My hero of the day: Salvador Diaz Carias, an 88-year old living in communist-ruled Venezuela. News today says that at this old age, he's been granted the title of FIDE chess master.
I, myself, in my old age (66), have taken up chess, having played in high school but having left it behind till now. I aspire to be as good a player as Diaz, though acknowledging I probably won't reach that level.
"I was completely absorbed by chess until the sun of today," Diaz says, speaking of his days as a 20-year old when he took up the game. When he says, "sun of today," I'm sure he means his study stretched through the night and into the wee hours of the next morning.
That's me. Though I have distractions, I study as much as I can all day, and into the early hours of morning. Last night, I studied till just past 3 a.m. And, when I finally retired, I continued to review chess openings in my mind as I laid there trying to sleep, keeping me yet awake till perhaps 4:00.
Diaz speaks of being tutored by his good friend, Luis Alberto Matos, a tournament-caliber player who, above all else, was very knowledgeable in openings. In Diaz's very first tournament, he used an opening variation Matos had taught him to defeat the reigning Venezuelan champion, Andres Sadde. I wish I could contact Diaz, to ask him the moves in that variation.
As Diaz grew in the game, he had occasion to play against Bobby Fischer, who was then but a rising star. Diaz employed an opening which caused problems for Fischer before Fischer rallied to win. Again, I wish I could ask Diaz what opening he used.
I, too, am studying openings. I aspire to know them all, not just enough of them to pick two or three to see me through. I want to be able to beat others at their games, at the openings of their choice.
In 1968, Diaz reached an Elo rating of 2,300, just good enough to be granted the title of FIDE master. Somehow, though, it was overlooked and he was not granted the title. About a year ago, a friend of his and promoter of chess in Venezuela, Nicola Nigro, along with Luisana Mujica, a former Venezuelan women's champion, discovered a chess magazine, the Chess Informant, from 1971, documenting Diaz's 2,300 rating. They took it to FIDE, the Federation Internationale des Echecs, and petitioned for him to be granted FIDE master status. This past week, the status was granted.
But, it didn't come without the politics of Venezuela almost upending the effort. Venezuela is ruled by President Nicolas Maduro, a communist, and that rule has led to unprecedented inflation. FIDE informed Diaz and his friends that the titled would be granted, but only on the condition Diaz pay the standard 70 euros. With inflation, that amount was far beyond what the Diaz family could afford, so Nigro found a way to come up with the money, himself.
Upon receiving the title, Diaz wrote Chess.com, which (in a world now filled with computers) has become the foremost chess website. He informed Chess.com of his honor, sharing his story with them and with, "all the fans who love this beautiful game, which is getting even bigger with the effects of this pandemic that we are experiencing."
Indeed, chess has blossomed under the pandemic. While other sports were canceled, chess exploded, play simply being transferred online instead of in-person. People stuck in their homes, looking for something to do, found they could play chess online. And, more than that: With computers doing the training, access to training and the level of it is greater than ever in the history of chess. Just as we are escaping the stay-away-from-others restrictions imposed from the fight against COVID, I am returning to chess. Though one of the best high school players in Idaho when I first took up the game, I return to find a game in which I am massively outclassed, the computers having trained a generation of players such as the world has never seen. Whereas I thought I might step right back into the game as one of the best players in the city, I was dearly mistaken, finishing dead last in two of the first four tournaments I entered (and close to last in the other two).
I've considered on senior chess players. How good are the best and do I have any chance of becoming one? Today's champions are not seniors. I read through the list of winners in some of the current tournaments. They are but 28-32 years old. That appears the prime age for chess players. Perhaps without fail (at least the ones I took time to look up) they all were chess prodigies, all learning the game as very young children and then studying, and learning, and being tutored until in their teens they emerged as stars.
I and my computer will see what we can do. Diaz continues to play chess in his old age. As recent as last year, he won at a tournament at the San Cristobal Fair. I take him as my hero this day, hoping to become a senior player good enough to win city tournaments.
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