09.09.2020

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Rustam Minnikhanov discuss the Chess in School programme

 

On September 9, first President of Kalmykia, sixth President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov arrived in Kazan on a working visit.

He met with Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov in Kazan. They exchanged gifts: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov gifted Rustam Nurgalievich a set of chess, and in return received a national Tatar souvenir.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told us by phone: "We discussed the implementation of the Chess in School programme in Tatarstan, as well as a number of investment projects."

 

Editor’s note: Chess in School programme is the favourite brainchild of sixth FIDE President. After his fellow countrymen elected Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as the first president of Kalmykia in 1993, his very first decree "On support of chess" introduced the teaching of chess as a separate subject in local schools.

This was the beginning of the introduction of chess education throughout the republic. Since then, this subject has been made compulsory in all schools and kindergartens in Kalmykia. Later, the global Chess in Schools programme was born from this initiative. In fact, this is the first step towards the implementation of Ilyumzhinov's global peacekeeping project "One Billion Chess Players means One Billion Smart People."