Ilyumzhinov: 'Visit wrongfully politicized'
In a press release, distributed to the biggest chess websites today, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov expresses his disappointment about how people have responded to his visit on Sunday to Libya's leader Muammar Gadaffi. Ilyumzhinov writes that it's "unfortunate that some people are trying to use this trip to wrongfully politicize the situation in FIDE".On Monday morning we reported on Ilyumzhinov's remarkable visit the day before to Muammar Gadaffi. The FIDE President had a two-hour meeting in Tripoli with the Libyan leader, despite the fact that Libya is currently in a state of civil war, with NATO and allies engaged in bombing raids, and Gaddafi himself accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.Not surprisingly, this visit was frowned upon not just by chess fans, but basically by anyone in the world who follows the news. The reason? Ilyumzhinov and Gadaffi's chat, and their game of chess, were picked up by all the mainstream media. How is it possible to play a game while your country is at war? How was it possible for Ilyumzhinov to reach Gadaffi in the first place? The news agencies wondered about these, and many other questions.Today, Ilyumzhinov decided to react to the way people had responded to his trip to Tripoli. FIDE sent us, and other big chess news sites, the following press release:
Tuesday, June 14, 2011PRESS RELEASEI was asked to visit Libya this past weekend, and I am very satisfied that I saw that chess could play such a critical role in promoting peace at this time of crisis.I had very serious meetings regarding the objectives I had set, and I am proud that FIDE could contribute to the peace process in the region and the world.It is therefore unfortunate that some people are trying to use this trip to wrongfully politicize the situation in FIDE and I am asking everybody to show complete solidarity for the peace efforts in Libya.GENS UNA SUMUS - WE ARE ONE FAMILYKirsan Ilyumzhinov FIDE President
The press release basically explains everything. The FIDE President is very satisfied that he saw 'that chess could play such a critical role in promoting peace at this time of crisis'. How come we didn't think of that?
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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