Dear Participants!

On behalf of the Federal Agency on Physical Culture and Sport I congratulate you on the beginning of the Women's World Chess Championship!

For the first time in the history of Women's Chess it will take place on the Ural Land. Ekaterinburg is the capital of the Ural region and now it has become the capital of the world's chess. It is the great honor for Ekaterinburg to accept so many eminent guests. And it is not an incident. This is the evidence of our growing prestige on the international scene. This is the public recognition of the Ural Grand Master's school which is rightly considered to be one of the best in Russia.

Russia is proud of its achievements in various kinds of sport, and chess occupy a fitting place among them. This ancient and charming game attracts a lot of people in Russia. A great number of children's chess schools work all over the country. Hundreds of different tournaments are held annually in all regions of our boundless Home Land.

As the Head of the Federal Agency on Physical Culture and Sport, I am sincerely glad that devoted admirers of chess - my compatriots as well as foreign guests will be witnesses of a real chess festival. It is beyond any doubt that this Championship will encourage a large range of chess lovers to play this marvelous game.

I would like to express appreciation to the organizers of the competition, and personally to President of the World Сhess Federation, Head of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, to Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel and to Chairman of Board of Directors of “SUAL-Holding Company” Viktor Vekselberg who did their best to realize this unique project.

I wish all the participants of the World Chess Championship good luck, vigor and self-restrain. I wish all the quests and spectators unforgettable impressions!

Vyacheslav FETISOV
Head of the Federal Agency
on Physical Culture and Sport