Grand Duke George of Russia Attends the “Duels for Friendship” Fencing Competition in Monaco

For a report on this event from The Royal Correspondent (in French), see:

http://royalcorrespondent.com/2013/09/17/his-serene-highness-prince-albert-ii-of-monaco-attends-duels-for-friendship-video/

Aleksei Khovanskii wins the “Duels for Friendship” Fencing Competition

On September 14, an international fencing competition was held in the Atrium of the Casino de Monte-Carlo, which was attended by Prince Albert II of Monaco. The event was made possible by the support—financial and otherwise—of the President of the International Fencing Federation, Alisher Usmanov. Members of some of the most famous fencing clubs in Europe crossed swords during the competition: the Club Escrimeet le Pistolet (Monaco), the Automobile Club de France (Paris), The Hurlingham Club (London), the Accademia d'Armi Musumeci Greco (Rome), and A.S.Co.T. (the All Sports Country Team).

The team competition was won by Monaco, and the inpidual competition was won by our own Aleksei Khovanskii (Russia), who defeated the 2013 world champion Miles Chamley-Watson (USA).

The audience at the event had the pleasure of observing the performance of the 2009 world team ?p?e champion from Italy, Nathalie Moellhausen. The “Duels for Friendship” fencing competition had as its goal the gathering in Monaco of fencers from various countries to strengthen international friendship and solidarity through sport.

The centerpiece of the event was a gala dinner held in the Empire Hall of the H?tel de Paris, attended by prominent members of Monegasque society. Among the guests were also members of the royal families of Europe, including H.I.H. Tsesarevich and Grand Duke George of Russia, H.R.H. Prince Michael of Yugoslavia, and others.

The dinner opened with a dramatization of a fencing duel by D’Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos—the famous heroes from Alexandre Dumas’ literary works. The “Marquise Chiavari Trophy” and other medals were distributed at dinner to the winners of the various competitions by Marquis Gian Antioco Chiavari. Ceremonies were elegantly led by Agatha Gotova, who moved effortlessly between Russian, English, and French.

The program for the evening ended with a charity auction to benefit autism research. The auction was led by Her Highness Princess Flaviazu Hohenlohe-Langenburg. It was decided to hold this sporting event annually in Monaco.

This report was based on material compiled by Nina Popova. See Le Journal russe de Monaco et C?te d’Azur: http://www.rusmonaco.fr/node/182