Kalmykia is the only place in the world where chess is on prime-time television.
This week seven students from the Geelong Grammar chess club will visit Chess City to learn from the world's best.
History teacher Justin Corfield, who is going with the students, first played chess when he was seven, under the guidance of his father.
He says chess teaches students to think strategically, to concentrate, to learn from their mistakes and plan their future direction.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Geelong Students Russia Bound
Seven students from Victoria's Geelong Grammar school will drop in on Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov. From today's The Age:
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6 comments:
What a waste of money!
Maybe taxpayers are funding it - I guess it depends how the accounting is done. Don't they know there's a chess community in Melbourne (and the Anderson collection http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/collections/chess/index.html ) or do they think its "logical" to travel across several time zones to get coaching from some 2300 player? They could learn plenty about Kalmykia from the official website http://kalm.ru/en/ or by reading the "Molvania" travel guide!
Yes, I agree - what a waste! None of the students going are promising chess players! They are truly "chess tourists".
It's sad to note that the three comments on this blog thus far considers a "once in a lifetime experience" for 7 young vibrant AUSTRALIANS as a waste....
"shame on you"...........
Anonymous 1.... In my view, there is no waste as the expenditure is well outweighed by the gains attained, I can only hope that other young inspiring fellow Australians are given the same or similar type of opportunity to live the moment rather then chapter it out of a text book..
Anonymous 2... regarding taxpayers funding, to clarify the point the trip is a parent sponsored event, non of your hard earned couch potato taxes were used... it is clear by your post that you haven't the slightest inclination of the benefits attained by "living life" as opposed to watching it pass you by...
Anonymous 3.... its more then just "a lesson in chess" these lucky 7 will come back with...
it's surprising how negative and inappropriately you use the term "promising", granted they may not be grand masters though no grand master started off as one... in my view all 7 hold great promise...
The only valid comment made by you is that of the "chess tourist"....
PLEASE SUPPORT FELLOW AUSTRALIAN!!
Hey Mr Moralistic, you can "hope", but most students won't get a similar experience because their parents simply can't afford it. I certainly don't begrudge the kids who have inherited our impending global catastrophe making the most of their opportunities. The media portrayed the trip as a serious chess thing, in which case (Melbourne aside) our protagonists would be better served in any number of European cities eg Budapest, Ljubljana, Warsaw etc which are way more "vibrant" than some bizarre dictatorship.
Email from Chess City. Watching the chess tournament being held at City Chess, the critics of the Australian boys have shown themselves to be full of nothing more than ill-informed jealousy and envy. One of the bloggers above complains that the boys’ trip was probably government-funded. Perhaps if the bloggers managed to get themselves a proper job and save up some money, as the parents of these boys did (and indeed their teachers did), they might be able to come to City Chess and find out how ridiculous their original comments were. True, the boys are not Grandmasters. But then are the bloggers above who criticise their trip all Grandmasters ? If so, please can they give us their ratings? But really who cares about ratings if teenagers like playing chess ? The criticisms of the Australian boys only reflect on those who made them. If all teenagers around the world behaved as well as these Australian boys, my country, and the world would be a better place. Unfortunately society has to put up with people such as some of your bloggers. Sadly judging from the comments, at least one of the critics seems also to an Australian, but clearly as much a disgrace to Australia as these boys are a tribute to their faraway land.
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