Ugra Chess Academy Khanty Mansiysk Welcomes Women Chess Superstars!

Hello everyone,

World's top women chess superstars have gathered in Khanty Mansiysk for the start of the Women's Chess Grand Prix 2013/2014. 

The Ugra Chess Academy is hosting the event. Chess battles will traditionally take place in the tournament hall, located on the second floor of the Academy. Thanks to its innovative design, the hall has an ability to transform and vary in size: it is possible due to the moving walls and folding spectators’ grandstand. In recent years, the hall held several major international chess forums.

The fourth stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 will take place at the Ugra Chess Academy, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from the 8th of April until the 22nd of April 2014. 

The history of this futuristic building (which resembles a chess piece) starts in September 2010. Then in the building of Ugra Chess Academy, General Assembly and the 81st FIDE Congress were held as part of the 39th World Chess Olympiad. In April 2011, there was held a forum of International Paralympics’ Committee as part of the World Cup in biathlon and cross-country skiing among persons with disabilities – 2011. And in September 2011, the Academy hosted World Chess Cup – 2011. In the summer of 2012 the Academy held a chess tournament under the umbrella of the third All-Russian Summer Universiade – 2012. In the autumn of 2012 Academy hosted World Women’s Chess Championship. And the three dots on this list were put by World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship – 2013. In addition, the Academy holds a huge amount of tournaments of regional , national and international levels with athletes of different age categories taking part.

For spectators, as before, it is planned to organize a hall of games’ commentating, where one would be able to track the progress of the play and get professional comments of the expert on the most interesting moments of the matches. The computer class of the Academy will be a place where the player can analyze the games and access to the Internet. Besides, a press center and the office of the Organizing Committee will operate on the ground floor of the Academy.

SCHEDULE

07.04.2014 Mon Arrivals
08.04.2014 Tu 18:00 Player’s meeting CTC «Ugra-Classic»,
press conference hall 19:00 Opening Ceremony CTC «Ugra-Classic», small hall
09.04.2014 We 15:00 Round 1 «Ugra Chess Academy»
10.04.2014 Th 15:00 Round 2
11.04.2014 Fr 15:00 Round 3
12.04.2014 Sa 15:00 Round 4
13.04.2014 Su Day off
14.04.2014 Mon 15:00 Round 5
15.04.2014 Tu 15:00 Round 6
16.04.2014 We 15:00 Round 7
17.04.2014 Th 15:00 Round 8
18.04.2014 Fr Day off
19.04.2014 Sa 15:00 Round 9
20.04.2014 Su 15:00 Round 10
21.04.2014 Mon 15:00 Round 11
21:00 Closing Ceremony Cronwell Inn Ugra, restaurant
22.04.2014 Tu Departures

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

Vassily Filipenko: During the Candidates we held quite a few regional-level chess events in Khanty Mansiysk

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014

Hello everyone,

The Head of Khanty-Mansiysk and the President of Ugra Chess Federation Vasily Filipenko visited the Ugra Chess Academy several times during the event. Before the start of the FIDE Presidential Board he answered the questions of the FIDE Candidates Tournament press center.

– Vassily Alexandrovich, do you follow the candidates tournament?
– Of course I do.

– Do you like the organization of this event?
– I am a wrong person to ask! (Laughs.) Probably you should ask the players. As for me, I never heard any complaints about our efforts, so I hope everything is okay.

– Are you surprised by the outcome, Viswanathan Anand’s victory with a round to spare?
– Obviously Anand is a great player, and his convincing victory is fair and just. Of course, we were rooting for our players, but they committed some very unfortunate errors. It is also curious that the next World Championship match will be a rematch. There were many rematches in the chess history, but mostly in a distant past. No rematches were played for quite a while.

– Let us talk a bit about women’s chess. In 2012 Khanty-Mansiysk hosted the biggest women’s tournament – the World Cup. Soon you are hosting a FIDE Grand Prix event and World Championships in Blitz and Rapid. Could you tell me if it was the first tournament that influenced your decision to host more women’s events? Is there such interest to women’s chess in Ugra?
– Our interest to women’s chess has never disappeared, but let’s put it like this: the new era of chess in Ugra started in 2005. In general, the number of people playing chess is proportional between men and women. During the candidates tournament we held a number of regional-level competitions, and many girls and women attended these events. Naturally big international competitions promote women’s chess in Ugra, and its popularity grows.

– Do you mean there are equal numbers of boys and girls studying chess in Ugra?
– Well, there are more boys, of course, but the difference isn’t huge. Many girls in Ugra are interested in chess.

– Should we expect any innovations from the organizers of the coming women’s tournaments?
– Usually when people play competitive chess they don’t have much time for anything else. Of course, we always have our excursions and cultural events, if not for the players, then at least for their coaches and journalists. We are always happy to show our sightseeing.

– Which events do you prefer to watch, men’s or women’s? Classical chess, rapid, or blitz?
– You know, each format is interesting on its own. A classical game can be followed for a long time, you can see the tension of the players and so on. Other formats are more dynamic. I like everything.

As for men’s and women’s chess, naturally following women’s events brings more fun and pleasure. And I don’t understand chess deep enough to see the difference in their level of play.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel