Minnesota's first ever international chess festival comes to Bloomington
Checkmate, pawn and endgame aren’t words that turn up in everyday conversation. But to people like Alex Betaneli, they represent a way of life. Betaneli is a national chess master and the co-organizer of the first-ever Minnesota International Chess Festival that kicks off Friday Aug. 19 in Bloomington.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Audio transcript
INTERVIEWER: Well, the words checkmate, pawn, and end game are words that turn up in everyday conversation, right? But to people like Alex BETANELI, they represent a way of life. BETANELI is a national chess master and the co-organizer of the first ever Minnesota International Chess Festival that kicks off this Friday in Bloomington. Alex is on the line right now. Thanks for joining us here on Minnesota Now.
ALEX BETANELI: Hi, thank you, Cathy.
INTERVIEWER: I'm so glad you're here. Well, I'm curious about how you managed to get into chess.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, I have been playing since I was in elementary school. My older brother used to be a chess player, and I went after his steps and joined the chess scene back in the former USSR.
INTERVIEWER: And I'm betting that probably, chess in the former USSR was as popular, if not more so, than soccer?
ALEX BETANELI: It was pretty close. It was between chess and soccer actually, number one and two, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So you were introduced, you started to play. I am betting that you probably ran up against some pretty impressive chess players in Russia.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, I mean, I was a little kid back then, but I did get to see the world championship match live, and that really stuck with me. In 1985, I got to see the two greats-- two of the greatest players face each other, so that left a mark for sure.
INTERVIEWER: I bet it did. Now, you moved to the US with your family in 1991, is that right?
ALEX BETANELI: That's correct. Yeah, it was still USSR back then, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Got it, OK. So you're here in 1991. Gosh, what'd you think of the chess scene in the United States?
ALEX BETANELI: It was different, but very vibrant, and I played in my first tournament in Green Bay in Wisconsin, and really enjoyed the atmosphere. And I never really left the chess scene since 1991.
INTERVIEWER: I have never seen a tournament, or a chess match live. So I'm curious if you watch though on TV, it looks like-- well, it lasts for quite some time. It seems very intense, stressful at times. Quite methodical, at least that's what appears is happening from the inside-outside. But what is the experience like for someone who's actually participating in the match?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, well I mean it can be very different. I mean, chess tournaments, they can be very formal or not nearly as much. Ours, the Minnesota international tournament, will see players from different ages and different groups participate, and some of the players will be taking the games very seriously, and probably preparing for their next opponent for a couple of hours, possibly. And some other players will just play their game and go have lunch and come back to play another game/
INTERVIEWER: Oh, what are you thinking about when you're in the midst of a match? What's going through your head?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, well usually, you just anticipate what the opponent is trying to do and either prevent it or allow it, depending on if you think it's a good idea. So you're just trying to calculate a couple steps ahead to the best of your ability.
INTERVIEWER: You make it sound so easy.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, it's actually a very easy game to learn, but very, very difficult game to master.
INTERVIEWER: Well, let me ask you about those who are called grandmasters. Can you explain what is a grand master, and will you have any at the tournament?
ALEX BETANELI: All right, yes, so a grand master is actually the highest title you can have in chess. There is a system that assigns a rating and then a title to a chess player. So for example, at the beginning of everybody's chess career, they're rated about 1,000, and then the world champion is rated around 2,800. Everybody else falls somewhere in between. There are a total of about 1,000 grandmasters and then the best grandmaster is the world champion. And at the Minnesota international tournament, we'll have at least six grandmasters from different countries.
INTERVIEWER: Wow, that's impressive. Who-- by the way, I need to ask about this young woman, Alice Lee. I did some research. Is she coming? Can you tell me about her?
ALEX BETANELI: She's a very impressive player. She's only middle school and she has played at the National championship already, so definitely a young star in Minnesota. I'm not sure if she will be participating, but she will definitely be watching games if she is not there.
INTERVIEWER: So she's a chess prodigy?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, for sure, yes. There will be a very talented chess player who is a grandmaster, Andrew Tang. He's a local, he's from Minnesota. He will be one of the participants. Then we'll have lots of young up and coming chess players, mostly from Minnesota, who try to improve their rankings and get the experience of playing the best players in the world.
INTERVIEWER: What's it like to be a part of the tournament, just watching it? Because if you're into chess, I bet you probably soak up a lot of other knowledge by watching somebody else play.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, yeah. If you're a chess player, it's probably a little bit more interesting. But I have lots of students, and their parents don't necessarily play the game, but they watch and spectate and enjoy it immensely. You can-- on the surface, it seems very quiet and stoic. But if you look closely, you will notice that people are nervous, people are clearly thinking. You can even see the pupils dilate sometimes, so the nice thing about chess, though, is that you don't have to watch it live. You can replay the game later on. We record all our games, and people can go through them at their own pace, because we write them down, and download, and it's freely available to everybody.
