President Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to open a new Chess School building in the town of Agjabadi.

The head of state cut the ribbon marking the opening and reviewed the school.

It was indicated that the previous building of the Children and Youth Chess School operating in the district since 1983 had become unusable and the construction of a new one started in June of last year. Built in a modern style, this training building is reminiscent of a chessboard in shape. Outside the school there is a large area for playing chess outdoors.

The bushes in the form of chess pieces, brought from Italy and growing thanks to a special technical care, lend further beauty to the facility. Amenity planting has been carried out, a modern lighting system installed and a nice fountain set up here. It was indicated that the first floor of the two-storey building covering 483 square meters has eight classrooms. The building has interesting design and is equipped with a modern ventilation system.

President Ilham Aliyev reviewed the training rooms. On the second floor, the President examined the photo stands reflecting the attention and care of great leader Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev for sports, namely for chess and chess players.

During familiarization with the playing area, the President was informed that it covers a total of 148 square meters and is large enough to accommodate 100 chess players. Several cameras have been installed to enable watching games live. The screen at the entrance to the building provides information about ongoing competitions. There are also sections for various chess compositions. There are desks, clocks and the necessary equipment in all the classrooms and the playing area.

Then President Ilham Aliyev reviewed a computer room of the school. It was indicated that all computers have a broadband Internet connection, enabling virtual lessons and familiarization with the latest innovations in the world of chess in a short period of time. This expands the opportunities for expanding the use of information and communication technologies.

It was stressed that the Agjabadi chess school can also host a number of national level competitions. It is not by chance that chess players from Agjabadi have won around 100 medals, diplomas and cups in various national chess tournaments in the last three years. A team of girls from Agjabadi has finished third in the final round of the national championship for youth and junior teams held in Baku in August 2008, while Farid Abdullayev, Asmar Hasanova and Aysun Badalova won medals in individual competitions.

The head of state was informed that an area has been allocated near the Chess School for the construction of an electronic library with a capacity of 100,000 books.

President Ilham Aliyev gave a high assessment to the conditions created and expressed his satisfaction with the work done.