FIDE Grand Prix


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Opening ceremony and technical meeting

By WGM Alina l'Ami

Paris - opening ceremony 324

Already before the start of any Formula 1 race, one can feel the latent tension from the way the drivers race their motors with the cars immobile yet. Is a similar feeling to be expected when we speak about a different kind of Grand Prix competitions, such as the Paris 2013 chess tournament?
At first sight, the general picture displayed by the opening ceremony and the technical meeting suggest a negative answer. It was more like a high class and refined spectacle, rather than an anticipation of ruthless fight!

These events were hosted by an absolutely superb hall, Chapelle de la Villedieu, and the audience was honoured by the presence of the FIDE President, Kirsan ILyumzhinov, the Deputy Director General on Economy and Finance of “GC “Titan” (tournament sponsor) - Svetlana Titova , the Vice President of the urban community of St. Quentin, Alexandra Rosetti and the FFE President, Diego Salazar.
One could hardly guess the gladiators’ spirit lying inside the elegant 12 players, all dressed in suit and tie!

Sixth FIDE Grand Prix - Paris 2013

By WGM Alina l'Ami

If you ever thought Paris was dubbed “The City of Light” thanks to its early-on electrical street lighting or for the fabulous night life, you’ll be just partially right; the famous nickname dates back to the Age of Enlightenment, when the French capital became the centre of education, of arts and philosophy, thus the ‘enlightened’ place to be.

With an illustrious artistic pedigree and with more recognizable landmarks than any other city in the world, Paris stubbornly remains probably the most filmed and photographed and wanted place on earth. In short: an ideal stage for the final and decisive cultural event on the chess players’ agenda – the sixth FIDE Grand Prix!

So we might have the perfect scene – a marvelous metropolis; the producers – FIDE in collaboration with FFE (French Chess Federation); the dates of the play: 21st September – 5th October 2013; an interesting plot: a war to the knife combat for the qualifying spot in the Candidates event; but where is the vital element, the…actors?!

Dear chess friends, I am happy and honored to raise the curtain and I hope you’ll get your front seat for a great show!

"While all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists"

By WGM Alina l'Ami

Is there anything left untold, unheard, unrequited or unseen amidst the far-famed facts, the re-re-retold pages of history or the omnipresent clichés about the most known city on earth?!

Until I find a clear answer to that: welcome to the city with an overwhelming personality, a city that you cannot replace with any other, a giant you cannot avoid nor ignore, the epicenter of fantasies and dreams, a place that exudes a perpetual seduction, always the same and always different – welcome to Paris!

In its two syllables, the French metropolis enclosed titles that any corner of the planet would be jealous for: an absolute cultural landmark, an inexhaustible source of inspiration, the quintessence of elegance and refinement, the capital of glorious food and stylish shopping, the place where you helplessly fall in love...Paris is always a good idea.

With its charming character, with that unique je ne sais quoi, Paris has enticed for centuries many of the world’s most influential artists, writers, thinkers and architects to call it home and become...'Parisophiles'. Can we still then act surprised that one of the most important pages in our chess history has been written here, in Paris?!