BATUMI 2018: THE OLYMPIAD’S GRAND OPENING CEREMONY WITH A GREAT SHOW!

The 43rd World Olympiad opened with a spectacular show!

The festive ceremony, which was held in Shekvetili, at the Black Sea Arena, was attended by the participants of the Olympiad, the presidents of FIDE and the 185 countries’ chess federations, the officials and supporters.

Approximately 1000 people worked on this massive event. As numerous guests mentioned, the show turned out to be really unforgettable.

The five-time World Champion, the eleven-time triumphant at Chess Olympiads, the goodwill ambassador of Batumi 2018 – Nona Gaprindashvili said: “Everything starts with the opening. I have attended a lot of Olympiads, but none of them had an opening similar to this. When I talked to our foreigner guests, they were all stunned and I am extremely proud as a Georgian and as a host! I’m overwhelmed with emotions! This show included everything: the history of chess, our region… Directors did a great job!”

The music for the Olympiad’s opening ceremony was created by Maestro Nikoloz Rachveli and DJ Kordzi. Nina Ananiashvili choreographed the ballet performance and the Sukhishvili ensemble presented a new dance, which was choreographed by Iliko Sukhishvili.

The Opening Ceremony presented representatives from not only classical music, but also modern culture. Guests at the Black Sea Arena saw the performances of Nino Katamadze, Lado Ataneli, Liza Bagrationi, Giorgi Ushikishvili, Giorgi Tsagareli, Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz, the folk ensemble “Lashari”, the Adjara Capella, the Evgeni Mikeladze State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nikoloz Rachveli, the Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili Georgian National Ballet.

The text for the Opening Ceremony booklet was written by famous Georgian writer Aka Morchiladze.

Zaal Chikobava was the Stage Director for the opening ceremony, the Painter was Tamar Potskhishvili, Musical Director- Nikoloz Rachveli, Stage Choreographer – Iliko Sukhishvili.

Among the guests of the Black Sea Arena, were the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia Mikheil Batiashvili, the Chairman of the Government of the AR Adjara Tornike Rizhvadze. Besides them, the FIDE Deputy President and presidential candidate Georgios Makropoulos made a speech.

The President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili announced: “I am pleased to welcome participants, athletes, coaches, guests, and supporters of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad!

Georgia and one of its most beautiful cities, Batumi are hosting the largest sports event - Chess Olympiad 2018. It would not be exaggerating to say that this Olympiad is a huge celebration not only for our chess players, but also for the entire country.

Georgia is well-known for its hospitality and I am sure that the Organizational Committee of the Olympiad, as well as the Chess Federation of Georgia will generously host this remarkable tournament.

Chess has always been very popular in our country. We are deservedly proud of Georgian legendary champions: Ms. Nona Gaprindashvili and Ms. Maia Chiburdanidze are both five-time world champions, while Ms. Nana Alexandria is the two-time vice-world champion and six-time champion of the Chess Olympiad.

Overall, the chess queen crown has been kept in Georgia for 30 years! I wish Georgia would celebrate the world championship once again in the nearest future.

The Olympiad is a team contest; Georgian chess history has witnessed numerous triumphs: four Olympiads won under the Georgian flag, world championship, etc. I do understand that you feel extremely responsible while performing in front of your supporters, though the joy caused by your victory at home is also extremely overwhelming.

I would like to wish successful performance to Georgian women’s and men’s teams and pleasant days to guests, visiting Batumi and participants of the Olympiad.”

The Olympiad starts today, September 24, from 15:00. Tournament will end on October 5.

During the Olympiad, the World Chess Federation – FIDE and Continental Chess Association’s presidential elections will be held. FIDE has 3 presidential candidates: the Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos (Greece), Arkady Dvorkovich (Russia) and Nigel Short (England). FIDE’s presidential elections will be held on October 3.

The European Chess Union has an only presidential candidate - one of the leaders of the Organizing Committee of the 2018 World Chess Olympiad - Zurab Azmaiparashvili. He has been working at this position since 2014.

After the Olympiad ends, the winner of the Nona Gaprindashvili Cup will be chosen. This award was established by FIDE in 1997. Since the 1998 Chess Olympiad, the Nona Cup is awarded to the country’s federation, whichs teams of both men and women achieve the most points.