCP leaders Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar and others outside Y B Chavan Centre on Tuesday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

What happens if Pawar withdraws his resignation?Well, nothing will change for the party, whose members once again showed that the octogenarian meant the world to them. In fact, Tuesday*s surprise declaration yielded an effect that any party boss would desire the most, to establish his supremacy and control. The incident has also passed a message to the detractors, the disgruntled and the collaborators of rivals, if any, that any untoward move on their part would cost them dearly. Political observers believe that Pawar expected such an impact when speculations of a split in the NCP refused to die down, even after Ajit, who once tried to split the NCP and almost joined forces with the BJP, declared his lifelong commitment to the party. The very Ajit was seen commanding the emotionally charged crowd, albeit with some difficulty. The element of distrust was visible when Ajit tried to convince the NCP workers to accept Pawar*s decision. People wanted Surpriya to speak and request her father, but she didn*t when Ajit stopped her. That must have raised eyebrows, because the family has been drawn into a battle of accession on many occasions, despite the head*s denial.

What if the boss doesn*t return?Firstly, the party will have to settle for a new leadership; a stoic one or a rubber stamp. Ajit clearly said on Tuesday he wasn*t interested in the post. Then who else? Supriya? Ajit also said the leaders who tried convincing the boss later Tuesday suggested that a working president be appointed to share the workload of the national president, who ultimately will be none other than Pawar himself. If so, then, Pawar will be in total control as long as he wishes. If Pawar has total control of the party and takes part in political activities, strategising and campaigning, without which the party isn*t expected to perform better in the upcoming elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi will also be getting a much-needed push.

Pawar*s status in national politics is not expected to change much even if he doesn*t officially lead the NCP. He is the kind of a leader who cannot rest as long as he has the strength and he breathes politics. However, he will be free to disown any decision that goes against his proclaimed position or the pre- and post-poll alliance politics. He may simply shrug off responsibility in case the most influential leader in the NCP rank (we don*t need to identify) goes against his advice (if sought at all). Though Congress and Shiv Sena leaders have said the leadership change will not affect their relationship with the NCP, it is well known that some strong people in Pawar*s party have reservations about working with the Uddhav Sena in particular. At the Delhi level, the national-turned-regional party*s status will be weighed in terms of the Lok Sabha seats it wins the next year (and in alliance with who). Sharad Pawar managed to get the most even with a number less than 10. It would be interesting to see the NCP*s show without Pawar holding the presidency.

There is another angle to Pawar*s shock treatment. The parties, which are attempting to weaken the NCP using various ways, one of which is luring some top leaders away, will have to consider the charged up NCP cadre and Pawar*s sympathisers, who increased his number in 2019 Assembly polls to be in a position to experiment the MVA. It is another story that the three-party coalition collapsed and now it is attempting to rebuild it ahead of the next year*s polls. Pawar has certainly put his party in circulation at the right time.

1956 Year Sharad Pawar called for a protest march on Goan Independence in Pravaranagar, Maharashtra, marked the beginning of his first recorded political activism at a young age

1958 Pawar joined Youth Congress and demonstrated his support for the Congress Party

1962 Became President of the Pune district Youth Congress

1967 When Pawar was 27 years old, he was nominated as a candidate for Assembly elections from Baramati constituency. Pawar won the election and made it to the assembly from the then-undivided Congress Party.

1969 Congress faced a stumbling block within the party resulting in expulsion of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party. Following the split, Pawar along with Yashwantrao Chavan became a part of Indira Gandhi*s Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) faction.

1975-77 Sharad Pawar served as the home affairs minister in the govt of Shankarrao Chavan. In later years, when the Congress party again split into Congress (I) and Congress (U), Pawar sided with Congress (U).

1978 In the run-up to the state elections, both factions of Congress participated separately but formed the government in the coalition supporting Vasantdada Patil against the Janata Party. Pawar got the portfolio of Minister of Industry and Labour in the government led by Vasantdada Patil.

1978 At the age of 38, Pawar left Congress (U) to form a government with Janata Party, and amid this, Sharad Pawar became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1978.

1983 Pawar became the president of Congress (I)

1984 He was elected to Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency.

1985 Pawar again won from the Baramati assembly constituency, he decided to stay with Maharashtra*s state politics - becoming the leader of the opposition coalition PDF - as he resigned from the Lok Sabha seat

1988 Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the second time

1987 He returned to Congress (I)

1990 Pawar became chief minister of Maharashtra for the third time

1991 Pawar became the Defence Minister in the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. He handled the portfolio till 1993.

