Kosteniuk in Peru - First Days

Receiving the diploma from the Rector of the UNI

Hello everybody!

I arrived to Peru during the night Wednesday-Thurday at around midnight, and already on Thursday had lots of events: first I met with the Rector of the University of Engineering (UNI), who gave me a medal and diploma of Famous Visitor. We also had a press conference, where it was announced that the match between me and Deysi Cori will take place in the Machu Picchu tomorrow Sunday.

Many officials of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism were present, even the cultural attaché of the Russian Embassy. It was said that our chess match at the Machu Picchu will no doubt increase the amount of Tourism to Peru, as well as promote chess in the country.

Me and Deisy Cori

The last 2 days we had an "Octogonal" tournament with 8 participants, 7 from Peru and myself. Yesterday I played quite poorly, only getting 2.5 points out of 8, but today was much better with 5/6, beating Jorge Cori 2-0 and tying with Deisi Cori 1-1 in our little matches. The winner of the "Octogonal" tournament was GM Emilio Cordova, and I tied for 4th-5th.

I have to get up tomorrow at 3 AM to fly to Cusco then the trip to the Machu Picchu will take about 4 hours, and at 2 PM I will play a 2-game match with Deisi. I will be sure to let you know how it goes. I already have plenty of photos and videos that I will post as soon as I have some time.

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion and Chess Queen

www.chessblog.com and www.chessqueen.com