The first five rounds of the FIDE World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships 2016 are now history, it means that there’s time to take a break and have some rest.
Whereas grown-up chess players prefer to stand in their hotel rooms and get ready for their future rounds, children are not easy to be hold still. So it was not a surprise that the proposal of the organizers to participate in the excursion around the city was taken with great enthusiasm by most of the players.
Five buses with English- and Russian-speaking guides talking about the history and modern life of Ugra capital have departed from “Olympiyskaya” hotel. Chess players and their accompanying persons were listening attentively, making photos and, of course, sharing their impressions about the city with the press-team of the tournament.
Stavroula Tsolakidou
Stavroula Tsolakidou from Greece says that although she’s already spent a week in Khanty-Mansiysk, she didn’t have enough time to see anything as all her time was dedicated to the games of the championships and their analysis. That is why she was really looking forward to this excursion. «I didn’t have time during the tournament, but today it was very nice to visit so many beautiful places. The city looks very spectacular. There are so many green and yellow trees growing everywhere. Usually we are so anxious about the games that sometimes it is good to have rest and let your brain be reloaded”.
On the other side the representative of the US team Jerry Nash confesses that he has plenty of walks around Khanty-Mansiysk these days. The chess education consultant had chances to see many places in Khanty-Mansiysk. “I have been walking in the city center, the memorial park, the children’s park, the chess academy and there’s a beautiful area. Today was the first time I went to the Archaeopark. This is my first time to Khanty-Mansiysk and my first time to Russia. I am very impressed with the city and especially with its parks and streets. I like Karl Marx street with the steps coming up, it’s very lovely. I’ve never been to Khanty-Mansiysk before and I didn’t do a lot of reading about Khanty-Mansiysk to know what was here. But I know that many Russian cities have lovely parks and I was hoping that there would be some very nice walks in Khanty-Mansiysk too. Every morning I walk about 2 hours”. A visitor from the USA also adds that even the low temperatures and windy weather are quite comfortable for him. “I love this weather as well. I came from Tennessee, now it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit there. My favorite time of the year is fall. I was hoping that the weather would be chilly like this. So I enjoy it very much”.
Obviously, the Archaeopark with bronze sculptures of ancient animals was one of the most popular places in Khanty-Mansiysk among the players. Children were climbing the backs of horses and oxes, posing on the trunks of bronze mammoths and sitting near the figures of primitive people.
Dang Hong Phuc Nguyen
Dang Hong Phuc Nguyen from Vietnam has decided that although this is his first time in Khanty-Mansiysk he needs to come back to this place again one time. “This is my first time in Khanty-Mansiysk but I already want to come back here some day. The place that impressed me the most was Archaeopark with the sculptures of ancient animals. I have also seen the big church and found it very beautiful”.
These days Nataly Monroy from Bolivia and Lilia Fuentes from Mexico spend almost all their time together. Sometimes it seems that girls are separated only while playing the rounds of the tournament, so it was not a surprise that they were talking about their favorite place in Khanty-Mansiysk together as well. “This is our first visit to Russia and the first time in Khanty-Mansiysk. It is a very beautiful city. Khanty-Mansiysk is too cold for us, but it is a nice place. We are always together and, actually, everybody asks us: “Are you sisters?” We are not, but we are very good friends. We are both from Latin America so we have much in common with each other”.
Carlos Dias
The arbiters of the Championships could not afford to stand back from the excursion too. The chief arbiter of the tournament Carlos Dias from Portugal has confesses that his page on Facebook is now loaded with pictures of Khanty-Mansiysk. “It’s a lovely place. I am enjoying it very much. Of course, I was reading about Khanty-Mansiysk and its places of interest before coming here, but at a close look it is even more impressive. This morning we also went to the Ugra Chess Academy. Never saw anything like that. It’s wonderful. I made a lot of pictures there. Now they are all over Facebook already. My friends on Facebook are saying “Wow!” all the time. I am very impressed with Khanty-Mansiysk, with the organizing committee, everything is perfect till now”.
Let us hope that a long-awaited day-off will allow the participants of the FIDE World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships 2016 to have some rest and to get ready for the coming rounds. Besides, they will go home with loads of impressions and good memories from Khanty-Mansiysk. Official website.