INTERVIEWER: I love what you said about watching someone's pupils dilate, it's almost like poker. In a poker tournament, it's kind of the same thing. I'm wondering how big is the chess scene in Minnesota, especially among kids, school kids?
ALEX BETANELI: It's very popular. There are chess clubs at many, many schools. Usually, it's extracurricular. And whenever there is a scholastic tournament in Minnesota, it's extremely well-attended. So in the United States in general, and in Minnesota specifically, it's-- chess among kids is really, really through the roof, I want to say.
INTERVIEWER: Now, tell me. How do you try to convince a young person, what's your argument to them, to get them involved? Why is it such a good game to learn?
ALEX BETANELI: Well, if I talk to a parent, that's pretty easy, because whenever they play chess, they focus on their-- learn to be patient and learn to think ahead, learn to be responsible for their own decisions. And most importantly, perhaps, whenever they play chess, they're not playing video games. But when I talk to kids, it's a little bit different, but it's very concrete. You get the feedback immediately. If you make the wrong move, the opponent will jump in the opportunity to beat you. And the nice thing is if you lose a game, you can learn from your mistakes, move on, and then apply your knowledge almost immediately.
INTERVIEWER: Good life lessons. Now, give me the particulars, Alex. Where and when-- for the tournament.
ALEX BETANELI: The tournament is going to start on Friday night, this Friday night at the Embassy Suites of Bloomington, Bloomington, Minneapolis. It will be a huge ballroom filled up with chess players. It will be completely quiet, probably about 150 participants or so. People will be playing at a pretty slow pace, they get about 90 minutes each for the entire game, and there will be chess clocks used, just so people don't think infinitely. And the tournament will-- most of the tournament will happen over the weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But the international section, the upper level players, are going to play all the way through Wednesday.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
ALEX BETANELI: And there will be only two games per day, actually.
INTERVIEWER: Wow, so it'll be pretty intense. Alex, I do appreciate your time here today. Thank you so much, and best of luck.
ALEX BETANELI: Yeah, thank you for inviting me, and good luck to all your listeners. I hope they can come by and spectate.
INTERVIEWER: It would be interesting. Thank you, Alex. Alex BETANELI is the national chess master, co-organizer of the Minnesota International Chess Festival, taking place the 19th to the 24th of August in Bloomington.
ALEX BETANELI: Hi, thank you, Cathy.
INTERVIEWER: I'm so glad you're here. Well, I'm curious about how you managed to get into chess.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, I have been playing since I was in elementary school. My older brother used to be a chess player, and I went after his steps and joined the chess scene back in the former USSR.
INTERVIEWER: And I'm betting that probably, chess in the former USSR was as popular, if not more so, than soccer?
ALEX BETANELI: It was pretty close. It was between chess and soccer actually, number one and two, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So you were introduced, you started to play. I am betting that you probably ran up against some pretty impressive chess players in Russia.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, I mean, I was a little kid back then, but I did get to see the world championship match live, and that really stuck with me. In 1985, I got to see the two greats-- two of the greatest players face each other, so that left a mark for sure.
INTERVIEWER: I bet it did. Now, you moved to the US with your family in 1991, is that right?
ALEX BETANELI: That's correct. Yeah, it was still USSR back then, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Got it, OK. So you're here in 1991. Gosh, what'd you think of the chess scene in the United States?
ALEX BETANELI: It was different, but very vibrant, and I played in my first tournament in Green Bay in Wisconsin, and really enjoyed the atmosphere. And I never really left the chess scene since 1991.
INTERVIEWER: I have never seen a tournament, or a chess match live. So I'm curious if you watch though on TV, it looks like-- well, it lasts for quite some time. It seems very intense, stressful at times. Quite methodical, at least that's what appears is happening from the inside-outside. But what is the experience like for someone who's actually participating in the match?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, well I mean it can be very different. I mean, chess tournaments, they can be very formal or not nearly as much. Ours, the Minnesota international tournament, will see players from different ages and different groups participate, and some of the players will be taking the games very seriously, and probably preparing for their next opponent for a couple of hours, possibly. And some other players will just play their game and go have lunch and come back to play another game/
INTERVIEWER: Oh, what are you thinking about when you're in the midst of a match? What's going through your head?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, well usually, you just anticipate what the opponent is trying to do and either prevent it or allow it, depending on if you think it's a good idea. So you're just trying to calculate a couple steps ahead to the best of your ability.
