On June 4, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov arrived in Minsk. He visited FIDE Chess School in Belarus, after which he took part in the closing ceremony of the World Cadets Rapid and Blitz Championship among boys and girls under 8, 10 and 12 years old.Kirsan Nikolaevich emphasized that the country has everything to host the World Chess Olympiad. Finally, he expressed the wish that chess should have the status of a mandatory lesson in schools, noting the popularity of this sport in Belarus, where the first chess palace was built in the territory of the former USSR.
The ceremony was also attended by Minister of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Bashkortostan Alexander Shamko, Honorary Vice President of FIDE Javier Ochoa de Echaguen and Chairman of the Belarusian Chess Federation Anastasia Sorokina.
Then Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Alexander Shamko presented awards to the winners and prize-winners of the championship.