In the tourist center Silk Road Samarkand in Samarkand, the opening ceremony of the Rapid and Blitz championship was held. This was reported by the International Chess Federation of the FIDE -Organizer of the event.
The opening ceremony included blocks dedicated to the history of chess, the modern realities of this sport, the recognition of Uzbekistan in the world of chess, and the cultural heritage of Samarkand. In addition, attention was drawn to the “Third Renaissance” in Uzbekistan – the third wave of cultural, intellectual and national reforms that the country began to realize.
The Minister of Youth Policy and Sports of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov said that Uzbekistan is very happy to accept such an important event in Samarkand, an ancient but modern city. “Every day over the past four months, we worked hard on the organization of this event, and we hope that the next six days will be fruitful and successful,” he said.
In turn, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich expressed gratitude to Uzbekistan for the event and emphasized that Fide seeks to organize more global chess competitions, giving fans around the world the opportunity to see their idols live.
“In the next five days, new pages of chess history will be written. Many of the best players in the world gathered together to fight for rewards on Rapid and Blitz. We will see excitement and tension, joyful and sad moments, but most importantly – sportsmanship. I wish you good luck to players, organizers and all participants, ”said Dvorkovich.