SVW Grandmaster in Ukraine: He defends his life, no longer the king

SVW Grandmaster in Ukraine
He defends his life, no longer the king

The chess Bundesliga begins after a long break. But while the corona pandemic slowly subsides, Russia is starting a war in Ukraine. Instead of his king, the only 19-year-old grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko is now defending his life. His club, Werder Bremen, is afraid for him.

Kirill Shevchenko took his chessboard with him when he fled Kyiv. But instead of playing for SV Werder Bremen at the start of the Bundesliga at the weekend, the 19-year-old grandmaster is stuck with his family in western Ukraine in the midst of Russian missile attacks and fears for his life. “Yesterday we bought weapons,” said the Ukrainian.

Near the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, Shevchenko continues to train as best he can every day, even as war rages around him and sirens keep ringing. “We don’t know what’s coming tomorrow,” Shevchenko said. He was a bit sad that he couldn’t compete at the start of the Bundesliga. But now it is important to defend his country, assured the 19-year-old.

The international chess federation Fide lists Shevchenko 91st among the world’s 100 best players. He has high potential and is one of the top Bundesliga players in Germany, says a league spokesman. SV Werder Bremen had placed great hopes in the young grandmaster at the start of the season. After a long Corona break, the anticipation for the games was great, said Oliver Höpfner, head of the chess department in Bremen.

“We were happy that things were going a bit towards normality again,” said the 51-year-old. The joy has now completely given way to fear for the Ukrainian players and concern about current events in Ukraine. “Sporting is now absolutely secondary.”

New victory rules in the league

In addition to Shevchenko, the Ukrainians Zakhar Yefimenko and Oleksandr Areschtschenko would also have competed for the club. But the government in Kyiv has banned Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, they are subject to conscription and are not allowed to leave the country. As a sign against Russia’s war and for solidarity with Ukraine, SV Werder wants to release two boards at the weekend.

The opponents at the weekend, champion OSG Baden-Baden and runner-up Schachfreunde Deizisau, follow suit by also not putting up anyone on the second and third board instead of collecting points without a fight. According to the conventional set of rules, this could lead to both teams being classified as losers in the end. In order to prevent this, the chess Bundesliga announced a modified victory rule on Friday.

According to the Bundesliga, there are at least nine Ukrainian players in the German teams. The chess club Viernheim alone has five Ukrainian players. Three of them are stuck in Ukraine and cannot initially take part in the Bundesliga games. “Shortly before the exit ban for men came, we offered the players and later their entire families asylum here in Viernheim,” said the captain of the south Hessian club, Stefan Martin. But that didn’t happen anymore.

Russians need to take a stand

The Viernheim player Igor Kowalenko, who has been one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga for years, is also affected. In Kyiv he cares for elderly people who are too frail to flee. While the club can fill all eight boards, they will be in touch with Kowalenko during the weekend’s games to explain to viewers at the Bürgerhaus Viernheim and online what the war means.

In a resolution to be read before the game begins on Sunday, the club condemned Russia’s war of aggression. “In chess, the stronger should win. In real life, we don’t want the stronger to impose their will on the weaker by force,” it says. The Bundesliga board recommended all member clubs not to field any Russian or Belarusian players who did not actively reject the Russian attack until further notice.

In the near future, Ukrainian players could even be connected from their home country via an electronic chessboard. “That’s not actually planned in the Bundesliga,” said a league spokesman. The Bundesliga professionals stuck in Ukraine could now bring about a short-term change. “We probably won’t see that this weekend, but I don’t want to rule out that it will appear in the Bundesliga for the first time on matchday three or four,” said the league spokesman. A remote electronically connected player would be a novelty in the chess Bundesliga.

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