(dramatic music) - Thank you for joining us for another episode of Today in Chess.

I'm your host, Sharon Carpenter.

Last month we focused on the revival of Chess in the US.

We reviewed 2023's international competitions and explored how Americans are making an impact in Chess all over the world.

It seems as if it's always been a part of our lives, a game you can play at any age with your family, friends, even strangers.

It's a universal language that breaks down barriers, but where did it come from?

Our program today focuses on the story of Chess, and the best place to start this journey is a museum that's dedicated to the history, art, and culture of the game.

- Well, the World Chess Hall of Fame, which was housed in Florida at that time, after being previously housed in D.C. and New York, was having trouble getting funding from its supporters and they had raised the issue.

Could somebody else take it?

So Al Lawrence called me and said, would St Louis consider taking it and could they consider supporting it?

And I said, in a heartbeat.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] The World Chess Hall of Fame features an interactive installation on the third floor where you can learn all about these important figures in the Chess community.

Members are chosen based on their contributions to the sport, which includes not only successful players, but also authors, journalists, organizers, and others who have made an impact on the game of Chess.

Only four people have been inducted into both the US and World Chess Hall of Fame, including legendary world champion, Bobby Fisher, William Steinitz, Paul Morphy, and Susan Polgar, the only woman inducted into both.

The World Chess Hall of Fame houses many more Chess icons and continues to be a place where their stories will continue to be told for years to come.

(exciting adventure music) - Well, the obvious advice is that they should play a lot and they should welcome the opportunity to play against stronger opposition, slightly stronger opposition, but also I think it's important for players to get a sense of Chess culture and history and learn about the strategy from other great players of the past, because that's the one thing that they don't really do much in the 21st century.

Now everything's all about the computers and tactics puzzles, and that's one of the things I try to do.

And I write a lot of books and I really try to show people the way that we learned in the old days still I think is valuable.

- Beliefs, motivation, and basically self pushing, you know, belief.

It's like, you know, one of my methods in Chess, which I believe it's true, I call it backtrack methods, backtrack thinking, whenever you wanna make your first next move, it's don't, don't just look for your next move.

You look for the whole picture and whenever you realize, what could you get?

And then from there you ask yourself a question, what would you do to get there?

So beliefs for sure, and then obviously it's important for kids particularly to have a right advisor next to them.

It's a combination of being a good parent to support kids.

Particularly I have seen many cases when parent are not support kids, and that's another pro, I mean, problems Whenever the parent, kid, and coach, whoever guides him through, on the same page, they're gonna, they're gonna reach their goal, for sure.

- These days people are often looking at computers, which are helpful, but it, it's still I think, helpful to look at the games of the various world champions throughout the years.

Different styles there, which is something that was focused on before they had computers, but now there's much greater emphasis on computers, which are helpful, but I think newer talents coming up should spend more time with the classical games as well.

- Well, I think the most important thing about improving at Chess, if they're getting serious about Chess, is to actually do it more than once a week, to actually focus on, you know, this as something you would do if you're learning a foreign language, you know, or anything else.

Fencing, swimming, sports, you know, more than I would say two times a week is something that's necessary to really start to improve and see the improvement quickly.

When I asked my coach, old coach how many hours a day I studied with him, he told me 10 a week and I was like, really?

Like it was 10 hours a week for years.

I'm like, oh, okay.

I had no recollection of that.

But it takes, it takes times to be, takes time to get good at Chess, but it's worth it because it stays with you your whole life.

- These senior players have spent their lives playing Chess and competing for titles.

Their incredible achievements have them revered across the world.

One thing's for sure.

You are never too old for Chess.

Chess is a game for every generation.

Now, esteemed Grandmaster Var Akobian continues his lesson, for players just beginning their journey.

(upbeat music) - Hi everyone, in this lesson I'm gonna show you how to castle and there are two ways to castle.

Castle Kingside and Castle Queenside.

First we're gonna do the Castle King side.

First thing you need to do, you need to make sure your pieces are developed.

So the Knight normally is on G one, it needs to be developed and the bishop on F1.

So these two squares needs to be clear.

And then you'll play, move the king one, two squares and Rook will come right behind it.

So that's called Kingside castling.

There are a couple of rules about Castling here.

If you move the king before Castling and then go back to the original square, you cannot Castle, then you lose the privileges of Castling.

