The opening ceremony of the 2nd stage of FIDE Grand Prix Series 2012-2013 took place at the Gallery of Fine Art on the 21st of November. The event was attended by such honorable guests as the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Deputy Prime-Minister of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov, the Chairperson of Fund Forum’s Board of Trustees Gulnara Karimova and many others.
The organizers of the Tashkent tournament include FIDE (the World Chess Federation) in collaboration with Agon, the Chess Federation of Uzbekistan and Fund Forum.
The opening ceremony included dancing and singing performances.
The Deputy Prime-Minister of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov.
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
The Chairperson of Fund Forum’s Board of Trustees Gulnara Karimova was the one who announced that Tashkent would be hosting a FIDE Grand Prix tournament. It happened on the closing ceremony of the friendly match between Vishwanathan Anand and Rustam Kasimdzhanov in 2011.
The Chief Arbiter of the tournament IA Husan Turdialiev conducted the ceremony of drawing of lots. Each participant was proposed to choose one of 12 dolls with the number on the bottom of each.
The tournament will be held from November 22 to December 4, with each round scheduled to start at 2 pm local time (10 a.m. European time) at the Gallery of Fine Art. The players will have 2 days off on November 26 and December 1. Average rating of event is 2747.1 based on November 2012 list. The second leg of the Grand Prix series hosts a very strong event with 12 of the World's strongest Grandmasters including two former World Champions Ruslan Ponomariov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
Pictures and report by Anastasiya Karlovich |
