A spotlight on the opening ceremony of the fourth leg of the 2024-25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix (pics)

The 10 elite female chess players competing in the fourth leg 2024-25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix were welcomed to Cyprus during a glamorous opening ceremony.

Taking place in Nicosia under the auspices of the International Chess Federation and Cyprus Chess Federation and supported by Freedom Holding, the fourth leg is on until 25 March, showcasing the skills of some of the best female players in the world.

The 10 players are sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine), Zhu Jiner (China), Stavroula Tsolakidou (Greece), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), Divya Deshmukh (India), Harika Dronavalli (India), Olga Badelka (Austria), Elisabeth Paehtz (Germany) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (playing under the FIDE flag).

With the hall’s décor embracing the theme of the prestigious event, the opening ceremony took place at the Nicosia Hilton Hotel and was attended by dignitaries including Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Cyprus Nikolay Zhumakanov as well as chess enthusiasts of all ages.

Guests were welcomed into the hall by the electric violin melodies of the Astoria Violin Duo, with the musicians dressed in glamorous gowns reflecting the black and white chess queens.

Astoria Duo

After mingling at tables decorated with giant chess pieces and some of the younger members in the audience asking the players for their autographs, the emcee asked the attendees to be seated and the ceremony officially began.

Following the national anthem of the Republic of Cyprus and the FIDE anthem, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky took the stage, welcoming everyone to the opening ceremony, and highlighted the significance of the tournament.

Emil Sutovsky

Furthering their firm commitment to promoting chess in Cyprus, and supporting the event, Freedom Holding Corp CEO Timur Turlov, said he believed that the Cyprus role as interconnector of finance and chess will continue to grow.

Timur Turlov

The President of the Cyprus Chess Federation, Criton Tornaritis, welcomed all the players to Cyprus and highlighting the joint association with Freedom.

Criton Tornaritis

The event’s Chief Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos also welcomed the competitors and noted the increase in chess’ popularity in Cyprus.

Takis Nikolopoulos

After the speeches, the attendees enjoyed the performance by a talented group of young dancers from Live Dance Studio, dressed in dramatic red and black.

With the competitors asked to come to the stage as some of their many achievements were relayed to the audience, the evening culminated in a family group photo. All the players on the stage joined by FIDE Secretary General and tournament director Lukasz Turlej and Nikolopoulos.

Afterward, the guests had the chance to speak to the players, take photos, and enjoy a cocktail reception.

You can follow the games live and watch the action with commentators GM Alik Gershon and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich on the event’s dedicated YouTube channel.