These tournaments concluded the series of official FIDE events that were organized in the Ugra capital this spring. Before that Khanty-Mansiysk hosted the Candidates Tournaments and the 4^th stage of the Women’s Grand Prix.

The medal-winners of the World Championships (April 22-28) received their medals and memorable gifts in the Culture Palance “October”. The official guests of the closing ceremony congratulated the players and expressed their gratitude to the organizers. The FIDE Vice-President Vanik Zakarian on behalf of the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov once again thanked the local authorities for their hospitality and professionalism. “We are very happy to crown the new World Champions. On behalf of the FIDE I reserved our special thanks to the Ugra Governor Natalia Komarova. We know that the Okrug always carries out all sporting events at the highest level, and these Championships once again proved that”, mentioned Mr Zakarian.

The Deputy Governor of Ugra Alexey Putin wished the participants to achieve new summits and return to Khanty-Mansiysk soon. “We are looking forward to your return. We are happy to accommodate such a strong players in our Okrug. Hopefully these tournaments will boost chess development in our region”.

“I am sincerely grateful to the Ugra leadership for organizing two major tournaments at such a high level. I am amazed by combination of beauty and intelligence in our players”, – said the chief arbiter Andrzej Filipowicz before announcing the outcome of the events.

The gold medal of the World Rapid Championship is awarded to Kateryna Lagno (Ukraine), the silver and the bronze medals git the Russians Alexandra Kosteniuk and Olga Girya. It should be noted that Olga developed as a chess player in Ugra.

Slovenian grandmaster of Ukrainian origin Anna Muzychuk won the World Blitz Championship. The silver medal went to Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), the Russian Tatiana Kosintseva is the bronze medalist.

The closing ceremony was concluded with the concert of Khanty-Mansiysk’s artists. A waltz, Japanese motives, songs about chess, and international popular songs by charming singers put a nice finishing touch on the chess marathon in Ugra. A violin solo accompanied by a video-installation of the most memorable episodes of the events was a final chord of the concert.

The championships were attended by 34 players from 14 countries. The prize fund of each championship was $50,000.

The Blitz Championship concluded a row of official events that lasted nearly two months in Khanty-Mansiysk.