“One day my dad showed me this game, and at first, it wasn’t that fun. Then when I got the hang of it, it actually became super fun. It can really grow on you.” This was the beginning for a young boy who is now one of the brightest stars in the fascinating, ever-so-serious, brain-busting game of chess.
Minnesota’s own Vladimir Maltsev (known to his friends as Vova) has unlocked the mystery of one of the oldest board games in existence. And why shouldn’t it grow on him? After all, Vladimir’s father, Dima Maltsev, wasn’t interested in teaching his son Rock, Paper, Scissors. He was exposing young Vladimir to the most powerful game of strategy and warfare ever created. In the words of world champion grandmaster Bobby Fischer, “Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.”
At 12 years of age, Vladimir Maltsev doesn’t seem a violent kid. In fact Dan Voje, manager of The Chess Castle—the most serious and most competitive chess club in the Twin Cities—describes him as mild-mannered. But by his own admission, Vova really likes to attack. “I always use this tactic when I play,” he says.
Sixteen-year-old master-level player Matt Dahl from Edina knows this from experience. “You have to be careful with Vladimir because he thinks so far ahead,” Dahl explains. “He’s bright and has a really great, tactical mind. I know he’s already beat a couple of masters. He’ll be better than me when he reaches my age.”
By the end of third grade, Vladimir won his first scholastic chess tournament ever. In fourth grade, he won the 4–6 Grade Minnesota Championship. This year, as a seventh grader, he conquered the Minnesota K-9 Grade Championship, landing handily on top. Ranked 30th in the nation in his age group, Maltsev has improved his rating, presently 1908, more rapidly than usual in the last two years.
“One of my goals is to become a grandmaster—the highest level in chess,” says Vladimir. It takes no stretch of the imagination to expect him there sooner than later. He is regularly paired with adults during tournaments.
“He placed ahead of me in the last Minnesota tournament, and I’m 60,” exclaims Voje. “When I lose to someone this much younger, I always try to get out of the room before breaking into tears,” he jokes.
Dima Maltsev learned to play chess at age 7 in his native Russia. He brought his family to the United States in 1998. He hadn’t played much since he was young. “I had to sharpen my skills so I can pass it on to Vladimir,” he remembers. The father and son duo now forms one of the strongest teams in the state. “It’s unusual in that both he and his son play, and they are both good,” says Voje. But how do they stack up against one another?
“He can win some games in Blitz—speed chess lasting 3–5 minutes per game,” Dima says. “I am not sure if he can beat me in ‘real’ chess, where each player gets 1–2 hours of playing time.”
They practice together two times a week. “We usually just study and analyze the games I played,” says Vladimir. He plays in tournaments every two weeks, fall through spring (tournaments are listed monthly at www.chesscastle.com). “To play this game, you really need to know how to calculate … you need to picture new positions in your brain,” he explains. “During a game I’m thinking about tactics and the opponent’s next move.”
Vladimir’s thinking skills reach beyond the game into his scholastic life as well. Entering the eighth grade this year at Maple Grove Junior High, he will be taking Calculus through the University of Minnesota’s Talented Youth Mathematics Program. “Either chess brains translate to the classroom,” he ponders, “or classroom brains translate to chess.”
Vladimir admits that he is intimidated by players who have previously beaten him. But new players don’t bother him “because I know that I can probably beat them,” he assures. Someday he’d really like to beat grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, who, at the age of 25 in 2000, won and held the World Champion title for seven years. The Vladimirs can duel it out on the 8-by-8 battlefield, and, because Kramnik will be a “new player”, Maltsev probably won’t even be rattled.
