Mind Sports Champs  14:15-14:30 GMT  29-APR-2008  WF Date Shot: 29-APR-2008 Location: PERM Country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION Sound:    Language:  Source: RUMCR Restrictions: Free worldwide access to all broadcasters This material is free of rights and free of charge in Europe (W3A), the Americas (NSS806), Asia (Asiasat2) Dopesheet: Ilyumzhinov, Karpov and Zhukov Want to Change the Olympic Calendar Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the President of Kalmykia (Russian Federation) and FIDE, Anatoly Karpov, a world chess ex champion and Alexander Zhukov, a Russian Deputy Prime Minister, hope to change the Olympic calendar in the near future. Immediately after 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics Beijing will be the venue for the first World Mind Sport Games held by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA). The project sponsors hope that with time the mind sports such as bridge, chess, draughts and go will become part of the Olympic programme and, what is more, will form separate Intellectual Olympic Games. The IMSA Cup, a world championship to be held on April 27-29 in Perm, Russia, will be a sort of a dress rehearsal of the Olympics for intellectual competition. Alexander Zhukov, a Russian Deputy Prime Minister, believes that ?Russia has no match in mind sports?. Chess players Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky, draughts players Alexander Georgiev, Aleksey Chizhov and Alexander Shwartsman ? these are merely a few famous Russian players mentioned by Mr. Zhukov, who is also the President of the Russian Chess Federation. IMSA was founded on April 19, 2005 under the aegis of GAISF by the world federations of chess, bridge, go and draughts. Among bridge fans and participants of numerous bridge competitions are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the top on the Forbes World?s Richest People List. According to Andrey Klimov, Co-president of EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and a State Duma member, it is symbolic that "the competition in the four games will precede Olympic Games, the world?s largest sport event". "I?m well aware that millions of mind sport fans wish to make these sports to a great extent equal to Olympic events?, says Mr. Klimov. "I hope that this idea will receive an additional positive impetus in Perm". The IMSA Cup will consist of chess, draughts (international and Russian), bridge and go. According to the rules of the new Cup, up to 25 sportsmen may participate in each discipline. To ensure the maximum audience appeal the mind sport competitions will be rapid and will therefore take only two days. Participants will compete individually in chess, draughts and go and in pairs in bridge. The last competition day will be dedicated to a friendly game in which the Cup guests - 15 ambassadors of European and Asian countries ? and members of the Russian parliament will take part. During the competition days Russian and European politicians will discuss in Perm the problems and prospect of EU-Russia relationships. They agreed to visit the IMSA Cup and participate in the closing ceremony Shotlist: TBA Keyframe:  Id Item: 379408 Tx_Time: 14:15 - 14:30   Tx_Date: 29-APR-2008  Status: TRS Origin: ZZEBU  Origin City: MSKO Item type: WF