Issa Hilal Al Hazami, Arkady Dvorkovich and Sheikh Saud Bin Abdul Aziz Almualla during a meeting at the Sharjah Sports Council headquarters.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Issa Hilal Al Hazami, Chairman of the Sharjah Sports Council, received in his office Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the World Chess Federation, and his assistant Konstantin Kiselev.

The visit came on the sidelines of the World Olympic Games, which will be held from July 28 to August 10, in Chennai, India.

The chairman of the council expressed his admiration for the plans and activities included in the programmes of the President of the World Chess Federation. The President of the World Chess Federation was accompanied during the visit by Sheikh Saud Bin Abdul Aziz Almualla, President of the Arab Chess Federation & President of the Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club; Sami Saveni Khader, Vice-President of the Arab Chess Federation, and Rajai Noman Al Susi, Executive Director of the Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club.

The President of the World Chess Federation praised the efforts of the Sharjah Sports Council and its support for chess locally and internationally, by organising and hosting national and international tournaments at all levels.

He praised the winners of the 5th Sharjah Masters 2002, the Uzbek Abdusattorov and the Emirati Salem Abdul Rahman, and said that he is looking forward to achieving more development and popularity for chess, and considers the UAE one of the most important countries supporting the game, both regionally and globally.