Grandmaster Alexander Baburin Visits BCS
Summer 2007Interview with Grandmaster Alexander Baburin
Alexander Baburin, a Russian Grandmaster who currently lives in Ireland, is in the Bay Area to teach advanced classes at the Berkeley Chess School summer camp. Alex is also playing in the Imre Konig GM invitational in San Francisco. He currently runs the online chess newsletter Chess Today, and is the author of Winning Pawn Structures. He hails from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and cuts a memorable figure at seven feet tall. Okay, he's not really that tall but he probably seems that way to our students! Alex first began competing on an international level in 1989, when the end of the Cold War eased border restrictions, and by 1993 was one of the top-rated International Masters. Eventually he earned his Grandmaster title and reached a peak rating of #17 in the world. He is now a semi-retired professional player, writing for chess magazines and teaching.
How did you learn to play chess?
My Dad first began to teach me when I was seven years old, and I quickly learned to beat him. He would get optimistic and say "I'm feeling lucky, so I think today will be the day I beat you" [laughs]. A woman came to our local school and opened a free chess club -- the state paid her salary to develop youth programs. It quickly turned into school competitions, and she was my coach for many years. She played chess well, but she was also a good coach emotionally, always cheering me up after a loss.
What did you like about the game?
I like winning, and I don't like losing. It's about the challenge. I only learned to appreciate the beauty of the game later. It was all about results when I first started playing. It's funny, there was a study that concluded that the stronger players play by talking themselves out of possible moves, while it's the other way for weaker players in terms of how they attack the game. I've noticed that every time I make a stupid move, I talk myself into it first.
You obviously make a living with professional chess. But how is it beneficial for kids to learn chess, outside of the professional arena?
Well, concentration really. It teaches you to focus, but it teaches you in an indirect way. Instead of telling the child to learn to focus, you give him a sophisticated game where he can hone his skills. I would say that the second benefit is interaction with other children. It gives kids who aren't sporty -- say, not into basketball or soccer -- a chance to interact on a competitive level. And third, it teaches you to deal with defeat, with both major and minor setbacks. I remember when I was fifteen years old, and I lost a game. I came home and told my parents that I didn't want to talk to anyone for a while. I just needed to deal with losing that game, and then move on. But I had that encouraging coach, you know? It creates models for dealing with pressure and setbacks, and I think that's very good. I think that ultimately, the idea isn't that the kids will all become grandmasters, but that they will learn the game and can come back to it later in life.
What do the kids you teach seem to like about the game?
Well there's the aesthetic beauty, some kids are definitely drawn to that. Some appreciate it the way you would savor music or art. But really, it attracts all types. Sporty or competitive types. Also, introverted types. It's very good for self confidence.
Do you focus on the cultural background of chess at all in the classroom?
I teach advanced classes, so we're going over a lot of technicalities and strategy. But chess has a very long history --in recorded history, it's been around for at least a few hundred years. I'll talk about figures such as André Philidor, who was a prolific chess writer and probably the best chess player of his era. But he was also France's leading composer for a time, and wrote operas. Or I tell them about Alexander Kortov, the Soviet champion who wrote Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster. He was also a munitions engineer in the Cold War. I also go over the styles of the top players in the world. I really believe that chess is not just a hobby, but a sport with a past.
How did you meet Elizabeth Shaughnessy and become involved with the Berkeley Chess School?
I met Elizabeth at a tournament in Ireland, after she had already founded the Berkeley Chess School. At the time, my scholastic teaching was somewhat at a dead end. But after talking to Elizabeth, I realized that I wanted to replicate her model of teaching chess.
What do you think of the Bay Area, considering that you've done so much traveling for chess tournaments?
The Bay Area is my favorite place in the States. The air is fresh; I just feel good here. When there's a chance to play in the Bay, I take it, and quick. There's great diversity here. And the climate -- you should be charged money for it!
Read interview with Baburin on his previous visit to BCS.
You can read more about Alexander Baburin and his views on chess at Chesstoday.net.
