The Smart Moves Summit in Washington, DC (August 4–5, 2025) is a global education conference uniting chess, cognition, and learning, held alongside the FIDE World Schools Team Championship.
Featuring top influencers, researchers, and educators, the event aims to inspire, connect, and transform the future of education through chess.
Promo video of the summit by FIDE
Svitlana Demchenko playing chess in Europe
Soon, Svitlana will begin studying medicine at the University of Ottawa. Before that, she took the opportunity to travel to Europe and compete in two strong chess tournaments. At the XLIV Open Internacional Villa de Benasque in Spain, she gained rating points and even defeated an FM rated 2357.
The 2100+ rated Open International d’Aix-en-Provence – Trophée Dole 2025 was one of the strongest events she has ever played. After starting with 0 out of 4, she made a strong comeback by winning two consecutive games and finished with hardly any rating loss.
Svitlana Demchenko has now reached an Elo rating of 2156.
Speaking and playing at the Smart Moves Summit 2025
After her short European tour, she headed to Washington for the Smart Moves Summit 2025, where she participated not only as a speaker but also played a simul match against a group of brave schoolchildren.
Svitlana in Washington. | Photo/Reel: International School Chess Federation
Some players didn’t lose, and won a ChessBase training course by Svitlana!
The courses:
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The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.
Besides in-depth theory and exciting tactical exercises in the Scotch Game, this video course also includes a bonus section on the Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Bc4), a lively variation often leading to very dynamic positions.
This DVD focuses on several types of material imbalances, such as Rook vs 2 Pieces, Queen vs 2 Rooks, and Queen vs Pieces.
The Leningrad Dutch Defence is a dynamic and aggressive opening choice for Black, perfect for players who want to add some adventure and spice to their repertoire.
Chess Summer
Besides all of her chess activities, Svitlana also brought out her newest ChessBase training Course – Silence the Sicilian!
The course includes structured explanations, model games, and interactive training tools to help you confidently master the Alapin and outplay your opponents.
Facing the Sicilian doesn’t have to be complicated. The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) offers a simple yet highly effective solution to all major Sicilian lines, by sidestepping them with 2.c3. Whether your opponent plays the Najdorf, Taimanov, or Dragon, the Alapin lets you take control of the game as early as move two.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 2…g6
In France, Svitlana was interviewed by ChessBase India
