Armenia's Levon Aronian to take part in King Salman Rapid and Blitz 2017December 15, 2017 - 11:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - World no.2 Levon Aronian of Armenia will participate in the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships that will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 26-30. Aronian won the Stavanger-hosted Norway Chess tournament in June 2017, the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament two months later, and snatched the World Chess Cup victory in Georgia in late September. Also, the Armenian grandmaster won the fourth leg of the FIDE World Cup in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Other notable entries include reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, world no.3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and a record-breaking level of grandmasters from over 40 countries, FIDE reveals. The incumbent World Rapid and Blitz Champions — Sergey Karjakin (Russia) and Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), along with over 180 top grandmasters have also confirmed their participation, making the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships the strongest open events of the year. The dress code of the event will be dark blue or black formal suits, with white shirts, either open necked or with a tie, for men and dark blue or black formal trouser suits, with high necked white blouses for women. There will be no need to wear a hijab or abaya during the games, this will be a first for any sporting event in Saudi Arabia. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Putin secures fifth term as Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through a dubious national plebiscite. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. |