1993 March Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fourth time. Pawar remained Chief Minister

1999 Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress for what has been described as the trio "opposing Sonia Gandhi*s as the president" of Congress. The same year, in June, Pawar along with Sangma founded Nationalist Congress Party. However, NCP came into coalition with the state Congress to form a government following the 1999 assembly elections to defeat Shiv Sena-BJP

2004 Pawar became Minister of Agriculture in the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

2014 Pawar*s NCP lost in the state elections in which BJP was elected as the largest party in the election

2019 Following state elections and after a whole lot of political crisis, NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena*s coalition government - led by Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister - was formed

2020 Pawar was re-elected as an MP to the Rajya Sabha

2023 Pawar resigned as president of NCP

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Sharad Pawars 3D-chess: Castling Ajit to checkmate the BJP? - mid-day.com

Published April 29, 2023 1:33 p.m. ET

Updated April 29, 2023 5:54 p.m. ET

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Around 300 young chess players from across New Brunswick gathered in Moncton Saturday. Students from kindergarten to Grade 12 took part in the Scholastic Provincial Chess Tournament at the Moncton Coliseum.

It was the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic that the event was held in person.

Ben Jokela, the arbiter, or head referee, thinks the provincial tournament was the largest event theyve ever held.

Its a big deal, said Jokela. The winner of the provincials at each grade goes to the nationals, so its high stakes.

Organizers say theres been a lot of growth in chess over the past few years, partly due to the popularity of the Netflix miniseries The Queens Gambit.

Its an extremely good activity to do online and I think the pandemic helped increase its popularity, said Jokela. Its also just a great academic activity for children and weve seen all over the province chess clubs popping up in schools, small communities, large cities, everywhere and all over New Brunswick.

Grade 7 student Timur Stoicev says what he likes about chess is that you can practice your intellectual skills.

In chess, it is a tactical game. So, you can see your mistakes and you study on how to think what will happen in the future. And it can help in life very much, said the cole Carrefour de l'Acadie student.

Winners from each grade will represent team New Brunswick at the 2023 Canadian Chess Challenge that will be held next month in Montreal.

If parents want to get their child playing chess, Jokela recommends reaching out to the administration of their schools about starting or joining a chess club.

Its a great thing to do for all ages, especially for children, said Jokela.

According to the organizers, more than 605 million people around the world play chess on a regular basis.

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Chess becoming popular among youth in New Brunswick - CTV News Atlantic

A father and son chess-playing duo have spent hours working on their game in scenic parts of their hometown, culminating in a championship final where the pupil became the master.

It took just 20 minutes for Elijah Davidson, 11, to beat his father Jamie Davidson in the final of their chess championship, played over six games, at Timarus Caroline Bay Soundshell on Sunday.

Cheered on by family members, and catching the attention of a few passersby, the Davidsons were all concentration as they worked their way through the game, Jamie running the London System to fluster his son.

But, Elijah knew all the moves and won the championship 6-4, his father said.

READ MORE:* Caroline Bay Soundshell seating demolished* Timaru's Caroline Bay Soundshell seating work underway * Caroline Bay Soundshell seating project awaiting final plans

I lost to an 11-year-old, Jamie said after the game.

Elijah really likes to trade pieces, and he traded them well, and ended up with just more value on the board and was able to check mate me in the end.

Stuff

Jamie Davidson and 11-year-old son Elijah play the final game in their chess championship at the Caroline Bay Soundshell on Sunday afternoon.

The pairs chess journey began about a year ago, when Jamie taught Elijah how to play the game.

Keen to get his son off Xbox, Jamie thought the game would be a good challenge, as he had been enjoying puzzles set up for him by his father while he was at school.

He comes home and blows me away how quickly he can solve them, Jamie said.

I knew I was in trouble when he started solving some high-end puzzles.

John Bisset/Stuff

Elijah contemplates his next move.

Having learnt from his grandfather, Jamie decided to pass on his chess knowledge to Elijah.

He took a keen interest a few months ago, and it turned out he was pretty good, so we started a chess championship.

From there the pair have been playing around the town, choosing the Soundshell as their finale spot for a bit of a laugh and to make the competition a bit more serious, he said.

The games have been mostly timed for 30 minutes, but one untimed championship game went for more than two hours, Jamie said.

John Bisset/Stuff

Jamie taught his son to play chess to get him off the Xbox.

Having discovered the shared interest in the game, Jamie said there did not appear to be a chess club in South Canterbury and he, and Elijah, were keen to talk about it with anyone else interested.

They liked the fact they could play chess anywhere, and would take a table, a chess board and their pieces out to play.

