A few weeks ago, FIDE announced the names of twelve chess seniors who will benefit from FIDE's support to chess veterans. A total of €30,000 will be distributed among them with each receiving €2,500. As we did on previous occasions, we would pay tribute to these illustrious veterans with a few words about each one of them, summarizing their careers and achievements:

Alexey Yuneev (Russia)

Jay Bonin (USA)

Jiri Lechtynsky (Czech Republic)

Vija Rozlapa (Latvia)

Giorgi Macharashvili (Georgia)

Reynaldo Vera (Cuba)

Evgenij Ermenkov (Bulgaria)

Alexey Kosikov (Ukraine)

Sheila Jackson (England)

Galina Strutinskaia (Russia)

Rani Hamid (Bangladesh)

Gediminas Rastenis (Lithuania)

Vija Rozlapa

Born in 1942 in Liepaja, Vija Rzlapa learned chess at the age of 12 and immediately showed great promise. Just four years later she won the Latvian Girl Championship (1958) and then Soviet Girl Championship (1960). In 1970 Vija became a national master. A four-time Latvian Women Champion (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974) she started her career as a chess trainer back in 1964 and successfully continues nowadays. She has been working in Riga Chess School since its foundation in 1972. The list of her students includes GM Alexei Shirov, WGM Laura Rogule (LAT) and NA Egons Lavendelis. An active participant of senior events Vija Rzlapa has won bronze at the World Senior Team Chess Championship twice (2014, 2015).

Alexey Yuneev

Born in 1957 Leningrad, Alexey Yuneev came master in 1980 and nine years later won his native city championship. A graduate of the Gertsen Pedagogical University, Yuneev has been working as a trainer-instructor since 1985 to date in the St. Petersburg State Palace of the Youth Creativity. The list of his students includes GM N. Vityugov, gold winner as a member of the Russian team at the World Team Championships (2010, 2013), Champion of Russia (2021, super finals winner), and GM M. Matlakov, (European Champion 2017), runner-up in the Championship of Russia (2021, super finals). Since 1990 Alexey Yuneev has been in charge of the municipal union of the chess instructors, which is a very important body for the St. Petersburg chess development. Starting from 2000 has been organizing and holding chess workshops for chess instructors helping more than 300 people to improve and hone their teaching skills which indirectly translates into thousands of young chess players.

Giorgi Macharashvili

Born in 1955 in Tbilisi, Giorgi Macharashvili became a professional chess coach in 1976. The author of 11 books, since 1992 he has served as the main coach of national youth and cadets’ teams at World and European Chess Championships. With Giorgi at his helm, the National Georgian Women’s team won silver at the European Team Chess Championship. The long list of his students includes GM Nana Dzagnidze - Women’s World Blitz Champion (2017), European Women’s Champion (2017) and the winner of Chess Olympiad (2008); WGM Maia Lomineishvili - the winner of Olympiad (2008) and European Junior Champion U14 and U20; WGM Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska, the winner of Word Junior Championship U20 (1989 and 1990).

Reinaldo Vera

Born in 1961, Reinaldo Vera achieved his first international success at Junior World Championship (Innsbruck, 1977) where he finished fourth. In 1979, he was awarded the IM title and nine years later received GM title. A prominent fixture of the National team for over 20 years, a two-time Cuban Champion, Reinaldo Vera took part in four World Team Championships and ten Chess Olympiads. His best result was an individual gold medal on the third board (Elista, 1998). His tournament record includes winning or sharing the first places in Havana (1980), Varna (1986), Leon (1996), and San Sebastian (2007). FIDE Senior Trainer since 2007 he gives chess lessons both live and online.

Evgenij Ermenkov

Born in 1949, Evgenij Ermenkov has been a competitive chess player the last 60 years of his life. He became the junior champion of Bulgaria at the age of 17 and quickly moved up in the rankings. He became an IM in 1974 and three years later received GM title. The 5-time national champion he represented Bulgaria at Chess Olympiads from 1978 to 1992. His most notable achievement in team competitions is silver medal on board 4 at the Olympiad in Novi Sad (1990). Ermenkov’s tournament resume includes victories in Albena (1997 and 1979), Plovdiv (1978 and 1979), Varna (1986), Dieren (1990), Beirut (2004) and Imperia (2005).

Jay Bonin

Born in 1955 in New York, Jay Bonin is known the "Iron Man of Chess". One of the most active tournament players in history of chess, he played over 25,000 tournament games (over 13,000 games since the US Chess Federation started collecting data in 1991 and an estimated 12,000 games for his almost 20 years of tournament play prior). His prolific and long chess career took off in 1980s, when Bonin won the New York State Championship (1982). He later won this title in 1997 and 1999. In 1983 he earned the title of FIDE Master and two years later became Jay also won the championship of the Marshall Chess Club (in which he worked as a manager and tournament director from 1977 to 1979 and then from 1998 to 2002) in 1984, 1987 and 1997. The year 1997 was marked by his unique achievement as Bonin won "Triple Crown" of New York chess events: The New York State Championship, Manhattan Chess Club Championship, and Marshall Chess Club Championship. His life as a chess professional was twice profiled in the New York Times. A popular chess teacher, author, and lecturer, Jay Bonin is a true legend of US chess.

