19 February 2019

Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu Is for Cadet Sports League

Ministry of Defense’s cadet chess clubs are placed in Sergey Karjakin’s custody.


Sergey Shoygu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, General of the Army, has inaugurated the cadet chess club at the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School. Head of the military establishment was seen making the symbolic first move е2-е4 and setting the clock going in one of the games.

Participating in the official ceremony was grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, who went on to give a simul to the military school students. The latter were later shown rare sets of chess and chess tutorials. 

Closing the ceremony, Minister of Defence wished success to the chess team "The Knight Move” and expressed hope about the military school favoring and improving in mind sports even further. 

Minister of Defence is also for launching the Cadet Sports League as part of pre-university educational institutions belonging to the Ministry of Defense. Voicing the very League’s idea at the meeting dedicated to the development program for pre-university educational institutions of the military department was State Secretary and Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov. He claimed that an excellent combination of the existing athletic equipment and a qualified coaching staff would contribute to forming athletic teams for as many as 18 disciplines. 

"Having discussed it at length, we have decided to approach you with the idea of launching either a cadet sports league or a cadet sports association, that is, pioneering a public organization to bring together the sport-enthusiastic students of the Suvorov, Nakhimov and cadet military schools," said Nikolai Pankov when addressing head of the military department. 

He also proposed that each pre-university educational institution opens own sports club bearing own distinctive insignia, as well as getting an experienced coach from among the athletes of CSKA. 

Sergey Shoygu has supported the idea. “I do support the idea of the Cadet Sports League. However, it must be the organization setting high goals,” said the Minister of Defence. He is of an opinion that the cadet league's contests should rotate venues each and every year. He also likes the idea of outsourcing the coaching staff. “The experience available with the athletes is to be found nowhere else. This is something that is known to go down by no other way but from one generation to the next only. He pointed out that the proposed system of coaching should not be formalistic, but that the coaches assigned should bear personal responsibility for their teams.

“I think we should get down to implementing as soon as this year,” said the head of the military department, offering to carry out the first School Olympics.

Sergey Karjakin voiced his desire to be part of the coaching staff. He recalled giving a simul to the students of the Orenburg Presidential Cadet School recently and this day facing the students of the Suvorov’s. 

“I have appreciated the students’ excellent level of play. They do have a decent potential in chess. I would be happy to become part of the CSKA team,”noted Sergey Karjakin.

“This is a good wish. We are all for it,” replied Sergey Shoygu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation and  General of the Army.

Photo credit: Vadim Savitsky