The closing ceremony of the team championship of Asian cities, as well as its grand opening, took place at the Ugra-Classic CTC.
Before the start of the official part, Elena Kozemirenko, Honored Worker of Culture of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, performed the canonical work of Johann Sebastian Bach “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”.
Next, participants and guests saw a dynamic video that showed all the most interesting moments of the competition.
The chief judge of the tournament, international arbiter Merdad Pakhlevanzade , was invited to reward the best participants on the boards. He thanked the organizers for holding the competition at a high level, noting that Khanty-Mansiysk has set new standards for holding such championships.
Deputy Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra Elena Shumakova and Duma deputy of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, President of the Ugra Chess Federation Vasily Filipenko presented awards to the winners and runners-up of the championship.
Elena Shumakova congratulated everyone on the completion of the competition. “Each of you became the author of this large, new page in the history of the Asian Chess Federation and reaffirmed the unifying mission of chess. We are grateful to the Asian Chess Federation and the Russian Chess Federation for the trust placed in our district to host this tournament, the first in the history of our country. Of particular value is the fact that a third of its participants are young chess players under 18 years of age. I am confident that competing in this historic event will become a springboard for them to new sporting victories,” she said.
Vasily Filipenko: “Thank you to all the chess players and guests of the tournament – for their participation, for all the kind words addressed to us, for the high assessment of our work. The government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra and the Ugra Chess Federation are always ready to host competitions of the highest rank and try to hold them at the proper level. Therefore, we are ready and will be happy to welcome you and many other chess players from different countries of Asia and the world to our land.”
When the bronze awards were presented, both the Tula team and the Colombo team took the stage, sharing third place, since, according to the Regulations, medals and cups can only be awarded to one city per country. Therefore, chess players from Sri Shanki will take the trophies with them.
The creative part of the closing also featured classical works performed by Larisa Matsur and the Konsone chamber music ensemble.
The closing was broadcast live . Before and after the ceremony, participants and officials were interviewed in a specially equipped studio.