As we reported, the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited Ukraine in the beginning of June. He met with the President Mr. Poroshenko, Lviv mayor Andrey Sadovyi and Kiev mayor Vitali Klitchko. It was proclaimed that the next female match for the world championship - between a Ukrainian Maria Muzichuk and Chinese Hou Yifan - will be held in Lviv.Mr. Ilyumzhinov further added:
“I recall that Kasparov lost the election in 2014, but he is still doing everything possible to harm the FIDE by mixing chess and politics. He comes up with all sorts of fairy tales to support his political ambitions. In fact, he has become a professional in this regard. He does not care about chess, he is only interested in his place in politics.
Garry is a great player and a consummate liar. He says that FIDE has huge financial problems. He ignores the fact that information about our budget is open to all and knows very well that the International Chess Federation is financially stable. Otherwise, he would not be so eager to President the organization.
By the way, we always manage to find sponsors and organizers for major chess events, without spending any money from the budget of FIDE. I must stress that this time we have an excellent organizer and a gracious host for the women's match for the championship title.
I was very glad when the mayor's office in Lviv and the Ukrainian government invited me to visit this beautiful country. Only Kasparov, with his inexhaustible ability to imagine that which does not exist, could consider my visit as part of the "destruction of the Ukrainian state."
In fact, interest in chess is growing in the Ukraine since Anna Ushenina became the Women’s World Champion in 2012, and continues to grow after the victory of Mary Muzichuk in 2015. Garry Kasparov is jealous of others' success because it was not him who proposed to organize the match in Lviv. And now he is trying to discredit this important event, offending everyone," concluded the President of FIDE.
