Kirsan Ilyumzhinov interviewed by TK Sports
Moscow, January 31st 2009
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said during the Chess Festival “Moscow Open 2009” opening ceremony that the global financial crisis will not affect the chess tournaments circuit, and expressed hope that Moscow Open will promote some new stars. Cited by SportBox.
| – This tournament is being held for the fifth time and is already becoming tradition – Ilyumzhinov said to Natalie Clark of TK Sports – The prize fund is also growing, now it is more than 7 million rubles. But in this tournament we succeeded in going beyond pure chess competition. For the first time there will be a seminar on teaching chess in schools, in education system. |
| Q: And how it was possible, not only to maintain the prize fund in the times of economic crisis, but also to increase it? |
| A: For that I would like to thank the Government of Moscow and its chess federation. We are conducting tens of thousands of events under the auspices of FIDE, but none of them was canceled as a consequence of the financial crisis. |
| Q: What do you think about the competition at this tournament? |
| A: For us, it is possible to find new names and recognize new talents. And if they appear, that would mean that the tournament has fulfilled its primary task. |
