Chess and Cars in Ukraine
On 2 July, 2009 Avtokapital, Daimler Chrysler's exclusive representative for
Mercedes cars in Ukraine, presented three new models in Kiev, the country's
capital, Kyiv . The whole occasion was organised with a "chess" motif.
Presented were the Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2009, S 400 HYBRID and E-Class Coupe.
The cars are under drapes on a giant chessboard
The second model, waiting to be presented to the guests and journalists
Unveiling one of the two models, with chess WGM Natalia Zhukova doing the
necessary
This is the Mercedes S 400 HYBRID
Rollout of the new Mercedes HYBRID model in YouTube
Natalia and the CEO of Avtokapital read statements on the cars...
... and then Natalia gets to feel the comfort and luxury of the new models
The star guest was Ukrainian WGM Natalia Zhukova, rated 2465. She and her husband,
Russian GM Alexander Grischuk, live in Odessa, Ukraine (mainly in the summer)
and Moscow, Russia. Kiev is located somewhere in between Odessa and Moscow.
During the presentation there was a simultaneous exhibition by Natalia Zhukova
There were also simuls by the Kiev players, WFM Evgeniya Berezjuk and Marina
Pogrebinska, with Natalia helping some of the opponents.
Postscript
A Ukraining friend sent us the following message: "I was amazed to see
that the only outlets to report on the event and also mention of Natalia and
others chess names were chess sites. Not a single mention of her name appeared
in the official press release of Mercedes and in the follow-ups by auto journalists
– just general "chess presentation" reports. This made me really
sad. Nobody works harder at chess than Nataila, and for a long time she has
been the brightest chess star in Ukraine female chess. Still zero interest from
media. I wonder: who cares for chess in this country?"