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Hello everyone and welcome to the live coverage of the opening ceremony of the 2015 FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku. We will be following for you the latest developments from the World Cup with minute by minute updates, video, photos, interviews and more.
This will be a continuously updated article for the next 24 hours. Updates will be published every 10-15 minutes, bringing you the latest from the playing hall and the venue.
The updates are published in reverse chronological order. Refresh the page for the latest update
Note: opening ceremony start at 16:30 CET
16:15 CET
Players, arbiters, and officials are now moving from the Fairmont Hotel to the opening ceremony venue – the Mugham center. With so many participants in this event, the movement of people is impressive as usual.
Some have the privilege to use the official tournament car (see the photo below)
16:05 CET
Yesterday we reported on the difficulties players are having to reach Azerbaijan due to the Lufthansa airstrike. About 15 players are yet to appear, five of the problematic participants have managed to arrive. Among them is Nakamura, who commented in his twitter profile, “Finally at the Fairmont Hotel here in Baku after a long journey via Istanbul. Time to watch Stan The Man!”
Radjabov did not have a long travel, but he was very happy at his arrival at the hotel
Teimour Radjabov and Vladimir Chuchelov arriving in the hotel
15:55 CET
This is the playing hall of the World Cup in Baku. The point of view is from the table of the top rated player of the tournament, Veselin Topalov. See full participants list and pairings here.
Specifically, the photo is from the point of view of Topalov’s opponent, Adu from Nigeria, who will probably have the top games of his life in the next days.
Playing hall of the World Cup in Baku
15:41 CET
Part of those anti-cheating measures is the strict security at the entrances of the playing hall. At the photo below you can see one of the electronic checkpoints, airport style.
15:30 CET
Exactly one hour is left to the opening ceremony of the 2015 Chess World Cup in Baku. The technical meeting with the players is in progress. Rules are being explained one more time to avoid confusion. One of the key highlights of the meeting are the new anti-cheating regulations. The measures in Baku will be very strict to ensure the fairplay in the tournament.
As Susan Polgar reported directly from the playing hall, these measures include:
1. Random games will have 15 min delay live broadcast
2. 5 random players will have random check for electronics
3. Players are required to use pens provided by organizers
4. No phones, electronics, or watches
5. Electronic checks at the entrance of the playing hall
Technical meeting in progress with many familiar faces in the audience