Nornickel becomes FIDE’s youth and children global chess development partner
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and MMC Norilsk Nickel agreed on cooperation for 2021-2023. The company will be FIDE’s general partner in the global development of children’s and youth chess. “We gladly welcome one of the world’s largest mining and smelter companies among FIDE partners – a reliable partner that has been doing a lot for the development of sports in Russia and all over the world. For us, a long-term partnership with Nornickel is an opportunity to jointly conduct major projects and competitions to support and develop children’s and youth chess worldwide. This is an investment in young talented people, which will surely pay significant dividends for the world of chess. I am confident that our cooperation will enable both parties to achieve great results: FIDE – in the development of chess, and Nornickel – in the effective brand promotion on the global stage using sports marketing tools,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. As part of the cooperation, Nornickel will be a partner of the annual FIDE Junior World Championships, FIDE Under-20 Junior Chess Championships (both open and women), as well as some other major competitions, including the FIDE World Cup 2021, the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021 and the Chess Olympiad 2022. “Success in both chess and business heavily depends on the right strategy. Any project can be compared to a chess game in which making the right move is critical. Chess develops strategic thinking, memory, concentration, decision-making skills, imagination and creativity. All these skills are necessary for any sphere, including business. That is why Nornickel will support FIDE’s global development of children’s and youth chess projects. Special focus will be on children’s chess development programs in the company’s regions of the highest priority,” stressed Larisa Zelkova, Senior Vice President of Nornickel. The partnership also involves an effective program for the development of chess among children in the regions of the highest priority for the company’s business. Based on a comprehensive approach to online training with the involvement of international grandmasters, the program will reach a significant number of talented kids to unlock their potential. About Nornickel: Nornickel is a partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), International University Sports Federation (FISU), Russian Olympic Committee, Russian Futsal Association, Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Night Hockey League, and Russian Curling Federation. Nornickel also owns a professional basketball team CSKA and a futsal team Norilsk Nickel.
Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities starts on Tornelo
The Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities kicks off on July 9 on the Tornelo platform, with 30 players from 9 countries participating in the open and women’s sections. The Asian Online Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities is an open individual tournament for chess players who belong to any of the three disability categories (visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically disabled). The Asian Chess Federation invites National Federations in Asia to nominate two players each for the open section and two players each for the women’s section for the Asian Online Championship for Players with Disabilities. Players should be members of their national federation with a valid FIDE ID number. The event is a 5-round Swiss tournament with time control of 10 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move starting from move 1 (10’ + 5” incr.). There is no default time. No penalty is imposed on a player if they are late for any of their games; their clock keeps running until the time forfeit. FIDE Rapid ratings as of July 1 2021 will be used for pairing purposes. Should a participant have no FIDE Rapid rating, their standard rating will be used, and if they have no standard rating, such a player will be considered unrated for seeding purposes. The tournament will take place from July 9-11. An online Technical Meeting will be held at 3 pm Dubai time on July 8 2021. Any request for a special arrangement, particularly a request to have an assistant, shall be communicated to the disabledasia@gmail.com address no later than two (2) days after the registration deadline. The organizers shall attempt to grant the request in good faith. Their decision shall be final and non-appealable. IA Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh will serve as a tournament director. IA Kausar Bauyrzhan is Chief Arbiter, whereas IA Jamie Kenmure, Chairman of the Asian Chess Federation Commission for Disabled Persons, is Appeals Committee Chairman. Official website: asianchess.com/