Russian parliament’s chess club
Olga Pshenitsyna
Jul 5, 2012 20:51
Moscow Time

The Russian parliament is seeing the revival of its chess club. There is nothing new in such a form of discussion for Russian MPs. This was practiced in the 2nd and the 3rd convocations of the State Duma, and it was a tradition to hold annual chess tournaments.

However, MPs of the 6th convocation are for the first time taking part in a chess tournament. This is a “high level” tournament because the players feature Anatoly Karpov, who has won the world championship more than once, Deputy Speaker Alexander Zhukov said in an exclusive interview with the Voice of Russia.

Sixteen people have expressed their desire to take part in the tournament. Among them are MPs and their staff members. All of them are qualified chess players with at least the Master of Sports title, says Alexander Zhukov.

“Anatoly Karpov is a member of the parliament and will take part in the tournament. This is a blitz tournament in which only five minutes will be allocated for a match, and naturally, with a handicap for the weak player. It’s quite clear that Karpov will take less time than his rival. This is always interesting because the match ends soon with a result.

The tournament is restricted because only qualified chess players will take part in it. This is quite a strong tournament. A person who wishes to take part should understand this. In fact, all those who play chess always take part in such tournaments with great interest. This is not a onetime event. A chess club will consistently function in the parliament,” Alexander Zhukov said.

There are no tournaments without prizes, of course. Although there is no prize fund for this tournament, an exclusive cup will be awarded to the winner.

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Tags: , ,