UAE to become hub for chess

The UAE is poised to become the regional hub for chess with the two candidates vying for the top post in the International Chess Federation (Fide) stepping up their campaigns in Dubai on Thursday for next month’s contest. Former world champion Anatoly Karpov is seeking to oust the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov who has been Fide president for the last 15 years at the election to be held in Russia on September 29. In a bid to woo the Arab bloc which consists of 18 countries, both candidates have pledged over $300,000 (Dh1,101,900) to the Arab Chess Federation (ACF) for development programmes in the region particularly in schools. However, it is not certain who will get the UAE vote as both camps held different press conferences within hours of each other on Thursday to explain what they aim to do in the next four years if elected to head Fide. The UAE Chess Federation President Sulaiman Al Fahim, a renowned global entrepreneur, has pledged his support to Karpov who has offered to make him Vice-President of Fide. “The UAE is already becoming one of the most vibrant hosts for chess activity in Asia. The funding will help it become a centre for development and push that progress to a new level,” they declared in a joint statement. Al Fahim added the funds would be used to improve the sport among Arabs and make it more professional. Karpov said he was disappointed with Fide and has plans to boost the sport among internet users. “Chess is not getting the right attention. There are around 400 million people playing chess on the Internet. We need to use this area to give a boost to chess,” said Karpov, 59, who was world champion from 1975-1985 and holds the greatest tournament record in chess history. One of the highlights of his careers was winning the gold medal with USSR at the Chess Olympiad held in Dubai in 1986. His rival for the Fide post Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is one of his ardent admirers as a champion player but it’s a no-holds barred contest for the presidency. “I like [Anatoly] Karpov and [Gary] Kasparov as chess players. This is democracy. There is no problem,” he said when asked how he feels about Karpov contesting against him. The veteran politician is confident of being re-elected for another four-year term being assured of at least 80 votes so far. “When I was selected as president of Fide in 1995 in Paris there were only four international official chess tournaments but now there are officially 12,000 chess tournaments. More than half billion now play chess,” said Ilyumzhinov, who is President of the Russian Federation of Kalmykia. He has great plans for the region, especially UAE which he hopes to make a centre for chess. “We want to open here an international chess academy, an international chess school for children and to organise more Grand Prix tournament here,” said Ilyumzhinov who has fond memories of Dubai. He related Dubai’s growth as being similar to Fide. “First time when I came 20 years ago, this place was nothing, it was only sand. Also in the same way Fide is growing rapidly and dynamically. That’s why I want Dubai to be one of the centres for the evolution of chess,” he said. He has the support of young entrepreneur Sheikh Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum who has agreed to become Fide’s CEO of Commercial Affairs. Head of the Arab Chess Federation Ibrahim Al Bannai endorsed Ilyumzhinov as their candidate, hailing him for promoting the sport in the region. “We are supporting Kirsan because he delivers his promises,” said Al Bannai pointing out that officials from the Arab world are now top decision makers in Fide. Nizar Ali El Haj from Libya and Qatar’s Khalifa Mohammed Al Hitmi are Fide Vice-Presidents, UAE’s Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is Continental President for Asia while Al Bannai is on the Executive Board. “With Sheikh Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum also joining, this is unprecedented to have so many from this region,” he added. Mohammed El Husseiny, Executive Director of Dubai Chess and Culture Club concurred that the major reasons for backing Ilyumzhinov was the support he gave developing countries. “Most of his programmes suit the Arab Chess Federation,” said El Husseiny, also Secretary of the Arab Federation.