“It is a great honor for me to be here,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), at the opening ceremony of the Baku Open 2025 International Chess Festival.
Idman.biz reports that, speaking about the development of chess in Azerbaijan, Dvorkovich expressed his appreciation: "This is not my first visit to Baku. I am grateful for the warm hospitality. The number of participants in this tournament is a clear indicator of the growth of chess in Azerbaijan. Since Azerbaijan and Turkey are brotherly countries, they also support each other in chess. I believe this cooperation will contribute to the global chess community."
The festival offers a prize fund of $55,000, with over 700 chess players from 16 countries participating. In addition, the tournament will feature the Azerbaijan Chess Championship for veteran players.
This festival is also part of the Chess Tour Azerbaijan project.
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
