The congress of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation nominated Ilyumzhinov for the post of FIDE head. The elections will be held in Batumi in October this year.

"I am sincerely grateful to the Uzbekistan Chess Federation for the trust; I will continue to work on the implementation of the programme of the development and popularization of chess.
The Uzbekistan Chess Federation of is one of the most renowned in the world. In recent years, its representatives were among the winners of the most prestigious tournaments. There will be more similar achievements due to the decision of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to include chess in the school curriculum in the next academic year," Ilyumzhinov said in his speech.
On the same day, the head of FIDE held a meeting with the newly elected President of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation Dmitry Lee. They discussed the issues of the further development of chess in Uzbekistan.
During his stay in Tashkent, Ilyumzhinov visited the memorial complex named after the first President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov and laid flowers at the monument to the first leader of this Central Asian country and made an entry in the Book of Honourable Guests.
In addition, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov suggested officially recognizing Uzbekistan as the birthplace of chess. "FIDE leader noted that the birthplace of chess is not Pakistan, India or Iran but Uzbekistan. This is the recognized fact that was proven by scientists and historians as the results of the scientific research," the Press Office of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee reported.
According to the NOC, FIDE is currently preparing an official letter to the International Olympic Committee about the official recognition of Uzbekistan as the birthplace of chess.