Tal Memorial Continues Chess in Museums Project

Moscow, August 26, 2016

The 10th edition of the international tournament named after the 8th World Champion Mikhail Tal will be played in the Museum of Russian Impressionism (Moscow), one of the leading private museums in Russia. The tournament will be opened on September 25, 2016, and will become the sixth event of the Chess in Museums project. Avtodor Group of Companies will be a co-organizer of the 10th Tal Memorial together with the Russian Chess Federation.

Chess in Museums is an international project implemented by Russian Chess Federation (RCF) together with the Charity Fund of Elena and Gennady Timchenko (Timchenko Fund). The idea of organizing chess events in major museums was for the first time realized in 2012, when the World Chess Championship match between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand took place in the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), thanks to the efforts of Andrey Filatov and Gennady Timchenko. In 2013-2016 the RCF and the Timchenko Fund organized the Alekhine Memorial in Louvre (Paris) and Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, two Russian Superfinals in Rukavishnikovs Estate (Nizhny Novgorod) and State Museum of Art of Tatarstan (Kazan), and the Russian Higher League in the Fort 5 Museum (Kaliningrad).

Museum of Russian Impressionism is one of the youngest museums in the Russian capital. Russian art collector Boris Mints came across the idea of creating such museum in 2012, and implemented it in 2016, when the museum was officially opened. Museum of Russian Impressionism is a unique venue, located in a renewed historical building, which hosts a permanent exhibition and is ideally equipped for educational projects.

International chess tournaments in memory of Mikhail Tal are regularly organized in Moscow since 2006 and traditionally gather the strongest players in the world. The 2006 Tal Memorial was a first elite tournament for the young Norwegian player Magnus Carlsen, now a reigning World Champion. The 2009 Tal Memorial was the strongest tournament in history of that time, judging by players' average rating. This year's tournament is expected to be one of the most interesting events in sports and cultural life of Moscow. Former World Champions Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik have already confirmed their participation in the event.

RCF's President Andrey Filatov: “Organizing chess competitions in museums became popular and invariably attract great crowds of spectators, both chess fans and art enthusiasts. We are very grateful to Boris Iosifovich Mints for the opportunity to carry out the 10th Memorial of one of the brightest players of the 20th century in this unique venue, which gathers works of the best Russian artists. I believe that the new tournament of the Chess in Museums project in cooperation with the Museum of Russian Impressionism will repeat success of the previous projects and become a true fest for Muscovites and visitors of our city.”

Yulia Petrova, Director of the Museum of Russian Impressionism: “A modern museum accepts a number of new functions, no longer remaining just an exhibition site. It becomes a place for meetings, communication, a venue of social and charity projects. It will be a first chess experience for our museum, but we are happy to pick up the torch from Tretyakov Gallery, Louvre, Russian Museum and other great museums.”

Moscow Museum of Russian Impressionism was opened on May 28, 2016. This unique museum is located in a historical industrial building constructed in 1884, renovated by British architects John McAslan + Partners. Paintings of outstanding Russian painters Konstantin Korovin, Valentin Serov, Stanislav Zhukovsky, Igor Grabar, Konstantin Yuon, Boris Kustodiev, Pyotr Konchalovsky, and Alexander Gerasimov represent the major part of the permanent exhibition. The art collector Boris Mints came up with the idea of founding this museum in 2012. Following the official presentation in Moscow, a large part of the main exhibition visited Ivanovo, Venice, and Freiburg. In 2015, Museum of Russian Impressionism joined the ICOM.

Museum of Russian Impressionism actively takes part in educational projects. One should mention a joint project Painting in a Library, carried out with the Library of International Literature, which visited a number of large Russian cities and let the museum achieve the final of Intermuseum 2016. In addition to the spacious exhibition area, there are also multimedia hall, broadcasting 2D and 3D movies, workshop, bookstore, and summer open air terraces.

Official site – www.rusimp.su

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (November 9, 1936, Riga – June 28, 1992, Moscow) – Soviet and Latvian chess player, grandmaster (1957), 8th World Chess Champion (1960–1961). Honored Master of Sports of USSR (1960), six-time USSR champion (1957, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978), Latvian champion (1953, 1965), eight-time Chess Olympiad winner, six-time European Team champion, three-time World Student Team Champion, winner of interzonal tournaments (1958, 1964, 1979), winner of the candidates tournament (1959), participant of two world championship matches and seven candidate matches, winner of 44 international tournaments, journalist, chief editor of Chess magazine (Riga, 1960–1970).

Russian Chess Federation (RCF) is a public non-profit organization that brings together indi-viduals and chess federation of republics, territories, regions, federal cities, autonomous regions and autonomous areas of the Russian Federation. RCF activities are aimed at the development and popularization of chess in the Russian Federation. RCF was established on February 15, 1992. The management bodies of the Russian Chess Federation are the Congress and the Super-visory Board of the Russian Chess Federation. The Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Fed-eration is a collegial advisory and consultative body, acting on a voluntary basis. RCF organizes the annual nationwide «White Castle» Children’s Chess Tournament for Schools, the Russian Chess Championship and numerous other chess competitions. The Federation’s «Chess in Museums» initiative has been running successfully in Russia since 2012.

RCF initiates and implements chess development programs, including those targeting children, and promotes expansion of the network of chess clubs and sections in the regions. RCF manages individual and team competitions in Russia, organizes participation of Russian players in interna-tional competitions, promotes Russian chess in the international arena, and develops sporting links with national chess federations, national and international organizations, including FIDE.

Official site: www.ruchess.ru/en/ 

State company Russian Highways (Avtodor) is founded in 2009. The company's goal is developing commercial motorways, attracting non-budget investments, development of highway services. The Avtodor State company manages and renovates 450 km of M-1 Belarus highway, M-4 Don highway (1,517 km), M-3 Ukraine highway (432 km), and the new M-11 Moscow-St.Petersburg highway. Avtodor is responsible for building the Central Ring Highway in the Moscow Region. For its key projects, the company uses mechanisms of state and private partnership.

Official site – www.russianhighways.ru

Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation is one of the biggest family foundations in Russia. The family of Elena and Gennady Timchenko has been doing charity both in Russia and abroad for more than 25 years. In 2010, the Timchenkos founded the charitable foundation in order to achieve long-term progress in philanthropy. The Timchenko Foundation focuses on promoting active longevity, developing non-professional junior sports, solving the problem of the social orphanage, development of the Russian regions and international humanitarian cooperation. These strategic initiatives aim to provide a system solution for Russian social problems and help to strengthen international connections.

The Foundation helps people who are changing their lives and the World for the better and also works for the present and the future of Russia. In December 2015 Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation celebrated its 5th anniversary.

The Foundation's official website: www.timchenkofoundation.org