25.06.2016

Ilyumzhinov: "Putin has driven all enemies of Russia in zugzwang "

- Kirsan Nikolaevich, does Russian President Vladimir Putin play chess?

-I did not play with him. But he is very fond of chess. Thus, we the players are grateful to him, because he was the first in the country's history leader, who visited the children's tournament. We opened the "White Castle" All-Russian championship among school teams in Dagomys on June 1, 2014. Vladimir Vladimirovich appeared in person there. He helps us with the development of children's chess.

He was also present at the final part of the match for the World Champion in November of the same year. We congratulated Magnus Carlsen. President supports all of our initiatives in the field of propaganda and popularization of chess. I believe it is no coincidence that his press secretary Dmitry Peskov is the head of the board of trustees of the Russian Chess Federation.
- Why is big politics often compared with a game of chess?
- Do you remember "The Grand Chessboard" book, which the American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in the late '90s? In the words of Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players”. We all are on the chessboard playing some role.
I believe that the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria announced by Putin is a power move. Everyone is shocked. In addition, I think he drove all the opponents in the so-called zugzwang because any move of our opponents from the European Union or the United States would lead to bad sequel of the party.
That is to say, the initiative on the political chessboard, especially in the Middle East, is entirely in the hands of the Russian leadership. Moreover, all the moves are meticulous, strong and carefully considered.