The Russian-Chinese chess tournament Match of Friendship 2015 will take place on December 13-15 in Shanghai. The extensive program of the event includes a competition between school teams, a match between European champion Evgeny Najer and former World champion Hou Yifan, simultaneous displays, and visiting the War Museum of Shanghai.
Match of Friendship is a junior international chess tournament that is held in China for the second consecutive year. In November 2014, Russian Chess Federation, Chinese Chess Association, and Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko for the first time organized a friendly meeting between Chinese and Russian schoolchildren in Beijing. The event received an extensive coverage in Chinese and Russian media and was marked as having not only sporting, but also a cultural value.
The idea of the Match of Friendship came up in 2014, when Timchenko Foundation began to support the All-Russian scholastic competition Belaya Ladya. Thanks to the support of Timchenko Foundation, in 2015 Belaya Ladya turned into an international competition. Best school teams from Armenia, Belarus, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Moldova took part in the event along with Russian teams.
The winner of Belaya Ladya, team of St. Petersburg 2nd Gynmasium, will take part in the Match of Friendship, as well as many young players under 14 from other Russian cities. They will meet their Chinese counterparts at the board.
During the Match of Friendship we expect signing a three-way memorandum about developing junior chess in Russia and China. The strongest school team of China will be invited to the Belaya Ladya in 2016.
Former World champion Hou Yifan (China) and European champion Evgeny Najer (Russia) will also participate in the Match of Friendship. They will play a match of rapid chess and blitz, and give simultaneous displays to schoolchildren: the world’s strongest player will test the Russian team, while the European champion will play the Chinese youngsters.
In 2015 the Match of Friendship is dedicated to the 70-year anniversary of the victory in the Second World War – a highly significant event for both participating countries. Russian and Chinese delegations will visit the War Museum in Shanghai and learn more about the history of the Second World War as well as a contribution of both countries into defeating fascism and militarism.
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