07.06.2016

The head of FIDE: "The death of Victor Korchnoi demonstrates the end of epoch"

A whole epoch has ended with the death of the famous Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi, who was devoted to serve chess until his last breath, as stated by the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

"He was not only an outstanding chess player, but also a very extraordinary man with a difficult fate; with a sharp and inquisitive mind. Yes, he rarely addressed his colleagues with praise or flattery, however, it precisely corresponded to his unique character and mindset", said Ilyumzhinov.

"We are grateful to Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi for the fact that despite his age and even when he was ill, he still took part in the World Chess Olympiads to play for Switzerland. He spent his whole life striving for the development and popularization of chess ", said Ilyumzhinov.
"The chess community has lost a friend. We want to perpetuate his memory. There will be Viktor Korchnoi memorial tournament and we want to make a Korchnoi cup. We will have a meeting of the General Assembly in Baku in September, and we will make a decision to perpetuate the memory", said the head of FIDE.
Recall that the legendary chess player died in Wohlen, Switzerland being 86 years old.
Viktor Korchnoi was born in Leningrad on March 23, 1931. In 1956, he became a grandmaster; won the titles of the Champion of the USSR four times; totally won about 100 international tournaments. In addition, he was a contender for the title of World Chess Champion and the oldest actively playing Grand Master.