1920: Soviet Chess
The grandfather of soviet chess was Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky, the great chess master, diplomat, writer, and military strategist. He believed that chess was the ideal tool for teaching both military strategy and logical thinking. Unfortunately for the revolutionary-minded Alexander, he suffered under Stalin's regime and died at age 46 (either in a Nazi bombing raid or a government purge of enemies of the state - nobody knows for sure). But his legacy of rigorous study and an absolute dedication to the game has stayed with Russia for generations.
