In the House of Chess

FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (pictured above on the right) and Russian Chess Federation President as well as FIDE Vice President Andrey Vasilievich Filatov (pictured above on the left) gave today a joint press conference at the Central House of Chess in Moscow, Russia regarding the “FIDE affaire”. Mr. Filatov began with a clear premise: “The Russian Chess Federation wholly supports Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov and is satisfied with his work as FIDE President”. Then Mr. Ilyumzhinov spoke, admitting that what he read yesterday on FIDE’s web site “sounded like a bomb” to him. He didn’t hide that he was urged to resign by the Athens Presidential Board meeting, but he strongly denied ever having signed any resignation letter. He objected that only a FIDE general assembly — and not a Presidential Board meeting, neither ordinary nor extraordinary — can legitimately “impeach” and remove a President from office, so “I’ll keep working as FIDE President until next elections in 2018”, he said. “I do my duty as FIDE President no matter what”, Ilyumzhinov said, “I don’t like intrigues and I won’t do what they did”. Finally, he lamented that FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos turned off his cell phone for all yesterday, refusing to accept his calls. As they say, gratitude is a heavy burden. Photo: Russian Chess Federation (@ruchess).