The head of state met with representatives of the world chess elite

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received the participants of the world classic chess championship match Ding Lizhen and Yan Nepomniaschi, as well as the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich.

Welcoming the guests, the Head of State praised the level of organization of the most prestigious FIDE tournament which brought together outstanding athletes.

- First of all I would like to congratulate Mr. Ding Lizhen for winning the title of World Champion in a persistent struggle, and also to express my respect to Grandmaster Yan Nepomnyashchiy for his skill. The tournament attracted the attention of the world chess community. Chess lovers closely watched the course of the struggle. I think the tournament was a success," the President said.

The President underlined that Kazakhstan pays a lot of attention to development of chess.

- There are over 200,000 people playing chess right now. This figure is to be at least doubled with the assistance of the Chess Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and with the support of FIDE. Chess will get a decent development in our country," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

The head of the International Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, thanked the head of state for the warm welcome.

- About seven months have passed since our last meeting. During that time we have already held five world championships in Kazakhstan with your full support. We see how popular chess is in Kazakhstan. The numbers are impressive and they will be higher. I am sure of it, as the combination of state and sponsor support almost always gives good results," said the FIDE President.

As Arkady Dvorkovich mentioned, there were a lot of additional competitions on the fields of the World Championship, such as the match between the Kazakh women's team and the world team, children's tournaments, master classes and simultaneous play sessions with leading foreign chess players. He also announced plans to hold the first ever world school championship in Kazakhstan this summer, which is expected to involve at least 80 countries.

Chinese grandmaster Ding Lizhen thanked the Head of State for the invitation.

- We are very pleased to meet you. I'm very happy with my victory and with my participation in this tournament, I got great pleasure from the game," he said.

In turn, Grandmaster Yang Nepomnyashchy pointed out the great interest in chess in Kazakhstan.

- Thanks to the organizers of the match, thanks to the country. I see that your interest in chess is constantly growing. With the new leadership of the federation you're moving in the right direction," he said.

At the end of the meeting the President wished the chess players good luck and new achievements. He also noted the importance of further cooperation with FIDE.

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