Ilham Aliyev noted that Vugar Gashimov's Memorial had already become a traditional event and stressed that the presence of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the world's leading chess players in the tournament raises the level of this event.
During the talks it was noted that there is a great concern for the sport at the state level in Azerbaijan and the parties had exchanged their views on the prospects for cooperation.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov thanked the head of Azerbaijan for the magnificent holding of the World Chess Olympiad in September last year and told about his participation in the opening ceremony of the 4th Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir.
The parties agreed on the following:
- to prepare the necessary documents and instructions of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on holding the 5th anniversary Gashimov's Memorial at a high level;
- Ministry of Youth and Sports shall consider the possibility and prepare proposals on holding the most important official FIDE tournaments in Gabala;
- the Ministry of Education shall prepare practical steps to introduce general chess education in Azerbaijani schools basing on the experience of the Nakhichevan AR;
- to work out the issue of allocation premises for the city chess club and the construction of a chess club in the newly created city park;
During the conversation, Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan would support the candidacy of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in the next election of FIDE President.
At the end of the meeting, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) visited the Chess Academy of Vugar Gashimov in Baku. The grandmaster's father Gasym Gashimov told the high-ranking guest about the activities of the Academy, noting that more than two hundred young Azerbaijanis are learning the secrets of the ancient game.
Ilyumzhinov expressed his confidence that the Academy will play a big role in popularizing chess in Azerbaijan.