Same thing with the Rook.

If you move this Rook and go back to the original square, you cannot Castle to this side of the board.

However, you still have the option to castle to the queen side.

Now I'm gonna show you the castle queen side, which is also referred as Long Castle.

So same thing, you play one two squares with a king and then Root comes right behind it.

The reason it's called a Long Castle, because you have two empty squares on this side of the board when you castle, opposed to the king side where you have only one square on H one.

And once again, you have to have your pieces developed here.

In this case, actually you have to have three pieces developed in order to castle the knight, the bishop, and a Queen.

So it's more rare to castle to the queen side than the king side.

So once again, you'll play one, two, the king and Rook comes right behind.

That will be the queen side castling.

And the reason we want to castle is because it will keep your king safe, because you'll be protected by the Pawns and you'll have more pieces normally.

And the other very important reason is you always want to have, you always want to connect your both Rooks.

So this is very important because if the king is in the middle of the board, the Rooks are not connected, so this is, they're not gonna be very effective at all here.

So that's one of the main reasons is safety of the king.

When you castle and idea is to ca after castle, you have your Rooks connected, so, and they're gonna be much more effective this way.

So castling is very important part of the game and normally you want to castle within the first 10 moves of the Chess game.

Hope you enjoyed this lesson and we'll see you next time.

(dramatic adventure music) (upbeat music) - Hi, I am Women's Grand Master, Begim Tokhirjonova, with this Today in Chess News Break.

Magnus Carlsen, the number one rated Chess player in the world has officially pulled out of the 2024 candidates tournament.

This has created an opportunity for Grand Master Nijat Abasov to join the candidates field.

Alireza Firouzja has claimed the eighth, and final spot on the tournament roster, barely aging out American Wesley So.

Also the American Cup roster is set and it's an amazing field of players, including War number two, Fabiano Caurana.

the American Cup action begins March 12th in St. Louis, Missouri.

Join us every month on Today In Chess for more updates and news.

- [Narrator] The 2024 candidates tournament is almost here and the stacked field is ready to put it all on the line to be able to compete for the world championship title.

Ian Nepomniachtchi, the runner up from the 2022 World Championship is back for the third time in a row.

Winning the tournament in his previous two appearances, Magnus Carlsen officially withdrew from the event in January of 2024, making way for Grand Master, Nijat Abasov from Azerbaijan, who is the lowest rated player heading into the event.

Young Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has taken the Chess world by storm as his rise in the Chess rankings just continues to ascend.

He qualified for the event by finishing second behind Carlsen in the 2023 Chess World Cup.

2023 fee day Grand Swiss winner, Vidit Gujrath, Indian Grand Master, ranking within the top 15 in the world won seven games out of 11 to win the event and earn his spot in this year's candidates tournament.

Another Indian Grand Master joins the field, Gukesh D, runner up in the 2023 fee day circuit, qualified at the young age of 17 years old.

In September of 2023, Gukesh officially surpassed legendary Indian Grand Master, Viswanathan Anand as the top ranked Indian Chess player, a position Anand held for 37 years.

France number one, Alireza Firouzja, makes his second straight candidate's tournament and is looking to improve upon his 2022 performance.

Qualifying for the event as the highest rated remaining player in the January, 2024 ratings.

Our first American in the event, fan favorite Chess streamer, Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura is back for his second straight candidate's appearance.

And third, overall.

Nakamura fell just short in 2022, finishing tied for third after losing in the final round to eventual runner up and current world champion, Ding Liren.

American favorite, and St. Louis local, Fabiano Caurana, had an exceptional 2023, winning numerous tournaments and events.

Caurana qualified through his third place finish in the World Cup, but managed to top the fee day circuit with over a 30 point cushion.

Caurana has qualified for four straight candidates tournaments dating back to 2016.

Caurana is looking to carry his momentum from 2023 into 2024 and get back into the world championship to become the only second American to achieve that title.

After the legendary Bobby Fisher.

The 2024 candidates tournament begins in April with a stacked field of competitors looking to challenge current world champion Ding Liren for the chance to become the new world Chess champion.

- There's a lot going on in the world of Chess, but nothing is bigger than the upcoming Candidates Tournament.

Chess is truly an international phenomenon.

The game spans centuries, but where did it really begin?

There are legends and stories that have been told throughout time.