The pair were also keen to see more giant boards and pieces around the place, so anyone could play outdoors.

Elijah was happy with the win, which came with a trophy, and the honour of beating his father, and teacher.

John Bisset/Stuff

Jamie makes a move in his game with Elijah.

It feels amazing, he said.

Im so proud of myself.

Elijah said he would often think of chess moves he could make, even when he was not playing the game.

He enjoyed playing chess with his father while they had dinner and was looking forward to beating him some more.

John Bisset/Stuff

Elijah, 11, won the championship on Sunday.

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Check mate: Father and son chess-playing duo spend hours ... - Stuff

World Chess Championship 2023 Game 11 Highlights (Ding Liren vs Ian Nepomniachtchi):Game 11 of the World Chess Championship between Russias Ian Nepomniachtchi and Chinas Ding Liren has ended in a draw. Both players decided to call it quits after 39 moves, just an hour and 40 minutes into the game. Nepo is still a point ahead, with just three more games to go. Scroll down to catch all the action.

Though the last four games ended in a draw, it has generally been an exciting, seesaw contest. While Nepo won Games 2,5 and 7, Ding was victorious in Games 4 and 6.

Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express. You can read his analysis of Game 10, Game 9,Game 8,Game 7,Game 6,Game 5, Game 4, Game 3, Game 2, and Game 1.

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Keep scrolling for highlights from Game 11.

Live Blog

World Chess Championship. (Photo: FIDE/Stev Bonhage)

Such an entertaining World Chess Championships, which has seen both players attack, win and defend whenever they have to, could be decided by a single point. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who leads Ding Liren 5.5-4.5 after 10 games, is probably banking on it. He has his task cut out: he just cant afford to lose a game.

Game 10 on Sunday at the St Regis in Astana, Kazakhstan, was a clear indication that Nepo is not going to go on the offensive when playing with Black pieces. More importantly, hes prepared to not give Ding any chance of getting that equalising win. This means that Ding will have to come up with something truly extraordinary in order to win. With only four games to go, it seems a Herculean task. [Read More]

First published on: 24-04-2023 at 13:36 IST

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World Chess Championship 2023 Game 11 As It Happened: Ian Nepomniachtchi stays one point ahead of Ding Liren after another draw - The Indian Express

Steve Cuozzo

Business

realty check

By Steve Cuozzo

April 23, 2023 | 12:57pm

Sources say that UBS and Paul Weiss are considering moves that would involve three first-line office towers.Google Maps

Heres a story of a kind we havent written in a while: a large-scale chess game involving potential moves by two huge companies and three first-line office towers.

Its refreshing to learn of large deals that might or might not even happen at a time when the high-end commercial market is mostly at an eerie standstill, dominated by renewals and small new leases.

Market sources told us that Paul Weiss, a tenant at RXR Realty and China Lifes 1285 Sixth Avenue for nearly 30 years, is considering a move into slightly less spaceat Fisher Brothers 1345 Sixth Ave. when its lease at 1285 expires at the end of 2026.

The powerful law firm has more than 500,000 square feet at 1285 Sixth.

With an eye on landing Paul Weiss, Fisher has supposedly put a hold on several negotiations with prospective tenants at 1345 Sixth to take parts of the former Bernstein floors, which would be used by Paul Weiss. AllianceBernstein moved the bulk of its operations to Nashville, Tenn., last year.

Meanwhile, in a separate but related situation, the buzz is that UBS an even larger tenant at 1285 Sixth than Paul Weiss, with more than 800,000 square feet is toying with moving large units of Credit Suisse, which UBS recently acquired, from SL Greens 11 Madison Avenue to 1285 Sixth.

Well-placed sources said that UBSs intentions have thrown a monkey wrench into the situation at 1285 Sixth, where its lease runs beyond 2030.

Theyre looking to consolidate the Credit Suisse space. If theyre able to do it at 1285 Sixth, it could motivate Paul Weissto find a new home because they were looking to expand. But there arent many blocks [at other buildings] available of the size it needs, one insider said.

A different source said that Paul Weiss actually preferred to stay at 1285 Sixth if it could growthere, but, The Credit Suisse thing complicated things.

An SL Green source said that UBS/CS is a long wayfrom developing a real estate strategy relative to 1285 Sixth and 11 Madison. They may not yet have clarity as to which CS business lines are to be retained or sold and what the final head count will be. Only after that will they focus on where people will be located.

RXR chief executive Scott Rechler declined to comment, as did CBREs Peter Turchin, the agent for 1345 Sixth.

Representatives for Paul Weiss didnt respond to a request for comment. Neither did anyone from Newmark, where a brokerage team represents the law firm. Reps for UBS could not immediately be reached.

