For the second time, the Ural State University of Economics has become a venue for the All-Russian Rapid Chess Competition for the Yekaterinburg Head's Cup. The prize fund is 500,000 rubles.
This year, more than two hundred athletes aged 7 to 75 from 17 regions of Russia are participating in the competition: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Tyumen Oblast, Omsk Oblast and other regions. Among the participants are grandmasters of both Russian and international levels.
The rector of USUE Yakov Silin spoke at the opening ceremony: "Chess is an important part of the history of USUE. The Department of Chess Art and Computer Mathematics has been successfully operating at the university for five years now. The Ural Queen chess tournament is held annually at the Eurasian Economic Youth Forum, and there is active cooperation with the Russian Chess Federation. We hope that chess will be associated with the university for many decades to come. I wish you success and fair judging. Good luck to everyone!
The symbolic first move was made by the Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of the Sverdlovsk Region Leonid Rapoport: “There are about 30 thousand people involved in chess in the Sverdlovsk Region. And every year this number only grows. Young athletes, pay attention to this unique higher educational institution. I hope that the victories you will achieve here will allow you to come to USUE as a student.”
The participants are competing for prizes in 6 categories: among the main prize winners; women; men; boys; girls; veterans.
14-year-old Roman Dorokhov from Snezhinsk is participating in the Cup for the first time. Roman has been playing chess for three years, and despite his little experience, he is not afraid to play with the strongest players.
“Today is my second day of play, and it is not easy. The opponents are very strong. After all, this is a Russian-level tournament! I am not despairing. I hope to win several rounds and enjoy the game,” says Roman.
The competition is included in the unified calendar plan of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and is part of the Russian Grand Prix Cup system.
The All-Russian Rapid Chess Competition for the Cup of the Head of Yekaterinburg is held with the support of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Sverdlovsk Region, the Ural State University of Economics, the Center for Sports Events, the Chess Federation of Russia, the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region and the Chess Federation of Yekaterinburg. The general partner of the competition is the Scientific and Production Holding "VMP".