It was quiet. Even the STMD Auditorium seemed to be holding its breath. Nobody spoke. Nothing moved—except the amazing, specially-designed chess pieces.
After 1.45 hours, Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player of all time, won the chess match against Xiong Junyan, a two-time winner of the China Chess Championships in the junior category. Garry Kasparov became the world’s youngest chess champion when he was 22 years old, and he ranked No 1 almost continuously from 1986 until his retirement in 2005, which included the all-time highest Elo rating of 2851, as well as a record 15 consecutive tournament victories.
The match took place on 2 December at the University of Macau’s (UM) STMD Auditorium. It was organised by the lawyer’s office of Riquito Advogados, a former academic staff member of UM’s Faculty of Law, in collaboration with UM and the Macau Chess Federation.
It was the first time that Garry Kasparov had visited China. After the game, Garry Kasparov marvelled, “After 44 years of playing chess, only today, when I saw this amazing chess board, did I realise the importance of the chess pieces!” The chess board that impressed Garry Kasparov so much had been specially designed by Konstantin Bessmertny, a famous Russian painter and sculptor who is now living in Macao.
Should you have any inquiries about the information, please feel free to contact the Information Executives Ms.Lei or Ms Lai at（853）8397 4325 or prs.media@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.
