The incumbent head of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, was reelected as head of the global chess governing body for another four-year term, a FIDE spokesman told journalists on Wednesday.
Ilyumzhinov, who has occupied the post since 1995, was nominated by the Russian Chess Federation. His opponent, Soviet chess legend Anatoly Karpov, was backed by the chess federations of U.S. and France.
Ilyumzhinov, the former head of Russia's Republic of Kalmykia, received the support of 95 FIDE members, well ahead of his rival, who garnered 55 votes. 13 ballots were declared invalid.
The head of FIDE was re-elected at the organization's congress in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiisk, which gathered delegates from 167 national chess organizations.
The 48-year-old oversaw the construction of a Chess City, a massive complex devoted to the sport, during his time as head of the republic. He also once claimed, in an interview on national TV, that he had been taken into space by aliens.
KHANTY-MANSIISK, September 29 (RIA Novosti)
