Karpov-Inspired Chess Match between US, Russian Jail Inmates! Guess who won?

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

Here is the BBC chess news report on the chess tournament between Russian and US jail inmates. The event was held via Skype. Patrick Jackson writes: 

Convicts in Russia have teamed up to play a chess tournament via Skype with inmates at the biggest jail in the US, Chicago's Cook County Jail.

Ten convicts from Russian prisons sat down to play, with the encouragement of ex-World Champion Anatoly Karpov.

Cook County were guided by the head of its prison chess programme, Dr Mikhail Korenman, an old friend of Karpov.

The Russians won most of the 20 games but Cook County's prison chief told the BBC he was delighted by the event.

"We were just thrilled that this went so well," Sheriff Tom Dart said. "A lot of time and energy went into it, at very little cost, and it was executed perfectly, with no glitches."

The jail, which counts the gangster Al Capone and serial killer John Wayne Gacy among its former inmates, launched its chess programme just under a year ago after Karpov visited the facility.

According to Russia's federal prison service, inmates at prisons in Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov, the Yekaterinburg region and Krasnodar were involved.

Each convict played two games, the US inmates using secure lap-tops, placed on tables decorated with American and Russian flags.

They saw their opponents by video link but did not speak.

The final score was 15.5 games to 4.5 games in Russia's favour, Cook County announced.

Speaking before the game, the Russian prison service said the participation of Russian convicts in the chess event would not reduce their sentences.

However, it testified to "their desire to follow the path of correction", the service was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.

Asked by the BBC News website if the tournament would affect the American prisoners involved, Sheriff Dart said: "Not necessarily but it could because one of the things the judges take into consideration when they are sentencing individuals is their conduct in custody and involvement in a programme of substance like this does go quite a way."

'New lines of thinking'
Before Wednesday's tournament, Cook County's chess-players had linked up for anonymous games with convicts in other countries such as Singapore, Croatia and Canada.

"For a lot of our inmates, they didn't even know where these countries were so it was just like a geography lesson," Sheriff Dart said.

"It just opened up a lot of lines of thinking that people had never had before."

Cook County Jail currently houses nearly 11,000 inmates and employs more than 3,800 correctional officers and support staff.

It is the largest single-site jail in America.

Speaking to CBS Chicago when the programme was being launched last year, Sheriff Dart said about the American prison chess players: "Their lifetime accomplishments could be summarised in about one second - zero.

"For them to get involved with something like this, where they're actually learning skills and having goals, and feel amongst themselves that they can accomplish things they set out to - it's the first time that's ever happened."

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Prisons Chess: US Inmates versus Russian Prisoners in Online Event

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

News agency RIA Novosti has reported that American prison inmates will take on Russian prisoners this month in a first-of-its-kind intercontinental chess match. "They do not accept draws. They go all in: either win or lose," chess enthusiast match organiser Mikhail Korneman said of the Chicago inmates, who will challenge prisoners from five Russian correctional facilities May 15.

 

The match, which will be conducted online, is the brainchild of Korneman, renowned Russian Grandmaster, former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and Tom Dart, an Illinois sheriff who launched a chess programme last year in Chicago's Cook County Jail as a way of encouraging inmates to deliberate and exercise caution when making decisions.

Karpov, whose titanic battles for chess supremacy with rival and compatriot Garry Kasparov captivated the world in the 1980s, has been a driving force in bringing chess to Russian prisons in recent years and was on hand last year when Korneman and Dart announced the programme.

"When Karpov was here, we started talking about [the match between prisoners]. He is very excited. It has never been done before," said Korneman, who moved to the United States from Russia two decades ago.

Ten inmates from the Cook County Jail, the largest jail in the United States with around 9,000 prisoners, will play two 15-minute games each against their Russian counterparts. The Russian side will be represented by prisoners from correctional facilities in the Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk and Krasnodar regions.

The match will be played via a secure internet connection established specifically for the event.

Korenman, who brought former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Kansas for a chess event in 2005, said it is difficult to predict which side might emerge victorious. The Chicago inmates "are not professional chess players but they do have knowledge and they like to go on the attack," he said.

"I think the match will be very interesting," Korenman added.

Korenman, Karpov and Dart have all advocated chess as a pastime that can help inmates correct the trajectory of their lives.

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Karpov in Cook County with Chess Interaction with Kids; Chess Initiative for Jail Inmates

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,


Former World Chess Champion was in Cook County to address kids playing in the tournament and their parents. He recounted some of his greatest career moments, many of them during the Cold War when tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union. At one point, he and U.S. world champion Bobby Fischer were at the top of their respective games. A match-up between the two chess titans came close a number of times, but never happened. Read the full story here.

The chess legend was also there for the Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart launching a chess program at the county jail in Chicago. The law enforcement officer hopes inmates can take what they learn from a game that rewards patience and problem-solving and apply it to their own lives. "We see it day-in and day-out that people want instant gratification and that often individuals do not think before they act," Dart said Monday. "Thoughtless actions will hurt you while playing chess and hurt you more on the street." Read the story here.


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com