With the help of the World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, we'll explore some of the history and the cultures that have impacted its evolution.

(exciting pounding music) - [Narrator] Since Chess' creation, people of different regions have transformed the pieces to reflect their own cultures and history.

While the pieces originally reflected units in the Indian military, replete with chariots, calvary, elephants and military advisors, European Chess set creators later included pieces like bishops and queens, reflective of their own political structures.

In 1849, the Staunton style Chess set was introduced to the public.

Though it has since become the standard set for tournament play around the world, people still create sets with unique imagery.

Some are meant more for display rather than for play and their appearances draw from stories, history, or local artistic traditions.

1972 was the year of the legendary world Chess championship between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky.

These Chess pieces bear witness to one of the most important games in the most famous world Chess championship match, Bobby Fisher's game three defeat over reigning world Chess champion Boris Spassky.

Had Fisher trailing zero to two, lost game three of the World Chess Championship, It is speculated that he may have quit the match entirely.

Prior to this game, Fisher had not beaten Spassky and his lifetime score excluding, the second game forfeit, was four losses and two draws in six games.

Fisher used an unconventional strategy that worked and he ultimately won the game.

Turning the tide of the 1972 match.

The pieces are set to display a position from the third game of the match, when Fisher played the surprising move.

The set is paired with a board signed by Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky, which was made for the 1972 World Chess Championship match but not used in the event.

This exquisite set is a supersized version of the set that Frank Camaratta created for the 2013 Sinquefield Cup.

The king in this set is over double the height of the one in the Sinquefield Cup set, which is also on view in this gallery.

This oversized set is one of only two that exist.

The other is a gift from Camaratta to Rex Sinquefield, the founder of the St. Louis Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of Fame.

One of the finest pieces in the collection of the world Chess Hall of Fame, this Chess set is a part of a centuries long tradition of intricate Hungarian metal and enamel work.

Made of sterling silver and copper and adorned by jade, amethyst and natural pearls, the Chess set depicts two warring armies but is intended for display as a work of art rather than play.

On the corners of the board, warriors holding spears stand at the ready.

The sides of the board includes enamel work, images of battles, and coats of arms.

Special care has even been taken to the storage space within the board box, metal chains cradle each of the pieces.

Chess sets and pieces have been a unique medium for art, history, and culture surrounding the game and they will continue to illustrate Chess and its roots for years to come.

(upbeat music) In 2021, a brand new tournament with an exciting format was added to the calendar here in the United States and is quickly becoming a fan favorite event.

The American Cup is two tournaments, each an eight player double elimination knockout event comprising the top men's and women's players around the country, but is also open to international players as well.

Players start in the champions bracket where they compete in a two game classical match and possibly playoffs, if the match ends tied.

The winner advances in the champions bracket while their competitor is relegated to the elimination bracket where they will play other defeated players in a two game rapid match.

From there, it's win or go home, giving players the opportunity to come back and win the whole thing, even with an early loss.

2024 marks the third straight year of the American Cup, bringing with it an adjusted format and a bigger prize fund.

This year, players in the champions bracket will compete in a four game match, playing two classical games and two rapid games to decide who continues in the champions bracket and who has dropped to the elimination bracket, which is now a four game rapid match.

The 2024 installment of the American Cup also comes with a significant increase in prize fund going from $300,000 to 400,000.

The American Cup returns March 12th with the tournament's first ever Men's Champion.

Fabiano Caurana headlining Group A and two time Women's champion Irina Krush headlining group B.

Both will be challenged by the other strong competitors looking to claim their first ever title.

The American Cup is quickly becoming a tournament where anything can happen and it's an event both players and fans alike don't want to miss.

(dramatic music) - Last month we showcased the resurgence of American Chess.

Not since the days of Bobby Fisher and his Historic World Championship in 1972 over Boris Spassky, has Chess been in the American psyche like it is today.

The US and US Women's Chess Championships are at the center of the American Chess Renaissance.

Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan will explain it all in today's history lesson.

- Dating all the way back to 1845, the US Championship is the oldest Chess event in the United States.

Originally, a match between two players.

It has been held in many formats in its nearly 100 and 80-year-old existence.

Most recently as a 12 player round robin in 2023.

The first ever US champion was crowned when Charles Stanley defeated Eugene Rousseau in their 1845 match held at the New Orleans Chess Club.

