The 15th ASEAN+ (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Age-Group Chess Championships 2014 will begin today in Macau at Sands Cotai Central. This is the first time that this tournament will be held outside the original ASEAN countries.
The 15th ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships are organized by the ASEAN Chess Confederation, led by Ignatius Leong together with the Macau Chess Association (GXM).
More than 600 representatives, players, officials and delegates, from over 50 nations spread throughout five continents, will attend the event. The special guest of honor will be the legendary 13th World Chess Champion and FIDE (World Chess Federation) presidential candidate Garry Kasparov.
Starting today, competitions of Standard Chess will last six days until next Monday, June 9.
The prize-giving ceremony of classic matches will be held on June 9 at 4p.m. at Fisherman Wharf, followed by the social night, where there will be a performance given by the participants as well as a banquet in the same place at 7p.m.
The following two days, June 10 and 11, will see contests for Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess respectively. On next Wednesday, June 11, there will be a closing ceremony and prize presentation at 4p.m. at the Cotai Central, along with a dance performance accompanied by traditional Chinese music.
The opening ceremony was held yesterday. The ten-day event officially ends on June 12.
In recent years, Vietnam has been the dominant force at the ASEAN+ Age-Groups, and, this year, they are represented by 82 players throughout all the categories. China also joins in with their largest delegation ever of 36 players. Other large delegations include Singapore with 50 players, the Philippines with 47 players, and Malaysia with 39 players. Last year’s event was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.