Photo: mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) named Russian Alexandra Kosteniuk the best player of the year, TASS reports. Kosteniuk received an award in the Outstanding Grandmaster 2021 nomination, and Svetlana Gerasimova in the For Fortitude of Spirit nomination as a coach for people with disabilities.
For the first time in the chess history FIDE held an awards ceremony for individual women's awards as an integral part of the FIDE congress in India. The Federation has declared 2022 the year of women's chess. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich called the role of chess women “exceptional”.
At the award seremony, Svetlana Gerasimova said, “I appeal on behalf of disabled people of all categories with a request to return disabled teams to the World Chess Olympiad. I also hope that the teams of Russia and Belarus will take part in the World Chess Olympiad among the disabled. We have been members of a large chess family since 2002 and ask you to help us.“
Russian Chess Federation (RCF) general department head Yana Sidorchuk was named the best organizer in Europe, while FSH press officer Eteri Kublashvili was awarded as the best female photographer in Europe.
Russkiy Mir
