Chess - The Scotsman 21/12/12

IRAN isn’t a country much associated with chess, especially since the game was banned under the Ayatollah Khomeni’s rule during the 1979 Islamic revolution.

But according to HJR Murray’s History of Chess a form of the game was played in Persia about 600AD - long before Europe took up chess.

And our word checkmate comes from the Persian term ‘Shaah maat’, meaning the king is ambushed. Happily, the modern form of the game has returned to favour in Iran under a more moderate administration, and is flourishing again.

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In 2001, Tehran was the surprise venue for the final of the FIDE World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Alexei Shirov; Iranianteams re-appeared in Olympiads; and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami became Iran’s first homegrown grandmaster.

And chess has witnessed a boom in Iran in the last 10 years.

Their federation has one of the most professional coaching centres in Tehran and their children are beginning to rival dominate nations such as India and China in recent world agegroup championships.

The 2012 Iranian Chess Championship (for the year 1391, if you go by the Iranian calendar) ended last week at the Sistan & Baloochestan University in Zahedan.

Tentime champion and hot-favourite Maghami Ghaem was ambushed in round six by GM Asghar Golizadeh who, after winning their game, went on to score 9/11 to capture his first national title.

E Maghami Ghaem - A Golizadeh Iranian Ch., (6)English Opening

1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 c5 4 Nc3 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Nc6 6a3 Bc5 7 Nb3 Be7 8 e4 d6 9 Be2 0–0 10 0–0 b6 11 Be3 Ba6 12 f4 Rc8 13 Bd3 Nd7 14 Nb5 Nc5 15 Nxc5 bxc5 16 Qa4 Qb6 17 b4 Nd4 18 bxc5 dxc5 19 Rab1 Bxb5 20 cxb5 c4! 21 Bxc4 Ne2+ 22 Kf2 Nc3 23 Qb3 Nxe4+ 24 Ke2

Bc5 25 Bd3 Qb7 26 Bxe4 Qxe4 27 Rbc1 Qxg2+ 28 Rf2 Qg4+ 29 Rf3 Qg2+ 30 Rf2 Qe4 31 Qd3 Qxd3+ 0–1

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