Not a comment but a question about "Russia’s love for chess."

Is it possible that Russians ability to play chess comes from their language?

I don't know much about linguistics, but I have the impression that the Russian language is kind of "strategic."

I also believe that Chinese people are more "intuitive" and don't think like English since their written alphabet uses hieroglyphs, which would lead to a more global thinking.

And English people would be more straightforward and to the point, like their language, since it was created by Nordists living in a harsh climate and on the sea, having thus no time to mess around.

Those are the thoughts of a Learned-ignorant generalist who would like to hear your impressions.