On Friday, December 24, a friendly match between the president of Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin and Russian grandmaster Yan Nepomnyashchy took place in the capital’s Central House of Chess Players. As the correspondent of “Lenta.ru” reports, the game ended with a victory of the latter, however, it was not brought to checkmate and lasted almost all the minutes allotted for it.
“At the same time I was pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised by the same level of the opponent. In fact, we played a very decently very cultured game. This is no joke, not that I succumbed. In no case. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the opponent’s preparation “
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Vladimir Potanin has been fond of chess since a young age and defended the first category, playing for the MGIMO student team in interuniversity tournaments in the 70s.
“Unlike Yan, I could not afford not to prepare,” said the businessman about the game with the grandmaster. – So I tried to figure out how to play. And I tried to choose such a fairly reliable opening, the Spanish game, in which White can afford not to give up for a long time. “
Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the Candidates Tournament this year and then lost to the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, admitted that this was the first friendly match that caused such media interest and excitement.
Nornickel and Vladimir Potanin have personally supported the development of various sports in Russia for many years, closely cooperating with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, the Russian Football Union, FIDE, the Curling Federation and other associations.
Potanin is known for his serious hockey hobby, supporting the Night Hockey League and competitions with the participation of legends of Soviet and Russian hockey.
Norilsk Nickel supported Ian Nepomniachtchi during his fight for the championship and will continue to provide him with all-round assistance. And Vladimir Potanin personally hopes to join Yan’s team in preparation for the next world championship match. For this, he is going to raise his level of chess mastery.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
