Director of the Spasskoye-Lutovinovo museum-reserve Sergey Stupin said: “We are holding the Turgenev chess tournament in order to popularize the chess talent of Turgenev. After all, it is known that Turgenev was the best writer among chess players and the best chess player among writers. He played at the grandmaster level and he was vice president of the Chess Congress in Baden-Baden. We want to expand people's ideas about Turgenev’s personality, to show the versatility of his talent and the richness of his spiritual world. ”

An important event for the participants and guests of the tournament will be a meeting with sixth FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who responded to the invitation of the museum director to visit Turgenev’s estate and become an honorary guest of the event.
“I have no doubt that the first Turgenev chess tournament will become a significant event in the cultural life of our country. I will be glad to take part in the opening of the tournament and, of course, to visit the family estate of a classic of Russian literature,” wrote Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in a response letter.
About 70 chess players from Moscow, Oryol, Kursk and Tula regions have already announced their participation in the tournament. The age of the participants varies from nine to 70 years.
The co-organizers of the first Turgenev chess tournament are the public organization “Chess Federation of the Oryol Region” and the Oryol Chess-Drafts Sports School.