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An interview with the President of the GCF Gia Giorgadze |
Anastasia Karlovich: During the opening ceremony you said that the third leg of Grand Prix series in Batumi was devoted to the former Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili.
Ga Giorgadze: Nona is going to celebrate her 75th anniversary on 3rd of May. We asked FIDE to put the dates of GP which will be close to the anniversary. I would like to thank the general sponsor of our federation SOCAR Energy Georgia, the government of Adjara and the Georgian Ministry of Sport for making this tournament possible.
What are the other events dedicated to the Anniversary?
From 21st till 30th of April the Cup of Nona Gaprindashvili is going to take place in Tbilisi. There will be two open tournaments A and B. On the 3rd of May at 5 pm the star, devoted to Nona, will be opened just in front of the Chess Palace named after Nona Gaprindashvili. I believe it's going to be the first time in the history of chess (at least in Georgian chess history) when the star, devoted to a chess player, will be opened. The Chess Palace was built in 1973 in honor of Nona Gaprindashvili, who won the title of the Women's World Champion. This building is one of the most beautiful buildings in Tbilisi and is looked upon as an architecture monument. The celebration will continue in the Rustaveli National Theater and there will be all honorable guests, including the President of Georgia, the Head of the Government and many others.
This became possible because of the great assistance from the municipality of Tbilisi, which helped to renovate the Chess Palace. The government of Georgia and the Ministry of Sport will take care of the organization of all events, including the celebration in the theater. A very interesting concert program with the participation of the best Georgian singers and dancers is going to be arranged as well. The 3rd of May is going to be a very interesting and memorable day.
Gia Giorgadze with the Vice-President of the Azerbaijani chess federation and Baku Chess Olympiad Director Mahir Mammedov and former Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili during GP in Tbilisi 2015.
Four Georgian players are taking part in Grand Prix in Batumi.
And we are happy about it! It was a nice surprise as at the beginning of the series there were only 2 players - Nino Batsiashvili and Nana Dzagnidze. FIDE has changed the number of the events, so at the moment the whole Georgian women's team is participating in the Grand Prix circle. It's a very good opportunity for all of them, especially in order to prepare themselves for the Olympiad in Baku. I believe they will show their best!
Have you decided who is going to play in Olympiad in Baku?
The main composition of the team is known but I don't want to say the names right now and I don't want to interfere in the duties of the chief coach of the team, GM Elizbar Ubilava. He will come to Tbilisi soon to participate in the first training session before the European championship. They will decide by themselves who is going to play for the team.
The coach of the men's team is GM Zurab Sturua and they also haven't made up the team yet.
Awarding ceremony at World Women's Team Championship, Chengdu 2015
What goals do the both teams have at the coming Olympiad?
I believe Women's team, a current World Team Champion, should fight for the medals. Men's team has to be in 10 best teams.
Are the organizers of the Olympiad in Batumi in 2018 planning to attend the Olympiad in Baku?
We are going to have our own stand in Baku like the one we had in Tromso. We want to show to the public what we have done by now and which perspectives we have. We would like to use a chance to visit the Olympiad in Baku in order to get an important organization experience of such events. We were already to Baku during the World Cup in 2015 and, as you might know, the next World Cup is going to be arranged in Tbilisi in 2017. We have started to prepare for this event and the city of Tbilisi has already started to work on this matter as well.
What kind of preparation before the Olympiad in 2018 have been done by now in Batumi?
A big construction of the playing venue starts in Batumi this year. We have already a piece of land and money in the budget, so hopefully it will have been finished by 2017, one year before the Olympiad starts. There are also many nice hotels here, so I'm sure everything will be organized on a high level.
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