Festive Evening Takes Place in Central Chess Club in Moscow

Russian women's team is in the limelight.

Several festive events took place in the Central Chess Club in Moscow on December 18. The main event was a celebration in honor of the Russian national women’s chess team. 

RCF President, FIDE Vice President, Head Coach of the Russian men’s national chess team Andrey Filatov (who celebrates his Birthday on December 18), Press-Secretary of the Russian President and Chairman of RCF Board of Trustees Dmitry Peskov, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation and Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee Igor Levitin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma and President of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov gave speeches at the ceremony. 

Andrey Filatov thanked the Russian women’s team and the coaches for the happy moments that they had given to the Russian chess fans having won the World Team Championship for the first time and the European Team Championship in 2017. He also expressed gratitude to the RCF’s partners, in particular, to FGC UES, the general sponsor of the Russian chess national teams, and to Dmitry Peskov as the RCF Board of Trustees had regularly invested in chess.  

Dmitry Peskov congratulated the women’s team on their victories in 2017 and all the guests - on the upcoming New Year. «We will face many important events in 2018,» said he. «We will get to know who will become a new FIDE President. We know that there are several candidates, and the situation is ambiguous. There should be a candidate for FIDE President, whom our country deserves and needs, and we work on it. As for the RCF Presidential elections, in the recent four years an enormous work has been done to develop chess in Russia, and this is a big achievement of the acting RCF President Andrey Filatov.  The RCF Board of Trustees considers that Andrey Filatov should be re-elected. Thanks to his work, chess is being taught at schools, this kind of sport is occupying an appropriate place in our country, and we should be proud of our talents. Andrey Filatov does a great deal for chess, and the Board of Trustees is very grateful to him for it. We practically have no doubts that he will be re-elected». 

Igor Levitin also congratulated the women’s team on their successful performances in 2017. «Visiting various chess events, I understand this sport is not as visually emotional as many others, but can imagine what is going on on its inner side. It is a very hard labour. Chess is not an Olympic sport yet, but I advise our sportsmen not to be in a hurry, gain strength, courage, and patience», said he. 

Alexander Zhukov: «It is so wonderful to get together in our beloved chess house. Childhood memories have swept over me as always. But what we see now in the Central Chess Club is a great merit and achievement of Andrey Filatov, whom I congratulate on his Birthday and wish him to stay in the position of the RCF President for many years. He is leading the Federation to prosperity and our sportsmen - to medals. We’ve got accustomed to their wins, but every new victory is always very pleasant. I am sure that our chess players will make us happy in 2018 and we will support them».

Then Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kateryna Lagno, Valentina Gunina, Olga Girya, Aleksandra Goryachkina, coaches Sergei Rublevsky and Evgeniy Najer were invited to the scene and rewarded with presents.  

The Chairman of FGC UES’s Management Board Andrey Murov thanked and congratulated the Russian women’s team as well. «During the recent two years of our cooperation, our chess players have shown highest results in team events. It is a great pleasure to celebrate our women’s victories, but I hope, and I am practically sure, that our men will win gold medals of the Olympiad in Batumi», said Mr. Murov.  

The RCF Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky told about a traditional Christmas event – Nutcracker Generation Tournament, and invited all chess lovers come to the Central Chess Club to watch the games. He thanked an entrepreneur Oleg Skvortsov and Chess Creativity Support Foundation without whose support the event wouldn’t be held. Mark Glukhovsky also introduced Christian Issler, Director of the Zurich Chess Club, who had arrived in Moscow for the first time in his life. Mr. Issler told about the oldest in the world chess club in Zurich and expressed gratitude to Oleg Skvortsov and his wife Natalia for co-organizing strong chess tournaments there. 

Mark Glukhovsky and the RCF PR Director Kirill Zangalis summed up the Competition for best material about the RCF Chess Museum and named TOP-5 works. 

The jury declared the film «Chess House on Gogolevsky» (365 Days TV, director - Alexey Bekker, producer - German Tregubenko) to be the best material about the Chess Museum. The winners were awarded with a rare chess set of wines from the Art Russe Grand Cru collection, which was created by CHATEAU LA GRACE DIEU DES PRIEURS (Saint-Emilion, France) together with partner of the Russian Chess Federation the Art Russe Foundation, which holds the biggest collection of Russian art of the late 19th and 20th centuries. 

The Head of the Udmurt Republic Alexander Brechalov presented a unique zirconium chess set to the RCF Chess Museum. 

Finally, Igor Butman Quintet performed several jazz compositions. 

Photos by Pavel Iovik, Vladimir Barsky, and Boris Dolmatovsky