INTERVIEWER: You make it sound so easy.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, it's actually a very easy game to learn, but very, very difficult game to master.
INTERVIEWER: Well, let me ask you about those who are called grandmasters. Can you explain what is a grand master, and will you have any at the tournament?
ALEX BETANELI: All right, yes, so a grand master is actually the highest title you can have in chess. There is a system that assigns a rating and then a title to a chess player. So for example, at the beginning of everybody's chess career, they're rated about 1,000, and then the world champion is rated around 2,800. Everybody else falls somewhere in between. There are a total of about 1,000 grandmasters and then the best grandmaster is the world champion. And at the Minnesota international tournament, we'll have at least six grandmasters from different countries.
INTERVIEWER: Wow, that's impressive. Who-- by the way, I need to ask about this young woman, Alice Lee. I did some research. Is she coming? Can you tell me about her?
ALEX BETANELI: She's a very impressive player. She's only middle school and she has played at the National championship already, so definitely a young star in Minnesota. I'm not sure if she will be participating, but she will definitely be watching games if she is not there.
INTERVIEWER: So she's a chess prodigy?
ALEX BETANELI: Oh, for sure, yes. There will be a very talented chess player who is a grandmaster, Andrew Tang. He's a local, he's from Minnesota. He will be one of the participants. Then we'll have lots of young up and coming chess players, mostly from Minnesota, who try to improve their rankings and get the experience of playing the best players in the world.
INTERVIEWER: What's it like to be a part of the tournament, just watching it? Because if you're into chess, I bet you probably soak up a lot of other knowledge by watching somebody else play.
ALEX BETANELI: Well, yeah. If you're a chess player, it's probably a little bit more interesting. But I have lots of students, and their parents don't necessarily play the game, but they watch and spectate and enjoy it immensely. You can-- on the surface, it seems very quiet and stoic. But if you look closely, you will notice that people are nervous, people are clearly thinking. You can even see the pupils dilate sometimes, so the nice thing about chess, though, is that you don't have to watch it live. You can replay the game later on. We record all our games, and people can go through them at their own pace, because we write them down, and download, and it's freely available to everybody.
INTERVIEWER: I love what you said about watching someone's pupils dilate, it's almost like poker. In a poker tournament, it's kind of the same thing. I'm wondering how big is the chess scene in Minnesota, especially among kids, school kids?
ALEX BETANELI: It's very popular. There are chess clubs at many, many schools. Usually, it's extracurricular. And whenever there is a scholastic tournament in Minnesota, it's extremely well-attended. So in the United States in general, and in Minnesota specifically, it's-- chess among kids is really, really through the roof, I want to say.
INTERVIEWER: Now, tell me. How do you try to convince a young person, what's your argument to them, to get them involved? Why is it such a good game to learn?
ALEX BETANELI: Well, if I talk to a parent, that's pretty easy, because whenever they play chess, they focus on their-- learn to be patient and learn to think ahead, learn to be responsible for their own decisions. And most importantly, perhaps, whenever they play chess, they're not playing video games. But when I talk to kids, it's a little bit different, but it's very concrete. You get the feedback immediately. If you make the wrong move, the opponent will jump in the opportunity to beat you. And the nice thing is if you lose a game, you can learn from your mistakes, move on, and then apply your knowledge almost immediately.
INTERVIEWER: Good life lessons. Now, give me the particulars, Alex. Where and when-- for the tournament.
ALEX BETANELI: The tournament is going to start on Friday night, this Friday night at the Embassy Suites of Bloomington, Bloomington, Minneapolis. It will be a huge ballroom filled up with chess players. It will be completely quiet, probably about 150 participants or so. People will be playing at a pretty slow pace, they get about 90 minutes each for the entire game, and there will be chess clocks used, just so people don't think infinitely. And the tournament will-- most of the tournament will happen over the weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But the international section, the upper level players, are going to play all the way through Wednesday.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
ALEX BETANELI: And there will be only two games per day, actually.
INTERVIEWER: Wow, so it'll be pretty intense. Alex, I do appreciate your time here today. Thank you so much, and best of luck.
ALEX BETANELI: Yeah, thank you for inviting me, and good luck to all your listeners. I hope they can come by and spectate.
INTERVIEWER: It would be interesting. Thank you, Alex. Alex BETANELI is the national chess master, co-organizer of the Minnesota International Chess Festival, taking place the 19th to the 24th of August in Bloomington.
Download transcript (PDF)
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.