FIDE is now among the biggest and strongest sports federations in the world

One billion chess players – one billion clever people
By S Rajesh | ENS
Published: 13th November 2013 02:27 AM
Last Updated: 13th November 2013 02:27 AM

He has done a world of good to the game of Chess. He has single handedly taken over a struggling chess federation and turned it around financially. His dream is to take chess into the Olympic fold. He has also been the president of Kalmykia republic and is glad that India is hosting the World championship final. FIDE president Mr Kirsan Ilyumzhinov opens up exclusively to TNIE on a wide range of topics:

How happy are you that the world chess championship is being held in Chennai?

There are three reasons why I am very happy about this. It’s the first championship final being held in India. Vishy Anand, the great chess champion can play in his hometown. The Tamil Nadu CM Ms J Jayalalithaa decided to hold chess championships here two years ago and supported the programme “chess in schools”- that’s why the FIDE presidential board decided to organise it in Chennai. Also we only got one official proposal from the All India Chess Federation along with the guaranteed money. The Paris bid did not come from the federation. India also had the priority as they did not get the 2012 final which went to Moscow.

Would there be more tournaments held in India?

I like India, love the people here and also its history. India is the motherland of Buddhism, many religions and chess. I am Buddhist as well. India also has the most rated players-women GM rating is also very high. That’s why FIDE wants to hold more tournaments like Women’s world championships, Candidates, men’s and women’s Grand prix and chess Olympiad. These are proposals and we are awaiting official confirmation from Indian Government.

Chess is not a very spectator friendly sport. How can FIDE make it more popular?

My goal is to develop a programme called ‘One billion chess players-One billion clever people’. This will be through chess in schools. That’s why I have visited many countries and signed agreements with Minister of education to introduce chess in school programme with many countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Spain, US, England. Now 181 countries are part of the federation, 100,000 tournaments are organised around the world. Now we are showing live telecast, radio programmes-negotiations are on with Bloomberg to show chess shows as well. We want to open a 24 hours channel dedicated to chess. Like you say, Chess is not as easy to follow like football or tennis. They need to know the rules to enjoy the game. I couldn’t explain to my mother as she doesn’t know the game. (laughs)

Can chess be part of the Olympics games?

There have been many negotiations with former presidents like Juan Antonio Samaranch, Jacques Rogge and current president Thomas Bach. Earlier chess was not recognised as a sport. Only after we had negotiations with Mr Samaranch, FIDE was recognised by IOC as a sports federation in 1998. We are looking to include chess as a mind game in Winter Olympic games. We will send an official proposal to the Executive council and the decision will be taken. Towards this, we want more chess lovers too-so we have lowered the rating for chess players to 1000.

Your thoughts on running against Kasparov in the next FIDE election.

I like him as a chess player but I don’t know how good he will be as a manager. He criticised FIDE, organised brain games, championships on his own after breaking away from FIDE in 1993. When I took over in 1995, FIDE was struggling financially and political crisis. No money and sponsors were present. But I cleared the debts and currently FIDE is very stable financially and there is one united world champion. This is my achievement- FIDE is now among the biggest and strongest sports federations in the world. If Kasparov decides to come back to FIDE, it means that my work for the past 18 years was not for nothing. In many ways it is a victory for me.

How financially stable is FIDE now and what major tournaments will be there?

We are very stable now with many millions in the organisation. Every month we get money from tournaments, sponsors and FIDE can now make budgets for the next five years. Earlier in 1995, we only had three big tournaments in the calendar– World championships and Olympiad. Now we have more than 50 official tournaments. We also have high top level tournaments like Grand Prix- three each for men and women every year.

Is 12-game format for World Championships good for the game?

Yes. The 12-game format was decided after deciding with sponsors and federations. Now time is moving very fast. Earlier some championships like the Kasparov- (Anatoly) Karpov match went on for five-six months when the public forgot at times that the match was going on. There are also logistic issues for holding longer games like hotels, travel, sponsors and so on.

Your predictions on who would win the World championships.

No predictions. It is battle between old and young generation. Anand is five time champion and has beaten all top players like (Vladimir) Kramnik, (Veselin) Topalov and (Boris) Gelfand while Magnus is a young champion and the World No 1 currently. I support both players.

Your message for Indian chess fans.

I love India. I wish all Indian chess players success, good health and will support them.

Source: http://newindianexpress.com