Former FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov spoke about how some countries still consider him the active FIDE President. Kirsan talks about the letters he receives, mentions his achievements in promoting the knockout system, and notes that he plans to run for President in the next elections.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Former FIDE President

“In most countries, they are sure that I am still the FIDE president! I still receive hundreds of messages. From chess players, parents, organizers. From Congo, Zaire, South Korea…

Everyone says something: some don’t have enough money to organize a tournament, some can’t afford chess sets, others are asking for help publishing a textbook or raising funds for a complex medical operation. And every day, national federations call me — asking me to run for president and saying they’re ready to support me.

Regarding my achievements — the Knockout system is my project. Chess is developing dynamically, and it’s already hard for audiences to follow Round-Robin tournaments. Knockouts are convenient for chess players: if the game gets going, you can expect serious money. If not, you go to the next tournament instead of suffering through 11 rounds. This format is also beneficial for the organizers, whose expenses decrease with each round as eliminated players leave.

Perhaps I will include the development of Knockout system tournaments in my program for the upcoming FIDE presidential elections.”

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is a Russian businessman and politician who served as President of FIDE from 1995 to 2018. Ilyumzhinov is credited with introducing and enforcing a massive Knockout format as a method for determining the FIDE World Champion in the late 1990s. The Knockout system is a format where the loser of a match-up is eliminated from the tournament, and the winner advances to the next round.