On 15 October, Euro Advance Association invites you to the “Hybrid Festival of Mind Games: Rethinking Cultural Spaces”. The event, which is the first of its kind for the country, will be held at the “Peroto” Literary Club in Sofia on 15.10.2022 starting at 10:00.
It is organized in two parts – a discussion on the benefits of chess training will be followed by a game part including a simultaneous play chess session, a demonstration of different mind games (Go, checkers, Reversi, Chess 960 and others) and a game against one of the best computer chess programs in the world. Souvenirs will be provided for the participants who had pre-registered.
The purpose of the festival is to promote chess and mind games, a healthy lifestyle and socialization activities, as well as to show innovative ways to optimize public spaces, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the European Year of Youth.
The first part of the event consists of a discussion among experts from the fields of education, sports, local administration and chess. You will be introduced to new perspectives on the use of public urban spaces for sports and intellectual games, as well as the benefits of practicing them throughout life.
The second part will give the chance to test such ideas in practice. Children, youth and some celebrities will take part on-site and virtually in a chess session of simultaneous play.
Intriguing surprises await the other guests of the event, too. They will be able to test their strength against Bagatur, the strongest Bulgarian chess program, as well as the applications Chess Art for Kids and Chess Board Scanner. Their creator Krasimir Topchiyski will guide you on how to beat the computer at chess and improve your own skills in the game.
Attendees will also be introduced to other thought games such as Go, Checkers, Backgammon, Chess 960. Likewise, you will be able to play garden chess and take memorable photos with the large chess pieces.
The event is based on the established model of the Global Chess Festival held in the city of Budapest by the Judith Polgar Foundation in partnership with the National Gallery of Hungary. Having become a prestigious event for the whole family there, the festival has managed to fuse the spheres of culture, sports and art.
The Sofia festival version, however, also presents a new dimension to the idea by turning it into a sustainable, nature-friendly event, and one adapted to a pandemic context. We will not use any single-use plastic at the event in order to reduce waste accumulation and environmental pollution.
Entry to the festival is free after pre-registration at this link. We are expecting you!
The project “Hybrid Festival of Mind Games: Rethinking Cultural Spaces” is implemented with the financial support of Sofia Municipality’s Program “Europe” 2022, with Euro Advance Association as beneficiary, in partnership with Art Sport Talent Foundation, First English Language High School and District of Lozenets.
