Chess City
Encyclopedia
Chess City is a large complex devoted to chess
and chess competitions located east of Elista
, Kalmykia
, in Russia
. The neighborhood-size development consists of a central, four-story domed City Chess Hall surrounded by an Olympic-style village
of Californian-Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
. The site has a conference center, public swimming pool and a museum of Kalmyk Buddhist art
. The complex features sculptures and artwork devoted to chess, including a statue of Ostap Bender
, a fictional character of popular books written by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov, who proposed a creation of world chess capital. The complex has been used to host visiting dignitaries like the Dalai Lama
.
Completed in 1998, the idea and development of Chess City is directly the result of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
, Kalmykia's millionaire President who has ruled the republic since 1993 and been president of FIDE, the international governing body of chess, since 1995. A fanatical chess enthusiast, Ilyumzhinov had the complex built in time for the 33rd Chess Olympiad
.
Chess City has hosted three major FIDE tournaments: the XXXIII Chess Olympiad
in 1998 , the 2004 Women's World Chess Championship
, and the 2006 World Chess Championship
.
Future plans for Chess City include a water sport complex, skiing center, government buildings, business centers, opera and ballet theaters, museums, a conservatory, an art school, religious academies, a center of traditional medicine, and residences for any ambassadors who may be accredited to Kalmykia.
regions in the southeastern corner of Europe. Without much in terms of natural resources, the nation is economically depressed and many of its citizens live in poverty. As a result, the construction of the opulent Chess City was greatly criticized for spending large sums of money on a tourist resort. Chess tournament winners are sometimes rewarded with a diamond tiara
. Additionally, the desert climate of the area puts many of the planned expansions for Chess City, like the water sports complex, under scrutiny.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and chess competitions located east of Elista
Elista
-Twin towns/sister cities:Elista is twinned with the following sister cities. Howell, New Jersey, United States Lhasa, Tibet, China. Ulan-Ude, Buryat Republic, Russia-See also:*Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery*Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume-External links:...
, Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
, in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The neighborhood-size development consists of a central, four-story domed City Chess Hall surrounded by an Olympic-style village
Olympic Village
An Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
of Californian-Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s...
. The site has a conference center, public swimming pool and a museum of Kalmyk Buddhist art
Buddhist art
Buddhist art originated on the Indian subcontinent following the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama, 6th to 5th century BC, and thereafter evolved by contact with other cultures as it spread throughout Asia and the world....
. The complex features sculptures and artwork devoted to chess, including a statue of Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender is a fictional con man and antihero who first appeared in the novel The Twelve Chairs written by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov and released in January 1928.-Appearances:...
, a fictional character of popular books written by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov, who proposed a creation of world chess capital. The complex has been used to host visiting dignitaries like the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
.
Completed in 1998, the idea and development of Chess City is directly the result of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Kalmyk multi-millionaire businessman and politician. He was the President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and he has been the President of FIDE , the world's pre-eminent international chess organization, since 1995...
, Kalmykia's millionaire President who has ruled the republic since 1993 and been president of FIDE, the international governing body of chess, since 1995. A fanatical chess enthusiast, Ilyumzhinov had the complex built in time for the 33rd Chess Olympiad
33rd Chess Olympiad
The 33rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between September 26 and October 13, 1998, in Elista, Kalmykia, . In the open tournament there were 110 teams, and in the women's, 72 teams.-Chess City:The...
.
Chess City has hosted three major FIDE tournaments: the XXXIII Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
in 1998 , the 2004 Women's World Chess Championship
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
, and the 2006 World Chess Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
The World Chess Championship 2006 was a chess match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The match, which was won by Kramnik, determined the undisputed World Chess Champion for the first time in 13 years...
.
Future plans for Chess City include a water sport complex, skiing center, government buildings, business centers, opera and ballet theaters, museums, a conservatory, an art school, religious academies, a center of traditional medicine, and residences for any ambassadors who may be accredited to Kalmykia.
Controversy
Kalmykia is a poor republic of approximately 300,000 people located in the barren steppeSteppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
regions in the southeastern corner of Europe. Without much in terms of natural resources, the nation is economically depressed and many of its citizens live in poverty. As a result, the construction of the opulent Chess City was greatly criticized for spending large sums of money on a tourist resort. Chess tournament winners are sometimes rewarded with a diamond tiara
Tiara
A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...
. Additionally, the desert climate of the area puts many of the planned expansions for Chess City, like the water sports complex, under scrutiny.
Further reading
- Seth Mydans, Where Chess Is King and the People Are the Pawns, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, June 20, 2004, Accessed May 17, 2006. - Julia Emm, Chess Paradise, Chess Fidelity, Accessed May 17, 2006.
External links
- Photo Gallery of Chess City from International GrandmasterInternational GrandmasterThe title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
Alexandra KosteniukAlexandra KosteniukAlexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former Women's World Chess Champion.-Chess career:Kosteniuk learned to play chess at the age of five after being taught by her father...
's website