And it took almost 50 years for this dream to finally come true. But he had to work hard before the excursion part of the trip – after breakfast, Ilyumzhinov and Budarin went to the Volga Sport Arena, where FIDE President was to give a lecture and present awards to the young Ulyanovsk grandmasters who took part in the regional tournament. Ilyumzhinov can speak on chess excitingly for hours – genuine enthusiasm and devotion to the game is felt in every word. This is a result of his many years of experience as a chess player (at the age of 15 he was already in charge of the Kalmykia adult national team) and as a functionary (he has been in charge of the federation since 1995). The idea that chess can harmonize the world and stop all wars on the planet seems utopian to uninitiated man but when you listen to Kirsan Nikolayevich there is no doubt that this is totally possible.
"One of the main benefits of chess is balancing of male and female principles in person," Ilyumzhinov says. "Many people think that chess demands only logic and ability to calculate, that is, male features, but this is not entirely true. Yes, logic is the basis but any master will tell you that intuition is equally important, that is, women features. The logic is located in the left hemisphere; the intuition is in the right one. By playing chess, a person develops both hemispheres and becomes harmonious. And harmony leads to peace.
The super task, which FIDE leader sets himself today, is to introduce chess into the school curriculum on compulsory or extra-curricular basis. He promotes it both at the federal and regional levels. Thus, most recently, he had a meeting with the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, Olga Vasilieva, who fully supported the initiative of Ilyumzhinov.
In addition, it turned out that Olga Yuryevna herself plays well. In the regions, Kirsan Nikolaevich concludes memoranda of cooperation with the authorities – a similar document was signed in Ulyanovsk. Cooperation of FIDE with our region will begin with providing the richest methodological and educational material, as well as arranging visits of recognized chess masters and teachers. And, perhaps, subsequently it will get to the pilot implementation project.
Later, Ilyumzhinov and Budarin moved to the Palace of Youth Creativity from the Volga Sport Arena. There, the guest read another lecture for young chess players and conversed with them in an informal atmosphere.
And right after that he went straight to the dream – Lenin’s house museum. Always energetic and active, Kirsan Nikolayevich slowed noticeably passing through the rooms – one could see how genuinely exited he was. But when he saw a board with figures that Ilya Nikolayevich cut out for his sons, he could not restrain an enthusiastic exclamation! And, of course, he sat down at the table and with the permission of the inspector made the first move.
A solemn dinner at the governor was planned and Ilyumzhinov took his time to stroll along the Crown. Another pleasant surprise awaited him at the dinner: after learning about the visitor’s special attitude to Lenin and the communist ideology, Sergei Morozov organized his admission to membership of the Young Pioneers. And he was right – Kirsan Nikolayevich could not hide emotions either during the ceremony or at its end. He even mentioned it in his tweet.
The schedule of FIDE head is so tense that he did not even stay in the city for the night – that same evening he flew to Yerevan, where he was to open the Children's Chess Academy.
"A man is 56 years old, but he is a real energizer," Gennady Budarin said. "Over the last month, he visited 30 countries – one every day. He sleeps 4 hours a day, and at the same time he is as cheerful as possible! Kirsan Nikolaevich promised to come again soon, this time for two days. I'm sure there will be a lot to do for Ulyanovsk chess!

02/10/2018