Previously, chess is not considered sport. Chess - is a symbiosis of science and culture, has said Mikhail Botvinnik. IOC officially recognized chess as a sport in 1999. FIDE today - it's powerful structure, which I am proud. In 1995, on the calendar, there were only three official tournaments. Now - 12 000 officials and more than a hundred thousand - informal. By number of FIDE competition - an absolute record-holder among the international federations. I think the day is near when chess will be included in the Olympic program. By the way, at the Winter Games in 2018 chess will act as a kind of demonstration.
- Are the chessplayersusedoping?
- For example, in shooting Doping is considered alcohol - hand stops shaking. In chess into the category of stimulants fall even beverages that we consume every day. For example, coffee. However, all depends on the amount of coffee drunk. Two or three cups can be, but the ten is not.
- Can it be controlled?
- The participants of tournaments are required to give samples . No one in all the years refused. The only curious thing was at the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden in 2008. Captain Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine lost the game, upset and ran out of the audience.
According to the regulations, a chess player, who did not pass a drug test, shall be punished. We rushed to look. We found him in one of the halls of the Dresden Gallery. He was before the "Sistine Madonna" by Raphael. He regained composure. Then he returned, and passed tests.
- FC "Uralan", which you were recreated in the 90's, became a notable event. It was there that started the current coach of the Russian national team and CSKA Moscow Leonid Slutsky.
- He started from the second composition, but just a year later became head coach. I had already noticed how much he thoughtful, creative specialist.
I saw that he had a great future. In Kalmykia, everyone thinks that he is kalmyk.  We cheer for him and hope that the team will perform well at the European Championships.
-What is your favoritechess piece?
- I'm from Kalmykia, a nomad, that's why - a horse. And the symbol of the world of chess - on the flag of FIDE - a horse on the background of the globe.
- Recently you were offered to run for the presidency of FIFA. What is harder to manage - chess or football?
- There is no difference - football, chess, or plant. The main thing - to work nicely, for the result. The management of any structure - a complicated matter. Over the past year I have paid visits to nearly one hundred countries. But I like the kind of rhythm. I love chess, and I see the fruits of their labors.
- Chess look like an "easy" sport. People are sitting quietly and moving the figures…
- You are wrong! We conducted the study. Scientists players stuck to the party different sensors. For over 2.5 hours of play, each player has lost about three kilos. And it is not the limit. One well-known grandmaster lost for the match at 22 kilograms. Energy consumption is enormous. Chess players burn themselves inside.