Holiday for chess players
On March 6, the women chess meeting was held at the Center for Chess Culture and Information of the Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology. It comprised two parts: first, the lightning tournament, and then the discussion over the cup of tea: what is the women chess? How does it differ from men’s chess and if there is any difference at all?
The chess is a marvelous game because it can be played from the 2 year-old-age till the great age, by professional players and amateurs or former sportsmen.
That gaudy evening, on the eve of the International Women’s Day, the Center welcomed the women chess players of every age and experience. The age difference between the youngest and the oldest players, the 5-year-old Lyubov Frolova and 92-year-old Dulma Vanchikova made 87 years!
Grandmasters, world, USSR and Russian champions attended: Svetlana Matveeva, Galina Strutinskays, Tatiana Bogumil, and Alexandra Maltsevskaya. Grandmasters Tatiana Fatyanova, Yana Melnikova and several other masters who had left sports, also came to the RNPLS&T to play chess and to enjoy the company of their old friends and competitresses.
In the playroom, the guests got themselves acquainted with the photo display: “The women and the chess”. The photos were the courtesy of the «64 – The Chess Review» journal and Sergey Voronkov, a writer and historian.
After the lightning tournament, the awarding ceremony and tea party took place; souvenirs and flowers were given to the ladies. Yury Averbakh, a chess legend, was giving the gifts. Apart from the flowers, the ladies got his autograph book from him.
Maria Manakova demonstrated the video on the women chess, and historical slides showing several attendees. Lyudmila Belavenets, Galina Strutinskaya, Natalya Alekhina and Svetlana Matveeva were happy to give their comments and to remember the friends in common and important competitions. Yury Averbakh told funny stories about female players, and other quests followed his example.
The attendees expressed their hope that such a chess feast on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, March 8, would be held annually.