On June 13th the FIDE President arrived in Beirut to sign an Agreement on Chess Development in Lebanon between FIDE and the Ministry of Education of Lebanon.
Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov met with the President of Lebanon Mr. Michel Sleiman and the President of Lebanon Chess Federation Mr. Nabil Bader. Mr. Michel Sleiman supports the Signing of Agreement as he is deeply convinced in the educational potential of chess for the young generation. Moreover the President of Lebanon is a great fan of chess despite that he spent a lot of time in military service, where he could not afford to devote more time to chess studies. Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov thanked the President of Lebanon for the attention devoted to chess development by the country’s leadership.

The Agreement was signed by FIDE President Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Minister of Education of Lebanon, Mr. Hasan Diab and the President of Lebanon Chess Federation, Mr. Nabil Bader.

According to the FIDE President, the Agreement will be directed to the popularization of the game and the inclusion of chess in the school curriculum. “Chess can actively contribute to the progress of individual countries, regions, the whole world civilization, as chess helps to develop the intellect of our children,” said the FIDE President.
Mr. Hasan Diab added that chess has an enormous educational power. He asked Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to organize the workshops on chess for the political and state employees of Lebanon. As far as he believes, the more they play chess, the more reasonable and sound decisions they will take. As President Ilyumzhinov noted, FIDE will render assistance to chess development in Lebanon and welcomes any forms of cooperation directed to the popularization of chess.

With the President of Lebanon Mr. Michel Sleiman