Dear Friends, Dear Chess Enthusiasts!
Yesterday, I was re-elected as President of FIDE. 110 countries voted for me and I am grateful for their support. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us, and it will affect not only federations and professional chess players, because chess is more than federations: it’s over 500 million people around the world who play chess and respect its values – educational benefits, strategic thinking, intelligence and will to win.
In the next 4 years I plan to see chess complete its transformation from a centuries-old game into a modern and exciting sport and a strong educational platform. Chess is already installed on more than a billion devices – smartphones and computers. It’s a golden age for chess.
What are the chess fans to expect in the near future? An exciting World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand will take place in Sochi in November of 2014, and for the first time FIDE will put a lot of effort in making sure that it’s represented in social networks as well as on TV and online. You will be able to follow the match and witness how the greatest chess players prepare for the games and see each other, all via your mobile device and your favorite social network.
We have also developed and will provide federations with an innovative ‘chess in schools’ solution that includes a unique chess schoolbook with hundreds of illustrations, an interactive technology, ways to design the chess classrooms and other educational devices that will help children fall in love with chess. As always, I will be working with federations and country leaders to ensure that chess is becoming part of the school curriculum in the countries around the world.
Chess is a sport, and I will continue my efforts to include it in the Olympic family. Many countries already support chess as part of the Winter Olympic Games and I hope that soon chess will be an Olympic sport.
Chess is one of the most democratic sports, available to all. It does not require expensive equipment. Our job is to make it even more accessible in all counties, including the poorest regions of the world. It’s well known that chess fosters development of intellect, strategic and math skills – those that in turn foster economic prosperity of nations. In 2012 and 2013, I visited over a hundred countries. I am moved by the volume of invitations and intend to continue visiting countries as President of FIDE. In each country I try to work with ministries of education and sport to help with chess tournaments and develop ‘Chess in Schools programs’.
Working together with Federations, chess players and fans, we aim to make chess even more attractive for sponsors and partners whose values relate to those that a synonymous with chess. In this Presidential election, I had a formidable opponent – Garry Kasparov, the 13th World Chess Champion. Despite the contention, I told him and that’s what I believe: those who value and love chess are my friends. Therefore, I consider hundreds of millions of chess enthusiasts around the
FIDE President
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Where can i learn how my Federation has voted in the Election ?
Kirsan said that he welcomed members of Kasparov team to join his team. After the betrayal of Mr Leong, will Kirsan take him back into the fold?
With new job such as folding blankets or emptying trash? After all Mr Leong spouted much trash in his chess blog with open letters of an unkind type.