FIDE head meets Libya's Gaddafi in Tripoli
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Xinhua, June 14, 2011
The president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov played chess with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during his trip to Tripoli, reported Russian media Tuesday.
According to Russia's state-run Itar-Tass news agency, Ilyumzhinov, the eccentric Russian chess tsar, said he played a game of chess during the last weekend with the Libyan leader which ended in a draw.
The meeting, covered by Libyan television, took place in a government section in central Tripoli and lasted two and half hours.
Ilyumzhinov said he had found Gaddafi "quite healthy and adequate." He also said the Libyan leader told him that he was ready for immediate talks with NATO and the Benghazi representatives but had no intention to step down or leave the country.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had knew the details of Ilyumzhinov's trip in Tripoli.
"The administration of the Russian president was aware of the details of that trip. According to our information, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, in the course of his talk with Muammar Gaddafi, elaborated on the Russian view of the events in Libya," Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass.
Ilyumzhinov earlier stated he had not coordinated his visit to Tripoli with the Russian authorities and never received any instructions.
The FIDE head visited Libya within the framework of his African tour to discuss the prospects for chess playing in the country. He said he had reached a preliminary accord to hold a large international chess contest in Tripoli this autumn. The local authorities said chess would become part of compulsory school program from Oct. 1, 2011.
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