18 February 2017, Sharjah:  Under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the eagerly anticipated FIDE 2017 Sharjah Grand Prix opening ceremony took place last night at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club.

Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Mualla, Chairman of the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club welcomed VIP guests including H.E Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Sports Council, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Georgious Makropoulos, Deputy President of FIDE, Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive of World Chess by Agon Limited, Amir Kanaan, General Manager of Kaspersky in MENA, alongside a number of local and international officials.

Georgious Makropoulos, Deputy President of FIDE, said: “I am delighted that Sharjah is hosting the first Grand Prix of 2017. Chess in the UAE is rapidly gaining popularity and the Grand Prix will only accelerate that trend.”

Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess by Agon said: “The Sharjah Grand Prix will elevate chess in UAE and be a fitting start to the 2017 FIDE Grand Prix series. The new Swiss format is an exciting innovation and one which will improve the spectator experience.”

The event will see 18 of the best players from around the world competing for a prize fund of 130,000 euros. 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.

The first round of the Sharjah Grand Prix starts at 3pm today. Chess fans can follow all the action, including every one of Salem Saleh’s games at www.worldchess.com 

The 2017 Grand Prix series is sponsored by Kaspersky Lab, the global online security company. 

Amir Kanaan, General Manager of Kaspersky in MENA said: “We are delighted to be associated with chess – a sport played by hundreds of millions of people online.  We are excited that Kaspersky Lab’s technology is to be used by the world’s top chess players and national chess federations.”