Grandmaster opens SA chess championships in Boksburg
As part of a continuing drive to raise the profile of the game of chess in South Africa, Aronian will take part in various activities to promote the game.
Super grandmaster and one of the top chess players in the world, Grandmaster Levon Aronian of Armenia, officially opened the South African Junior Chess Championships (SAJCC) at Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Boksburg on Saturday.
He made the ceremonial first move of the tournament to get the championships underway.
Grandmaster Aronian is a former World number 2 by FIDE rating and was at one stage the fourth highest rated player in the history of chess. He is currently rated number 6 in the World Live Chess ratings list.
As part of a continuing drive to raise the profile of the game of chess in South Africa, Aronian will take part in various activities to promote the game.
On Sunday he will visit Joubert Park from 9.30am to 12.30am for a blitz against some of the top players in the park. Later in the afternoon the grandmaster will play in the bughouse tournament and visit the blitz tournament in the event.
On Monday afternoon he will host a masterclass on chess with local coaches.
On January 7, Aronian will play in a mega simultaneous chess exhibition with at least 100 players from 9am to 1pm. There will be a photo and autograph session from 4pm to 6pm.
The SAJCC runs from January 4 to 8 with 2 240 players and 262 teams participating. Thirty arbiters will oversee the running of the event and 22 regions affiliated to Chess South Africa across the country will have players competing.
The SAJCC is the largest chess tournament in South Africa and one of the biggest tournaments on the continent. Chess players taking part in the event are from u-8 to u-20.