The players competed for a stake of $1,000, the equivalent of $40,000 today.

Since the Stanley Rousseau match, the US Championship has been held using a variety of formats these past 179 years.

Besides match play, they include the knockout system, round robins, double round robins, Swiss systems, and various combinations of them all.

Match Play was the most popular format until 1936 when the reigning champion, Frank Marshall, stepped aside and a round robin tournament determined the new champion, Samuel Reshevsky.

This format was used exclusively until 1999 when the new century welcomed in an era of different types of competition, which has continued to this day.

Featuring some of the most famous names in Chess the US Championships have seen players like Bobby Fisher who won every US championship he competed in, earning eight titles.

This includes a legendary performance in the 1963-'64 championship edition where he scored a perfect 11 from 11.

An accomplishment so difficult that the St. Louis Chess Club offers a $64,000 bonus prize for any player who can match that accomplishment.

Sadly, none has ever come close.

Other notable champions include Sammy Reshevsky, who matched Fisher's eight tournament wins, Walter Sean Brown with six tournament wins, Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura with five tournament wins and the current champion Fabiano Caurana with three titles.

The US Chess Championship has been held in St. Louis, Missouri since 2009, as well as streamed on YouTube for fans throughout the world to follow.

It has become one of the strongest tournaments in the world.

With nine of the 12 competitors in 2023 were ranked in the top 100 players of the world from the first championship between two players for a prize fund of $1,000.

The US Chess Championship has grown into a Marques Chess event with a dozen world-class players competing for a $250,000 prize fund.

- For the players competing in the candidates in March, preparation is in full swing.

Facing off against strong competition requires weeks of prep, players must plan opening moves and finishing strategies.

Each month Today in Chess features a lesson from the experts.

It's time for Chess school and your chance to learn from the masters.

(piano music) - Now we're going to learn some very typical middle game checkmating patterns.

The following pattern, an entire book was written by Robert James Fisher, called Bobby Fisher teaches Chess.

It's the back rank checkmating pattern.

I couldn't believe it when I read the book.

I thought This guy's a one trick pony.

All he knows is the back rank checkmate.

At its most basic, take a look at the position in front of us.

White's king is protected as a pawn shield of three pawns, and so does black's king.

The black king has a pawn on F seven, G seven, H seven, all protecting the black king.

But the salient feature in the position is white has an extra pawn, which is attacked by the black rook.

So black is expecting white to defend the pawn with rook A1, white doesn't make that move.

White makes a move that black thinks is an indifferent move.

He plays rook to E one, what's that?

It allows black to execute his threat.

Rook takes A2, and black is so happy, he thinks to himself, three verses three.

What's the problem?

I'll make a draw.

Until to his horror, he discovers that rook E8 has given the king checkmate, the protective pawn shield suffocates the black king and there's no escape from the check.

This is at its most basic, the back ranked checkmate, and there are many, many flavors of back ranked checkmates as we'll show.

- Chess brings together people from all over the globe, fostering friendly competition, sharing of ideas, and true comradery.

As the Candidates Tournament comes into focus, so do American competitors, Fabiano Caurana, who we showcased last month and the incomparable, Hikaru Nakamura.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] When it comes to Chess, there's fast and then there's Hikaru Nakamura.

The five Time US champion, the youngest since Bobby Fisher, exploded onto the scene as a child prodigy.

Nakamura went on some incredible runs throughout his career, rising all the way to the number two rated classical player on the planet at one point, reaching a peak rating of 2816, putting him in the top 10 highest rated players of all time.

The future is looking bright for Nakamura, who has an enormously successful streaming channel with millions of viewers tuning in from around the world.

He also remains one of the world's top Chess talents, recently qualifying for his third candidate's tournament.

Whenever he does battle over the board, whether online or in person, there isn't an elite player alive who doesn't respect and fear the veteran's mastery of the game.

- The rich history of Chess around the world continues to be written every single day.

A visit to the US or World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri can help you better understand how Chess has impacted the world.

This year of Chess is just beginning and we'll be there with you along for the thrilling ride.

Thanks for watching and see you next time on, Today in Chess.

(upbeat music) - This has been a presentation of the St. Louis Chess Club.

Any reproduction or distribution of this content without the express written consent of the St. Louis Chess Club is prohibited.