Tromsø Chess Olympiad signs KPMG as main partner

Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 announced that KPMG has become one of the main partners of the Chess Olympiad to take place in Tromsø in the first half of August.

KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services in 155 countries worldwide.

Børge Robertsen, Managing Director of Tromsø Chess Olympiad 2014, commented on the move:

We are extremely satisfied to be able to enter into a broad collaboration with a national player such as KPMG. KPMG shares many of the values that the Chess Olympiad represents and consequently fits very well as one of our main partners. We are pleased that KPMG wishes to help us create chess fever in Norway in the lead-up to the actual Chess Olympiad. This agreement brings great joy to both parties.

That was backed up by Stein-Ragnar Nordeng, CEO of KPMG:

Chess is a sport that focuses on characteristics such as strategic thinking, future focus and the ability to see solutions to complex problems. These are characteristics that fit well with KPMG’s business and as a result we believe it’s extremely nice to be one of the main partners of the Chess Olympiad and the largest sporting event in Norway in 2014.

In the lead-up to the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, KPMG will, in cooperation with the Norwegian Chess Federation, organise a nationwide chess tournament for amateurs – the KPMG Chess Competition 2014. Students and companies in various towns and cities throughout the country will be able to challenge each other.

The winners from campuses and corporate tournaments will meet in the grand final of the KPMG Chess Competition, which will be held in Tromsø in August during the Chess Olympiad.

Olympiad budget lacking NOK 15 million

Despite taking major companies, such are SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, andNRK, on board as sponsors and partners, the Olympiad budget is still NOK 15 million (EUR 1,8 million) short, thelocal iTromso.no reported.

The article states that “Critical shortage of funds in the Chess Olympiad has led the Board to discuss disaster scenarios”.

Kjetil Robertsen, Director of Tromsø in 2014, said that the Board evaluated which costs could be cut in case of a need. He assured that the event will not be moved from Tromsø to Oslo, as it was speculated.

Chairman Hans Olav Karde said that the organization is forced to seek increased state aid – “We have asked the state for about 15 million in additional funding”.