Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 11 October (BelTA) – The World Chess Olympiad, which Belarus will host in 2022, will raise interest in chess in Belarus, Chairwoman of the Belarusian Chess Federation, FIDE Vice President Anastasia Sorokina told the media in BelTA’s press service on 11 October.

The idea to host the World Chess Olympiad emerged two years ago and was supported by the National Olympic Committee and the Sport and Tourism Ministry. “Following several inspections, it was decided to hold the Olympiad at the Minsk Arena speed skating stadium. We have no doubt that the World Chess Olympiad 2022 will raise interest in the sport in Belarus. We have both state-run and private chess schools and we hope that new athletes will join the Belarusian national team in four years,” said Anastasia Sorokina.

In her words, winning the bid to host the World Chess Olympiad was not an easy task. “When I first voiced the idea at the FIDE meeting, they asked me if there was an airport in our country. You can imagine the amount of work we have done to make our bid a priority,” the chairperson of the Belarusian Chess Federation noted.

Minsk will also host the 2020 Women's World Chess Championship Tournament (64-player knockout system) and the 2021 Men's Chess World Cup.

Belarus got the right to host the 2022 World Chess Olympiad at the FIDE General Assembly in Batumi. Taking part in the tournament will be over 1,000 people.