A Look Back at How Another Russian Became The Challenger (a Film)Back in 2016, Sergey Karjakin, the Russian grandmaster, won the Candidates Tournament and earned the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen. Karjakin lost the match on tie-breaks but became one of the most recognized players in the sport. We made a film about the Candidates Tournament — you can watch it now to look at what it was like.

Looking Back at the Recent Space Chess Game Sergey Karjakin is playing against the cosmonauts On June 9 of 2020, the second ever chess match between Space and Earth took place in the main hall of the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics. The event has been co-organized by the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics, Roscosmos, the Russian State Corporation, the Chess Federation of Russia, and the social network VKontakte. The game took place online on FIDE Online Arena. The match featured pilot-cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and test-cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, who delivered the battle from aboard the International Space Station. Representing team Earth was Sergey Karjakin – a rapid and blitz world champion, and two-time winner of the world team championships as part of the Russian team. He played the game in the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics. The match was timed precisely to the half-century anniversary of the first Space to Earth game of chess played on June 9, 1970. Not unlike 50 years ago, the first move advantage belonged to the space crew. The game ended in a draw. The VKontakte platform gathered more than 800,000 people to watch the match broadcast. Mr. Ivanishin has noted that it was a great honor for cosmonauts to hold their ground against a grandmaster. Sergey Karjakin has shared his impressions of the game: “In this game, my emotions ran higher than in any game played by me in the world championship match. This is because when you play against team Space, you have no idea what to expect. The game was very interesting and sharp, and, at the same time, quite a correct one in terms of chess content. I do not think the opponents have made any mistakes; therefore, a draw is a natural outcome. A human brain seems to function extremely well in space. They say, space brings people together. As we have seen today, chess can indeed help people of various professions reach each other even across space. Therefore, let us organize such matches more frequently than on a once-per-50-year basis. A well-known TV presenter and sports commentator Dmitry Guberniev and head of the Museum’s press service Daria Chudnaya were hosts of the program. Greetings were sent by the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation Dmitry Rogozin, and the Museum of Cosmonautics Director Natalya Artyukhina. A video was shown during the stream with a story about the legendary Space Chess set and an interview with the many-time world champion Anatoly Karpov. You can watch the match commented in the English language on the YouTube channels of Roscosmos and FIDE. The anniversary match has become the culmination of celebrations dedicated to the legendary chess game.

Candidates Breakdown Round 11Boris Gelfand joins the Breakdown studio to discuss Round 11 of the Candidates tournament.

Candidates Round 8 — Nepo at the topWhat a start for the Candidates’ resume with Caruana and Alekseenko scoring after several hours and Nepomniachtchi reaching the top as a sole leader with 5 points. Photo by Lennart Ootes/FIDE Starting with the most interesting game of the day, Fabiano Caruana was clearly very well prepared and won with a remarkable style. Fabi took himself in a very dangerous position, with less material, but enough compensation to achieve an amazing win, and also entertain the whole chess community! Another surprise of Round 8 was Alekseenko’s win in a position that could turn into an equal rook endgame, but Grischuk preferred to keep his extra material and give Kirill a solid counterplay. Far less exciting was the game between the two Chinese grandmasters, Wang Hao and Ding Liren, who made a draw in less than two hours. Lastly, Anish Giri decided to play the Sveshnikov system against Ian Nepomniachtchi, which also ended in a draw after some inaccuracies from the White’s side. Watch WGM Dina Belenkaya, GM Ernesto Inarkiev, and GM Sergey Karjakin comment on the R8 games: Standings after the 8th round: # Player Position Rating 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi 5 2774 2 Fabiano Caruana 4½ 2842 3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 4½ 2767 4 Anish Giri 4 2763 5 Hao Wang 4 2762 6 Kirill Alekseenko 3½ 2698 7 Alexander Grischuk 3½ 2777 8 Ding Liren 3 2805 Pairings for the 9th round: Kirill Alekseenko – Fabiano Caruana Alexander Grischuk – Ian Nepomniachtchi Anish Giri – Wang Hao Ding Liren – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Join our LIVE breakdown studio with WGM Dina Belenkaya, GM Ernesto Inarkiev, and their amazing guests every day at 5 PM GMT, on Youtube and Facebook. ► Youtube and Facebook ► Improve your chess by joining our Masterclass Series 💥 Get now 10% off the monthly subscription with the code GELFAND10 for Boris Gelfand’s Masterclass on how to switch to counter-attack ► Find the most designable chess products on our shop ► Play chess in our Arena Let’s connect! ► Subscribe to our channel ► Like us on Facebook ► Follow us on Twitter ► Follow us on Instagram

Candidates Breakdown Live Studio — Day 1The live breakdown of the first day of the Candidates Watch the live studio breakdown of the first day of the FIDE Candidates Tournament by GM Ernest Inarkiev and WGM and streamer Dina Belenkaya. Joined by the special guest Sergey Karjakin, the hosts break down the round’s games and interesting moments. The show is produced by RT and World Chess. The show will run daily at 6PM London time during the Candidates Tournament.

