Poti hosted 10th International Chess Festival with General Sponsorship of PASHA Bank. The festival is held annually under the auspices of Ms. Nana Aleksandria, a world chess legend, two times world vice-champion, 12 times winner of world chess Olympics. 

PASHA Bank has been sponsoring the chess festival for two years in a row. The festival has been organized since 2006 by Poti Local Municipality. It consists of tournaments in 10 different categories between juniors as well as adult professional chess players. 

The festival is the biggest in Caucasus by volume and the most important one considering the caliber participants - many top rated male and female chess players. The festival is listed in the annual calendar of world chess federation FIDE. The chess games are transmitted live via internet enabling chess aficionados world-wide to watch them in real time.

“One of the main characteristics of our business approach is the fact that we are oriented on long-term partnerships. PASHA Bank has been operating in Georgia since 2013 and it is the second year in row that we are the General Sponsor of the chess festival.  This sport has always been popular in Georgia and there are world-class Georgian chess players who have achieved international recognition and ultimate success. We hope that this tradition will continue and festivals like this will encourage and motivate young people to develop their skills in chess and beyond,” commented the CEO of PASHA Bank, Mr. Shahin Mammadov.