VSMPO-AVISMA supports the Grand Chess Russia children's and youth championship

SVERDLOVSK REGION 

 

The closing ceremony of the Russian children's and youth chess championship took place in Ekaterinburg. The Grand Chess Russia competitions were held from April 1 and united about 3,500 athletes from 83 regions. The VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation became one of the partners of the unique competition, RusBusinessNews reports.

 

Players aged from 11 to 21 years played 9 rounds each in classical and rapid chess, as well as 11 rounds in blitz. The champions will represent Russia at the World Championship in their age groups, and the silver medalists will take part in the Asian Championship.

The tournament was organized by the Sverdlovsk Region Chess Federation with the support of the Russian Chess Federation. VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation and Empathy Charitable Foundation, created by Mikhail Shelkov, VSMPO-AVISMA's shareholder, acted as partners of the major competition, which for its unprecedented scale is planned to be entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest children's chess event.

 

The championship was also attended by such athletes of VSMPO-AVISMA's Debut corporate club as Aleksey Prokhorov, the winner of the 2023 Asian Junior Championship and of the 2023 Russian Cup among boys, Maria Kleshchyova, the winner of the 2023 Sverdlovsk Region Girls' Championship, and Ivan Prokhorov, the winner of the 2022 Ural Federal District Boys' Blitz Championship. The results of the competition have revealed that each of the participants has secured a place among the top 20 chess players in Russia in their respective leagues and age categories as stated by the press service of VSMPO-AVISMA.

"For several years we have been actively supporting the sport of chess in the regions where the corporation operates. The School of Chess Literacy project has been operating in our territory for six years already, and thanks to it we keep on discovering new talents and help to develop intellectual abilities of schoolchildren. We will continue doing this, because intelligent and erudite young people are the key to the development of our cities and enterprises," emphasized Maxim Sbytov, HR Director of VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, PJSC.

 

The representatives of Mikhail Shelkov's Empathy Charity Foundation believe that the sport of chess can be one of the most important aspects of a child's development.

 

"It's no secret that it improves memory and concentration and helps you absorb new information more easily at school. We're eager to encourage schoolchildren to pursue chess, whether as an extracurricular activity or at a professional level. This is how we will create the intellectual potential of both the Sverdlovsk region and Russia. And it is already there – 1,500 participants at the competition in Ekaterinburg – it is a great achievement", noted the press service of the Foundation.

 

Photo: Natalia Yarmieva