PhosAgro Group supports GM Ian Nepomniachtchi
PhosAgro, a Russian company and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fertilisers, has signed a sponsorship deal with Russian star GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi won the 2020 Candidates Tournament and will play World Champion Magnus Carlsen in Dubai in November-December 2021.
The sponsorship agreement signing took place on 9th June 2021 at the Chess Museum of the Chess Federation of Russia.
Two years ago, going into the first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow, PhosAgro promised a sponsorship contract to any Russian grandmasters who would qualify for the World Championship match.
As the ceremony began, Andrey Guryev, the Deputy Chairman of PhosAgro, congratulated GM Ian Nepomniachtchi on this victory and the state award that he had received. Ian Nepomniachtchi was awarded the Medal of the Order for Merit to the Fatherland of 2nd degree a few days ago.
PhosAgro’s long-term efforts to promote and popularise chess, according to Andrey Guryev, is targeted at returning the World Chess Championship crown to Russia.
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi expressed his gratitude to PhosAgro for the sponsorship and the Russian Chess Federation for their continued support.
Russian World Champion
Russian chess fans have seen their dominance on world chess decline over the past years. The last Russian to hold the World Championship Crown was GM Vladimir Kramnik. He lost the crown to GM Vishy Ananda of India in 2007. Ever since then, the crown has eluded Russian chess players.
Russian star GM Sergey Karjakin came agonisingly close to dethroning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in their 2016 World Championship match. He held Magnus Carlsen to 6-6 draw during the classical phase but lost the last two games of the rapid phase.
Russian citizens and Russophiles will be keen to see if GM Nepomniachtchi can return the much-coveted crown to Russia.