Head coach of the Russian national team resigned
Evgeny Bareev cites the bad result at the World Team Championship
On 1st August the Chairman of the Board of the Russian Chess Federation Ilya Levitov RCF received a resignation letter from the head coach of the Russian national team GM Evgeny Bareev.
The resignation is associated with the unsuccessful performance at the World Team Chess Championship in China, where the Russian team did not reach the winners podium and finished on the 4th place.
The Russian Chess Federation is grateful to Evgeny Bareev for his work as a head coach. At the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia finished second behind Ukraine, winning the medal for the first time since 2004.
Analysis of the causes of the unsuccessful competition at the World Championship will be held in conjunction with the Board of RCF Trainers’ Council, members of the Supervisory Board of the RCF and the chess community. Appointment of a new head coach will be discussed at the next Trainers’ Council.
The Russian press devoted a huge attention to the “Ningbo failure”. Alexander Kentler wondered why the management team has given so much time for the outside and journalistic activities on a daily basis. Namely, Bareev published a daily diary in the Sovsport, while Ilya Levitov wrote for Sport Express.
Exactly the same issue was highlighted by Azerbaijan captain GM Vladimir Tukmakov, in connection with the activities of his player GM Gadir Guseinov. But Tukmakov also had much bigger problems in the squad.
After the Championship, Sovsport interviewed Mark Glukhovsky, chief editor of the respectable “64 – Chess Review” magazine. He immediately stated that – “The main responsibility for such a bad result should be with the head coach Bareev… The team – this is not just the sum of individual ratings. There is some team chemistry: the interaction between the players, their ability to regroup at the right moment, to feel that the fellow in not doing so good, to provide comfort and encouragement. And for all this the head coach is responsible.”
The 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov criticized the performance of the Russian team, using the words – “It’s a real shame!”.
He also said that the spirit in the team must be much better and called for establishing a different, more ambitious mindset.
GM Sergei Smagin, Vice-President of the Moscow Chess Federation, said that Bareev’s resignation was to be expected. He added that Bareev is responsible and serious person who understands that the fourth place in the World Championship is simply a disaster.
In an interview for RIA Novosti Smagin explained all the small nuances that are needed to form a good chess team coach. He said that finding a replacement will be very difficult, first because there are not many top notch coaches, and second because nobody can guess whether any of them is ready to make sacrifices and change the personal lifestyle in order to fulfill the demanding duties all year round.
He should.