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Turhan Ayvaz, Governor of Mardin: I will play more games myself after this championship! |
 On one of his visits to the playing venue of Women World Team Championship, the Governor of Mardin Turhan Ayvaz spoke with Anna Burtasova about WWTC and chess.
We can see that you often come to visit WWTC and spend time to watch the games and play yourself. Why do you love chess so much?
I was playing chess when I was a child. So I like it very much. Also I support every kind of sportsmen and students. I would like to say that chess is popular in Mardin and there are many children that are interested in the game.
The organization of the championship in Mardin is perfect. How did you come up with the idea to hold the WWTC here?
The President of Turkish Chess Federation Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici supported us and we worked together a lot to organize this championship. We have 5* hotel here and people like chess in this region so everything came together and it seemed a perfect idea to organize WWTC in Mardin.
I can see that there are a lot of kids that come to watch the games in the playing hall. Do you believe that this championship will benefit to the popularity of chess in Mardin?
Of course. Already now there are a lot of children that play. We even organize tournaments for local players in Mardin and give awards. I think that after this championship there will be even more people playing.
What are your own impressions from the championship?
We are impressed that the strongest women players from all over the world came here. I am sure I will play more games myself after this! Two days ago Mr. Yazici spoke on TV and I heard that many people were impressed by this speech and decided to join the chess community. This is only sport where the process could be more important than the result. And it is also very important for us that Mardin will be known all over the world because of this event.
What are the next plans, will any other chess event be organized in Mardin?
Of course, Mardin is always a candidate city for organizing chess events.
Ali Nihat Yazici, TFC President: The Turkish stage of FIDE Women Grand Prix will be probably held in Mardin. Of course the Governor supports all the sports, but I believe that now he gives a small priority to chess!
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