Chess, the Musical, Opens in MoscowCHESS, the legendary production about a confrontation between Soviet and American chess masters for the world chess crown, set against the backdrop of the Cold War, has finally made it to the Russian audience. This is possibly the only theatre production of such a scale in the world at the moment. On October 17, the CHESS Grand Opening night in Moscow’s MDM Theatre was a rare red-carpet star-studded event where the politicians, business luminaries, and socialites mixed with the chess greats. After all, Russia is a country where chess is considered one of the most important sports. The world premiere of CHESS was held in 1986 at London’s West End. Created by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA and Sir Tim Rice («Emmy», «Grammy», «Oscar» and «Tony»-awarded playwright) CHESS has since been staged all around the globe. Four great chess masters: Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Victor Korchnoy, and first and foremost – the world champion Anatoly Karpov, became prototypes for the two main characters. Karpov was present at the Opening Gala, smiling and signing autographs. Sir Tim Rice, creator, says: «I just wanted to say, how incredibly grateful and excited I am, we all are, by the fact that CHESS is going to be done for the first time professionally, probably in any form by any people in Russia. It is going to be a terrific show! I’ve seen the arrangements, I’ve talked with the people working on the show. I know it’s going to be a great performance. I’m sure the show will be around for quite a long time in Russia. I will definitely get out there before too long. All I can say at the moment is, I’m very very grateful to you all, I’m very very thankful, that we’re in such good hands. Good luck to one and all». Dmitry Bogachev, producer, CEO of Broadway Moscow Theatre Company, says: «CHESS, an acknowledged theatrical phenomenon, has taken on a renewed relevance these days. Behind the scenes of great victories and bitter defeats in any stand-off, there are always real people. Each with a complicated destiny, living out their emotions and acting at the limit of their abilities. Starting on October 17, this unique production will be presented at the MDM Theatre every night throughout the entire theatre season. From the musical theatre point of view, there is absolutely nothing as great, monumental, and meaningful as CHESS. When two years ago after many years of hesitation I took on this material, I promised myself to create an interesting, spectacular, and emotional production, worthy of its magnificent music, and to carry the production process through, so that after 35 years Russian audience could finally experience this glorious musical! We all have the feeling of euphoria about what we are creating, and that’s why we don’t feel neither fatigue nor fear». The Russian production team went further than anyone else who staged CHESS. They partnered with the official chess gaming platform, FIDE Online Arena, and invited everyone who bought tickets to the show to play official tournaments online to feel what it’s like to be a professional chess player. Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, the gaming platform, says: “The show is amazing, and we believe that by visiting CHESS, spectators not only have a wonderful experience but also stay with chess for decades”. The new unique concept of the Russian original production is created by top Russia’s creative team, helmed by Director Evgeny Pisarev, the Artistic Director of Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre (also known for his productions at the Bolshoi Theatre, Chekhov’s Moscow Art Theatre) with Musical Director John Rigby (CHESS at ENO, School of Rock, An American in Paris, Jesus Christ Superstar World Arena Tour) and the Producer Dmitry Bogachev (Broadway’s Anastasia, The Phantom of The Opera (Moscow), MAMMA MIA! and Chicago (Moscow and S-Petersburg) and many other musicals in Russia).

The Check Weekly: Second EditionWe are pleased to share with you the new episode of ‘The Check Weekly’. Our second program features this week’s important news, including the Online Olympiad controversy, the Spanish Championship, Nakamura’s sign up by TSM, “Critical Thinking”, and of course the Candidates Tournament, which might actually happen this year, if we are lucky.

The Best Plastic Chess Set Ever Designed The Official Plastic Academy Set Just as it has changed the way we work and socialize, the pandemic has likely made you change the way you play chess. You probably ditched the open tournaments and club events even if they are happening in your area for some online chess action. With more time at home, you are possibly playing chess a bit more than before, and using your chessboard to set up positions to be able to analyze them in 3D. If you don’t have a chess set at home, there are lots of options out there, so we set about to create the ultimate chessboard and set for home and club use that should cover all types of chess play. The classic official World Chess Championship set design Back in 2013, noted architect and Pentagram partner designed the World Chess chess pieces that set the standard for the world chess championship cycle events and have been exclusively used in the Championship cycle ever since. World champions Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik gave advice and feedback to Weil who worked through hundreds of prototypes and designed the set that is both ergonomically perfect and visually stunning. The sets carved by hand from ebonized boxwood and rosewood are produced in limited quantity for top events and exclusive retail partners. They cost over $400 per unit — a fair price for a custom-made limited edition luxury item that is likely to stay in the family for generations. The new set that is called ‘Academy’ is made from high-quality plastic, is weighted, and repeats the iconic World Chess Championship set design. But it costs just a fraction of the original set — only $32. Size In Daniel Weil’s Pentagram studio in London’s Notting Hill, there are hundreds of chess prototypes of chess pieces, all done in the search of a perfect size. It has to feel substantial, important, and noticeable. It has to dominate the table, but on the other hand, it has to be subtle, and portable, and go well with smaller tables. The King height of the Academy World chess set is 86mm, perfect for tournament play but also good for a coffee shop table. The chessboard that comes with the set is a high-quality laminated foldable board with a classic square size of 50mm. The board stays flat on the surface and has been tested to hold pieces well. Color palette Weil used the color palette that makes the chess set a conversation piece. Gray and white chessboard and pieces have a warm shade: black has a slight brown tone (RAL8002) and white has a very slight gray tone (RAL9002). The pieces feel special. Storage box The box with a magnetic latch comfortably stores the pieces and the foldable board. Designed by Shuka, the firm that is behind the famous 2018 World Chess Championship logo, the box is small enough to easily fit in your overnight bag, but will also look amazing on your bookshelf or on the tabletop. The set is only available for pre-order in the World Chess shop, and come Christmas, it will be available in major retailers outlets. It’s also likely to be used in some of the bigger chess events around the world.