“WHITE CASTLE” WILL BECOME INTERNATIONAL
Tromso, Norway. The President of the Russian Chess Federation, Andrey Filatov, and his counterpart from the Moldovan Chess Federation, Igor Dodon, signed an agreement today on cooperation in promoting chess in schools. Similar agreements were signed yesterday with the heads of the Turkmenistan and Belarusian chess federations.
The Russian Chess Federation has proposed the organisation of a standardised system of chess tournaments for schools, called “White Castle”. Countries that are party to the agreement and which hold school chess championships will send their winning teams to the final of the White Castle tournament. This will add participants to the already existing competition, and will also make it an international event. The Russian Chess Federation commits to holding both the final and intramural stages of the competition and will also provide assistance to the national federations in setting up and holding their respective championships.
The representatives of the national federations see the signing of the document as a crucial step in the development of chess competitions in schools, as the tournament will serve not only to popularise the sport, but also promote friendly relations among pupils all over the world.
Additional information: Kirill Zangalis. Tel: (968) 732 0080; e-mail: zangalis@mail.ru. Technical details regarding the White Castle can be found at www.ruchess.ru.
11 August 2014
Information for the press:
“White Castle” is a nationwide team chess tournament for Russian schools. It was founded in 1969 and is organised by the Russian Chess Federation, the Ministry of Sport, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The multi-round competition, which is held annually for school pupils aged 14 years and older, is supported by the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Foundation. The strongest regional teams compete in the final. More than 100,000 pupils from all over Russia took part in the 2014 anniversary championship
The Russian Chess Federation is a public non-profit organisation that brings individuals and chess federations of Russia’s republics, regions, oblasts, federal cities and autonomous regions. The activities of the Russian Chess Federation are directed towards developing and promoting chess in the Russian Federation. Founded in 15 February 1992, the Russian Chess Federation organises the All-Russian “White Castle” Children’s Chess Tournament for Schools, the Russian Chess Championship and numerous other chess competitions. The Federation’s “Chess in Museums” initiative has been running successfully in Russia since 2012.