A new super tournament will take place 21 April - 1 May in both Paris and St Petersburg under the name "Alekhine Memorial". The same sponsors who were behind the Anand-Gelfand match are supporting the tournament, which will be held in the Louvre and the State Russian Museum. The participants are Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Svidler, Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Adams, Vitiugov and Ding Liren.

The Louvre in Paris (top) and the Mikhailovsky Palace of the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg (down)

The Russian Chess Federation has announced yet another super strong chess tournament, in the memory of the fourth World Champion Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (1892-1946). The international tournament will be held in Paris and St. Petersburg, cities associated with the name of the maestro. The tournament will be organized by the Russian Chess Federation on the initiative and with the support of businessmen Gennady Timochenko and Andrei Filatov. 

The Alekhine Memorial will be held from April 21st till May 1st, 2013. The participants are Viswanathan Anand (India), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Peter Svidler (Russia), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Laurent Fressinet (France), Michael Adams (England), Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) and Ding Liren (China).

The tournament will be held in two stages: in Paris, where Alekhine lived and worked at the zenith of his fame, and in St. Petersburg, where in 1914 his brilliant career started. The venues for the memorial will be the leading national museums of France and Russia. The first stage – five game days – will be held in the largest museum in France, the Louvre. The second phase will begin on April 28th in the Mikhailovsky Palace of the State Russian Museum and will include four game days. The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony on May 1st, 2013.

The Alekhine Memorial will continue the tradition of holding major international chess events in museum halls. In May 2012, the world title match between Anand and Gelfand took place in the Engineering Building of the Tretyakov Gallery. This event was also supported by businessmen Andrei Filatov and Gennady Timochenko, who again hope that chess can be an effective tool to promote Russian culture and the Russian museum tradition.

In both Paris and St. Petersburg, the entrance to the tournament will be free to the public. As part of the tournament there will be online and video broadcast with commentary in three languages ​​- Russian, French and English.

Ilya Levitov, the chairman of the Board of the Russian Chess Federation, said:

Alekhine is one of the most prominent figures in chess history. I think it is very logical and beautiful to hold an Alekhine Memorial in two of the world's cultural capitals, which were inextricably linked to his life. The interesting field of participants promises a hard fight hard, and in great museums, and so the tournament will increase interest from the audience not only as chess, but also as a cultural event.

Gennady Timochenko, co-sponsor:

The first Russian World Champion was one of the most interesting chess artists of the 20th century. His legacy remains valuable for new generations of chess players and his biography continues to excite historians and enthusiasts. The upcoming tournament is a tribute to a great player and a great citizen of two countries with which his life was connected, Russia and France.

Thus far the press release. It's just wonderful to have so many top chess events these days, but it's getting hard to keep track! Here's our calendar once again:

Calendar: major events in 2013