Mikhail Tal Grave

Tal Memorial Continues Chess in Museums Project

Moscow, August 26, 2016

The 10th edition of the international tournament named after the 8th World Champion Mikhail Tal will be played in the Museum of Russian Impressionism (Moscow), one of the leading private museums in Russia. The tournament will be opened on September 25, 2016, and will become the sixth event of the Chess in Museums project. Avtodor Group of Companies will be a co-organizer of the 10th Tal Memorial together with the Russian Chess Federation.

Chess in Museums is an international project implemented by Russian Chess Federation (RCF) together with the Charity Fund of Elena and Gennady Timchenko (Timchenko Fund). The idea of organizing chess events in major museums was for the first time realized in 2012, when the World Chess Championship match between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand took place in the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), thanks to the efforts of Andrey Filatov and Gennady Timchenko. In 2013-2016 the RCF and the Timchenko Fund organized the Alekhine Memorial in Louvre (Paris) and Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, two Russian Superfinals in Rukavishnikovs Estate (Nizhny Novgorod) and State Museum of Art of Tatarstan (Kazan), and the Russian Higher League in the Fort 5 Museum (Kaliningrad).

Museum of Russian Impressionism is one of the youngest museums in the Russian capital. Russian art collector Boris Mints came across the idea of creating such museum in 2012, and implemented it in 2016, when the museum was officially opened. Museum of Russian Impressionism is a unique venue, located in a renewed historical building, which hosts a permanent exhibition and is ideally equipped for educational projects.

International chess tournaments in memory of Mikhail Tal are regularly organized in Moscow since 2006 and traditionally gather the strongest players in the world. The 2006 Tal Memorial was a first elite tournament for the young Norwegian player Magnus Carlsen, now a reigning World Champion. The 2009 Tal Memorial was the strongest tournament in history of that time, judging by players’ average rating. This year’s tournament is expected to be one of the most interesting events in sports and cultural life of Moscow. Former World Champions Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik have already confirmed their participation in the event.

RCF’s President Andrey Filatov: “Organizing chess competitions in museums became popular and invariably attract great crowds of spectators, both chess fans and art enthusiasts. We are very grateful to Boris Iosifovich Mints for the opportunity to carry out the 10th Memorial of one of the brightest players of the 20th century in this unique venue, which gathers works of the best Russian artists. I believe that the new tournament of the Chess in Museums project in cooperation with the Museum of Russian Impressionism will repeat success of the previous projects and become a true fest for Muscovites and visitors of our city.”

Yulia Petrova, Director of the Museum of Russian Impressionism: “A modern museum accepts a number of new functions, no longer remaining just an exhibition site. It becomes a place for meetings, communication, a venue of social and charity projects. It will be a first chess experience for our museum, but we are happy to pick up the torch from Tretyakov Gallery, Louvre, Russian Museum and other great museums.”

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