Olympic chess anyone? Russia says ‘da’

5/20/2010 1:24 PM
3h 40m ago

MOSCOW (AP) — Your move, Olympics.

The new chairman of Russia’s Olympic Committee says chess deserves a place in the games because of its global popularity.

Not surprisingly, Alexander Zhukov was the head of Russia’s chess federation for six years before Thursday’s appointment. He also is a longtime Cabinet member whose responsibilities included overseeing preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

Zhukov says he’s aware the International Olympic Committee remains opposed to including chess, but he still plans to make a case for the game.

And why not? Russia has produced many world chess champions, although the current champ is Viswanathan Anand of India, who defeated a Russian.

Source: USA Today

Posted by Picasa
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Tags: , , , ,