Contribution of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and authorities of the republic is very important for the chess world, FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of presentation of the World Cup in Tbilisi.
"I would like to thank the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR for sponsoring many international chess events, including 2013 tournament in London. SOCAR not only invests a lot in professional chess, but also supports "Chess in Schools" program in Azerbaijan and many other countries of the world. We are very grateful to the leadership of SOCAR for this," he stressed.
He also expressed gratitude to the government and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. "Ilham Aliyev became the first president in the world to support the development of chess at state level, introducing five years state program for the development of chess. I personally participated in the opening of such several chess clubs in different cities of Azerbaijan," he noted.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov also spoke about the development of chess in the North Caucasus. We held the Women's World Championship in Kabardino-Balkaria, I participated in the opening ceremony of the chess club near Magas in Ingushetia. As for Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov pays a lot of time and attention to chess, together we created the foundation of the chess school in Chechnya," he said.
FIDE Chess World Cup in Tbilisi will begin this Saturday, September 2, and will last until September 27.
