Russia - China friendship match starts in Moscow

Russia - China Friendship Chess Tournament starts in Moscow

Press Release

Moscow, 10 June 2016 – The traditional match between the national chess teams of Russia and China starts in Moscow. The opening ceremony of the friendship tournament, which was established in 2001, will be held on 10 June 2016 at the Botvinnik Central House of Chess (14/1 Gogolevski Boulevard).

Game dates: June 11-15. Games will begin at 3pm Moscow time. The match will be held on 10 boards (5 men and 5 women), according to the Scheveningen system. The team with the most points will be declared the winner.

The match is organized by the Russian Chess Federation with the support of the Volga Group, the official partner of the men's national chess team of Russia, and UES Federal Grid Company, the general sponsor of Russia’s national chess teams.

Russian National Teams

Men: Ian Nepomnyashchiy, Dmitry Yakovenko, Daniil Dubov, Dmitry Andreykin and Maxim Matlakov. Coaches: Alexander Motylev and Vladimir Potkin.

Ian Nepomnyashchiy

Women: Valentina Gunina, Natalia Pogonina, Anastasia Bodnaruk, Alexandra Goryachkina, and Ekaterina Lagno. Coaches: Sergey Rublevsky and Alexander Ryazantsev.

Valentina Gunina

Chinese National Teams

Men: Wang Yue, Yu Yangyi, Lu Shanglei, Wen Yang and Zhou Jianchao. Coach: Yu Shaoten

Wang Yue

Women: Tan Zhongyi, Shen Yang, Guo Qi, Ding Yixin, and Lei Tintsze. Coach: Yu Shaoten.

The current Chinese Women's Champion Guo Qi at the Aeroflot Open 2016 (Photo: Amruta Mokal)

The first friendship match between Russia and China was held in 2001 in Shanghai with the participation of six of the strongest teams of Russia and China (2 men's, 2 women's and 2 junior teams). A total of nine tournaments were held between 2001 and 2015, with matches in Shanghai, Moscow, Beijing, Ningbo, Sochi, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. While the tournaments were held in accordance with different systems and with different line-ups, at least 50% of all team line-ups were members of the Olympic teams.

In 2015, according to the results of traditional tournaments, the total score was 4:5 in favor of the Chinese team. However, at the suggestion of China, an additional knockout match among men's teams was held in 2015. Russia's Sergey Karyakin who played the first board during the match, beat the entire Chinese Olympic team.

«Russia and China attach great importance to the development of chess at the state level and are the countries that set the world chess calendar», said the President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov. «We are glad that the Russian-Chinese relations in the field of chess have been strengthening year after year. White Castle, a chess tournament for school teams, has just finished in Sochi. This year, young Chinese players took part in this renowned competition for the first time and showed a brilliant winner result. The friendship match between the national teams of Russia and China, which starts today, will be another step towards developing our cooperation, and we are very pleased to host the match in Moscow, in the historic walls of the Botvinnik Central House of Chess.»

For additional information: Kirill Zangalis. Tel: (968) 732 0080; e-mail: zangalis@mail.ru.

For reference

Russian Chess Federation (RCF) is a public non-profit organization that brings together individuals and chess federation of republics, territories, regions, federal cities, autonomous regions and autonomous areas of the Russian Federation. RCF activities are aimed at the development and popularization of chess in the Russian Federation. RCF was established on February 15, 1992. The management bodies of the Russian Chess Federation are the Congress and the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation. The Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation is a collegial advisory and consultative body, acting on a voluntary basis.

RCF organizes the annual nationwide «White Castle» Children’s Chess Tournament for Schools, the Russian Chess Championship and numerous other chess competitions. The Federation’s «Chess in Museums» initiative has been running successfully in Russia since 2012.

RCF initiates and implements chess development programs, including those targeting children, and promotes expansion of the network of chess clubs and sections in the regions. RCF manages individual and team competitions in Russia, organizes participation of Russian players in international competitions, promotes Russian chess in the international arena, and develops sporting links with national chess federations, national and international organizations, including FIDE.

Official website: www.ruchess.ru