Tula region hosts the XX Asian Chess Championship among schoolchildren

MOSCOW, October 2 - RIA Novosti. The Tula region has the richest chess traditions and it is a great honor for the region to host the XX Asian Chess Championship among schoolchildren, said regional governor Dmitry Milyaev at the opening of the international tournament.

The grand opening of the Championship took place on Friday in the Tula Kremlin; this chess tournament is being held on Russian territory for the first time. More than 300 young chess players from Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka will compete for the title of the strongest.

“The Tula region has the richest chess traditions. Our land raised outstanding Soviet grandmasters - Alexander Kotov, Alexey Suetin and Anatoly Karpov. Today chess is one of the most popular sports in the region, more than 15 thousand people practice it,” Milyaev said, as quoted by the regional government press service.

The head of the region emphasized that the sports infrastructure is systematically developing in the Tula region: modern clubs are opening and sports schools are being modernized. Particular attention is paid to the younger generation. For almost ten years, the “Chess in Schools” project has been successfully implemented, uniting over 10 thousand young Tula residents.

Milyaev noted that the entry of the Russian Chess Federation into the Asian Chess Federation became a new page in the history of domestic sports.

“We remember the bright victories of our guys in Bangkok and Ulaanbaatar. And today the Tula region proudly picks up this baton of international cooperation. For us, holding the Asian Championship is not only an opportunity to strengthen the region’s status as one of the leading chess centers in the country. It is, first of all, a bridge of friendship between our peoples, a platform for cultural exchange and mutual respect. Each of you has come a long way to represent your country on the international stage,” the governor said.

The event was attended by Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation Alexander Tkachev, Events Director of the Asian Chess Federation Mehrdad Pahlavanzade, Senators Sergey Karyakin and Mikhail Borshchev.

The Asian School Chess Championship has been held since 2006. Previously, competitions were held in Uzbekistan, Thailand and Mongolia.

The competition will take place at the Shakhtar park hotel. The organizers are the government of the Tula region and the Asian Chess Federation with the support of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, the Russian Sports Foundation, the International Chess Federation, the Russian Chess Federation, and the Tula Chess Living Room for the promotion of chess culture.