Ignatius Leong
Encyclopedia
Ignatius Leong is a professional chess
organizer in Singapore
and has been one of Asia
's leading organizers for more than 20 years. He is FIDE Secretary-General and President of the ASEAN Chess Confederation, a 14-country zone, geographically the largest in the world. He is also Chairman of the FIDE Development Commission.
He was Asia’s first International Organiser and among the first to receive the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. At 23, he became one of the world’s youngest International Arbiters. Leong is also Director of the ASEAN Chess Academy, which has produced many promising local talents and now attracts talent from around the region. He had played in three Chess Olympiad
s.
Politically, he has swung wildly from one extreme to the other. He once formed a "World Chess Organization", which promised to overthrow FIDE. However, he abandoned that effort when not enough people joined. He has also swung wildly between being a supporter and an opponent of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
.
In 2002, Leong announced that he was running for FIDE President against Ilyumzhinov. Later, he changed his mind, saying that he was not running. Then, changing it again, saying that he had never withdrawn his candidacy. It was eventually ruled that once he had withdrawn, it was too late to become a candidate again, so no election was held because Ilyumzhinov was the only candidate. However, Leong became FIDE Secretary-General.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
organizer in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and has been one of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
's leading organizers for more than 20 years. He is FIDE Secretary-General and President of the ASEAN Chess Confederation, a 14-country zone, geographically the largest in the world. He is also Chairman of the FIDE Development Commission.
He was Asia’s first International Organiser and among the first to receive the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. At 23, he became one of the world’s youngest International Arbiters. Leong is also Director of the ASEAN Chess Academy, which has produced many promising local talents and now attracts talent from around the region. He had played in three Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s.
Politically, he has swung wildly from one extreme to the other. He once formed a "World Chess Organization", which promised to overthrow FIDE. However, he abandoned that effort when not enough people joined. He has also swung wildly between being a supporter and an opponent of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Kalmyk multi-millionaire businessman and politician. He was the President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and he has been the President of FIDE , the world's pre-eminent international chess organization, since 1995...
.
In 2002, Leong announced that he was running for FIDE President against Ilyumzhinov. Later, he changed his mind, saying that he was not running. Then, changing it again, saying that he had never withdrawn his candidacy. It was eventually ruled that once he had withdrawn, it was too late to become a candidate again, so no election was held because Ilyumzhinov was the only candidate. However, Leong became FIDE Secretary-General.
External links
- Leong's call for unity and compromise — ChessBase
- Two Tickets Announced for FIDE Elections — FIDE
- Stefan Loeffler interviews Ignatius Leong — The Week in Chess Magazine
- Letter from Ignatius Leong — Sam Sloan's Home Page
- Interview with Ignatius Leong — Chessdom