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    FIDE President visits Expo 2020 with first chess set to be taken into space
    calendar 30 Mar 2021

    President of International Chess Federation touches down with first chess set to be taken into space as he tours Expo 2020 Dubai

    An out-of-this-world memento landed at Expo 2020 Dubai as Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), visited the venue of the next FIDE World Chess Championship, which will take place at Dubai Exhibition Centre later this year.

    Mr Dvorkovich met Omar Shehadeh, Chief International Participants Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, and revealed the first chess set to be taken into space, carried on the Soyuz 3 and Soyuz 4 capsules from 1968 to 1969, highlighting the game’s longstanding universal appeal.

    The board was designed with pegs and grooves to keep the pieces in place in zero-gravity environments, and will be on display at Expo 2020, which runs from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022.

    The 2020 FIDE World Chess Championship, which was postponed from last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai. The championship will run from 24 November to 16 December 2021, as part of Expo’s diverse calendar of events and activities.
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