OREANDA-NEWS. The Aeroflot Open 2016 international chess festival kicked off today at the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow, where it runs until 10 March.

The festival, which is supported by Aeroflot, includes classical chess tournaments held over nine rounds, with three groups of players (A, B and C) based on players’ ratings in a Swiss-system tournament. In total, more than 200 participants from over 30 countries will take part.

The flagship tournament is group A, which includes top-rank chess players with a FIDE rating of more than 2550. The winner of the Group A tournament will be invited to the round-robin super-tournament in Dortmund (9-17 July 2016). A lightning tournament will take place on March 10th.

The prize money on offer totals 140 thousand euros. Special prizes for the best results amongst veterans, women and children are also included.

The Russian Chess Federation and the Association of Chess Federations have joined Aeroflot in the organization of this prestigious competition. Aeroflot Open has earned a reputation as a highly accessible and popular global chess event. In 2004 it was mentioned in the World Guinness Records as the chess competition with the highest number of chess grandmasters.

About Aeroflot

Aeroflot is Russia’s flagship carrier and one of the largest airline groups in Europe. In 2015, Aeroflot carried 26.1 million passengers (39.4 million passengers as Aeroflot Group including subsidiaries), a record for any Russian airline. A proud member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, Aeroflot and its partners serve 1,057 destinations in 179 countries worldwide. Aeroflot operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, numbering 169 Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners. Aeroflot is among the global leaders in aviation safety. The company’s European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) Index, which is the main globally recognized safety parameter, is comparable to global peers. The first Russian carrier to enter the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register, renewing its registration for the sixth time in 2015, Aeroflot has successfully passed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and is fully ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 compliant. In 2015 Aeroflot was named by SKYTRAX as the Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the fourth time and for the first time was ranked among TOP-10 airlines with Best Airline Cuisine according to Global Traveler. Find more at www.aeroflot.com.