Chess organiser praises TalTech and colourful chess community

Chess players come from diverse backgrounds, and the game has often flourished in poorer countries, Tallinn Chess Festival organiser Urmas Randma told ERR’s Vikerhommik programme.

Randma said TalTech is already one of Europe’s leading chess universities. The Tallinn Chess Festival attracted participants from 16 countries, including 15 grandmasters.

“No other university in Europe has such a large chess tournament,” Randma said. He added that TalTech is also developing new talent, with leading lecturers who are chess enthusiasts and a newly established chess club.

Chess has historically been popular in countries where incomes are lower, Randma said, comparing it with football. He pointed to India and China, whose players are currently among the world’s best, and said the United States had also become strong because players from other countries had emigrated there.

Uzbekistan won the most recent men’s Chess Olympiad, Randma noted. He said older players had moved into coaching while children continued to take up the game, creating a broad base from which many strong players could emerge.

“The chess family is like God’s zoo; every person is different,” Randma said. When two particularly interesting personalities meet over a game, he added, it can be like the best theatre performance. He cited Ülo Tuulik and Raul Rebane as an example.

Many of the world’s chess grandmasters also play poker, Randma said. Only around 25 to 30 of the world’s top players earn well from chess, while others struggle to make ends meet because tournament participation is expensive.

Randma also spoke about the MTÜ Treeningpartner Pühajärve Chess Club. Its members include Pääru Oja, Raigo Uukkivi, Raul Rebane, Mart Tarmak and Kaupo Kruusiauk, while Merike Rõtova is the club’s leading figure. He said Estonian women won the veterans’ world championship last year.

Randma said he organises chess tournaments because of the strong connections he has built in the chess world and a desire to give something back to Estonia and the wider chess community. He described the work as demanding, particularly when hosting players from abroad, but said chess was “the most beautiful game in the world”.