Mintimer Shaimiev and Kirsan Ilyumzhinov bestow chess cup to Gelfand

First President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev and head of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov took part in the official closing ceremony of the Contenders Matches for the chess crown in Kazan.

Israeli chess grandmaster Boris Gelfand won the tournament with the prize fund 500, 000 euros. He defeated Russian Alexander Grischuk. Boris Gelfand will compete for the world chess crown with Indian Vishi Anand in 2012.

“The Contenders Matches tournament in FIDE history has finished, but for Tatarstan it was the first one. On behalf of Tatarstan’s authorities, I’d like to thank the FIDE board for a decision to hold the matches in Kazan,” Mintimer Shaimiev said. “You, Boris, have a great task – to win Vishi Anand,” he added.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said: “Today is a solemn and a bit sad day. Big chess leaves Tatarstan for a while. Many thanks that Kazan has become one more center of popularizing this ancient game. On May 3, the first stone of the first chess academy was laid here. In two weeks, a session of FIDE will be held at the United Arab Emirates. It will be decided where the competition for the world chess crown takes place.”

Mintimer Shaimiev and Kirsan Ilyumzhinov bestowed the Israeli grandmaster with the cup of the world chess crown.