DUSHANBE, March 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — The World Chess Federation (FIDE) intends to build the Chess Development Center in Dushanbe.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov remarked this on March 22, following his meeting with Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov in Dushanbe.
“An agreement with the Government of Tajikistan on construction of the Center is expected to be signed in May this year,” said Ilyumzhinov, “We are currently waiting for reply from the Dushanbe mayor’s office regarding allotment of parcel of land for construction of the Center in the Tajik capital.”
He added he planned to visit Tajikistan this year once again to discuss the center opening issues. According to him, they also suggested the Tajik leadership introducing chess teaching into the school program. “FIDE plans to organize international chess tournament in Tajikistan next year,” Ilyumzhinov said.
We will recall that the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited Tajikistan on March 21-22. The main purpose of the visit was for the FIDE president to discuss with Tajik state officials issues related to construction of the Chess Palace in Tajikistan.
A chess blitz tournament with participation of Tajik best chess players took place in March 22.
The Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition.
FIDE was founded in Paris on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, meaning “We are one people”. Its current president is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who for a long time was also the president of Kalmykiya, an autonomous Republic in Russia.
There are at present 158 member federation of FIDE, including 142 UN member states and 16 other entities. There were 159 until recently, when one was dropped. The list fluctuates, as new nations join and sometimes national federations collapse or are unable to pay their dues.
