2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open Tournament
The 2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open Tournament is set to take place from 9th to 20th February in Mashhad, Iran.
The Chess Association of “Khorasan–Razavi” province on behalf of I.R.Iran Chess Federation has the honor to invite all players from national federations to participate in the tournament. Each National Chess Federation has right to nominate and send one player.
Organizing Committee will provide free participation, domestic transfer (from Tehran to Mashhad and return) and full board accommodation (with 3 meals per day) in 4 stars Samen Hotel, for official nominated players as well as GM title holders and 2500+ rated chess players.
The tournament will be played over 11 rounds of Swiss system. The prize fund of 25.000 US$ will be distributed for the top ten finishers. The winner gets 5000 USD. Note: 20% tax will be deducted from the winnings.
The 1st Ferdowsi International was held on 8-15th June 2010. Grandmasters Vladimir Malaniuk UKR, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami IRI and Azer Mirzoev AZE shared the first place.
Mashhad is the capital of “Khorasan–Razavi” province in northeastern of I.R.Iran and it has an International airport directly connected by different airlines to many major destinations like: Istanbul, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Bangkok, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Kuwait, Baghdad, Najaf, Almaty, and also more than 15 daily flights from Tehran.
For more information about flights see: http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashhad_International_Airport, http://www.mahan.aero/home.asp?lang=en-us.
Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world.
It is located 850 kilometers (530 mi) east of Tehran, close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its population was 2,427,316 at the 2006 population census.
The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having cool winters, pleasant springs, mild summers, and beautiful autumns. It is only about 250 km (156 miles) from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
In 2011 Mashhad hosted the 19th Fajr International Chess Open Tournament and 10th Asian Continental Individual Championships.
Contacts of the Organizing Committee:
Khorasan Chess Association
www.razavichess.com
Email: shima_haghani2003(at)yahoo.com
Tel: +98 511 2463055
Fax: +98 5112463626
Mobile: +98 915 307 6081
Email: federation(at)ircf.ir
Email: wfajr2012(at)ircf.ir
Tel: +98 21 88971040
Fax: +98 21 88951514
Sounds like a great tournament.