Chess in the Times of War
As the ripples of the Russian-Ukraine war begin to resonate across the world, it has ruffled a few feathers in the world of chess as well. Russian GM Sergey Karjakin was recently banned from all FIDE competitions following his strong Pro-Russian comments on social media.
Meanwhile, Indian chess player Anwesh Upadhyaya has finally been able to reach his homeland in Bhubaneshwar from war-struck Ukraine. Anwesh, an International Master, reached the homeland after an arduous struggle trying to leave Kyiv and travel to India via Poland.
Sergey Karjakin banned from FIDE competitions for supporting the Ukraine invasion
Born in Crimea, Russia, Karjakin represented Ukraine before changing loyalties with Russia. A fierce supporter of the Russian president Putin, Sergey’s open remarks supporting the military offences in Ukraine have caused quite a stir among chess players and fans. In one of his tweets, Sergey posted a photo with boxing gloves with the caption “Celebrating the first day of spring: A Russian spring.”Most of the tweets of Karjakin caused discomfort in the global chess community and have been condemned by many.
FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission has banned Karjakin from participating in any chess tournament (under FIDE) for six months.
While Karjakin has full authority to appeal against the ban, he initially refused to do so. But Andrey Filatov, the president of the Russian chess federation, has inferred that an appeal will be filed against the ruling. Karjakin has been active on his social media platforms and voiced his support for Mr. Putin and his motive for the invasion of Ukraine.
Anwesh Upadhyaya’s ordeal from Ukraine to Bhubaneshwar
The 30-year-old Anwesh came to Ukraine to pursue his medical career and was doing his apprenticeship in gastroenterology while serving as a doctor at a hospital in Kyiv.
When Russia began the military operations, he got stuck with his fiancée Viktoriia Ivanova in war-torn Ukraine. The former national rapid champion and his fiancee went through numerous hurdles before reaching India safely by the second week of March. They arrived in Delhi on a flight from Moscow via London and Frankfurt, where they were given shelter by the Russian embassy before flying to India. Upadhyaya, who was born in Bhubaneshwar, played professional chess for many years in different countries including the US, Mexico, Germany, England, and Switzerland before moving back to India last year.
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Games & Destinies that were interrupted by War!
This is not the first time that the war has affected the games. We have read about the Olympics games during WW2. Here are two incidents from history when war interfered with chess and halted tournaments.
1. WWI and the DSB Congress in Mannheim 1914
The 19th DSB Congress kicked off on 20th July 1914 in Manheim, Germany. The grand event was an 18-player single round-robin comprising some of the robust chess masters of the time. Alexander Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, and Rudolf Spielmann were some of the stalwarts who attended the event.
On August 1st, after eleven rounds were over, the tournament came to a halt as Germany declared war against Russia. Alekhine was leading at that time with a 9 & ½ score against Dawid Janowski. Following the declaration of war, the Russian players were interned by Germany. Alekhine was one among them. While a few managed to return home quickly via Switzerland, a few others remained in Germany. The strangest case of them all was that of Bogoljubow who stayed back in Germany. He relocated to Triberg in Schwarzwald, marrying a native woman and settled down.
Frank Marshall, however, chose to mention his ordeal in his book ‘MyFifty Years of Chess’, where he narrates how he crossed the Dutch border and arrived in Amsterdam after an adventure-filled 39 hours! He describes how he lost his baggage on the way and received it miraculously after five years, with all the content intact!
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2. WWII & the Olympiad in Buenos Aires 1939
It was another August in 1939 when Alekhine was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, playing at the 8th Olympiad. This time it was World War II that interrupted the tournament after eleven days of the event. By that time Alekhine was playing for France. When the Finals were set to begin with sixteen teams vying for the medals, Germany invaded Poland. France and Britain declared war. Though the British team immediately left the event, the delegates of the assembly decided to continue with the event. The German team went on to win the gold, finishing half a point ahead of Poland and 1 ½ points from Estonia.
While in 1914, the players found themselves in the hot seat of war in Mannheim, the 1939 tournament in the South American nation relieved them from the miseries of the war. One of the prominent players in the 1939 Olympiad was Miguel Najdorf who was considered the second-highest rated player during the 40s.
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Conclusion
Chess - like any other sport or event - has faced tremendous ups and downs during the turmoils of the world wars. Mind Mentorz brings you a glimpse into the troubled times and the ordeals of chess players who witnessed and waddled through the unpleasant waters of World Wars in our series ‘Chess in the times of War’. We salute the ones who survived - perhaps with the deepest wounds - and went on to fight their own battles and keep playing on, at the board games of life.