Your tenacity, your love of the game have helped you to put the World Chess House in order, to create a new spirit of unity in FIDE.
My congratulations on this day and best wishes for good health and success in future activities !
Kurt Jungwirth
Dear Mr. President !
Happy day, Kirsan !
Twenty years ago, 20 November 1995. I remember Paris. Campomanes had resigned. The General Assembly elected you FIDE President. In a first short talk on the Seine river I approached you as Continental President of Europe. You explained to me that Kalmykia, your home country, is situated on the European side of the Caspian Sea and that Kalmyks are the only Buddhist nation in Europe.
Your task was heavy. FIDE was in a crisis: financial problems, rivalries, two parallel World Championships, politics, organised oppositions. Your performance as FIDE President is highly impressive.
