Request of Philippines to include chess to the Olympic Games programme

Request of Philippines to include chess to the Olympic Games programme

A historical event took place in Manila, Philippines. During a working visit of the FIDE President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, to the Philippines, the Head of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), Mr. Jose Cojuangco Jr., signed an appeal to the Head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Mr. Jacques Rogge, and IOC members, requesting the inclusion of chess in the programme of the Olympic Games. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov noted: "We are working towards the goal of including chess in the programme of the Olympic Games. Following on from our longstanding consultations with the IOC and its Head, Mr. Jacques Rogge, it has become clear that we have good chances, but we need active support from the national federations and Olympic Committees. We set ourselves, as a priority, an ultimate goal to collect letters, containing such a request, from the NOCs of all 170 FIDE member countries. There is no obvious reason why these letters have not yet appeared; I have made great efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, Mr. Prospero A. Pichay Jr., and to the President of the Philippines NOC, Mr. Jose Cojuangco Jr., who were the first to respond to our request." The FIDE President hopes that this event will now provoke "a chain reaction" in the other countries. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov asserts that everybody should help with this - representatives of the federations, chess players, trainers, organizers and the millions of chess fans all over the world. Let us remind you that during the elections in Khanty Mansiysk, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov trageted three main areas for his activity as FIDE President: development of the programme "Chess in Schools", training of trainers and arbiters, and working towards the inclusion of chess in the Olympic Games. He notes: "We have already achieved great success in two of these areas. There is no doubt that the consolidated efforts of FIDE, our national chess federations and their NOCs will maximize our chances in our work of persuading the IOC to bring to fruition our third objective." Head of the Philippines NOC Mr. Jose Cojuangco, Jr. has just signed an appeal with a request to include chess to the Olympic Games programm