SP3 SP2 THE BIG THREE: Behind the Scenes Caruana, Nakamura, So —and Cameras—of the Grand Chess Tour SP2 The Pro Chess SP4 League Returns Key Games Played in Saint Louis MOVES THE SINQUEFIELD EFFECT ANALYSIS Sports APRIL 12, 2018 – COMMENTARY Saint Louis Chess Club FEBRUARY 24, 2019 SAINT LOUIS CHESS CLUB/LENNART OOTES Let's Talk About Chess "I am a chess commentator. That is a sentence I write with pride." BY MAURICE ASHLEY Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand fan getting paid to whoop and code, to artfully infuse dry varia- lution of broadcasting chess as Grandmaster duked it out for the title inside holler in a stadium while watch- tions with compelling story lines. sports entertainment. I fully appre- a (mostly) sound-proof booth, a ing Michael, Kobe, or Lebron bully Commentators bring their con- ciate that we are on the front lines of I am a chess commentator. That is match that began on September their way through the opposition trasting opinions and personalities progress and potential growth, look- a sentence I write with pride. 11 on the 107th floor of the South in the NBA Finals. I get to work into the mix all the while keep- ing to gain the level of respect many For more than twenty years, I Tower of the World Trade Center. In alongside a team of Hall of Fame ing track of multiple games that other sports have already attained. have been blessed with a front row 1997, I helped to call the 2nd Man talents (Yasser Seirawan, Jennifer build in tension toward the almost While it’s certainly easier to call a seat watching the game’s greatest vs. Machine match when IBM’s Shahade, Alejandro Ramirez, inevitable pulse-racing moments physical activity where the athletes players spend hour after hour in super computer Deep Blue dealt Cristian Chirila), as we argue over of acute time pressure. In the post- swiftly dart about the field or court, pitched battles trying to rip each a digital blow of revenge against complicated ideas in front of a game interviews, commentators we chess commentators embrace other to shreds. I was there, in 1994, Kasparov, who had defeated it the live worldwide audience eagerly gently cajole players who have just the challenge of making thirty-two in a small booth overlooking the year before, sending a collective following every move of their stumbled out of the heat of battle wooden pieces come alive on a flat stage inside the Kremlin in Moscow shiver down the spines of humans favorite players. to reveal something of their inner- board of sixty-four squares. during the epic Intel World Chess everywhere as the cold truth stared Why is a commentator impor- most thoughts and feelings they I am a chess commentator. I write Grand Prix tournament. It was the us in the face that the silicon enti- tant? Well, it’s the commenta- had during a game they may have those words with a satisfied smile. first time a major chess event had ties had irrevocably surpassed us in tor’s task to pull back the curtain just lost. We ride the waves of emo- ever been held inside that grand our precious pastime, if not (yet) in to reveal the hidden excitement of tions as we recall how we feel when complex, and I was bellowing so actual intelligence. chess games full of dramatic twists we play, and we empathize with loudly from the excitement of the Jump ahead two decades and and turns, hidden subplots, psy- the game’s geniuses as they suffer games that Klara Kasparova, the now I travel the world calling the chological intrigue, intense mood over move after move, round after then World Champion’s mother, games of a new generation of chess swings, and moments of pure round, day in, day out, till there is switched her headphones from the giants. When I witness Magnus devastation. While we may use only one champion left standing. Above, Legendary World Russian channel to the English one Carlsen time and again cut through engines as partners as they spit As someone who lives to promote Champion Garry Kasparov to hear what all the fuss was about. a field of elite warriors in elabo- out lines of often brilliant analy- our royal game and who wishes to interviewed by Grandmaster A year later, I partnered with the rately staged Blitz competitions, sis, it is up to the human expert to see it become more mainstream, Maurice Ashley during Round 8 legendary Danny King as Garry I often feel like an over-enthused tell the tale behind the reams of I relish my role as a part of the evo- of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup. SP2 THE SINQUEFIELD EFFECT SPORTS APRIL 12, 2018 – FEBRUARY 24, 2019 THE SINQUEFIELD EFFECT SPORTS APRIL 12, 2018 – FEBRUARY 24, 2019 SP3 Behind the Scenes -and Cameras-of Grand Chess Tour BY ERIC MOUSEL the spear, the cherry on top, Few of us work for the Broadcast Editor whatever