Mr Michael Khodarkovsky
Grand Chess Tour Spokesperson
Phone: +1 201 317 8581
Email: press@grandchesstour.org
For immediate release
2 June 2017
2017 GCT – FFE plans parallel events for GCT Paris Tournament
The GCT is pleased to announce that the Fédération Française des Échecs will be organising a series of parallel activities that will take place at the château d’Asnières in parallel with the 2017 Paris Grand Chess Tour.
The château is a stately home located in the town of Asnières-sur-Seine in Hauts-de-Seine, Paris. It was one of the finest estates near Paris in the mid-18th century and showcases the artistic ambitions of Marc-René d'Argenson, marquis de Voyer. This historic venue has been booked for the entire 5-day duration of the 2017 Paris GCT event and will be used to host a series of exciting activities that will run in parallel with the tournament.
One of the major attractions will be a travelling exhibition from the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) in St Louis, USA. This exhibition will be installed at the château for the full 5-days and will feature legendary items from chess history from the WCHOF collection. Art and artifacts that will be on display include Yoko Ono’s Play it by Trust (2002), the Hamilton-Russell Cup, and Bobby Fischer’s copy of Weltgeschichte des Schachs Lieferung 27, Boris Spassky:355 Partien (also known as the "red book"), featuring handwritten notes from Fischer's preparations for the 1972 World Chess Championship.
From the 21st – 23rd June, the castle will also play host to a chess café with a giant screen installed to broadcast the live Rapid games from the Paris GCT tournament. This will be accompanied by analysis from top local players as well as an open blitz tournament which will be held each afternoon. The weekend of 24th and 25th June will then see the venue hosting two major two FFE finals in the form of the Coupe de France and the TOP12 women’s championship. These two events will see some of the top players in France participating with 16 local teams of 4 players each scheduled to play matches on both Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
The venue will also host a large open tournament for junior players on Saturday afternoon which will be preceded by a visit by some of the major GCT stars. The château will also serve as the venue for the formal closing ceremony of the 2017 Paris GCT event which will provide local fans and spectators with another chance to interact with their favourite players.
For further information related to any of these events, please contact:
Mr. Christophe Philippe
E-mail: philippe.chr@free.fr