Kasparov Hints At FIDE Presidency Bid

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has hinted that he may stand for the FIDE Presidency in 2014 in order to remove the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who has held the post since 1995.

In an interview with Stefan Löffler for the German national newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Kasparov spoke of his commitment to ousting Ilyumzhinov, citing in particular the damage done to FIDE by the president's close friendship with figures such as Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and the current Syrian president Bashar Assad.

Kasparov also tweeted "To clarify news reports, I'll do whatever it takes to save chess from Ilyumzhinov. If it means running for FIDE pres myself, it's possible".

The full interview (in German) can be read online here (Google auto-translation here).

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Ilyumzhinov with Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 shortly before his fall from power:

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Ilyumzhinov with Syrian president Assad in April this year (see FIDE news stories here and here):

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Would you welcome Garry Kasparov as FIDE president?

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