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Governor of Kemerovo region Aman Tuleev greets participants of 61 Russian Chess Championship

Novokuznetsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The history of the settlement goes back as far as the 17th century. The city is located on the banks of the River Tom, where Tomsk Cossacks built the first wooden fortress in 1618. The settlement grew fast, and soon it became the centre of a vast territory, the vantagepost of the Russian Empire in the confrontation with Junghar khans and Kirghiz tribes.

Shortly after the foundation of the settlement, rich deposits of iron and coal were discovered on location, and the main industry of the time, smith craft, gave the name to the fortress. It was called Kuznetsk, Russian translation of the word blacksmith

The city's second birth dates back to the 1930-s, when the construction of Kuznetsk Metal works began.

Novokuznetsk nowadays is an important industrial and cultural centre. The population of the city is about 561 thousand.

The products of local metal works, coal mines and other enterprises go into use nationwide and are exported to more than 45 countries of the world, Germany, Italy, the UK, Japan, Sweden among them.

But the city of Novokuznetsk is not only famous for its industry. There are more than 10 higher educational institutions, 5 theatres, 6 museums, a circus, a planetarium, which is a unique institution in the whole Siberia and the Far East of Russia.

Great attention is paid to the development of sports and recreational activities in Novokuznetsk. There are more than 20 sports and fitness clubs and sports schools for children that train qualified sportsmen. More than 60 thousand people are members of sports societies and fitness clubs.

17 world and European champions reside here. The most famous is the 'Metallurg' ice hockey club. The women's rugby team "Burevestnik has won the Russian cup 11 times.

Novokuznetsk has rich chess-playing traditions. The 4 chess clubs can simultaneously give room to more than 500 participants. The world chess champion among students of 2004, international grand master Pavel Smirnov is a student of the Siberian State Industrial University in Novokuznetsk. For 4 years Master team 'Novokuznetsk' has been among the national top 10. Since 1997, the City Mayor Award Chess tournament for women has been held annually. 4 international Grand Master tournaments 11th FIDE category have taken place here. The organization of these events was highly approved of by the 12th world chess champion Anantoli Karpov.

We are glad to greet our city guests. Hope you'll enjoy your visit.

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