Chess players from seven countries gathered for a tournament in Orsha
The international open chess tournament starts today in Orsha, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by Oleg Smirnovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Orsha City Executive Committee.
The event, organized in Orsha for the 11th time, has gathered about 400 participants aged from 5 to 80 years from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and for the first time – from Estonia and Azerbaijan. Chess players will demonstrate their skills in age categories (under 8, under 10, under 12, under 16, over 16 years old), and take part in a rating tournament, where depending on their performance, contestants can improve their positions in the overall rating. Competitions will be held according to the Swiss system – in nine rounds. In addition, a tournament will be held specifically for professionals, in which only international masters will compete. 10 chess players will vie for victory in this competition.
The tournament will run throughout the week. These days will be remembered by the participants not only for intense intellectual battles but also for vivid impressions from exciting excursion trips to memorable places of the Orsha region. The tournament results and the award ceremony for the winners will take place on January 27 at the City Culture Center.
The Orsha City Executive Committee and the Belarusian Chess Federation are the organizers of the event.