SPORTS
Women’s World Chess Championship Match opens in Lviv
Kyiv, March 2, AZERTAC
For the first time in the history of Lviv hosts the most remarkable chess event – FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship Match. The world champion Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) on March 1-18, 2016 is ‘fighting’ for golden chess crown against the challenger, Hou Yifan (China), according to fide.
The drawing of the color of the first game was the important moment of the ceremony. The Chief Arbiter of the Match Carol Jarecki offered the players to clarify the order of who can choose the color first. Hou Yifan choose the number one in envelop and that meant she was the first one to choose a color from two souvenir Easter eggs, which hided black and white pieces inside. Hou Yifan got a black piece – this means that the World Champion Maria Muzychuk will have white pieces in the first game.
‘I’d like to say thank you to Lviv for perfect organization. These both women have devoted all their lives to achieve so great results. Both of them are the World Champions,’ said the Chief Arbiter of the Match Carol Jarecki.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi addressed the audience with a welcoming speech and thanked to Mariya Muzychuk for the right to host this remarkable chess event in Lviv.
’It was a long, but extremely interesting way. I would like to say thank you to Mariya Muzychuk for the right to host World Championship Match in Lviv. I’d like also to thank Hou Yifan for the wonderful comments about the city of Lviv. It’s a great honour for the city to become a world chess capital and to choose chess queen,’ said Andriy Sadovyi.
The opening ceremony of the Women’s World Chess Championship Match was finished with a street performance of Voskresinnya Theater – a fiery performance, which represented a mix of Ukrainian and Chinese cultures. The actors were playing chess on stilts and had black and white costumes.
The first move in first game will be made by Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi. The first game is scheduled to start at 3 pm local time on 2nd of March 2016 in the Potocki’s Palace (Lviv, Ukraine).