CinemaPlus hosted the opening ceremony of the Chess Championship in honor of the National Press Day - July 22, organized by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation.

Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov, Chairman of the Media Development Agency Ahmed Ismayilov, Vice President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Faig Hasanov, Chairman of the Board of the CinemaPlus cinema network Zaur Darabzade, Deputy of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) Bahruz Maharramov, PR Director of OJSC "Azerlottery" Seymur Teymurov noted the role of the state in the development of sports and the media in the country, the success of athletes in the international arena and the great achievements of our chess players.

The presenter of the event, sports commentator Senan Shafizade and technical director of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Rahim Gasimov held a draw for the participants of the championship.

The competition among journalists will be held in a team championship of two people (strong player + less strong player), who were selected in pairs as a result of a draw in accordance with previous success in tournaments and debut participation.

Applications were submitted from about 60 people, 32 of them were selected. They will take part in the group round-robin competition as a part of the teams.

Thus, two groups of eight teams have been formed, of which four teams will advance to the final. The first games will be held on July 9 at the Republican Chess Center. In total, there will be eight teams in the final, which will determine the strongest one. The teams that take the first three places will be awarded with valuable prizes from sponsors. There are also special nominations.