Armenia's Aronian readying for King Salman Rapid and Blitz 2017December 25, 2017 - 12:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian grandmaster and world No. 2 Levon Aronian will take part in the five-day King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Riyadh starting on Tuesday, December 26. 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, incumbent World Rapid and Blitz Champions - Sergey Karjakin (Russia) and Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) - along with over 180 top grandmasters from more than 40 countries. 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 | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |