Youth and Sports Minister Farid Gaibov took part in the opening ceremony of the youthful chess Olympiad in Nakhchivan. After the 1st round of the competition was launched, the minister shared his impressions with the media, the Haqqin.az correspondent from Nakhchivan reports.
“This is the next international competition in Azerbaijan. We are glad that we have a lot of such competitions, – says Farid Gaibov.” Taking this opportunity, I want to thank the chess federation of Azerbaijan, the Nakhchyansky Chess Federation, the leadership of Nakhchivan, that we conduct such a competition together .
Of course, holding the Olympics is a big event. We have traditions and results in chess. It is enough to recall the last European Championship among women, where our two chess players rose to the podium at once. Without state support, such results are impossible. The president of the country personally pays attention to sports and supports athletes. Naturally, the current competition is held with the support of the state.
They would like such events to be even more. Both in Nakhchivan and in other regions of Azerbaijan, international chess competitions have been held more than once. We are sure that this is not the last international tournament in Nakhchivan. We discussed this issue with the local federation. Thanks to the management for paying such attention to chess.
The whole world sees that we are at a very high level of international competitions. The following year, the world and European championships will be held in Azerbaijan. I’m not talking about the Formula 1, stages of the World Cup, etc. No less happy that our athletes achieve good results in the international arena. “