Your Next Move™, the annual chess and business event, staged a match last Sunday in the town hall of the Dutch city of Leuven, between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, who played each other 18 years after their World Championship match in London. The match is part of Your Next Move’s fifth anniversary celebrations. There were eight blitz games, during which the public had direct access in the playing hall or could watch the games in the entry hall of the town hall on 3D TV screens. Dutch GM Genna Sosonko provided live commentary during the games.
Stadhuis Leuven
– the town hall, built in the mid 15th century, was the venue of the event
Buy a hundred, get one free – the incredibly ornate front, with 236
statues depicting
Biblical scenes distributed in canopied niches all over the building.
Inside the guests gather in the entry hall and are served champagne and
snacks
The chess table, in noble setting, ready for the players
Goal of the match? Christian mythology on the walls of the Stadhuis
Back again at it after eighteen years: Nigel Short vs Garry Kasparov in
Leuven
The two delivered an exciting blitz match decided in the final move of the last
game
GM Genna Sosonko talking the audience through the blitz games
The games were shown on large 3D panels in the main hall for the visitors
Testing the technology: ChessBase news editor Frederic Friedel
Heart-stopping action: The first three games were drawn, then Kasparov won
two...
... then Short won two, and Kasparov took the final game for a 4.5-3.5 overall
victory
The winner strides out of the auditorium. Here are all the games for replay
and download in our Javascript player:
After five games Garry Kasparov, who no longer participates in competitive chess, was dominating his old rival Nigel Short, who is active and has recently been winning all the tournaments in which he plays. Kasparov was leading by two points and then lost two in a row. Both sides helped their opponents with short-term blunders, which led one visitor asked Nigel afterwards if the entire match had been orchestrated to bring about the super-exciting finish. The British GM replied caustically: "Yes, it was all faked, just like the moon landing."
The games of the blitz match were broadcast live on the Internet, on a number of different screens, with a general overview, close-ups of the players, the chess board and commentary by Genna Sosonko. Clicking any of the individual screens enlarge it to the big screen on the top left. You can get an impression of how it felt in the following videos.
And here is some commentary on an especially interesting game. Note that Nigel Short was playing romantic openings in this match – the King's Gambit, Evans Gambit. Most entertaining for the audience. You can follow the come-back sixth game by Nigel Short in this video commentary by IM Andrew Martin.
The next day in the Hilton Antwerp: press interviews with Kasparov and Short
Breakfast with Kaspaov, wife Dasha, photographer Martin Friedel, and look who
turned up!
Our old friend Bessel Kok, telecommunications and banking entrepreneur, Chairman
of the World Chess Grandmaster Association from 1985 until 1991
About Your Next Move
Your Next Move is the initiative of three entrepreneurs: Inge Geerdens (CVWarehouse),
Jan Callewaert (Option) and Gabriel Fehervari (Alfacam). It’s objective
is to support chess as a sport and to create an impetus among young people aged
6 to 12. The aim is not just to ensure that chess is officially included as
part of the final primary education qualifications but to also actually promote
chess as a sport. The reasons for this initiative are quite simple. By playing
chess young people develop skills that are essential for general development.
It encourages them to think and act speedily, strategically and under pressure.
Qualities that are very handy in education and during their professional careers.
Another aim of the initiators is to thus arouse interest among young people
in entrepreneurship.
Here are some visual impressions of the blitz match in Leuven, provided by the organisers. You will find many more, especially on the activities of Your Next Move, on the official web site.
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About CVWarehouse: CVWarehouse.com is an online recruitment platform where companies and candidates can meet. More info at www.cvwarehouse.com. |
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About the Alfacam Group: The Alfacam Group groups the activities of Alfacam, EuroLinX, Euro1080 and the Eurocam Media Centre. Alfacam’s main activity is supplying services to TV stations and production houses and it has more than 30 broadcast vehicles. More info at www.alfacam.com. |
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About Option Option is a company that innovates in the field of wireless communications. The company specialises in designing, developing and marketing wireless broadband solutions. More info at www.option.com. |