Whether or not any parts of the scenario come to pass,the dramaplays out against the backdrop of the Sixth Avenue/Rockefeller Center subdistrict, which is healthier by most metrics than all but one other corridor.

According to CBREs 1Q data, Sixth Avenue availability of 12.5% was bettered only by Park Avenue at 11.5% and miles better than 23.7% in East Midtown, 21.3% in the Times Square area, 23.2% in the Penn District and 18.5% in Midtown overall.

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Big office tenants and towers playing high-stakes chess game in Manhattan - New York Post

Born in Stockholm on 23 April 1963, the same year and month as Garry Kasparov, the Swedish legend started playing chess at the age of ten (before that she played football as a hobby) and hasn't stopped since, still playing chess at the highest level. Pia has become a role model and inspiration for thousands of girls taking up chess.

Cramling has been one of the strongest players in the world since the early 1980s, quickly becoming the clear no 1 on the women's ranking list. She overtook world champion Maia Chiburdanidze in the mid-1980s, and after the arrival of the Polgar sisters Susan (then Zsuzsa) and Judit, Pia remained in the top five/ten for decades.

Today, Pia Cramling turns 60. She has been Sweden's top female player for more than 40 years and is regarded as one of the strongest female chess players in history. Cramling is always looking for new ideas, and is especially good in unusual positions. She is also known for her ability to make practical decisions at the board, and all that makes her an immensely creative yet very consistent athlete. She is still competing at the highest female level, a tireless and tremendous fighter. What a legend!

Young Pia Cramling in 1977 at her first individual tournament abroad in Wijk aan Zee in an amateur group. | Photo: noord-hollandsarchief.nl

When she began to compete, she often signed her name simply as P. Cramling. She did not want to reveal anything until it was obvious that this young chess player was a girl. Pia joined a chess club in Stockholm when she was ten and played in her first tournament at the age of 12. Just three years later she was part of the Swedish team at the Women's Olympiad.

She played in her first Olympiad in 1978, and since then has represented Sweden successfully in both the Open and Women's Chess Olympiads. She won her first individual gold medal in 1984, again in 1988, and her last individual gold medal in 2022, 38 years after her first gold!

Four times between 1990 and 2000 Pia Cramling made it into the Swedish team in the open section of the Chess Olympiad, in 1996 she played on board two (with a respectable 5.5/9), sitting next to the legendary Ulf Andersson on board one. So far Cramling has played 13 Olympiads (nine women's and four men's Olympiads, called the open section) for her home country, plus two online Olympiads (with mixed teams) in 2020 and 2021 following the outbreak of the worldwide Covid pandemic.

Pia Cramling with Ulf Andersson, pictured in 2021. | Photo: Twitter Pia Cramling

Pia was indeed born into a chess family, and her father often played correspondence chess. Brother Dan, IM since 1982, born in 1959, that is four years before Pia, became her motivator and early training partner. In an interview with ChessBase in 2018 (link below) Pia said:

"My older brother Dan was my big hero. I did most of the things he did, like playing football. I even played for a team. So, of course, when I took up chess and became stronger, he influenced me and I tried to follow in his footsteps."

In 1981, at the age of 18, Pia Cramling made her debut in the Swedish National Championship, which her brother Dan won outright to become Swedish National Champion. During the 1980s, Dan and Pia participated several times in the same international tournaments, e.g. in the Rilton Cup, the Gausdal Troll Masters (where Pia beat Dan), the Lugano Open or an invitational tournament in Barcelona.

Dan in play against his sister at the Swedish Championship in 1981, organised in Ystad in a swiss system of 13 rounds with 32 participants, the Cramlings met each other in round 6, a draw. | Photo: Krister Berg via allas.se

Pia Cramling made the Swedish national team at the Olympiad in Buenos Aires 1978 at the age of 15.5. She played as a reserve and won an individual silver medal with an excellent score of +8=2-1. The USSR women won team gold, but not the men's team: Hungary triumphed.

In the women's event Maia Chiburdanidze won the individual gold medal on board one, and in the open it was Viktor Korchnoi who won gold for the best performance on board one. He came straight from the World Championship match against Karpov in Baguio City, which he narrowly lost. Karpov decided not to play in Buenos Aires, but Korchnoi did not seem to be exhausted at all after the long and grueling match.

Korchnoi, who played for Switzerland, came in after missing the first three rounds, but then played all the remaining eleven rounds and did not lose a single game. He scored 81.8%, exactly the same percentage as Maia Chiburdanidze, who played first board for the USSR in the women's section. Both, Korchnoi and Chiburdanidze finished with a score of +7=4-0.

