On July 22, 2020, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Gazprom PJSC signed a partnership agreement. Under this agreement, Gazprom becomes the General partner of the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad, the largest online chess event in 2020.
FIDE Online Chess Olympiad will be held from July 25 to August 30, 2020. This massive tournament is a digital twin of the XLIV World Chess Olympiad, which was postponed to the summer, 2021 (due to the spread of coronavirus infection).
Chess matches will be held on the world's largest online platform Chess.com. 163 teams representing national chess federations - members of FIDE - will take part in the Olympiad. Commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Russian, Spanish, German, French, and Chinese.
The FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich: "Today, when the world is in the epicenter of a crisis caused by a pandemic, events whose mission is to unite people and give hope, are particularly significant. Over the past few months, we have seen explosive growth in interest in chess – tens, and perhaps hundreds of millions of people around the world play at a real or virtual chess board every day. We are very grateful to our partner, Gazprom, for supporting the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad and for the opportunity to bring together chess fans from all over the world at this truly global sporting event."
About Gazprom
Gazprom is a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power.
Gazprom is the global leader measured by the amount of reserves and volumes of gas production. Gazprom sells gas to Russian consumers and exports gas to over 30 countries within and beyond the former Soviet Union. Gazprom is the biggest gas supplier to Europe. Gazprom is among the top three oil and gas condensate producers in the Russian Federation, ranking number one in Russia in terms of electricity generation among thermal generation companies and in terms of thermal energy generation.
More info: www.gazprom.com
Contact: pr@gazprom.ru
About FIDE
Founded in Paris in 1924, the International Chess Federation was one of the first sports associations in history, and the first one to organize an official World Championship. With headquarters in Lausanne, FIDE is now one of the largest sporting bodies in the world, with 195 member federations.
More info: www.fide.com
Contact: press@fide.com
