Dear Chess friends!

On behalf of the World Chess Federation and FIDE Presidential Board, I am happy to most cordially welcome the participants, guests and the Organisers of the Women's World Chess Championship!

It is very pleasant for us to recognize the fact that the chess players representing 29 countries from all the Continents will be fighting for the chess crown in the land of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, full of the Urals emeralds and semi-precious stones, which has absorbed the spirit from the tales of Pavel Bazhov and Nikolay Leskov.

The Urals are famous for not only its natural pantries, not only for its economic and defense power. This region is famous for its achievements in sport, scientific and cultural spheres. It is well-known in the chess world. Here in the Sverdlovsk region, the town of Krasnoturyinsk organizes an annual chess tournament for female players, with the support of the Bogoslovsky aluminum plant. It is a dream of all top players to get to play in this tournament. That is why it is so pleasant for us and it is not an incident that the crème de la crème of the world female chess has come today to Ekaterinburg.

It is a pleasure for me to express our gratitude to the leadership and Government of the Sverdlovsk Region, and personally to Governor Eduard Ergartovich Rossel, to the sponsors, the Federal Agency on Physical Culture and Sport, the Russian Chess Federation, the Organising Committee, the Directorate of the Championship, volunteers - to everybody who has contributed to the organization of this unique event.

I wish all the participant beautiful play, creative innovations and let the strongest win!

Gens Una Sumus! We are One Family!

Kirsan ILYUMZHINOV,
FIDE President.