7 December 2016

Boys, Girls, and Their Parents

Vladimir Barsky and Dmitry Kryakvin's picture report from the World Schools Chess Championship.

Taking pictures of young chess players is a sheer pleasure! Their faces are intelligent and focused. Sitting quietly at the boards in mediation of their positions, they are not in a hurry to run somewhere else (in the beginning at least). There is no hiding emotions for them. It is not unusual for parents to buzz around their kids before the start of the round, helping write down opponents' names on scoresheets, adjusting clothes and tidying hair, giving last-minute words of instruction, kisses and pats on the backs. Taking pictures would be another favorite thing to do. Older boys show interest in girls. Young beauties pay back with smiles and quick glances.

All in all, school-aged chess players from 27 countries add up to half a thousand, not to mention their coaches, parents and grandparents. The most massive delegations (other than "field hosts", of course) are from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, and Turkey. It is about bright national costumes, flags on the tables, colorful banners on the walls and, what is crucial for both players and photographers, proper interior lighting. Running parallel with the tournament is a "roundtable" on the problems of school chess and some pictures from one of the regular meetings have made their way into our gallery. 

Here is a brief tip for those willing to download pictures from the viewer. Position the cursor right over the picture's center (the cursor, which used to be a "handle" now turns into an "arrow"), then right-click and select "save image as". Enjoy viewing!