National junior chess player wins world crown

Azerbaijan`s Samra Gasimova has become the winner of the World School Chess Championship in the girls` under-9 category in the Russian city of Sochi.

She scored 7.5 points after 9 rounds. Russia`s Galina Mikheeva and Veronika Shebenkova ranked second and third respectively with 7 points, Azertac reported.

Azerbaijan's another chess player Murad Ibrahimli won silver medal in the boys` under-15 event with 7 points.

The 16th World Schools Chess Championship was held on December 2-12, 2016 in Dagomys (Sochi), Russia.

The championship is held once a year under the aegis of FIDE. The tournament is divided into six age categories, and is open for winners of individual school competitions aged from 7 to 17. It's a 9-round Swiss system tournament.

Chess is one of the most popular sports and it has bright history in Azerbaijan.

Several times Azerbaijani men and women chess players wrote down victorious pages in the chess history by their outstanding performance. Azerbaijani chess school brought up a number of international grandmasters and FIDE masters, successfully representing the country in the world.

Azerbaijan has adopted a special state program on the development of chess. Chess is taught as a mandatory subject at the 1st4th grade in some schools operating in the country.