Women's chess maters world championship to take place in Xi'an

The Belt and Road Initiative's 2024 Women's Chess Maters World Championship is set to take place in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on July 17-22, as announced during a press conference on July 27.

The event will feature 20 female chess masters from China, Russia, Bulgaria, Germany, and other countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The championship has been successfully held in Shaanxi four times, greatly boosting the development of chess, fostering sports diplomacy and cooperation, and receiving unanimous acclaim from the international chess community.

The event has been recognized by the General Administration of Sport of China as a key 2022 project for people-to-people diplomacy and soft power development in the field of sports.

Building upon the success of previous editions, this year's event has been comprehensively upgraded, featuring a "1+1+7" model, consisting of a core event – the Belt and Road Initiative's 2024 Women's World Chess Maters World Championship, a supporting sub-event –the National Youth Chess Challenge, and seven special activities including a press conferences, an opening ceremony, chess masters tour in Xi'an, a chess carnival, chess in schools and communities, chess in enterprises, and an award ceremony.