A striking confirmation of your activity in this area is the creation on your homeland in Elista of a unique object, which is not found anywhere else in the world – the Chess City. Dear Kirsan Nikolaevich! You have done much and I am sure you will do much more for development of chess; and I sincerely wish you successes and fulfilment of all your hopes," the President of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon wrote.
"Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday and sincere wishes for good health, inexhaustible energy, happiness, peace in your home and well-being to your relatives and friends!
I wish you success in the fulfilment of all your plans, creative inspiration and new achievements for the benefit of the Russian state!" the head of the Republic of Tuva Sholban Kara-ool says.
Head of FIDE was congratulated by the Chairman of the Belarusian Chess Federation A. Sorokina:
"For many years, you have been conducting fruitful work aimed at developing chess all over the world. I wish you good health, optimism, good spirit, successes in your initiatives and achievement of new goals!"
And here is what the great Russian chess player, grandmaster Vasily Papin wrote on his website, under the headline saying "And again the battle continues":
"Today is the birthday of Kirsan Nikolaevich Ilyumzhinov, a man who tied his life with chess not for a moment but forever. He was the youngest member of the Russian parliament and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the President of Kalmykia for eighteen years and still is the President of FIDE.
He is a person who does not work for money, but who invests all his resources in the development of Kalmykia and Russian and world chess. City Chess, Chess Olympiads in Elista, Moscow, Yerevan, six Russian Men Championships and eight Russian Women Championships in Elista, World Women's Championship match between Zhuzhou Polgar and Xie Jun, Elista World Cup match between Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky.
This was the beginning that saved chess in Russia and the world. And then the chess world was united. And the price of all this was one hundred million of his and his friends ’dollars. "Chess in schools", a programme launched by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, works in all countries and continents.
Large-scale charitable programmes "Chess in Africa", "Chess in village" and "Chess for disabled persons" are developing.
The election of the President of FIDE is approaching. The slogan of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s election campaign is "Chess in every family"! And his goal is "One billion chess players".
He is a person who works for chess. A person for whom chess is not a hobby or profession but a favourite business; and who does not need to prove anything to anyone about his role in the past and present but can safely look to the future. And the chess world is to live in peace and stability, and not in wars and turmoil."