The Presidential Library first hosted a chess tournament

May 18, 2018 in St. Petersburg the Presidential Library first hosted a chess competition - blitz tournament "The Bronze Horseman". The event was organized by the Presidential Library and the Sports Chess Federation of St. Petersburg with the support of the construction company “Severnoye RSO”.

In his welcome speech, the deputy chairman of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sport of St. Petersburg, Alexander Perelman, noted: "Today, in the historic building in the very center of St. Petersburg, those who are already bringing glory to our city and those who will bring it in the future have gathered together. Petersburg has been maintaining chess traditions for many years and brought up many famous sportsmen. I hope that the premises of the Presidential Library inspire you, and today we will see such parties, which you can only dream about". Alexander Perelman also expressed the hope that the tournament "Bronze Horseman" will bring together participants from other regions of Russia and foreign countries.

128 participants from 10 to 82 years participated in the chess tournament; Peter Svidler, the rating-favorite of the tournament; the international grandmaster, the eight-time champion of Russia, the five-time winner of the world chess Olympiads. He became the winner of the "Bronze Horseman", the second place was taken by Maxim Matlakov, on the third line - Alexei Goganov.

"Bronze Horseman" is a tournament for lightning chess, in which chess players with a FIDE rating above 1600 can compete. The competition is held according to the Swiss system in 11 rounds. Time control: 3 minutes + 2 seconds per turn for each participant. The main judge of the competition was the international arbiter, sports judge of the All-Russian category Igor Bolotinsky.