Chess Diplomacy Spreads Across the Globe

On October 25th, the MRCF and “SKCC”, in collaboration with Rossotrudnichestvo, simultaneously opened Sergey Karjakin’s chess clubs in 15 countries as part of the “Chess Diplomacy in Russian Houses” project

The clubs began their work in Russian Houses in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Hungary, Venezuela, Egypt, Zambia, India, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tanzania, Chile, and Mauritius.

The grand opening ceremony took place from the Russian House in the capital of Kazakhstan in a video conference format. In Astana, guests were greeted by Yuri Melnik, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Kazakhstan; Albert Minnullin, head of the “Chess Diplomacy” and “Sergey Karjakin’s Chess Clubs” projects, who flew in specifically for the celebration from the Russian capital; and Anastasia Stepanova, acting head of the Russian House in Astana.

Senator of the Russian Federation, multiple-time world champion, international grandmaster and President of the Moscow Region Chess Federation Sergey Karjakin greeted the chess players gathered in the Russian Houses via video link and gave a simultaneous exhibition. The exhibition was held in an creative way – a team format, in which chess players from each country made decisions together.

For many, the session with the world champion was not the first: at the end of last year, 16 children from Mauritius played with Sergey Karjakin, and this year – chess players from Thailand and Kyrgyzstan.

From Kazakhstan, journalist Rustem Omarov, winner of the “Senate Open Tournament” and QAZCONTENT OPEN, played with Sergey Karjakin. For his persistent play, Rustem was awarded a chess book with Sergey Karjakin’s autograph. Also, books with autographs and certificates were received by the top three winners of the mini-tournament held in the Russian House and three more participants received certificates. All participants and guests received cards with Sergey Karjakin’s autograph personally handed over to the Russian House by the world champion.

Following tradition, Albert Minnullin presented Anastasia Stepanova with a chessboard with a commemorative inscription from Sergey Karjakin. And then, also according to good tradition, the main actors of the opening ceremony left memorable inscriptions with short wishes on the Chess Club’s press wall.

In the near future, Sergey Karjakin’s chess clubs will open in Russian Houses in the following fifteen countries.