World chess king Kirsan checks in

STUDENTS and staff at Stanhope Street Primary School were delighted last week when a very special visitor checked in for a friendly game of chess.

The VIP guest was Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who’s not only President of the World Chess Federation, he’s also former president of the Republic of Kalmykia.

The little known republic is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Federation and Ilyumzhinov has spent millions of euro promoting it as the world capital of chess.

He’s also a rather interesting character with a reputation for eccentricity stemming from claims that he was abducted by aliens and reports that he promised a mobile phone for every shepherd in the country when running for political office.

Last week his feet were firmly on the ground when he met children and staff from Stanhope Street Primary School where chess is becoming increasingly popular.

Junior Officer at the Irish Chess Union, Darko Polimac, has been teaching students at the school for the past two years and the Croatian says they’ve had great success and that chess is booming in Dublin.

Ilyumzhinov and his entourage were delighted to meet the young students and even challenged some of them to a quick game during his visit.