On April 24, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov arrived to Manila where he met with members of the Executive Board of Chess federation of Philippines.
The President of Philippines CF Mr. Prospero Pichay, General Secretary of federation, Congressman Abraham Tolentino and other leaders informed FIDE President on activities and goals of the national federation, noted the success of Philippine chess player Wesley So, his moving up in the rating list reaching the top players, also discussed the urgent issues that the federation faces, the lack of budget and skilled specialists.
FIDE President noted the great contribution to chess made by the great Philippine personalities – his predecessor Florencio Campomanes and the first Asian grandmaster Eugenio Torre. He shared his vision on the development of FIDE, the views on future and answered numerous questions.

On April 25 the FIDE President met with GM Eugenio Torre andofficials of the foundation he had created which bears Torre’s name. The objective of the foundation is promotion and development of chess in Philippines, and primarily chess for children. FIDE President entrusted the foundation’s officials to draft an agreement to be signed with Makati City Hall.

Meeting with Mr. Jejomar Erwin S. Binay, Jr,  Mayor of Makati, the downtown business and entertainment district of Manila metro area

The conversation focused on the Chess in Schools programme