Worth mentioning: Elena Akhmilovskaya (ten years later: Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya, after a whirlwind marriage during the 1988 Olympics to non-playing US team captain IM John Donaldson) won gold on the reserve board with a clean score of 10/10.

From Kingpin no.31, Autumn 1999, "A questionnaire with Mrs Cramling":

Question: "What is your most memorable game?"

Cramling: "I guess it is my first game against Korchnoi at Lloyds Bank Masters 1982 where I made my first IM norm. Korchnoi had been one of the players I had admired most because of both his enormous fighting spirit and the problems he had had in the Soviet Union. It was like a dream for me to play him. He surprised everybody by taking more than an hour over his 5th move! So it was not so strange that we both (this is my bad habit) got short of time. Korchnoi launched an attack with his queen, rook and knight - the only pieces on the board - but left his own king exposed, which gave me a dangerous counterattack. When Viktor Korchnoi offered me his knight I gladly took it, but then found that I could not escape perpetual check. A simple queen move, threatening mate in one, would have given me the full point! The fact that I, a 19-year-old-girl, had made a draw with World Championship challenger Korchnoi caused a sensation. After the game a huge crowd of players came over to analyse. To sit there opposite Korchnoi with all these famous grandmasters analysing my game was unbelievable."

Things went even better for her: In 1984 Cramling beat Korchnoi, still the reigning Vice-World Champion, in the Invitational Tournament in Biel/Bienne (won by Hbner and Hort together, ahead of Korchnoi, who finished clear third). Pia Cramling, the only woman in the field, finished in the middle of the pack with 5/11).

Cramling vs. Korchnoi 1984. | Photo cartoon: Youtube Anna Cramling

That same year, a few weeks after her victory over Korchnoi, Pia Cramling met her future husband, Spanish GM Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez in Zrich at the SGZ Jubilee Open, celebrating 175 years of the Schachgesellschaft Zrich (SGZ).

It was a cosy, familiar and charming 9 round Swiss, with 22 invited players, among them six players from the world's top 30, namely Korchnoi, Spassky, Hort, Nunn, Seirawan and Sosonko, other renowned GMs like Gheorghiu, Forintos or Bellon Lopez, and some prominent names from neighbouring countries, IM Tatai from Italy, IM Dckstein from Austria, Kindermann, at that time still an IM, from Germany; in the line-up were also some native Swiss players and local heroes like IM Dr. Dieter Keller (who had beaten Fischer, Larsen, Geller in his adult career), a working amateur on holiday, or unknown amateur Hans Karl from the city of Zurich, plus two women players, namely Tatjana Lematschko and Pia Cramling.

Dr John Nunn of England, now the reigning World Senior Chess Champion 65+, won the tournament outright, half a point ahead of a group of players that included former World Champion Spassky, and Korchnoi, as well as Juan Manuel Bellon.

It was during this tournament that Pia met Juan and Juan met Pia. Both were in a good mood, having just beaten the great Viktor (Cramling at Biel GMT 1984 in July/August, and now Bellon at Zurich SGZ Jubilee Open 1984 in September, both upsets coming in the first round).

Viktor Korchnoi sometimes jokingly referred to these two events in Switzerland within two months of each other, saying that "just after the two of them had beaten me, they fell in love!"

Cramling and Bellon had coincidentally taken part in the Wijk aan Zee festival in 1977 (not in the same group at that time), but they really met in Zurich in 1984.

As a professional and sentimental couple they travelled together to Havana, Cuba, where Bellon assisted Cramling at the 1985 FIDE Women's Interzonal (which was won by Alexandria, but Cramling also advanced to the Women's Candidates Tournament, which was won by Akhmilovskaya, who thus earned the right to challenge the reigning World Chess Champion Chiburdanidze in 1986. However, Chiburdanidze defended her title with a comfortable margin).

175 Years SG Zrich Jubilee Open 1984 with Cramling & Bellon. | Photo: europe-checs

Cramling: "In 1984 the Schachgesellschaft Zrich celebrated its 175 Anniversary by organizing a high-quality chess tournament. Alois Nagler invited me among the 22 players who participated.

The tournament became a turning-point in my life and that is way Zrich always will be close to my heart. I was not successful in the tournament but I was lucky in life. During the tournament I met the Spanish Grandmaster Juan Bellon my partner in life."

