English Translation of Kasparov-Karpov promo video

Yeah, we're a former Spanish colony but these Spaniards makes our life a bit harder for us once again, even in chess :) But thankfully, Peter Doggers popular chess blog ChessVibes, finally came up with this lucid English translation from Spanish of the promotional video of the upcoming Kasparov-Karpov rapid and blitz return match this coming September 21-24 in Valencia Spain. Although a history buff myself, I find that some of the content of the video were quite irrelevant, with the K-K match. But since the Kasparov - Karpov is also about the rich history and tradition of chess in Valencia, supposed to be the birth of modern chess, the video nonetheless deserves everyone's attention. Finally, we got a panoramic view of the event:

From the video we learn that in the year 1475, a period of economical and cultural wealth in Valencia, the three poets from Valencia Francesch de Castellvi, Narcis Vinyoles and Bernat Fenollar wrote the poem Scachs d’Amor, which is in fact a manuscript. It tells the story of the fight between Mars and Venus, and an “arbiter of honor” (Mercury). Influenced by the queen Isabella the Catholic, they created a new form of playing chess in honour of the queen, and this meant the birth of a new piece in chess: the Queen. On May 15th, 1495 for the first time a book was published with the rules of this new, modern way of playing chess which is still basically the same as how we play it today. We will return to this fascinating discovery in more detail in a separate article.

A bit more than five centuries later, the game of chess returns to its origin: Valencia. To celebrate this anniversary, two of the most important Russian grandmasters in the history of chess will meet at the chess board: Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.

In the morning of the first day, Monday, September 20th, there will be an official press conference with the players held in the Lonja de Valencia, a building that represents the medieval period of Valencia.

In the afternoon there will be a welcoming festival in the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, a place that represents modern times and current Valencian activity. Both players will give simultaneous exhibitions.

The next days, Tuesday and Wednesday September 21-22, the players will play four rapid games of 25 minutes on the clock and on Thursday, September 23 they will play eight blitz games of 5 minutes each. On Friday there will be a closing ceremony.

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