Press release: Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of PhosAgro Andrey Guryev Presents Trophy to Winner of the Chess World Championship

London, 28 November 2018. Andrey Guryev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of PhosAgro, one of the world's leading producers of phosphate-based mineral fertilizers, awarded the Chess World Championship trophy today to Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

 

In presenting the award to the winner of the World Chess Championship, which was held 9-28 November 2018 in London and ended in a tiebreak, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PhosAgro Andrey G. Guryev noted: 

 

“Despite the record number of draws, it was one of the most interesting matches in chess history between two young talented grandmasters. I am convinced that hundreds of millions of people who were following the cycle of tournaments for the 2017-2018 World Championship and this match in particular will continue following the game. It is a great honour for me to present the World Chess Championship trophy to the winner.

 

“I would like to note that we have pinned great hopes on Russia's grandmasters and the Russian school of chess. This year, three Russians took part in the Candidates Tournament: Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk and Vladimir Kramnik. I think we can look to the future with confidence and work together on the long-awaited return of the chess crown to Russia. 

 

“PhosAgro, which has been the permanent general partner of the Russian Chess Federation for the past eight years, will continue to support the development of chess.

 

“As well as supporting chess we have achieved an important business goal of increasing PhosAgro brand awareness.”

 

This is the third World Chess Championship where PhosAgro Group acts as a partner of the event (previous matches were held in Sochi in 2014 and New York in 2016). 

 

In Russia PhosAgro has been supporting chess since 2010. During these eight years, Russian children have won more than 100 medals in children's competitions. Russian chess players have been named world champions in blitz chess and speed chess, were runners-up for the title of world chess champion and the winners of the Chess World Cup. 

 

In the cities where PhosAgro operates—Cherepovets, Kirovsk, Apatity, Volkhov, Balakovo—the Company supports education centres as part of the DROZD programme (Educated, Healthy and Spiritual Children of Russia), where various sports are cultivated, including chess, which gets special attention through chess classes at sponsored schools and preschools. 

 

In addition to chess, PhosAgro is a long-time partner of the Russian Olympians Foundation, the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, the Moscow Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, the Russian Swimming Federation and the St Petersburg Regional Judo Federation, and is a sponsor of the Severyanka volleyball club (Vologda region) and the Proton volleyball club (Saratov), the Avtodor basketball club and the Turbina Balakovo Speedway Team (Saratov region), thus contributing to the international success of Russian sport.