FIDE Vice President and President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF) Mahir Mammadov attended the opening ceremony of the Women's World Cup to be held in Batumi, Georgia.
According to the information provided to "Report" from the press service of the Federation, the event was attended by Georgian state and government officials, the head of the Georgian Chess Federation Akaki Iashvili, the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich, as well as other guests, along with the head of the ACF.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said that the strongest female chess players are participating in the World Cup.
Speaking at the ceremony, FIDE Vice President, President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Mahir Mammadov called Georgia's hosting of the prestigious chess competition an important event and expressed his belief that the competition would be organized at a high level.
Then, by drawing lots, it was determined which pieces the chess players would compete with in the first round. It became known that chess players who choose odd numbers will compete with black pieces.
Azerbaijan will be represented by 4 chess players in the World Cup. According to the results of the draw, in the first stage, Govhar Beydullayeva will face Iranian representative Anahita Zahedifar, Ulviyya Fataliyeva will face Jiling Zhang from Australia, Khanim Balajayeva will face Elnaz Kaliakhmet from Kazakhstan, and Gulnar Mammadova will face Yunshan Li from China.
The total prize fund of the World Cup is 691,250 US dollars. The winning chess player will receive 50,000 dollars. In the end, the chess players who take the first three places will get a ticket to the Candidates Tournament.
It should be noted that a total of 107 chess players from 47 countries will participate in the competition.