PhosAgro Sponsors Russia's Yan Nepomniachtchi, who won the Candidates Tournament Ahead of Schedule and Will Challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Crown

MOSCOW, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian grandmaster Yan Nepomniachtchi has won the Candidates Tournament ahead of schedule and will take part in the match for the world chess crown.

With one round to go in Ekaterinburg, Yan Nepomniachtchi scored 8.5 points in 13 games, unbeaten in his pursuit.

"We congratulate Yan Nepomniachtchi on his confident victory, which was the result of our Grandmaster's brilliant play. Yan is on great form, playing the best chess of his career so far. The level Yan has been showing throughout the year inspires all Russian chess fans and we feel optimistic in the run-up to the world title match," said Andrey Guryev, Vice President of the Russian Chess Federation and CEO of PhosAgro, the official sponsor of the Grandmaster.

Yan Nepomniachtchi thanked PhosAgro for the Company's support in preparing for the Candidates Tournament.

"Without my team, without the long and intense preparation period, winning such an important tournament would not have been possible. I would like to thank Andrey Guryev and PhosAgro, who helped me to approach the decisive games fully prepared and show the best chess," Yan Nepomniachtchi commented on the results of the competition.

The Russian Grandmaster's victory in the Candidates Tournament means he now has the opportunity to challenge reigning world champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in a match for the world chess crown. The match will take place from 24 November to 16 December 2021 at the World Expo in Dubai.

PhosAgro has supported Russian chess since 2010, acting as an unwavering strategic partner of the Russian Chess Federation. Over these 10 years, Russian children have won more than 100 medals in international children's competitions. Russian chess players have won world championships in blitz and rapid chess (twice), become Vice World Champions (twice) and won the World Cup (three times). The Company is a strategic partner of FIDE and has sponsored World Chess Crown matches in 2014 (Sochi), 2016 (New York) and 2018 (London).

In the cities where PhosAgro operates - Cherepovets, Kirovsk, Apatity, Volkhov, Balakovo – the Company supports Children of Russia - Education, Health and Spirituality (DROZD) education centres, where various sports are cultivated, including chess, which gets special attention through chess classes at sponsored schools and preschools.

In addition to chess, PhosAgro is a long-time partner of the Russian Olympians Foundation, the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, the Moscow Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, the Russian Swimming Federation and the St Petersburg Regional Judo Federation, and is a sponsor of the Severyanka volleyball club (Vologda region) and the Proton volleyball club (Saratov), the Avtodor basketball club and the Turbina Balakovo Speedway Team (Saratov region), thus contributing to the international success of Russian sport.

About PhosAgro

PhosAgro (www.phosagro.com) is one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39% and higher. PhosAgro's environmentally friendly fertilizers stand out for their high efficiency, and they do not lead to the contamination of soils with heavy metals.

The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer in Europe (by total combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline concentrate (according to the RAFP).

PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, more than 50 grades of fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate, which are used by customers in over 100 countries spanning all of the world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets outside of Russia and the CIS are Latin America, Europe and Asia.

PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and global depositary receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1 June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.