Jiri Lechtynsky

Born in 1947, Jiri Lechtynsky was one of the leading players of Chezcoslovakia in 1970s and 1980s. He earned the title of IM 1974 and eight years later became GM. The participant of three Chess Olympiad he played for Czechoslovakia in 1974 in Nice (with a score of 5/7 as a second reserve player), in 1980 in La Valletta, Malta (with a score of 2,5/4 as a second reserve player), and in 1986 in Dubai (with a score of 4/6 as a second reserve player). As a member of team Czechoslovakia, he participated in three of the European Team Chess Championships (Kapfenberg 1970, Moscow 1977, and Skara 1980). A regular participant in the Czechoslovak Chess Championships and Czech Republic Chess Championships, he achieved his best results in Prague 1986 (bronze medal) and in Trnava 1980 (4th place).

Lechtynsky has a good record in international tournaments. He shared the 1st place in Decin 1979 (with Hort) and in Halle 1981 (with Bönsch), Klatovy (1999), Augsburg (2002), Havlíčkův Brod (2004), Česká Třebová (2006). At the tournaments in Vilnius 1978 and Tallinn 1979, he notably drew twice with former world champion Tigran Petrosyan. Late in his career, Jiri Lechtynsky actively played in senior events. In 2008, Jiri Lechtynsky played on the 1st board for the Czech squad at the European Senior Team Championship at the championship in Dresden and became one of the main scorers.

Rani Hamid

The first WIM in Bangladesh (1985), Rani Hamid (born in 1944) set up a record by winning 20 national titles since 1979, despite learning chess at the age of 37. She also claimed three British Chess Championship titles in 1983, 1985, and 1989. A true leader of Bangladesh women’s chess, she represented her country in Chess Olympiads from 1984 to 2018 and even played for the men’s team thrice. She also won a prestigious ‘Journalist Choice Award’ at the World Cup 2018 and lead the Bangladesh team to victory in the ‘Asian City Chess Championship’ held in Dubai in 1990. She has a good record in Asian Women Chess Championships becoming runner-up once (Kuala-Lumpur, 1983), contesting with the then top-seeded Indian players. Still an active player, Rani Hamid serves as a model for young women players and mentors them.

Alexey Kosikov

Born in 1949, Alexey Kosikov became a master in 1973 and devoted his life to teaching and coaching chess. As a coach, he has raised numerous FMs, IMs, and 11 GMs, namely: Vladjmir Baklan, Andrey Zontakh, Elena Sedina, Vadim Malakhatko, Spartak Vysochin, Tatjana Melamed, Tatiana Kostiuk-Dornbusch, Alexey Kislinsky, Dimitri Komarov, Kateryna Dolzhykova, Olga Dolzhikova. In 1990-2000s he was a lecturer at the Ukrainian National Sports University (Kyiv) and Chess School of Jussupow-Dvoretsky (Moscow). A popular chess author, he penned two books “Combinations in Chess” (1983), "Elements Of chess strategy" (2014). He also was a co-author of articles published in books “School of Future Champions” by Mark Dvoretsky.

Galina Strutinskaya

Born in 1957, Galina Strutinskaya started playing chess in Omsk. In the spring of 1974, she moved to Moscow and entered the Moscow Aviation Institute. After graduating she began working at the Moscow City Sports Committee and quickly came into the spotlight by winning the Moscow Championship. She successfully performed in the semi-finals of the 1980 USSR Championship and reached the final. In total, Galina Strutinskaya won three Moscow Chess Championships and the Moscow and Russian Cups in rapid and blitz. In the 1970s and 1980s, she played as a member of the Moscow team she took part in various Soviet team competitions. After obtaining the honorary titles of Master of Sports of the USSR and International Master, by the end of the 1980s, Strutinskaya became one of the leading female chess players of the USSR.

In 1989, she was appointed state coach of the USSR national team in Moscow. Galina Strutinskaya has always combined the career of a chess player and an organizer of events in the Moscow City Sports Committee and Chess Federation of Russia. At the third CFR Congress in April 1994, Galina Strutinskaya was elected the chairman of the CFR Women's Commission and held this position for over 20 years. Since 2008, she participates in veteran tournaments. She won the Women's World Senior Chess Championship in 2011, 2012, and 2015 (the latter in the category 50+). The 2011 victory automatically earned her the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). Strutinskaya also won the Women's European Senior Chess Championship in the 50+ category in 2016 and 2017.

Gediminas Rastenis

Born in 1954 in Panevezys (Lithuania), Gediminas Rastenis became Master of Sports of the USSR in 1975, a year before his graduation from Vilnius University. From 1976 to 1992, and since 1995, Gediminas has been a coach of Vilnius Chess School. From 1992 to 1995 he served as a chess instructor at Waukegan Lake Park Center (Waukegan, Illinois, USA). His best students are WGM Camilla Baginskaite (World Junior Girls Champion in 1987) and GM Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen (individual gold medal winner in Chess Olympiads 2000 in 2004 and Lithuania’s absolute champion in 2000 and 2005). A successful correspondence player, International ICCF Master, Gediminas Rastenis won the 26th European Corresponding Chess Championship (1983-1989).

Sheila Jackson

Born in 1957, Sheila Jackson has been a very active chess player since 1966 and coached for most of her adult life. Sheila notched up her first notable success in 1970, winning the British Chess Youth Championship in U14, and a year later she repeated this result in the age group U18. In 1981, she was awarded the WIM title and became WGM title seven years later (1988). A strong advocate and supporter in the UK for more women/girls to play chess Sheila is a four-time winner of the British Women's Chess Championship (1975, 1978, 1980, 1981). A wonderful role model for younger female players in the UK, Sheila Jackson played for England in European Team Chess Championship (1992) and ten Chess Olympiads from 1974 to 1992.

Photo: David Llada, Frank Hoppe, Vladimir Jagr, Vlopresto