To make our first meeting as interesting and informative as possible, I will answer the most popular questions that journalists ask me.
- What is your attitude to the fact that Russia nominated you for the post of FIDE President?
I am proud that the work done to popularize chess not only in the whole world, but also in Russia, was appreciated. As FIDE President, I must contribute to the development of chess in all 170 countries – members of the Federation, but as a citizen and patriot, I always did my best to develop chess in my country.
There is no international sports federation that has as strong position as Russia. 13 of our fellow citizens are represented in the presidential council, commissions and sub commissions of FIDE. During the 15 years of my presidency, Russia hosted all the major chess competitions. World Chess Olympiad (1988), World Championships (1996, 2002, 2006), World Championships (2001), Women's World Championships (2004, 2006, 2008), World Cup (2005, 2007, 2009) and other international competitions.
By the way, the upcoming FIDE Congress, where the presidential elections will take place, will be held as a part of the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk in September.
- On June 29, 2010, the deadline for receiving nominations for the presidency from the FIDE member countries was completed. It was officially announced that Anatoly Karpov, supported by some European countries, applies for this post besides you – a representative of Russia. What do you think about the 2010 elections?
Despite the fact that the 12th World Champion is supported by some other countries, he is still a Russian. It turns out that both candidates represent Russia de facto. This confirms that Russia is a great chess power. And, of course, I am proud to be nominated for the presidency by my native country. Thus, historically, our country has made a huge contribution to the development of chess. And I hope that it will serve as a link between East and West not only in the chess world, but also in the socio-political world. I am deeply convinced that chess will become an effective means of communication between countries with different economic, political, ideological and religious systems. My activities as FIDE President are aimed, in particular, at ensuring that the most intelligent game on the planet serves the development of a positive dialogue among all countries and peoples.
- What do you think about the 12th world champion?
I respect him. He is a chess player, who forever wrote his name in the history of chess. Therefore, I always supported him and even repeatedly sponsored his participation in chess evens including the fights for chess crown. As a result, this financial support was a seven-figure sum.
I am sure that Anatoly Evgenyevich is able to do much more to promote chess. However, it is important that he correctly uses his enormous talent.
- How do you assess your chances in the upcoming elections?
At the moment, I am officially supported by 75 chess federations out of 168 voters. There are almost 2 months left before the election. I think it is not too difficult to draw conclusions.
- What are the results of the just concluded Presidential Council held in Norwegian Tromsø?
We effectively discussed and solved a huge number of issues related to the organization and holding of major tournaments such as the Olympics in Khanty-Mansiysk, the Women's World Championship, candidate’s matches.
The main result was that the Presidential Council accepted the proposal of the Russian Chess Federation to hold the 2011 Candidate Matches in Kazan. It will be held in April 2011, and its winner will play in the world title match against the current Indian title holder Viswanathan Anand.
Today, I fly to Mongolia, where I open the next stage of the Women's Grand Prix. As soon as I get back to Moscow I will resume my blog and try to answer your questions. And I would like to end our conversation with the official motto of FIDE: "Gens Una Sumus" - "We are one family!"
29 July, 2010