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Seniors Chess - George Murphy - 26-07-2014
Leonard Barden plugs Seniors Chess in yesterday’s issue of The Guardian. (Note:The Guardian treats Chess as a sport, so that LB’s column is to be found by clicking on Sport at the top of the front page before scanning through the sports listed at the the right hand side of the page thus opened.)
Broadly, LB reports on the recent event in Vilnius, muses about a possible renaissance as former English stars such as Nigel Short become eligible to represent England at this level, and recalls the former glories of legends such as Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia) and Valentina Kozlovskaya, Board 3 for the Russian Women team at Vilnius. In particular, LB generously highlights Kozlovskaya’s success; aged 76 (!!) she scored 8/9 [or 88.9%], the highest individual result at Vilnius.
Of course, parallels can be drawn with organised Seniors chess in Scotland. But, my focus here is to stress the beneficial effects that chess can offer our rapidly ageing society. It is common to hear of the advantages chess has to offer youngsters. But, mental sports like chess can help combat the onset of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s Disease. For example, the social and competitive aspects of chess can be invigorating. Is there any reason why chess cannot be part of Adult or Further Education programmes offered by Local Councils? I remember taking part in just such a programme for (Duplicate) Bridge whose tutor was a Scottish International Bridge player. Could there be opportunities here for marketing or sponsorship ‘deals’?
Leonard Barden has been a stalwart for Chess for as long as I can remember and is always worth reading. Another advantage afforded by The Guardian is that - unlike many of the broadsheets - its Crosswords are free to access! (Another instrument with which to fight the good fight!)
Re: Seniors Chess - StevieHilton - 28-07-2014
George,
Kozlovskaya was actually board 4!! I know because I had the privilege of playing her in the first round. Not the ideal opponent to play against after 2 days of travelling to Vilnius!!
Re: Seniors Chess - George Murphy - 29-07-2014
Steve
Direct testimony is always welcome.
Unfortunately, I cannot account for Chess-Results.com’s error. Even though they correctly allocated Ms Kozlovskaya to Board 4 in both the Starting and Alphabetic lists on their site, in all three categories of ‘best player’ (points scored, percentage score and Rating performance), they recorded her as Board 3.
With respect, I’m not sure this slip is germane to the theme that Chess can be a healthy leisure activity for Seniors. It certainly motivates you, I think? Indeed, assigning Ms K to Board 4 may even enhance her profile as some kind of Chess virago, cutting a swathe through what appeared to be lower-graded players. (Their average Rating was artificially depressed by one being ungraded!) But, does that matter in the bigger picture? Isn’t that how competitive chess operates? Look, for example, at the 2600+ player who was ‘wheeled out’ in the last Round to represent Lithuania 1. It was the only game he played, but the Gold Medal was at stake. In the circumstances, his 100% score seems less convincing than Ms K’s 88.9%, comprising 7 wins and 2 draws. Surely, the essential point is that both players were selected to do a (hatchet) job for their respective teams - and succeeded!
End of story? Not exactly. LB took care to illustrate the human aspect, too. Was it not a nice touch, for instance, to record that after completing her game against Keith Arkell, Nona Gaprindashavili then asked him to autograph her copy of ‘Arkell’s Odyssey’? So many people categorise Chess as narrowly cerebral, overlooking it’s a social as well as competitive activity.
I hope you enjoyed Vilnius nonetheless!
Re: Seniors Chess - StevieHilton - 29-07-2014
George,
I loved every minute of Vilnius. It was also good to play in a team with such good camaraderie between its members. Would not have missed this opportunity for anything.
The organisers were very helpful to me given my situation, one of those who helped was the Lithuanian lad who played at the Prestwick Airport tournament a couple of years ago.
Re: Seniors Chess - George Murphy - 29-07-2014
Steve
Delighted to hear it! I hope your experience encourages others to follow suit.