Quotation from CREDIT SUISSE MASTERS HORGEN 1995, official tournament book by Andr Behr, Edition Olms, 1996, introduction by GM Pia Cramling, page 9 (she played in the B-group there, won by Almasi ahead of Hodgson. Ivanchuk and Kramnik co-won the A-group, ahead of 3./4. Ehlvest, Short, eleven players, including Kasparov at only 50%, senior Korchnoi, Vaganian, Gulko, Jussupow, Lautier, and Timman who finished last)

WGM in 1982 at the age of 19, and already the following year she won the Chess Oscar for Women 1983 (the other three players who received this trophy, which was awarded to women only from 1982 to 1988, at least once are Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze and Judit Polgar; later the Chess Oscar voting procedure was reintroduced for a certain period, but then abolished again).

After becoming a WGM Cramling had to fight hard to become a Grandmaster. It was in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, that she achieved her final GM norm. There, after Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Susan (then known as Zsuzsa) and Judit Polgar, WGM & IM Pia Cramling became the fifth woman in the world to be awarded the GM title by FIDE.

The auspicious tournament was the "Swiss Volksbank SVB Open" in February 1992, among the 266 players in the main group were many strong grandmasters like former Candidate's super-finalist Andrei Sokolov, the eventual winner, and Tukmakov, Gavrikov, Sveshnikov, Rozentalis, also Gulko or Hort, Csom, Gheorghiu, a number of young Brits such as Glenn Flear with his wife Christine, Joe Gallagher, Daniel King, the globetrotter Mark Hebden, the Argentine Daniel Campora, Margeir Petursson from Iceland and Pia's husband Juan Manuel Bellon from Spain, among others.

The road to success wasn't easy, and her round 3 game against Joe Gallagher turned out to be especially nerve-wracking. In the notorious endgame king, knight and bishop against king, Pia had to mate her opponent in no more than 50 moves. After mistakes from both sides, she found the right way and mated Gallagher after making 47 moves in the pawnless ending - three more moves, and the game would have been declared a draw. The entire game lasted 124 moves.

In round 4 Cramling faced and beat another top woman, Georgian Ketevan Arakhamia (later Arakhamia-Grant), also a player with a charming and dignified manner, but a determined fighter on the board. At that time she was also a WGM and was trying to become a GM, which she later managed.

After four rounds, four players shared the lead with 4/4: Cramling, A. Sokolov, Flear and Rozentalis. In round 5 Cramling drew against Flear and in round 6 she had to play Istvan Csom, a long-standing icon of Hungarian chess, team gold medallist at the 1978 Olympiad and individual gold medallist at the 1980 Olympiad, his heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cramling won with black against Csom and now faced Andrei Sokolov (who had beaten both Kasparov and Karpov in 1988) in round 7. Drawing this game and the two remaining rounds secured Cramling shared second place with 7.0/9, half a point behind tournament winner Andrei Sokolov. More importantly, her performance was sufficient for her third and final GM norm. At that time Cramling had an Elo rating of 2530, more than the required +2500 and thus she became a GM. Big party for Pia!

By the way: Already one year earlier, in 1991, Cramling had tried to make a GM norm in Bern, then in a cosy little invitational tournament with GM Viktor Gavrikov, the Elo favourite and runner-up, some talented youngsters like GM Klinger from Austria, who won, GM Gallagher from England, then IM Miralles from France, mixed with promising Swiss players like IM Beat Zger. Cramling, the only woman in the field, finished with 50%, which, of course, was not enough for a GM norm.

As of March 2023, there are 40 female chess players (all living) who have achieved the title of Grandmaster, the highest title awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), which is not to be confused with the separate gendered title WGM for Woman Grandmaster, which is easier to obtain.

The Cramling family at the Olympiad in Dresden 2008 | Photo: Twitter Pia Cramling

Pia Cramling and Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez (GM since 1974 and five-time Spanish National Champion) are the first married couple ever, in which both partners are Grandmasters. Hats off!

It was in February 1988 when Pia (WGM, but not yet GM) packed a suitcase and went to Spain, married Juan, and since then they have been travelling a lot together, playing chess. In the ChessBase interview mentioned above, Pia Cramling said: "Without Juan (Bellon), I would have done something else and chess would have become a hobby."

They lived for a long time in Fuengirola, a town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Malaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain.

Daughter Anna, born on 30 April 2002, is a Spanish-Swedish chess player, Twitch live-streamer and YouTuber who holds the FIDE Master title. Anna represented Sweden at the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad and recently again at the Chennai 2022 Chess Olympiad. Anna is best known as a successful Twitch streamer.

Anna started playing chess at the age of three while living in Spain, later moving with her family to Sweden at the age of eleven, thus switching federations early on from Spain to Sweden. Throughout her childhood both her parents were active in chess competitions, and Anna usually accompanied her parents to these chess tournaments even as a baby.

