19.09.2015

In Khanty-Mansiysk ended World Junior Championship

One of the most attractive chess competitions in the world - the world championship among boys and girls up to 20 years has ended In the capital of Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk. The grandmaster from Moscow Mikhail Antipov and Ukrainian chess player Natalia Buksa took the first place, Alina Bivol from Dmitrov - the second.

«The competition was quiet well-organized as usual for Khanty-Mansiysk» - said the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

Khanty-Mansiysk has become a real chess Mecca. For 10 years the Ugra took dozens of major national and international forums, the largest was the 39th World Olympiad of 2010. The World Cup was held here four times, the tournament of applicants and the final stage of the FIDE Grand Prix were also played here. The Women's World Championship was held here too.
Khanty-Mansiysk is one of the active participants of the «Chess in Schools» FIDE program (developed at Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's intiative). It's understood in Ugra that practicing ancient chess game is an effective way to the intellectual development of children and forming their creative abilities. That's why chess is introduced into the school curriculum for about 20 000 children.
Why Youth World Championships always aroused great interest among fans of chess? For one simple reason: it is like a forge for future chess kings. Since the middle of last century, almost all of them have been winning the world championships among juniors under 20 years before reaching the top.

Evgeny Geek