On 11 May, fideu trainers committee announced the winners of the 2020-21 FIDE Coaching Awards. Ye Jiangchuan, Xie Jun and Ni Hua from China are on the list.
The FIDE Trainers' Committee's annual awards recognize achievements in the field of chess training.
Karl Sherazer Prize
Ni Hua (China) won the "Karl Sheraze Award" for his outstanding contributions to the field of women's competition.
Since 2016, Ni Hua has been Serving as Ju Wenjun's coach, during the 2020 Women's World Championship, Ni Hua's grandmother died, in order not to let Ju Wenjun be affected in any way, Ni Hua did not tell Ju Wenjun this sad news, nor did he return to China to attend the funeral, but stayed on the field to help Ju Wenjun successfully defend his title after the chess game, showing the persistence and responsibility of an excellent coach!
Botwick Prize
Kasimzanov (Uzbekistan) received the "Botvinnik Prize" for his outstanding achievements in the field of open (men's) competitions.
Kasimzanov was an assistant to former world champion Anand, helping him prepare for three world championship matches in 2008 (against Kramnik), 2010 (against Topalov) and 2012 (against Gelfand). He also coached Cal Yakin during the 2014 World Championship Candidate Tournament and has since coached Karuana, helping him prepare for the 2016 World Championship Candidates and the 2018 World Championships (against Carlson).
Dvorecki Prize
Sergey Zagrebelny (Russia) received the "Dvoretsky Prize" for his outstanding performance in the field of youth competitions.
Zagrebelni is from Uzbekistan and at the 1992 Manila Olympiad he helped Uzbekistan to a silver medal in the men's team. Since 2012 he has been the principal coach of the Moscow Youth Chess School. Here, he mentored and nurtured several of Russia's rising stars, including Shuvalova. Since 2015, Zagrebelni has been coaching Shuvalova, and their cooperation has been fruitful: in 2018 and 2019, Shuvalova won the Women's U18 World Junior Championship twice, and in 2019, she also won the Women's World Youth Championship (U20).
Leshevsky Prize
Jakov Geller (Russia) received the "Leshevsky Prize" for his training achievements in the field of genius prodigies (U14).
Since 2007, Yakov Guériel has been one of Russia's top coaches. His students include several master players, such as Grandmasters Bukavshen and Pridko, International Grandmasters Sanzaev, Mokshanov and Makariyan, and Female Grandmaster Dorzhyeva. In 2020, he wrote a biography of Bukafshin, who unfortunately died at the age of 20, published by Elk and Ruby.
Razuvayev Prize
Xie Jun (China) won the "Razuvayev Prize" for his special contribution to grassroots education and his impact on society.
Xie Jun is the first world champion from China and the third Grandmaster (GM) in China. She is considered a hero of China and has made outstanding contributions to the promotion of chess in China and the Asian region. In July 2004, Xie Jun became a senior coach at FIDE.
Pietro Phase Award
Ye Jiangchuan (China) won the "Pietro Xiang Award" for his special contributions in the field of chess education.
Ye Jiangchuan began learning chess at the age of 17 and became China's national champion just three years later. After becoming the head coach of the Chinese national team in 2000, Ye Jiangchuan gradually participated in the competition. In 2005, Ye Jiangchuan became a senior coach at FIDE. Ye Jiangchuan's coaching experience is very valuable for training new coaches in China.
Smyslov Prize
The FIDE Asia Chess Academy in Amman, run by Sami Khader (Jordan), was named the Best Chess Academy and won the Smyslov Award.
In cooperation with FIDE and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Academy has organized and organized numerous courses, FIDE seminars and even implemented a programme to train chess coaches among Jordanian refugees. Khadr is the most important and active chess promoter in the Middle East and has won the recognition of his peers.
Liu Wenzhe Award
Melikset Khachiyan (USA) received the Enlightenment Coaching Award – the "Liu Wenzhe Award".
Hatchyan was Aronian's initiation coach. When he first met 9-year-old Aronian in 1991, Aronian had just begun to play chess. Just three years later, in 1994, Aronian won the Men's 12-year-Old World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, ahead of several other future stars such as Grishuk, Baklot and Vallejo.
Aronijan said: "I'm delighted to have a great starter coach and that's my luck. Many of the things he taught me I still use today. Hatchyan is very dedicated, and he has trained many other talented chess players, such as Petrossiyan, Pashkyan, Akobiyan, etc., who have become Grandmasters. At present, Hatchyan, who has moved to the United States, is mainly coaching Anne Wang and the U.S. national women's team.
Online Chess Training Award
Berik Akkozov (Kazakhstan) from the ABChess Academy won the Online Chess Training Award for his innovative and outstanding performance in online chess training.
In 2019, ABChess Academy launched a web platform for beginners and advanced chess players to learn chess online. After that, the site launched apps for Android and iOS. As the project continues to evolve, several new features have been added to the platform in 2020, such as a teacher backend, a built-in game system, interactive webinars, and an ARTIFICIAL solution system with more than 5,000 continuously optimized practical exercises. (Thar)