World Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, told Gulf News he is confident that chess will soon be included in the Olympic Games.
Ilyumzhinov said, “my aim is to ensure that chess becomes a part of the Olympic movement and is one of the events in the Olympic Games soon. Today FIDE is made up of 165 countries and we would jointly appeal to get recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)”.
Ilyumzhinov, reportedly one of the most powerful and influential sports administrators in the world today, is president and head of the Republic of Kalmykia and has been president of FIDE since 1995.
When asked by Gulf News in which continent chess is spreading at a fast pace, he said, “chess is now being played in all continents. However Asia, Europe and America are organizing more chess tournaments every day. It is nice to see chess event being played regularly in Mexico and Argentina”.
Gulf News reports that Ilyumzhinov is keen to spread the game at the grass-roots level. He said, “we are having special programs in FIDE for chess in schools. We now support chess as an academic subject”.
Meanwhile another champion wants his sport to be included in the Olympics. The Mirror reports darts champion Phil Taylor says darts players need to be as fit as footballers. He has renewed his campaign for darts to be included in the Olympics from 2020 onwards.
