Press release
The drawing of lots for the Candidates Tournament was held in the Russian Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, with the presence of the newly appointed Minister of Sports, Oleg Matytsin, the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, and the famed tennis player Anastasia Myskina (winner of Roland Garros 2004). Also present was the legendary chess coach Anatoly Bykhovsky.
The participants of the competition received the following numbers:
Oleg Matytsin: “Before we started this ceremony we discussed with Anastasia Myskina that a lot of great sports are called “chess in motion”: football is “chess in motion”, tennis also, but the great game of chess is always there as the game itself and the best chess players are admired all over the world. Russia is known for its chess traditions, and we’re happy to host such a great tournament. We can guarantee that the organizational level will be top-notch as always for the events hosted by Russia.”
Oleg Matytsin, Anastasia Myskina and Arkady Dvorkovich | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili (CFR)
Arkady Dvorkovich: “We’re glad that Russia, the long-time partner of FIDE, is hosting the Candidates event, the key leg of the world championship cycle. There will be players from China, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, USA, and Russia. We welcome all chess lovers to visit Yekaterinburg or to follow this amazing event online”. The FIDE President also expressed gratitude to the general sponsor of the Candidates tournament, the company Sima-Land.
The FIDE Candidates 2020 will take place in Yekaterinburg, Russia from March 15th until April 5th. Eight top grandmasters will contest in a double round-robin tournament for the right to challenge the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway).
An attractive chess set (though not an offical one) | Photo: Dmitry Zharkov
