Ugra-Classic CDC.
Traditionally, the organizers of the competition in Khanty-Mansiysk paid special attention to the creative part of the ceremony. The concert performance began with an opening prologue: the hall was plunged into darkness, and only the silhouettes of the artists were visible on the stage.
The topic of getting to know Ugra was completed with an emotional performance by the dance group “Light It” with the poetic title “Soul of the Taiga”.
After a colorful presentation of the teams with the flags of the participating countries (Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Palestine, Russia and Sri Lanka), the presenter read out a welcoming speech from the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin .
Next, the Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra Natalya Komarova and the Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation Alexander Tkachev were invited to the stage for a welcoming speech .
Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra Natalya Komarova: “In Ugra, chess is more than a sport. We play chess in kindergartens, schools and the most remote corners of our region. The Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug is a world chess center. Since 2005, we have hosted 18 international tournaments of various levels, including the World Chess Olympiad in 2010. Chess unites people from different countries, and in this regard, I assure the Asian Chess Federation and the Russian Chess Federation that the Yugra region is ready to host a wide variety of competitions. For the young athletes who will play in this tournament, it will be a huge experience.”
Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation Alexander Tkachev: “I congratulate everyone on the start of this historic event – the first team championship of Asian cities in Russia. In addition, this is the first official competition held in our country, which is included in the FIDE calendar. I express my sincere gratitude to the leadership of the Asian Chess Federation for making this decision and, of course, to the leadership of Ugra and, in particular, Natalya Vladimirovna Komarova for the fact that the region agreed to host this competition. Although we had no doubts about who to entrust with holding this tournament. I am confident that the event will be held at the highest level.”
A video message from the Asian Chess Federation to the participants and organizers of the tournament was sent by the President of the Asian Chess Federation, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan.
After the greetings from the officials, the concert program continued. The Dance Academy and Light It groups presented chess numbers.
Then the main judge of the competition, international referee Merdad Pakhlevanzade, was invited to the stage to conduct the color draw. He called the captains of the teams of Surgut (the rating favorite) and Tehran (the current champion): the Iranian representative was holding two boxes with figures in his hands, and the Russian had to point to one of them. Ilya Ilyushenok drew a white pawn, which allowed him to further choose a color from the proposed options. Here the Ugra native has already pulled out a black piece, which means that in the first round the Surgut team will play black on the first board.
The opening ceremony ended with a vocal and choreographic number telling that chess is an art. The art of choice.
It should be noted that before and after the ceremony, the interactive studio of the OTRK “Yugra” worked in the CDC “Ugra-Classic”, where officials and participants of the competition were invited for short interviews.
The first games of the Asian Cities Team Championship will be played tomorrow, April 21, at the Ugra Chess Academy. The game starts at 15:00 local time (13:00 Moscow time).