20 March 2019

Fourth All-Russian Competitions for Orphanages and Boarding Schools Take Place in Sochi

47 teams from 33 regions of Russia participate in the event.

Resort complex "AquaLoo"(Sochi, Krasnodar Region) is hosting the fourth All-Russian competitions for orphanages and boarding schools «Ascension 2019» between the 12thand 22ndMarch.

Before the first day of matches, the concert hall hosted a grand opening, where the main heroes were the young sportsmen. Firstly, as per tradition, there was a parade of participating teams; they were greeted with a speech by Alexander Tkachev, the director of the tournament and Deputy Executive Director of the RCF. The pupils of the Cossack cadet schoolnamed after O. Gorodovnikov from Kalmikiya- the prize-winners of Ascension2018- hoisted the official tournament flag. Next, the gathered attendants saw a concert that was composed of acts thought up by the juveniles. They read poetry, sang and supported each other during the performances.  

Kirill Gornushkin, who is from the special children’s homeRaduga in Ivanovo, emotionally recited Daniil Kharms’ “Skazka”; two more students of Raduga Vladislav Novozhilov and Ekaterina Novozhilova recited Vladimir Vysotsky’s “Parrot Song” and “A Sad Song about Cats and Dogs” by Boris Zahoder; Nikita Kharmanov from Zernogradsk’s special boarding school performed Mikhail Lermontov’s “Dream”; Marina Davletgereeva from the Zvezdniy Orphanage in Ivanovo, Faina Meltsova from the Safonovo orphanage in Smolensk and Anastasiya Voronova from Klimatinsk orphanage in Yaroslavl gave vocal performances; Evgeny Gusev, Viktor Kulakov, Ilya Yeroshin and Valentina Belyavskaya read a “Poem on Chess”; but the real sensation of the evening was Nikolai Belov’s “Wonder-Song” which was played twice and received a standing ovation in the final part of the ceremony.

The perfomances were organised in a masterly fashion by friends of RCF- the TV-host Andrei Rannev, event-producer Alexey Amelin and a group of volunteers who are responsible for the additional program during the competition for the second year running. 

The main intrigue of the opening was the red and white bracelets, which were given at random to all participants. Andrei Rannev- who led the opening ceremony- said that the children would be split up into Red and White Kingdoms and would win additional points by taking part in football, volleyball, table-tennis, arm-wrestling and facultative chess competitions. 

The final results of the tournament and the additional competitions are expected to be announced at the closing ceremony. 

The tournament is organised by the Russian Chess Federation and the North Crown Foundation for Social, Philanthropic and Cultural Programs, supported by the DON Group of Construction Companies.

This unique competition is part of the RCF’s charitable project “Chess into Orphanages”. As part of the project, chess classes are organized in orphanages and boarding schools, while RCF provides and trains the teachers, as well as supplies the children with chess literature and equipment.

In the tournament, teams are formed by children from one of the orphanages for children without parental care who are aged 14 and under. The teams consist of 4 players (at least 1 must be a girl) and one trainer-representative.

This year, the competition was made of up 47 teams from 33 regions of the Russian Federation. Teams from Tula and Rostov regions are playing for the first time, and they are joined by the teams from Chuvashia, Dagestan and Bashkortostan as the tournament’s debutants. It should be noted that in 2016, only 22 teams came from 17 regions; in 2017, 46 teams from 29 regions and in 2018, 48 teams from 32 regions. Last year’s tournament was won by Boarding school No.26 from Ryazan region. 

The winning team is offered the chance to form a team of four students (at least one must be girl) to play in the open all-Russian tournament “Belaya Ladya”- a tournament for teams of educational institutions that will take place on 1-11 June in the Dagomys Hotel Complex in Sochi.  

One of the days, the players met the former European champion, FIDE Senior Trainer and coach of Russian national women’s team, grandmaster Evgeniy Najer, who gave a simultaneous exhibition and a master class.

The players have an everyday cultural program that consists of sport, animations and various tournaments. There was a tour to Roza Khutor that encompassed the mountainous Olympic villa (at 1100 metres above sea level).   

Tournament page 

Photos by Anastasia Akulenko