Anna started streaming in early 2020, focusing on chess content. Sometimes, her positionally playing mother and her tactically skilled father are guests on her channel, too.

Anna Cramling at Twitch: AnnaCramling - Twitch

In 2013 the Cramlings returned to Sweden after many great years in Spain. Juan, Pia and Anna now all play for the Swedish Chess Federation.

A beautiful and memorable moment: The Cramling family at Baku Olympiad 2016. Juan as captain, Pia and Anna in the womens team. | Photo: David Llada via Swedish Chess Federation

The "Veterans vs. Women" team match in Prague in 1995, sponsored by Joop van Oosterom and called the "Polka Tournament", was by far her greatest moment in this series of dance themes between legends and ladies. Pia Cramling, together with Judit Polgar, was the best scorer with 6.5/10.

Pia played 2-0 against Lajos Portisch, 1.5-0.5 against Vasily Smyslov, 1.5-0.5 against Viktor Korchnoi, 1-1 against Boris Spassky, and only lost her mini-match against Vlastimil Hort 0.5-1.5.

Within ten days, Pia had beaten Smyslov, Spassky, Korchnoi, and Portisch in classical time control!

In this lively dance of Bohemian origin, the ladies performed better; in order not to discriminate between the sexes, it should be pointed out that after ten annual dance theme tournaments between 1992 and 2001, it was the sprightly gentlemen who won by a narrow margin of 299 to 289 points.

Among the prominent Veterans were Smyslov (he participated in all ten tournaments, and despite his advanced age, he still finished three times as individual best or shared best of all contestants), Spassky, Korchnoi (five entries, three times clear individual best), Larsen, Geller, Polugaevsky, Taimanov, Portisch, Hort, Ivkov, Olafsson, Panno, Uhlmann, Dckstein.

Among the prominent ladies were Pia Cramling (six entries, 1992, 1995 individual shared best, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999), Maia Chiburdanidze, Xie Jun, Zhu Chen, Nana Ioseliani, Alisa Galliamova, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, and the three Polgar sisters Zsusza (Susan), Zsofia (Sofia), and Judit.

Pia Cramling is double European Champion. She won the 2003 & 2010 Womens European Championship, that means: Gold at the 4th European Women's Chess Championship in Silivri (Turkey) 2003, and again Gold at the 11th European Women's Chess Championship in Rijeka (Croatia) 2010.

In 2006, Pia Cramling won the Accentus Ladies Tournament in Biel unbeaten with impressive 7/10, one and a half point ahead of Monika Socko at 5.5/10 as sole second, Yelena Dembo took bronze, Anna Muzychuk finished fourth, and Ekaterina Atalik and Almira Stripchenko shared fifth/sixth places at 4/10. This double round robin event had been held during the traditional Biel Festival where Alexander Morozevich won the GMT, in which a young Magnus Carlsen, Andrei Volokitin, and Teimour Radjabov, amongst others, also played. Bartosz Socko from Poland, husband of Monika, won then the Biel MTO (Open) on tie-break.

In 2007, Pia Cramling won the MonRoi invitation tournament (women) in Montreal, ahead of Lela Javakhishvili and Jovanka Houska, who shared second and third place. Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant and Iweta Rajlich shared fourth and fifth place. Irina Krush took also part but did not finish at the top.

Pia Cramling co-won the traditional Rilton Cup in Stockholm in 2007/08, the Open saw a 9-way tie on 6.5/9 points, Radoslaw Wojtaszek from Poland had the best tie-break, Pia the second best, in the leading group also Agrest, Kotronias, Nybck, Kulaots. At the Swedish Championships in 2000, Cramling was close to winning, but in the end finished second behind Tom Wedberg in the tie-break. In 1987 she was runner-up to seven-time national champion Axel Ornstein.

In classical chess Pia Cramling has victories over Smyslov, Spassky, Korchnoi, Geller, Taimanov, Portisch, Csom, Hort, Ftacnik, Uhlmann, Lobron, Miles, Gulko, Alburt, Browne, Benjamin, Rogers, Spraggett, Granda Zuniga, Ponomariov, I. Sokolov or Bologan (see the official Gibraltar stamp below) to name prominent men she has beaten, not including rapid, blitz or online games.

When she was younger, she always played with the boys and was not particularly interested in women's events. Throughout her career Cramling has 'simultaneously' played in closed invitation tournaments and open tournaments, in individual and team events, in men's and women's competitions, in national and international competitions, official FIDE championships and exhibition tournaments such as Ladies versus Veterans. Of course, Cramling also gives chess lectures and lessons, or works as a commentator, but playing on the board is what she loves most.

