On October 23, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov opened the tournament named after the prominent statesman, politician and diplomat Zhamsrangiyn Sambuu, who served as the ambassador of Mongolia to the USSR from 1937 to 1946.
The opening ceremony of the competition, dedicated to the 95th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Russia, was held in the Botvinnik Central House of Chess in Moscow.
The first move in the tournament was made by the Mongolia’s ambassador to Russia Banzragch Delgermaa, who later held the trilateral business talks with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the head of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov.
After the official events the Mongolian ambassador and the head of FIDE played a friendly game of chess.
