Posts Tagged ‘Tigran Petrosian’
Armenia invests in compulsory chess for all school children
Armenia, one of the world players in chess, has made it mandatory in school for ages seven to nine.
Chess is a national obsession in the country of three million.
The passion was fostered in modern times by the exploits of chess champion Tigran Petrosian, who won the world championship in 1963 and then successfully defended his title three years later…
Armenian authorities say teaching chess in school is about building character, not breeding chess champs.
The education minister says taking the pastime into classrooms will help nurture a sense of responsibility and organization among schoolchildren, as well as serving as an example to the rest of the world.
“We hope that the Armenian teaching model might become among the best in the world,” Armen Ashotyan told The Associated Press.
Half a million dollars were allocated to the national chess academy to draw up a course, create textbooks, train instructors and buy equipment. Another $1 million went toward buying furniture for chess classrooms.
Two characteristics educators hope to encourage are quoted in the article – by the father of an 8-year-old whiz at chess. He hopes that continued involvement with and study of chess will encourage logical thinking and the ability to improvise.
Not bad attributes for your life’s culture.
“World Tournament Champion” Bent Larsen dies at 75
Bent Larsen: 1935-2010
Jack Peters [LA Times]:
Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen died Sept. 9 at age 75 in Buenos Aires, his home since the 1970s. Larsen was the most successful tournament player of the late 1960s, when he rose to third in the world behind Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. Only losses to those two stars in Candidates matches kept him from playing for the world championship…
Larsen visited [the U.S.] frequently, taking first prize in the 1968 U.S. Open in Aspen, Colorado, and the 1974 World Open in New York. The most successful of his four appearances in California was his 71/2-11/2 performance in Lone Pine in 1978, the highest score in that tournament’s history.
Jack Peters includes several annotated Larsen games, featuring victories over Petrosian, Gligoric, Fischer, and Karpov.
Related Links:
New York Times on Larsen’s career
Leonard Barden Tribute
