San Marino. Ezio Righi becomes FIDE Master, good performance at the Chess Olympics
Ezio Righiborn in 1956, from San Marino and long-time chess player, he obtained the important title of FIDE Masterawarded by the International Chess Federation for the excellent performance in the fourth chessboard at Chess Olympics (44th edition) which were held in Chennai, India, from 29 July to 9 August.
He obtained 6.5 points on 9 games played, or more than 70% of the points, earning this competitive category as it had already exceeded 2100 Elo FIDE points in the past; in fact, his first Olympics, played in 1984 in Thessaloniki in Greece, earned him direct entry into the international rankings with the Elo FIDE score of 2205.
Since then Righi has played no less than 17 Olympics, skipping only two for job applications: a high school math professor, he has dedicated his life to teaching: “Chess has taught me a lot, also to understand that everyone has different intelligences, their own times and their own personal times to learn and put into practice. Motivation and gratification are fundamental in tackling complex studies: sometimes self-awareness of one’s progress has more impact than a vote or a victory ”.
On the other hand, he continues to teach even in retirement: after being one of the founding members of the San Marino Chess Federation he is now President of the Mikhail Tal Association and internally deals with chess teaching as FIDE Instructor, also a title internationally recognized. “Am I happy? Of course, and also very tired: I had already touched this goal on other occasions, but I had lacked a bit of luck ”, said Righi with a smile. “I realize that my way of thinking is different from what I had a few years ago, I understand chess more, but it is much more tiring. But playing chess will always remain a pleasure ”.
Pleasure, passion and the strong conviction of the usefulness of chess have guided him in this adventure: it has already been 21 times Sample Absolute of Chess of San Marino, but he has also won many championships with shorter thinking times; having completed the picture with the acquisition of the title of Master FIDE, he can say that he knows and understands this environment well: “I see that the world of chess is changing. There is a new strength in the boys I saw playing in the Olympics: different nations are now deploying new recruits who have approached chess in a different way, they play much better and are more precise! “
The Chess Olympics are a team competition that also allows individuals to obtain individual results, proudly wearing the colors of their own country with equally motivated teammates: once again, San Marino has compared itself on an equal footing with several other nations: ” My goal now remains to manage a women’s team from San Marino for the fashion shows also representing San Marino for the Olympics ”.