Source: SportAccord World Mind Games.
The SportAccord World Mind Games. The third edition will take place between 12 & 18 December 2013 in Beijing, the World Bridge Federation nominated Fulvio Fantoni as Bridge Ambassador at the 2013 World Mind Games.
The Italian international bridge player is a six-time World Champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), and the WBF first-ranked player as of 2008. Fulvio Fantoni won 6 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals in World Championships, 3 Gold Medals in European Championships, 5 European Champions Cups. He is the only player, together with the American Robert “Bobby” Wolff, winning 5 different World Championships (World Bridge Games, World Teams Championship, World Transnational Teams Championship, World Open Pairs Championship, World Mixed Pairs Championship). In September 2013 in Bali, he was awarded a Declarer Play of the Year by the IBPA (International Bridge Press Association).
Fantoni’s regular partner is Claudio Nunes, the second-ranked World Grand Master (April 2011). They play “Fantunes”, for their surnames, an innovative bidding system characterised by natural but forcing one-level opening bids in all four suits.
The third edition of SportAccord World Mind Games takes place from 12-18 December 2013 in Beijing. This unique multi-sport event highlights the great value of Mind Sports. The world’s best players will deliver top-level performances and create new valuable experiences based on intelligence, strategy and exercise of mind. Rado and Samsung are the official partners of SportAccord World Mind Games.
Ambassadors: THE AMBASSADORS FOR THE SPORTACCORD WORLD MIND GAMES ARE GREAT PROMOTERS OF THEIR SPORT
They participate in various activities during the days of competitions and promote the event and mind games to the public in general.Each of the participating sports; Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go, Xiangqi was represented and promoted by these ambassadors.
Chess
Alexandra Kosteniuk: She learned to play chess at the age of 5. In 2001, she reached the final of the World Women’s Chess Championship, but was defeated by Zhu Chen. Three years later, she became European Women’s Champion by winning the tournament in Dresden, Germany. In August 2006, she became the first Chess960 Women’s World Champion after beating Germany’s Elisabeth Pähtz. She defended that title in 2008 by beating Kateryna Lahno. Her greatest success so far is having won the Women’s World Chess Championship 2008 by beating in the young Chinese Hou Yifan. She holds the International Grandmaster title.
Draughts
Darya Tkachenko: As a professional draughts player she is four-times World Champion and twice European Champion. From her 4 World titles, one she won in a tournament while the other three by winning a title match. She is the only player to win all matches she has played. In the 2013 World Championships in Ulaan-Batar, she finished second. In 2005, she won the Open Tournament in Prague, the only woman to win a top open tournament.