Speed, passion and rush
The traditional rapid chess tournament “Ural Queen” named after multiple world champion, State Duma deputy Anatoly Karpov was held at Ural State University of Economics as part of the 15th Eurasian Economic Youth Forum.
The opening of the 5th rapid chess tournament "Ural Queen" began with a fiery acrobatic dance, which was presented by USUE students. Representatives of diplomatic missions who came to the EEYF were present at the event as guests.
“I am glad that diplomats of the highest level are blessing the opening of the tournament.” said Yakov Silin, rector of Ural State University of Economics.’’Once it started with a common friendly game, and gradually it acquired an enormous scale. Now these are official sports competitions of the national level. I propose to invite professional chess players from abroad to the next forum so they could show their skills. The tournament is dedicated to the great chess player Anatoly Karpov, who has visited our university not once and organized competitions. Today, the competitions are held under the leadership of the outstanding grandmaster and his close friend Rafael Vaganian."
Since 2019, thanks to Anatoly Karpov and active cooperation with the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk region, USUE has regularly held events aimed at developing and popularizing this ancient game among students and schoolchildren. Over six years, the university has held over 60 chess tournaments and simuls. Apart from Uralians, young people from more than ten regions of Russia, including the Republic of Crimea, took part in them. There also were online meetings with students from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Belarus.
Traditionally, within EEYF, over 100 chess players from all over Russia, as well as foreign students from Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China, Peru and other countries, take part in the ‘Ural Queen” tournament, which was launched in 2021.
Students and schoolchildren confirm the grandmaster's words. Candidate Master of Sports in chess, a USUE student Nikita said that his main teacher was a computer, and that he found it easier to play rapid chess than classical chess (naturally, with an equal opponent).
Meanwhile, the day before the tournament, Rafael Vaganian held a traditional simultaneous game session at USUE. The grandmaster admitted that this year the guys played better than last year. His opponents were schoolchildren from Yekaterinburg and students. The maestro won 11 games, but still lost one - to a young Candidate Master of Sports Eugeny Sharov. The grandmaster missed a pawn, and his opponent brought the game to a victorious end without making a single technical mistake.
According to the grandmaster, the “Ural Queen” is a wonderful tournament, especially for young chess players. Playing with experienced masters, they undoubtedly improve their class and level of play. He wished the participants creative success, beautiful games and the will to win.
The assistant to Anatoly Karpov in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Executive Director of the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk region, Director of the Ural Chess Academy, Albert Stepanian, also conveyed a wish from a legend of world chess: may the strongest win, and may all participants enjoy the game, communicate with each other, and be sure to take home a piece of Ural hospitality! He thanked Yakov Silin for the support he provides to the development of chess – both in the Sverdlovsk region and at the international level.
Albert Stepanian presented the head of the university with a gift - a book dedicated to the life and work of Anatoly Karpov. It is called "Karpov the Unique". The book was published in a limited edition and was written by a Ural author, chess player and historian Alexander Zasukhin .
Maxim Kocheryan, head of the USUE Department of Physical Education and Sports, said: "The Ural Queen chess tournament is held annually during the forum. At first, it was a university competition, then for three years it was a regional competition, and this year we received national status. This time, about 130 chess players took part in the tournament, including foreigners. The level of players varies from year to year. Some time ago, three grandmasters participated in the tournament at once! On average, about ten strong players come – masters and grandmasters. Mostly, these are students. The prize fund in 2025 is 100 thousand rubles, but I think we will gradually increase it."
By the way, the minimum age of the tournament participants is 12 years old, and the minimum chess level is class 2, but if the popularity of the "Ural Queen" grows, the age may be lowered. According to the speaker, there are usually no "surprises" at the competitions. The control from the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk region is very strict, so it is the strongest who wins.
It is also worth noting that back in 2019, on the initiative of Yakov Silin, a department of Chess Art and Computer Mathematics was established at USUE. “This game develops logical thinking, the ability to plan and foresee, and these qualities are very important for an economist,” noted Maxim Kocheryan . “A good chess player thinks several moves ahead!”
According to the results of the tournament, having scored 8 points out of 9, the winner was 15-year-old Alexey Prokhorov (Sverdlovsk region).The young man will receive a cash prize of 25 thousand rubles.
Second and third places, with 7.5 points each, were taken by Alexander Tuzov and Maxim Protasov. Both winners are from the Tyumen region.
The best female chess players were Diana Nasybullina (Saint Petersburg), Elizaveta Baranova (Chelyabinsk region), and Zhanna Lesnykh (Voronezh region). The girls will receive cash prizes: 10 thousand rubles for 1st place, 7 thousand rubles for second, and 3 thousand rubles for third one.
