The chess championship among boys and girls under 9 years of age ended in the Southern Federal District in Krasnoslobodsk on 28 February.“At one time, I introduced chess as a compulsory subject of study in schools in Kalmykia,” said the sixth FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. “At that time, it was not promoted in the republic.
At first, they began to play it in schools, and then chess clubs began to open in the districts. There was not a single first-ranking player among children in Kalmykia at first, but very soon a young grandmaster appeared, who became the world junior chess champion at the age of 14.
Because chess came to schools, children began not only to play it well but also to study well. So we turned an elite sport into mass sport,” Ilyumzhinov said.
Now young Kalmyk chess players successfully perform at major competitions not only in Russia, but also in other countries.
