Başkent University International Open Chess Tournament, which was held for the first time this year with the cooperation of the Turkish Chess Federation and Başkent University, was completed with the award ceremony held on July 13, 2016 at Başkent University Bağlıca Campus. A total of 661 athletes from 15 countries and 60 provinces of Turkey participated in the first international tournament which was hosted by a university.
In the tournament that brought together world-famous chess players and the Turkish athletes in Ankara and which witnessed a fierce struggle, master athletes from 15 countries including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Poland, Macedonia and 60 provinces of Turkey made their moves.
Başkent University Founder and Chairman of the Higher Executive Board Prof. Dr. Mehmet Haberal, Başkent University Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Haberal, President of the Turkish Chess Federation Gülkız Tulay, the Director of the Center for Education and Consultancy Services (BEDAM) at Başkent University Prof. Dr. Ali Halıcı, Ministry of Family and Social Policies Deputy Undersecretary Ayşe Kardaş, TCF Foreign Relations Commission Member Attorney Halil İbrahim Sarı, Başkent University faculty members, TCF General Secretary M. Sedat Fırat, TCF Ankara Provincial Representative WIM Nilüfer Çınar Çorlulu, Tournament Chief Referee Aylin İbişoğlu, Observer Hulusi Cihangir, athletes, parents and a great many guests attended the award ceremony of the Başkent University International Open Chess Tournament.
Speaking at the ceremony, BEDAM Director Prof. Dr. Ali Halıcı said, “While holding our Chess Tournament, we tried to host our guests in the best way with health and security services, library facilities, museum visits and a wide forest area. We had signed a very successful organization with our Federation.”
Başkent University Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Haberal, who stated that Başkent University International Open Chess Tournament was a very important tournament for our country, remarked “This tournament is the first step and we will continue to take more steps to make the tournament an organization with higher participation.”
Following Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Haberal’s speech, the Founding Rector, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Haberal thanked the director of BEDAM Prof. Dr. Ali Halıcı and TCF President Gülkız Tulay for their contribution to the realization and successful completion of the tournament and expressed his gratitude to everyone who had helped to organize the tournament hosted by Başkent University.
Gülkız Tulay, who emphasized that Başkent University International Open Chess Tournament was the first tournament hosted by a university, stated that they shared the justified pride of breaking a new ground with Başkent University and added:
“We took the first step of our cooperation with Başkent University, which does not think about education independently from sports, in January and today we are getting the results of this cooperation with great proud. TCF and Başkent University which planned all the details and signed a festival-like tournament program not only for our athletes but also for all the guests provided an extremely important service to the Turkish chess sport and the future of our country. The increase in the number of such organizations in our country is of great importance in terms of spreading a special sports branch such as chess, which has numerous contributions to social and academic life.
While Turkish chess surpasses even football with the number of licensed athletes reaching 700 thousand today, our athletes continue to be a source of pride for us with the cups and medals they have won in the international arena. Turkish chess makes a name for itself in the world and climbs to the top with the support of our institutions such as Başkent University which invests in people and the future. I congratulate each and every one of the athletes who has got a place in the international tournament where our 661 athletes made their moves. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed and worked for the best and harmonious completion of our tournament.”
Following the opening speeches, the athletes who have earned a degree in 3 categories in the tournament which lasted 6 days and 9 rounds were presented with their cups and medals at Başkent University Bağlıca Campus. Cash awards worth a total of 50 thousand TL were also awarded to the athletes who had got a degree at the end of the tournament.