Russian culture festival kicks off with a chess masterclass

The Irish Times – Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Russian culture festival kicks off with a chess masterclass

STEVEN CARROLL

A RUSSIAN chess grandmaster took on, and conquered, 10 opponents simultaneously in Dublin yesterday to mark the opening of a festival celebrating his native land’s culture.

Alexander Baburin, who has lived in Ireland since 1993, provided a chess masterclass to seasoned and young Irish players.

“In the past there were some very good Irish players,” he said. “But that was unfortunately about 100 or 200 years ago.

“If we talk about professionals now, Ireland is not anywhere particularly high in the world. But if you look at national rankings we would be ranked about 65th in the world. When there is a chess Olympiad we would often finish 40th, which is a big jump.”

Mr Baburin, who coaches chess players here, said he believed the standard in Ireland could rise in the future, as more young people are taking an interest in the game.

“One would hope that most of them would keep it up so when they grow up they could pick it up again in college,” he said.

“It should push up the overall level here . . . It’s like a pyramid – if you have a broad enough base the top will reach higher.”

Mr Baburin’s masterclass was just one of a host of events this week marking Dublin’s first ever Russian Culture Festival. Other events will focus on Russian art and photography, film, dance, music and cuisine. The festival follows the signing of a co-operation agreement by Dublin and Moscow last year, which both governments hope can promote cultural and economic ties.

Mr Baburin said there are many similarities between Irish and Russian culture. “They both like drinking and they have a kind of laid back attitude,” he said.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com