CITY OF CHAMPIONS

Baku is hosting another prestigious chess competition, one of FIDE Grand Prix stages. Twelve of the world's prominent grandmasters including the Azeri players Teymur Racabov and Sahriyar Mammadyarov are vying for the title of winner in the tournament currently under way at the Cultural Centre of the National Security Ministry. The next three stages will be held in Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan. The top two Grand Prix winners will be authorized to vie for the chess crown in the Candidates Tournament. 

The FIDE Grand Prix history originates from Baku. The first such tournament was held in 2008 and its winner was Azerbaijani Grandmaster Vuqar Hasimov. 

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has arrived to attend the current Grand Prix stage is Baku. During his visit, he answered R+ questions:   

- First of all, let me congratulate you on your re-election as FIDE president. You have been running the world chess federation for 19 years now. 

- Thank you for your congratulations. I also want to thank the Azerbaijan Chess Federation for supporting my candidacy. When I was elected FIDE head, the main goal was to popularize chess in the world and increase the number of people going in for chess. We achieved that goal. We created a unified system to determine the world chess champion. We organized the Grand Prix series. But still we have a lot of plans ahead. 

- Baku is hosting the first stage of the Grand Prix. One can say that Azerbaijan has already turned into one of the world's chess centres.   

- So it has. The World Cup will be held in Baku next year and a Chess Olympiad in 2016. I know about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's love of sports in general and chess in particular. We have even met with him over the chessboard. FIDE has 181 members. But Ilham Aliyev is the first president to adopt a state programme for chess development and create the infrastructure. Back in the Soviet period, the national leader, Heydar Aliyev, took a personal interest in chess development. I took advantage of his wise counsel in dealing with many problems as FIDE president. And we are very glad that President Ilham Aliyev continues this policy. 

- What is your assessment of the organizational standards of the Grand Prix stage in Baku?

- Chess players are quite familiar with the venue of the tournament (Cultural Centre of the National Security Ministry). This is just the building in which Boris Spassky and then Mikhail Tal became champions of the USSR. And later both became world champions. This is why the venue is a hall of champions for me and Baku itself is a city of champions. I hope a new champion will also come out of this tournament. As regards the organization, I can say only good words. The entire hall is decorated very nicely, so that I even feel like playing a game of chess myself. 

- The state programme for chess development approved by President Ilham Aliyev will be completed this year. What can you say about its implementation? 

- First of all I want to point out that this programme adopted by Ilham Aliyev is an example for other countries to follow. I think all its items have been fulfilled and there are good results. Chess is taught as a subject at schools. Azerbaijan's national team is twice European champion. The SOCAR-Azerbaijan club won the European Cup on two occasions. I think our meeting with President Ilham Aliyev will take place in the nearest future. We will discuss the state programme there. There are a number of provisions the implementation of which will take time. This is why I support extending the state programme. The next five years of the programme can raise the chess level even higher. 

- Armenian chess players' participation in the World Cup and the Chess Olympiad to be held in Baku is open to question. How is FIDE going to settle this issue? 

- FIDE is a chess family. We are in favour of Armenian chess players taking part in these tournaments and we'll take the necessary work for this purpose. The Azeri side is not against their participation either. Sport should not be mixed up with politics. 

- The Azerbaijani government has given them security guarantees. There are no problems at our end. It is just the Armenian chess players that are saying in their interviews that they don't want to arrive in Baku. 

- I am going to Armenia on 17 October and I will meet President Serzh Sargsyan there who is also head of the Chess Federation of Armenia. We will discuss this issue for certain. As FIDE president I want all teams to take part in the Olympiad. There will be no problems with the arrival of Armenian chess players in Baku. Sportsmen's business is to take part in the competition. 

- The next match for world championship is to be held in November. Who do you think is better prepared: Magnus Carlsen or Viswanathan Anand? 

- As FIDE president, I root for nobody. They are both strong chess players. Carlsen's results are known to everyone. He has topped the FIDE rating for a long time. Anand, after his loss, summoned up his strength to win the Candidates Tournament and have another try to reclaim the chess crown. My duty as FIDE president is to provide a favourable environment for both players. I hope we will witness new debuts and exciting matches at the Tournament of Champions.   

- You've been trying for many years to get chess included in the Summer Olympics programme. 

- Chess is a great sport and the Summer Olympics is a festival of sports. So chess must be represented there. We had a talk on this subject with President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge. Although chess Olympiads are held now, participation in the Summer Olympics is quite a different level. FIDE carries on efforts along this line. 

- Chess fans want to return the chess crown to Baku. What do you think about the level of Azerbaijani chess players? 

- Azerbaijan has always been known for its chess players. The successes of the late Vuqar Hasimov, the results of Sahriyar and Teymur are always in the focus of attention. I am glad to see them followed by the young generation. Both Sahriyar and Teymur consistently place high in FIDE rankings. They are European champions as members of the national team. So there is a lot of potential to tap but it takes time. It takes many years' preparations to win the chess crown. Both of them took part in the Tournament of Candidates. Mammadyarov even placed third in the latest tournament. Their chances will improve in the future. They may vie for the title of World Champion if they win the Tournament of Candidates. But one should remember that the number of strong chess players is growing in the world and only one of them stands a chance in one season to make it to the match for the chess crown. 

- Thank you for your interesting interview.