On 12 February, first president of Kalmykia, sixth president of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov arrived in Rome on a working visit. Meetings with Italian friends and business partners are planned within the framework of this trip.

Recall that Ilyumzhinov became a friend of Pope John Paul II in December 1993. Kirsan Nikolayevich said:  “He was a chess player. I gave him chess, and he said: “Young man, can you solve the chess puzzle “ checkmate in two moves ”. I could not. It turns out that in Krakow, when he lived there, sketches by Priest Wojtyła were published every Saturday in the Krakow Pravda. Actually, he was a FIDE Chess Master. ”