The opening of the World Chess Olympiad among teenagers under 16 years of age was held in Nakhchivan.

According to the employee of Apasport.az posted to Nakhchivan, the opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Vasif Talibov, the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich, the Minister of Youth and Sports Farig Gayibov, the President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Mahir Mammadov and other officials. did.

Arkady Dvorkovich, who spoke first, voiced good thoughts about Nakhchivan and expressed his satisfaction with the high conditions created for the development of chess: "There are quite a lot of talented chess players growing up here.

After the problems caused by the pandemic, we are finally together today for the Olympics.

Young chess players will make new friends and develop here.

I express my gratitude to the leadership of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for the organization of this tournament."

Speaking later, Mahir Mammadov said that Azerbaijan is known all over the world as a sports and chess country: "A few days ago, we had the opportunity to watch the first international chess tournament in our dear Shusha, the cultural capital of our country.

The World Chess Olympiad held in Baku in 2016 was one of the most successful tournaments in the history of this competition.

19 years ago in Nakhchivan, the world championship among young people under 20 years of age was held at a high level.

Nakhchivan has regularly hosted international tournaments.

There is a sports palace in Nakhchivan that is rare in the world.

I should especially mention that chess is taught in all secondary schools of Nakhchivan.

In recent years, thanks to this mass, young people from Nakhchivan have started to develop and become known.

I'm sure this is just the beginning.

Azerbaijani chess players have always been among the strongest in the world rankings.

We will do our best to make the Organizing Committee and guests feel at home.

I wish success to all participants."

After that, the chief referee of the Olympics informed about the rules of the competition, and the lot was drawn.

The ceremony continued with the artistic part.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan will be represented by 5 teams - "Azerbaijan-1", "Azerbaijan-2", "Azerbaijan-3", "Azerbaijan-4" and "Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan" in the World Chess Olympiad in which 23 countries participated.

The Olympics, which will start today, will continue until October 10.