9 August 2016
Mikhail Botvinnik Cup Begins In Moscow
The format of the event copies the famous Pioneers' Palaces Tournament.
On August 8-16, the Association of Chess Federations supported by the Interstate Foundation of Humanitarian Cooperation of CIS countries carries out the open Mikhail Botvinnik Cup for junior teams of CIS countries and Georgia. The opening ceremony took place on August 8 in the Saturn Hall of the Kosmos Hotel. The ceremony was attended by the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, RCF Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky, Adviser of IFHC President Kamol Rakhimov, Adviser of the RCF President Alexander Bakh, and Chief Arbiter Alexander Ivanov.
The tournament is dedicated to the 105th anniversary of Mikhail Botvinnik, revives the traditional format of the Pioneers' Palaces Tournament. Ten junior teams from Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will compete for the Cup. The captains of each team are titled players, who will give 4-board simuls to the young players of the opposing teams. The group of captains includes such experienced grandmasters as Sergey Zhigalko, Dmitry Svetushkin, and Alexander Galkin.
The Russian team: Alexander Galkin – captain, Alexey Geshko, Gleb Dudin, Adel Zhafyarov, and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya.
Photos by Vladimir Barsky
