Readers of www.kirsan.today write many letters to us. People turn to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with their problems, write about their successes and achievements and propose interesting projects. But in recent days, the most asked question is: "What is Ilyumzhinov doing now? What will he do after the new FIDE president is elected? Why did you stop writing about FIDE leader’s trips abroad?"And most importantly, the head of FIDE holds many meetings in Moscow every day. Many vital issues are being solved starting from chess to... Anyway, it's too early to tell the readers about his plans now. We will revert to it when all the problems are resolved.
Probably, it is the first time that Ilyumzhinov can enjoy relatively free time: he can sit at the table, take tea and chat with friends. This happened for the first time in his many years of hard work, travels (he visited more than a hundred countries a year), negotiations, tournaments and resolving too many problems.
Three candidates are running for president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). As they say, the most worthy will win. Or the strongest. In short, the winner will be determined by the vote of the chess world - representatives of 188 federations will make their choice in Batumi in early October.
That's why our work at kirsan.today is simpler these days - we do not have to wait for photos and information from different parts of the globe. Kirsan Nikolaevich recently said: "I did not count my trips, but I think that I spend exactly a third of my time travelling. I visited more than a hundred countries a year. Every three days, I made trips to another country. One day, I will share my life hacks on speedy acclimatization or organization of a mobile office". And he added: "In general, it goes without saying that any road you take must have its goal. And it is essential that this goal is worth your efforts."
Here is another extract from the interview that Ilyumzhinov gave many years ago:
"Chess is a multi-faceted game. It was invented five thousand years ago, and it was played by world rulers and strategists. Now anyone can play it even in the poorest part of the world. Chess is like the battle of two armies, while it is the most peaceful game. Moreover, it unites people who do not even speak the same language. That's why everyone plays chess, and I play chess with different people in various places of the world. Newspapers and media do not write about it unless a man known in the whole world plays chess. However, some say that I should not play chess with just anybody - it's politics, etc...
But if a particular game attracted the attention of the whole world to chess and FIDE, it means that it promotes our activity. And that means that I will continue to play chess everywhere and with everyone, because my goal is to promote the widespread of this ancient game. By doing this I serve the cause of peace and promote the mutual understanding between peoples..."
We will publish this interview at the Archive link soon. But why did they suddenly recall it? Only because Ilyumzhinov does not change his goals and, especially, if the goals are worth the efforts. This he himself said.
Margarita Sumarokova
