I heartily congratulate the editorial staff of the army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda on the upcoming New Year 2018 -- the year of the 100th anniversary of creation of the Red and Soviet Army! At one time, I had the honour to serve in the ranks of the Soviet Armed Forces and I know well how popular chess is in the Army and Navy.

I am proud that since I was elected FIDE President in Paris in 1995 and up to the present, we, together with Krasnaya Zvezda, are implementing a project on meeting cultural needs of chess fans among active service soldiers and the Army and Navy veterans.