Opinions & Interviews

Belarus described as growing chess nation, example for others to follow

MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Belarus sets a good example for other countries to follow in terms of the development of chess, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich told the media after a ceremony to sign a contract between Belarus and the FIDE on the 2022 World Chess Olympiad in Minsk in the National Olympic Committee on 29 January, BelTA has learned.

Arkady Dvorkovich stressed that Belarus has a good chess school. “Your country can become an example for those regions where this sport is less developed. The national federation holds a lot of tournaments for young players, carries out an important project for the development of chess in secondary schools. FIDE will support the Belarusian partners in all endeavors to develop the sport,” he said.

The FIDE president noted that when choosing the host of the World Chess Olympiad, Belarus’ desire to get this major tournament was notable. “Your application in Batumi was very strong, qualitatively different from the others. As the FIDE head, I am very pleased that Minsk will host the Olympiad and also the world championships among men and women, and the congress. We signed the contract today. We worked to finalize it for the past few months and were able to agree on all counts. At today's meeting the Belarusian president said that all chess international competitions will be held at the highest level,” he stressed.

Arkady Dvorkovich was elected head of the International Chess Federation in October 2018 during the FIDE Congress in Batumi. Since taking office, FIDE has built a strong management team that learns and achieves results. FIDE has received the right to hold the qualification tournament for the world champion title. “Now we can compile a chess calendar, create a more attractive product for our partners. Our main goal is to turn into chess affordable sport worldwide,” he said.

Belarus was awarded the right to host the World Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress in 2022, the FIDE Women’s World Championship in 2020, the FIDE Men’s World Championship in 2021 at the FIDE World Congress in Batumi in October 2018.

The two-week Olympiad will be held in August 2022. During this time, Belarus will host more than 3,000 chess players from 180 countries and about 2,000 accompanying persons, tourists and journalists.

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