Alexander Baburin, a Russian Grandmaster who currently lives in Ireland, is in the Bay Area to teach advanced classes at the Berkeley Chess School summer camp. Alex is also playing in the Imre Konig GM invitational in San Francisco. He currently runs the online chess newsletter Chess Today, and is the author of Winning Pawn Structures. He hails from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and cuts a memorable figure at seven feet tall. Okay, he's not really that tall but he probably seems that way to our students! Alex first began competing on an international level in 1989, when the end of the Cold War eased border restrictions, and by 1993 was one of the top-rated International Masters. Eventually he earned his Grandmaster title and reached a peak rating of #17 in the world. He is now a semi-retired professional player, writing for chess magazines and teaching.
How did you learn to play chess?
My Dad first began to teach me when I was seven years old, and I quickly learned to beat him. He would get optimistic and say "I'm feeling lucky, so I think today will be the day I beat you" [laughs]. A woman came to our local school and opened a free chess club -- the state paid her salary to develop youth programs. It quickly turned into school competitions, and she was my coach for many years. She played chess well, but she was also a good coach emotionally, always cheering me up after a loss.
What did you like about the game?
I like winning, and I don't like losing. It's about the challenge. I only learned to appreciate the beauty of the game later. It was all about results when I first started playing. It's funny, there was a study that concluded that the stronger players play by talking themselves out of possible moves, while it's the other way for weaker players in terms of how they attack the game. I've noticed that every time I make a stupid move, I talk myself into it first.
You obviously make a living with professional chess. But how is it beneficial for kids to learn chess, outside of the professional arena?
Well, concentration really. It teaches you to focus, but it teaches you in an indirect way. Instead of telling the child to learn to focus, you give him a sophisticated game where he can hone his skills. I would say that the second benefit is interaction with other children. It gives kids who aren't sporty -- say, not into basketball or soccer -- a chance to interact on a competitive level. And third, it teaches you to deal with defeat, with both major and minor setbacks. I remember when I was fifteen years old, and I lost a game. I came home and told my parents that I didn't want to talk to anyone for a while. I just needed to deal with losing that game, and then move on. But I had that encouraging coach, you know? It creates models for dealing with pressure and setbacks, and I think that's very good. I think that ultimately, the idea isn't that the kids will all become grandmasters, but that they will learn the game and can come back to it later in life.
What do the kids you teach seem to like about the game?
Well there's the aesthetic beauty, some kids are definitely drawn to that. Some appreciate it the way you would savor music or art. But really, it attracts all types. Sporty or competitive types. Also, introverted types. It's very good for self confidence.
Do you focus on the cultural background of chess at all in the classroom?
I teach advanced classes, so we're going over a lot of technicalities and strategy. But chess has a very long history --in recorded history, it's been around for at least a few hundred years. I'll talk about figures such as André Philidor, who was a prolific chess writer and probably the best chess player of his era. But he was also France's leading composer for a time, and wrote operas. Or I tell them about Alexander Kortov, the Soviet champion who wrote Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster. He was also a munitions engineer in the Cold War. I also go over the styles of the top players in the world. I really believe that chess is not just a hobby, but a sport with a past.
How did you meet Elizabeth Shaughnessy and become involved with the Berkeley Chess School?
I met Elizabeth at a tournament in Ireland, after she had already founded the Berkeley Chess School. At the time, my scholastic teaching was somewhat at a dead end. But after talking to Elizabeth, I realized that I wanted to replicate her model of teaching chess.
What do you think of the Bay Area, considering that you've done so much traveling for chess tournaments?
The Bay Area is my favorite place in the States. The air is fresh; I just feel good here. When there's a chance to play in the Bay, I take it, and quick. There's great diversity here. And the climate -- you should be charged money for it!
Read interview with Baburin on his previous visit to BCS.
You can read more about Alexander Baburin and his views on chess at Chesstoday.net.
BCS students visited GM Baburin and his students on an Irish exchange trip last summer.
GM Baburin plays a simul against the exchange students.