Saturday, February 05, 2011

Dear FIDE Members,

I am delighted to welcome you to the CIS web site. Children who learn chess are, on average, more intelligent, healthier and better socially adjusted.

There are also big advantages for FIDE and our national federations if many more schoolchildren learn chess. Our ultimate objective is that every child should learn to play chess. We do not need to go far along that road before chess would be recognized as the number one sport in the world.

Chess in Schools is to be our main focus during this mandate and, as I promised in Khanty-Mansiysk, I have been visiting countries to promote Chess in Schools to heads of government and education ministries. I am excited about the special CIS projects. This web site will be a report card of our progress.

I congratulate the Commission on launching this web site and give it my full support, exhorting the Commission to strive for great achievements.

GENS UNA SUMUS.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
FIDE President


Please click here to view the web site of the FIDE Chess in Schools Commission.