MOROCCO: Russian chess champion Anatoly Karpov opens chess school in Rabat

Record ID: 593768

  • Title: MOROCCO: Russian chess champion Anatoly Karpov opens chess school in Rabat
  • Date: 9th November 2009
  • Summary: RABAT, MOROCCO (NOVEMBER 6, 2009) (REUTERS) (CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY) EXTERIOR OF 'VILLA DES ARTS' (DAR EL FOUNOUN) SIGN IN ARABIC READING 'VILLA DES ARTS' (DAR EL FOUNOUN) BANNER ADVERTISING EVENT FORMER WORLD CHESS CHAMPION, ANATOLY KARPOV ON STAGE MAKING SPEECH KARPOV SPEAKING AUDIENCE LISTENING TO KARPOV
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: International Relations,Education
  • Reuters ID: LVADL3UNEO4GAYCEEHDDOMMQND1K
  • Story Text: The first Anatoly Karpov Chess School in Africa opened its doors in Rabat to the delight of the amateurs of the sport.
    Chess is a highly strategic game that teaches its players to think ahead, be patient and above all be objective.
    Karpov, one of the game's living legends, supervised a three-day training course for 24 young Moroccans all aged between 12 and 16 years old, and who are believed to have the potential to be future champions.
    The Russian player, and these children's hero, was the world chess champion between 1975 and 1984.
    The young Moroccans have both national and international titles under their belts and hope that this course will take them up to another level.
    Anatoly Karpov has 17 chess schools outside the former Soviet Union, mainly in Europe and the United States.
    The only other Arab country apart from Morocco to have a similar school is Syria, where Karpov has an institution bearing his name in the Damascus Sports Palace.
    When asked by Reuters why he chose Morocco for his first school in Africa, Anatoly Karpov said:
    "Actually this is the third time I am in Morocco, but last time was in December of last year and then we started to discuss to help, to develop chess and to help kids of Morocco, and Rabat-Sale to develop their chess talents and to help them."
    Karpov won no less than 167 titles during his distinguished career. He played in a total of 35 individual tournaments, mostly in the super-class bracket, and finished first in 28 of them.
    In 1978 and 1981, he twice successfully defended his title against Victor Korchnoi and led his country to victory in two Olympiads and three European Team Championships.
    Karpov's gruelling matches against Garry Kasparov, who became world champion after him at the tender age of 21, are considered classics by chess players all over the world.
    In Rabat, everyone was eager to take a picture of their new mentor.
    Sixteen-year-old trainee Rania Sbai, who comes from Tetouan in northern Morocco, has already won Morocco and the Arab World championships in her age group.
    "I came to this training session which will last three days under the supervision of world champion Anatoly Karpov because I have the ambition of becoming a world champion in the future with the help of Allah, why not?" Sbai told Reuters.
    Although not as popular as football or athletics in Morocco, chess has a long tradition in the country and cities including Rabat, Tetouan, Fes and Casablanca have prestigious chess clubs where many champions have trained over the years.
    The Rabat-based Fath sports club is well known as a school of excellence in the game and many champions in all age groups were groomed at the institution.
    So it seemed a natural progression for the club to sign a partnership with Karpov to set up his school in Rabat.
    "This partnership will give the opportunity to all Moroccan chess players, particularly the young, to express themselves and to practice this sport abroad thanks to the skills they will acquire from the Russian players," said Fath club member, Abderrahim Ben Hammou M'saef.
    At the tender age of 18, Leyla Elamri is currently the Moroccan chess champion in all categories for women, having won every title since the age of 12.
    "I believe that these young people who will benefit from this school are really fortunate because they will benefit from the expertise of a great world champion. We did not have this chance because we were trained by some ordinary people. These youngsters are lucky and the may go very far," said Elamri.
    The Moroccan prodigy managed to draw with Karpov in a speed game when he faced many players at the same time, but remains modest about her performance.
    At the end of the training course, no-one went away empty-handed. The young participants received certificates, diplomas and trophies, but perhaps best of all, they got their photo taken with one of chess's great heros.
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