Chess has been included in the programme for the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov announced, according to Trend.az.
“Despite chess not being an Olympic sport, the European Commission made a special decision to include chess and karate in the list of sports to be presented at these games, the minister said.”
As Chessdom.com reported more than a year ago, there was a great probability that chess might be selected as one of two non-Olympic sports.
Chess is one of the most popular sports in the host country Azerbaijan, winner of two European Team Championships.
Azerbaijan will also host the World Chess Olympiad in 2016.
Update (16 Jan): Some media outlets have reported that chess was included in the programme of the Baku 2015 European Games.
The Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) has to deny these reports and say that this information is incorrect.
