Istanbul Women's Grand Prix – the closing ceremony

İş Bankası - Women Grand Prix Series in Istanbul

The Closing Ceremony was held on the 41st floor of Is Bank Towers, which is the highest place of Istanbul and Southern Europe. İş Bankasi is the corporate sponsor of the Turkish Chess Federation and has supported the "Turkish Chess in School Curriculum" for the last four years.

The 41st story of the Is Bankasi towers overlooking Istanbul

Before the closing ceremony: Zhao Xue, Hou Yifan, her mother, Shen Yang, Ashok Koneru, daughter Humpy

Another group, with Maia Chiburdanidze, Elina Danielian, Zeinab Mamedyerova, Marie Sebag

The dignitaries: TCF President and FIDE Vice President Ali Nihat Yazici, Sports Minister Murat Başesgioğlu, TCF Board Member Ahmet Duysak, CEO of Is Bank Ersin Özince, FIDE Deputy President Georgios, FIDE Vice President GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili Makropoulos.

The President of the Is Bank Board, Caner Çimenbiçer, delivering his speech

FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos delivers his speech

Ali Nihat Yazici, Georgios Makropoulos, Caner Çimenbiçer, Ersin Özince with one of the prizes, a notebook

Humpy gets her first prize trophy and a 6,500 Euro check from Sports Minister Başesgioğlu

Elina Danielian gets her's from Is Bank President Caner Çimenbiçer

The youngest participant, Hou Yifan, gets her third-place tropy and check from Is Bank CEO Ersin Özince

The three winners: Hou, Danielian and Humpy, with the country's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938)

Everybody: in the front row you will recognise Zeinab, Xue, Pia, Martha, Eti, Yifan, Humpy, Yang and Elina, in the second row Betül, Marie and Maia (click on the picture to enlarge)

This is what the statistics for top level women's chess look like: seventy percent of the games decided, a majority in favour os Black, with just thirty percent draws. Remind us again: why do we keep staging high-level men's tournaments?