2 June 2017

48th Final of Belaya Ladya Officially Opened in Dagomys

President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to participants and guests

On Children’s Day, June 1, the official opening ceremony of the 48th final tournament of the traditional all-Russian scholastic chess team event Belaya Ladya took place in Dagomys (Sochi). President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to participants and guests.

Dear friends!


I welcome you at the final tournament of Belaya Ladya. 

You have achieved success in the difficult selection round battles and proven your leadership in the regional stage of the competition. Today, the top school teams from around the country have gathered in Sochi.

It is good to see that this tournament continues to develop and attracts more participants every year. I see this as a clear sign that our national chess school’s legendary traditions continue.

I am sure that the Belaya Ladya tournament will continue to make a big contribution to supporting young talent, giving youth the chance to develop their skills, and spreading the popularity of chess among young people.

V. Putin


The text is published on the official site of the Russian President.

Since 2015, Belaya Ladya welcomes teams from foreign countries. This year, almost 100 teams from 80 regions of Russia and 17 countires of the world will take part in the final event. Apart from schoolchildren from Armenia, Belarus, China, Estonia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldavia, and Mongolia, there are also players from Bulgaria, England, Greece, India, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. 

The organizers of Belaya Ladya are the Russian Chess Federation and Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation. The competition is also supported by Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, Renault Russia Company, Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System (FGC UES), and PhosAgro.

The best Russian team composed of 5 participants will be presented with a trip to France in October 2017, thanks to the support of Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation and Renault Russia Company. The team will play a match against the French schoolchildren of the same age and visit a Renault factory. 

In parallel with Belaya Ladya, the final competition of Chess in Schools project, which is conducted by the Russian Chess Federation together with Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, will be held. 6 teams from Pskov Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai, Altai Krai, Krasnodar Krai, and Ingushetia will take part in it.  


Tournament page