SPORTS
Contracts for holding World Chess Cup in Baku in 2015 and Chess Olympiad 2016 signed
Baku, November 29 (AZERTAC). President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF) Elman Rustamov and Azerbaijan’s Youth & Sports Minister Azad Rahimov signed the agreements for holding of the World Chess Cup in 2015, the Chess Olympiad and FIDE General Assembly in 2016 in the capital of Azerbaijan. Since the beginning of this week finalizing of the agreements was conducted by FIDE and AGF vice presidents Georgios Makropoulos and Mahir Mammadov.
“Azerbaijan and FIDE want to hold the best-in-the-history Chess Olympiad - with maximum number of participants. Holding of the Olympic Games in Baku is recognition of Azerbaijan’s uniqueness: the world’s only country that adopted the State Chess Program. It is assumed that World Cup 2015 will be organized with participation of 128 best players of the world, and Azerbaijan, as the organizer, will be able to nominate three chess players, regardless of their international ranking, for participation in it. At Chess Olympiad 2016 Azerbaijan will also be able to present its children’s team along with the main and youth national teams,’ Ilyumzhinov emphasized.
Participation in the Chess Olympiad in Baku will involve teams of more than 170 countries and over 3,000 participants, Makropoulos said.
At his words, “it is an indicative fact that the FIDE members chose unanimously Baku for Chess World Cup and the Chess Olympiad, although the Armenian delegation had questions about the security”.
Already on 18-20 January 2013 in Yerevan the FIDE Presidential Board will review issues of the preparation for the World Chess Cup and the Chess Olympiad.