The more wins, the stronger the opponents

Today, within the framework of the XIII EEYF, the III International Chess Tournament “Ural Queen” named after the world champion, Anatoly Karpov, is being held.

In 2023, 155 players take part in the competition. The geography of participation is extensive. Besides Yekaterinburg, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and other Ural cities, these are Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Crimea, as well as Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China and Peru.

The youngest participant is 12 years old, the oldest is 25. The threshold for participation in the tournament is the 3rd sports category. Diplomats from dozens of countries came to the opening of the tournament. USUE Rector Yakov Silin addressed the chess players on their behalf.

“According to a wonderful tradition, experienced diplomats come to support our young athletes,” explained USUE Rector Yakov Silin. “Chess and diplomacy are very similar. You need to calculate the moves, assess the risks, make balanced decisions. We can say that chess reflects our reality.”

The tournament follows the Swiss system. Each of the 155 participants should play nine games. The winner makes a point and moves up the standings, meeting in the next round with a similar winner. The more games a particular player wins, the stronger opponent is waiting for him ahead. If, when counting points, two or more players score an equal result, the organizing committee puts higher the one who defeated the obviously stronger opponent.

“There are a lot of strong opponents here,” the youngest participant, 12-year-old candidate for master of sports’ title, Yaroslav Kengurov, shared his impressions of the tournament. “To be honest, I do not really hope to win. But the battle with strong opponents is an excellent opportunity to improve your level of playing. That’s what I’m here for.”

An example to follow for the current participants of the tournament is the international grandmaster, winner of two World Chess Olympiads, of two world team championships, of three European team championships Rafael Vaganian. He donated to the museum of Ural State University of Economics his Cup, received in the tournament of veterans of the International Chess Federation in 2019 in Bucharest and records of his 150 victorious games. Once irreconcilable rivals at the chessboard, Anatoly Karpov and Rafael Vaganian have been good friends for many years. Both of them stood at the origins of the Ural Queen tournament at USUE.

 The tournament winners and prize-winners of 6 - 1 places will receive cash prizes from 3,000 to 30,000 rubles from the organizers. Besides, school students of 10-11 grades - prize-winners will receive five extra points for individual achievements when entering USUE for a full-time bachelor’s degree, and bachelor students will receive two extra points when entering the master’s program of Ural State University of Economics.

As part of the tournament, Chair of the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region Albert Stepanyan presented USUE Rector, Yakov Silin, and Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region, Viktor Babenko, with gold medals with a bas-relief of Anatoly Karpov “For a Great Contribution to the Development of Chess in the Sverdlovsk Region.”