The 20th anniversary celebration of the Anatoly Karpov Chess Club (AKCC) was held at the Russian Centre in Colombo on October 29 amid a crowd of chess lovers. The occasion was graced by the presence of Madam Anastasia Khokhlova, First Secretary of the embassy of the Russian Federation and Director of the Russian Centre in Colombo.
Celebration was the platform to commemorate the 500 coaching camps conducted by the AKCC of the Russian Centre in the past twenty years and its contribution towards the betterment of chess in Sri Lanka, while awarding 20 emerging players in the national pool and 20 best players of the AKCC throughout the years.
Anatoly Karpov Chess Club is the leading chess club in Sri Lanka. According to woman Fide Master Suneetha Wijesuriya, the founder president of the Anatoly Karpov Chess Club, the club has conducted their activities according to the following five methods within a period of two decades.
Conducting island wide coaching camps is one of them.
Advanced chess coaching programmes to upgrade knowledge with the support of international grand masters and selecting players for international chess competitions held in India and Russia.
Conducting various chess tournaments in Age Groups, Women’s, New Millennium, Independence Trophy and Russian Ambassador Cup Categories are the others.
Distributing chess boards and chess books to students in rural areas with the support of Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, former ambassador of Sri Lanka in the Russia Federation and the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Russia Friendship Society and former sports ministers also took place.
Guests of Honour at the celebration were Buddhapriya Ramanayake, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Centre in Colombo, Lakshman Wijesuriya, Vice President of the Asian Chess Federation and Tournament Secretary of the Sri Lanka Chess Federation and Professor Kumara Hirimburegama, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo.