After five rounds of the Women's Grand Prix in Shymkent, the players deserved a day off. FIDE organised an excursion to the Amanat Art Centre, where everyone was able to learn how to make felt carpets and pottery.

Most of the participants were officials and members of the players' entourage, but a few players were also present: Tan Zhongyi, Stavroula Tsolakidou and Batkhuyag Munguntuul did not want to miss an introduction to Kazakh culture.

Tan Zhongyi

Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Stavroula Tsolakidou try their hands at pottery

Along with the artistic work, everyone was invited to pose for a little photo, dressed in traditional Kazakh costume.

Irene Sukandar and Josefine Heinemann in traditional dress

We then visited the statue of Baidibek Bi. We were told that he was an important person in the history of Kazakhstan because he united the nomadic tribes into one people, thus creating a unified Kazakhstan for the first time in the 15th century.

The Baidibek Bi Monument

After this brief historical digression, we were introduced to Kazakh cuisine and went to the traditional restaurant "Sandyk" for a taste. We were greeted warmly and welcomed with a variety of pastries and a glass of horse milk. We were warned, however, not to drink the milk too quickly, as an untrained stomach might not tolerate it well.

Then we moved on to the main course, which also included typical dishes: Beschbarmak (horse meat on a bed of broad noodles with onions), horse heart and sheep brain.

Beschbarmak

Personally, I wasn't too adventurous and mostly limited myself to bread with dips and vegetables, but some people tried the local specialities and were pleasantly surprised.

Insights into the local cuisine

We returned to the hotel in the early afternoon to prepare for tomorrow and relax.

All in all, it was a very interesting and well organised experience. Often excursions on a free day take too long, making the free day more tiring than the days on which you have to play, but this excursion provided a nice introduction to Kazakh culture without taking up too much of the participants' time.

Links

• Tournament page...
• Chess-results...