sits aloft the things same company and many are you like! freelancers, but we’re all fam- “This game will be over in Energetic and exciting ily, which makes each major two moves.” commentary is the backbone tournament we cover feel “…and how long will that of our show and all of our like a homecoming. Similar take?” commentators produce both to when a bunch of super- “It could be 20 seconds. It in enormous sums. Want heroes join together to fight could be two hours.” proof? Even I, a 'TV Person', a supreme evil, but with less Let’s get one thing clear–20 can understand what they’re violence, and it’s catered. seconds is a lifetime when it talking about (sometimes). Third, and last, we need comes to live television. It’s Besides, imagine if we instead you–the fans. [What, did you PHOTOS SAINT LOUIS CHESS CLUB/AUSTIN FULLER the real world equivalent of hired Ben Stein. You’d be in think we’d forget to include deciding what to wear on cryogenic sleep halfway to you in this back-patting ses- a first date, or which of 50 Mars by now. sion?] Chess is a world sport toppings to smother on your Second, you need an excep- and so we are an interna- Froyo. These things take time. tionally good team for broad- tional production, dedicated [Ed. Note: I should point cast. And, as you might’ve to giving you the best cover- The Big 3: Caruana, Nakamura, So out that none of the technical guessed, that’s not an easy age possible. And when I say staff, “TV People,” at the Saint thing to come up with on a dedicated I mean “walking Louis Chess Club are what whim (I’ve yet to see a bill- into the studio at 5 a.m. wear- BY ROBERT HESS Championships held in Saint has been halted by Caruana and World Champion title. 2016 World Chess Olympiad. The you’d call “chess people.” board for “Exceptionally ing yoga pants and clutching Grandmaster Louis were played in 2009, with So, both of whom are also firmly So, born and raised in the United States team, supported by But that doesn’t matter in the Good Broadcast Team” as an espresso” dedicated. Nakamura, then a newly-minted entrenched among the world’s Philippines, initially came to the the STLCC, won gold in Baku for same way a chef doesn’t need I was cruising down I-70). If you’ve been enjoy- When Americans hear of a “Big 2700 FIDE, reigning supreme for elite players. U.S. to join the chess program at the first time in four decades. to know the Sicilian open to We have... ing from afar, think about Three,” nostalgia might take their his second title. Caruana, a dual citizen who Webster University. After leav- The Saint Louis Chess Club, make Hikaru Nakamura spa- Producers, who make sure making a trip here. We’d minds to competitors in the auto- Since that championship, switched to the Italian federa- ing school to make the game his founded by generous benefactors ghetti and meatballs.] everyone is doing their jobs love to see you in person. In motive industry or the early televi- Nakamura has tacked on two more tion in 2005 before returning to profession, So’s rating has soared. Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, So, how do you combine a and on time; 2016, our broadcasts of the sion networks. Fans of the runaway and become a mainstay in the compete under the American flag Opportunities in Saint Louis have has been the catalyst for chess game notorious for long, pro- Directors, who call all the Grand Chess Tour tourna- NBC television hit This is Us may world top ten, reaching his peak in 2015, acknowledged that the aided So in his journey to world development in the United States. tracted mental battles with shots and direct the on-air ments alone garnered mil- shed uncontrollable tears when of world number two in October STLCC played a vital role in his number two and qualification for There are numerous events held the frantic, fast-paced format talent through their ear lions of viewers around the hearing the phrase. of 2015. He scored an impressive decision to depart Europe. A his- the 2018 Candidates’ Tournament. every year for living legends and of sports broadcasting? pieces; world. Not bad for a group of Today’s American chess fans international victory in Wijk aan toric seven straight wins during his The 2016 Sinquefield Cup was blossoming prodigies alike, includ- First, you’re going to need Camera and sound crew nomads coming together in know Grandmasters Fabiano Zee (2011) and three-peats at the domination at the 2014 Sinquefield his first super-tournament vic- ing the Champions Showdown, a Yasser, a Maurice, and a who capture all the sights and Saint Louis to produce one of Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Zurich Chess Challenge and the Cup, arguably the greatest perfor- tory and propelled him to the top quarterly norm tournaments, and Jennifer.