BUCHAREST, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Over 350 players from 54 countries registered before the deadline this week for the World Senior Chess Championship, which will take place in Bucharest on November 11-24.
This would be one of the largest sports competitions hosted by Romania this year, considering that players from more than 50 countries will participate in the competition, Ion Serban Dobronauteanu, a representative of Romania in the board of the European Chess Federation, was quoted as saying by official Agerpres news agency.
The event will surely increase Romania's prestige in the world, he added.
Legendary Georgian woman chess player, Nona Gaprindashvili, ELO 2275, registered in the 65+ section. The 75-year-old former world champion is still an excellent player, ranked among the top 250 players of the world.
In the men's event, the 65+ category, top of the list is a chess player who already made history, Armenian Rafael Vaganian, ELO 2514, former champion of the URSS in 1988 and a member in the teams of URSS and Armenia.
According to the FIDE (International Chess Federation) tournament rules, the championship will be played in four categories: age 50+ and 65+, Open and Women.
Total prize of the championships is 46,000 euros (50,600 U.S. dollars).
