On March 30, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited Dmitrov (Moscow region) where he met with the head of the Administration of Dmitrov district Valery Gavrilov, the head of the Department of Youth, Physical Education and Sports Galina Zueva and the director of the city chess club Tatyana Bivol.After having congratulated Alina, the participants of the meeting discussed the development of chess, outlined plans for holding competitions, exchanged souvenirs and went to the classic gymnasium "Logos". Along the way they admired the golden cupolas of the Assumption Cathedral and the central square of the city where the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky is located.
In the gymnasium, FIDE president met with the students, answered questions, made a lot of selfies and together with Alina Bivol held a simul with the high school students. And, by no means all parties ended in victories of the honorable guests: the most successful school chess players played a draw with the head of FIDE and the World Champion.
Here is a quote from Ilyumzhinov's speech:
"The main task of the World Chess Federation is the development and popularization of chess. Dmitrov district is a region where chess is loved and chess develops as a mass and popular sport. Both young and old plays here, the chess clubs work and chess is included in the school curriculum. As the President of FIDE, I made a decision to visit the Dmitrov district, meet with the leadership and visit schools. We support the ongoing work and agreed to hold joint events.
Chess, especially among children, is actively developing in our country. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally opened the Russian Championship among school teams called "White Rook". Also, the head of state opened the Sirius educational centre for gifted children last year, where the World Champion Vladimir Kramnik will hold seminars and master classes at the chess section.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev patronizes the programme of children's chess and chess in school. Chess is introduced as an obligatory subject in the school curriculum in many regions of the country. That's why Russia holds one of the leading positions in the development of children's chess among 188 countries of the world that are members of FIDE."
Then Kirsan Ilyumzhinov paid a brief visit to Odintsovo outside Moscow, where he delivered a lecture to students and teachers of the MGIMO local branch.
