Village Chess

The chess school in Poykovskoye village, in the oil-rich Nefteyugansk region, was opened on March 5, 2000, on the initiative of 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov. Karpov brought to bear the vast political and financial support of Yuganskneftegaz petrochem company and of Anatoly Klepikov, head of the Nefteyugansk region. The school also profits from a local international chess tournament named after Anatoly Karpov which synergizes with his chess school. One of the participants, head coach Andrey Obodchuk, has 14 other teachers under his wing and the school has affiliates in Cheyuskino, Salym, Sentyaborsky, Lempino and other nearby villages.

All in all, the Poykovskoye village school has 390 pupils, of whom 14 have been granted the status of 1st razryad (grade) in three years, instead of the usual five or six. The school’s rising star, Alexei Deniskin, attained “Candidate to Sports Master” in just two-and-a-half years, a level that normally takes seven or eight years to attain.

Karpov firmly believes he can revive chess in Russia by capitalizing on his name and finding chess aficionados among powerful regional leaders. So far, he has managed to open 14 regional schools in Russian regions, including two in Yakutia, and each one in Tula, Smolensk and the Moscow region.