Chess: Visit of Grandmaster Victor Bologan |03 November 2023

GM Bologan in souvenir photo with local players

Work in progress to insert chess on the IOIG list

If everything goes well, there is a high possibility for the inclusion of chess on the list of sporting disciplines for the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG).

The idea followed the regional visit of the International Chess Federation (Fide) executive director and Grand Master (GM) Victor Bologan who was in the country during last weekend.

Prior to Seychelles, GM Bologan visited Kenya, Mauritius and Madagascar – the Fide Zone 4.4 countries – where in the last two; discussions reached the prospect to add chess to the IOIG list.

While in the country, GM Bologan met with senior officials from the National Sports Council (NSC), and also held discussions with the Seychelles Chess Federation (SCF), where other than to assess whether the local federation is aligned with the purpose and vision of Fide, discussion were also on how the parent organisation can help Seychelles in propagating chess, especially at school level, sparking the interest among the kids.

GM Bologan also met with local players, taking on a challenge to simultaneously facing-off with a group of them, while also giving them the chance to assess their level of play against that of a Fide GM.

GM Bologan (1991), a world renowned theoretician was born in Chisinau, Moldova.

 He began to compete internationally in 1991, reaching the Fide World Top 100 in ratings when he was in his late twenties.

2003 proved to be a breakthrough year, as Bologan won the Aeroflot Open in Moscow to receive an invitation to the annual Dortmund super tournament.

The Dortmund field included World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, and Peter Leko, among others.

In what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in modern chess, Bologan took first place by a full point.

In 2005, he tied for first in the Karpov Poikovsky (2005), reaching a 2700 rating for the first time in his career.

He qualified for the World Cup (2011) as a nominee of the Fide president, winning his first round game against Bartosz Socko, but was beaten in the second round by Leinier Dominguez Perez.

 He came 2nd (7th on tiebreak) at the 13th European Individual Championship (2012) with 8/11, thereby qualifying for the World Cup (2013), and rejoined the 2700 club for the first time since July 2005.

Compiled by Roland Duval