School Matches
State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov is pledging more government support for chess, proposing introduction of chess courses at secondary schools , as a way to help sudents improve their grades. "I think many children in Russia will start to play chess in the near future," said FIDE President (and president of Kalmykia) Kirsan Ilyumzhimov. Chess is far less popular in Russia than it was in its heyday, 10-15 years ago (see Russian Life, Nov/Dec 2005), yet Russian players still rank among the world's best, and Vladimir Kramnik presently holds the official FIDE title of world champion.
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