Grand Master Anatoly Karpov to Play at Cuban Mass Match

Russian chess Grand Master and former world champion Anatoly Karpov will take part in a gigantic 4,000 chess board simultaneous match on April 21 at the University of Computer and Informatics Sciences (UCI) in Havana.

Karpov was welcomed upon his arrival Monday by Osvaldo Vento, an official from the Cuban Sports, Physical Education and Recreation Institute (INDER). Vento greeted the chess great on behalf of Jose Ramon Fernandez, president of the Cuban Olympic Committee and Christian Jimenez, who heads INDER.

Besides participating in the large gathering of chess enthusiasts at the UCI, Karpov will visit the International School of Sports and Physical Education and a local rehabilitation center for Ukrainian children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The Russian chess grand master will also visit the pantheon containing the remains of mythical Cuban chess master Jose Raul Capablanca, world champion from 1921 to 1927, who Karpov considers a great inspiration.