Sweden, Spain and Switzerland are important countries in Pia Cramling's chess life, but can you guess how many times Pia has played at the famous Gibraltar Festival?

Remember, daughter Anna was born in 2002, the famous Gibraltar series started in 2003: Pia has participated in every Gibraltar Masters since the series started, that is 18 years in a row between 2003 and 2020, in fact Pia has played in all 18 festivals (!) and she has won the prestigious women's first prize at the Gibraltar Open a record three times.

Due to the Covid pandemic there was no Gibraltar Open in 2021. In 2022, instead of the traditional January Masters in Gibraltar, there was a team event in the Scheveningen system called "Battles of the Sexes" (Ladies vs. Men). Of course, Cramling was invited as well, making a total of 19 appearances up to and including 2022, unfortunately there was no event at all in January 2023.

Note: In addition, a FIDE GP was held in Gibraltar in the summer of 2021 (without Pia Cramling, who participated in that cycle, but played in Skolkovo, Monaco and Lausanne).

Gibraltar also honoured GM Pia Cramling with a stamp in a collection of four stamps to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their chess festival.

Stamp collection from the Gibraltar Masters 10th Anniversary of the Festival, released in 2012. | Photo: Royal Gibraltar Post Office

Replay her win (featured on the stamp) against Viorel Bologan at Gibraltar Masters in 2006:

In January 1984 Cramling was ranked the clear number one woman in the FIDE Elo rating list, ahead of the three Georgian chess ladies Maia Chiburdanidze (then World Champion), Nana Alexandria and Nona Gaprindashvili (ex-World Champion); plus joint number one in July 1984 (together with Zsuzsa Polgar, Hungary). Pia Cramling remained in the women's top five throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and in the top ten for decades.

Highest rating: 2550 Elo in October 2008 as clear no. 5 in the world, behind Judit Polgar at the top, Humpy Koneru from India, Hou Yifan and Xie Jun, both from China, ahead of Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria and Marie Sebag from France. Remember, to date there are only three women born in Western Europe who hold the grandmaster title in chess: Cramling, the aforementioned Marie Sebag, and most recently Elisabeth Phtz from Germany.

As of April 2023, Cramling, who plays frequently, is ranked no. 26 in the FIDE list with an Elo rating of 2443, ahead of prominent players (in no particular order) such as Stefanova, Socko, Sebag, Krush, Danielian, Girya, Sachdev, Skripchenko or Pogonina, all of whom are much younger than her, not to mention those who are inactive (remember that Judit Polgar, born in 1976, certainly the most successful and strongest female chess player in the history of the game, retired from competitive chess in 2014 at the age of 38).

An incredible achievement: At the Chennai Olympiad in 2022, Pia Cramling won another, her third, individual women's board one gold medal, 38 years after her first individual board one gold medal at the 1984 Chess Olympiad. Cramling also won individual gold in 1988.

Swedish legend Pia Cramling, in great form at the age of 59, won gold on board 1 with a TPR of 2532, 11 games played, undefeated, ahead of Dutchwoman Eline Roebers, 16, with the same TPR but had played "only" 10 games, which turned out to be the crucial tie-break criteria. Roebers also lost the direct encounter against Cramling, but the Dutch prodigy won silver for her performance on board 1.

The first and the latest Gold medal

Pia Cramling at the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki 1984 | Foto: Gerhard F. Hund...

...and at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai 2022 | Photo: Lennart Ootes, FIDE

An interview with Pia Cramling

Trivia (don't take it too seriously, but it is technically correct): Scandinavian compatriot Magnus Carlsen suffered six Olympic "double failures" (not winning individual or team medals), until he finally won a bronze medal in his seventh appearance at a chess Olympiad as the third-best individual on board one in Chennai 2022.

It's far too early, but perhaps in twenty years or so the ageless Pia Cramling will be playing in the annual FIDE World Senior Chess Championships.

Recall that Viktor Korchnoi made his first and only senior appearance shortly after celebrating his 75th birthday and won the title in style (in 2006), Vlastimil Jansa became the Senior World Chess Champion in the 65+ category at the age of 76 (in 2018), Nona Gaprindashvili won her last gold medal in the women's 65+ category at the age of 81 and a half (in 2022).

A wonderful spotlight: Pia Cramling and Anna Cramling | Photo: Twitter

Excerpt from:

Ten Highlights in the Life and Career of Chess Grandmaster Pia Cramling - ChessBase