YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov requested a chess revanche from President Serzh Sargsyan as the two agreed on a draw in a blitz match.

The FIDE President told reporters about the chess game with the Armenian President on February 9. Ilyumzhinov arrived in Yerevan to participate in the inauguration of the Scientific-Research Chess Institute.

President Sargsyan defeated the FIDE President in a 2016 chess game in Moscow.

“Serzh Sargsyan is not only my long time friend, but also a competitor on the chess board. Not only is he a brilliant player on the political arena, but also a brilliant player on the chess board. I can’t remember a year in  the past 10 years the we didn’t play chess upon meeting one another”, the FIDE president said.

In his words, today they also played. Ilyumzhinov was defeated by the president last year and suggested to have a follow-up game today.

“Last time I lost in Moscow, today, when I say the board, I said, perhaps we should play, and he answered – you wanna loose? If you want, let’s,” he said, adding that they agreed on a draw in three minutes.

The game was difficult, but I had an advantage because I was playing with whites”, the FIDE president said.