2017 FIDE World Chess Grand Prix launch press conference

Kaspersky Lab Becomes Official Cybersecurity Partner Of FIDE And World Chess

· 2017 Grand Prix cycle details announced

· Salem Saleh to become first player from UAE to take part in Grand Prix

· Grand Prix will be exclusively broadcast at www.worldchess.com

6 FEBRUARY, SHARJAH: World Chess by Agon Ltd. today revealed details of the 2017 Grand Prix series and announced that Kaspersky Lab becomes the Official Cybersecurity Partner of FIDE and World Chess, the organiser of the World Chess Championship cycle of events.

The unveiling of the partnership took place at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, the venue for the first Grand Prix in the 2017 cycle.

The venues and dates for the forthcoming Grand Prix cycle in 2017 will be as follows:

· Sharjah, UAE: February 18-27

· Moscow, Russia: May 12-21

· Geneva, Switzerland: July 6-15

· Palma De Mallorca, Spain: November 16-25

Salem Saleh from Sharjah will become the first Grandmaster from UAE to take part in a World Championship event when he competes in the Sharjah Grand Prix.

In total, 18 players will participate in each Grand Prix and contest a prize fund of 130,000 euros. Players qualify to the Grad Prix series by rating or by being nominated by World Chess by Agon Ltd, with one addition coming from the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) or FIDE.

Eugene Kaspersky, Chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, commented: “I’m very proud that we’re now a partner of the World Chess Championship. The ultimate game of strategy, chess involves lots of excitement and tension too. The top chess tournaments are all about human brainpower – aided today by computer technologies. Some games at the very top level are simply among the top human achievements – real masterpieces. And we’re happy to become a part of this.”

The partnership between Kaspersky Lab, FIDE and World Chess will include complex cybersecurity protection for FIDE headquarters, several national chess federations, chess players competing in the World Chess Championship and the online infrastructure for each tournament. It also includes cybersecurity training for players. Kaspersky Lab’s branding will be visible on all player tables during the matches of the World Chess Championship 2017-18.

Georgious Makropoulos, Deputy President of FIDE, said: “I am delighted that the world’s top players will have the opportunity to benefit from this partnership with one of the world’s leading cybersecurity company. And it is immensely gratifying to see another global brand sponsor our sport.”

Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive of World Chess by Agon Ltd, said: “Chess lives and breathes as IT-related sport, played by hundreds of millions of people around the world. This makes Kaspersky Lab a natural partner to the game as it continues to gain in popularity.”

Kaspersky Lab is the latest global brand to partner with World Chess and follows previously announced agreements with EG Capital Advisors, the asset management group, PhosAgro, the giant phosphates group and S.T. Dupont, the luxury goods company.

Mr Merenzon said: ‘Global businesses are increasingly recognizing that chess as a sport provides a fantastic platform to amplify their brand values to target customer groups in key international markets.”

All the Grand Prix will be exclusively broadcast at www.worldchess.com

The full list of players taking part in the 2017 World Chess Championship Grand Prix series is as follows (by FIDE February rating):

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA 2796)
Hikaru Nakamura (USA 2785)
Levon Aronian (ARM 2785)
Anish Giri (NED 2769)
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE 2766)
Ding Liren (CHN 2760)
Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2759)
Harikrishna Pentala (IND 2758)
Michael Adams (ENG 2751)
Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS 2749)
Peter Svidler (RUS 2748)
Alexander Grischuk (RUS 2742)
Wei Yi (CHN 2725)
Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS 2723)
Boris Gelfand (ISR 2721)
Li Chao (CHN 2720)
Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS 2711)
Teimour Radjabov (AZE 2710)
Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP 2709)
Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS 2709)
Richard Rapport (HUN 2692)
Alexander Riazantsev (RUS 2671)
Salem Saleh (UAE 2656)
Jon Ludvig Hammer (NOR 2628)