Fr om December 11th to 14th in Gomel, at the Palace of the Center for Inclusive Culture, the open Republic of Belarus Cup in chess for the deaf was held.

Participants of this international competition were 56 athletes (34 men and 22 women) consisting of Belarusians and Russians. The Russian national team was represented by 13 men and 8 women, under the guidance of coach Pavel Parfenov.

Following four days of classical intellectual chess battles, lasting nine long rounds using the Swiss system (90 min. + 15 seconds increment per player for the entire game), the winners and prize-winners were determined. The strongest Russian athletes, in both the men's and women's competitions, took the lead from the start, steadily and confidently accumulating victorious points day after day.

Particularly noteworthy is the success of a very young 12-year-old boy from Kurgan, Kirill Maslov, who on his path to the coveted bronze medal defeated renowned adult grandmasters and masters of sport. Among the women, the youngest, Alina Osmanova from the Republic of Mordovia, distinguished herself by managing to snatch the silver medal.

Apart from the official competitions, on one of the days a friendly futsal match took place among male chess players between the fraternal teams, wh ere the Belarusians emerged victorious with a score of 13-7.

Men:

1st place - Andrey Onishchenko

2nd place - Vladimir Shalagin

3rd place - Kirill Maslov

Women:

1st place - Yulia Turkeeva

2nd place - Alina Osmanova

3rd place - Natalia Kudryavtseva

Congratulations!

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov

Photo: Lyubov Kireeva

Translation: Daria Kudelina