The Libyan leader played a draw with the FIDE president and repelled rebel attacks

President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and played a game of chess with him. Moscow regarded Mr. Ilyumzhinov’s trip as a private initiative and made it clear that a decisive moment was coming in the party of Colonel Gaddafi himself. However, news from the Libyan fronts indicate that, despite the constant bombing by NATO aircraft, the government army is still successfully repelling rebel attacks.

The meeting between Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Muammar Gaddafi took place on Sunday morning. As the FIDE president himself said yesterday, he first held talks with the eldest son of the Libyan leader, Muhammad Gaddafi, who heads the country's Olympic Committee, and then talked with the colonel himself. From a conversation with his long-time acquaintance, Mr. Ilyumzhinov concluded that he intends to remain on the land of his ancestors until the end.

During the meeting, which lasted about two hours, there was even time for a game of chess. “He is, of course, weaker, much weaker than me. He is just an amateur who knows how to move pieces, how to checkmate,” Mr. Ilyumzhinov described his opponent, adding that for diplomatic reasons he himself offered the colonel a draw, which he immediately accepted .

In Moscow, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s trip to Tripoli was perceived as a private visit. “Today, many private individuals are taking the initiative on issues of Libyan settlement, the FIDE chairman is one of them,” said special representative of the Russian President Mikhail Margelov. According to him, on the eve of the trip, he advised Kirsan Ilyumzhinov “to play with white, move E2-E4 and let Gaddafi understand that his game is entering the endgame (final stage - Kommersant ).” At the same time, Mr. Margelov added that this week he himself will go to the Libyan capital for negotiations with representatives of the Gaddafi regime.

The authorities of Western countries claim that the result of the Libyan party is obvious. Thus, the head of the British Foreign Ministry, William Hague, said on Sunday that Gaddafi’s supporters were losing important battles, and the power of the colonel himself was “weakening every day.” Mr. Hague refused to make a forecast about the timing of the fall of the regime, but expressed confidence that sooner or later justice will overtake the Libyan leader.

However, news from the fronts indicates that it is still not possible to checkmate or even check Colonel Gaddafi. Last weekend, government troops successfully repulsed a series of attacks by opposition forces, which they launched with the support of NATO aircraft. Heavy fighting took place in the area between the city of Ajdabiya and the important oil port of Marsa el Brega in the northeast of the country. As a result of the clashes, four rebels were killed and 65 people were injured. In addition, the opposition tried to take control of the city of Zawiya, 50 km west of Tripoli, but failed.

Nevertheless, official Tripoli is increasingly clear about its desire to resolve the crisis through negotiations. At the end of last week, Colonel Gaddafi addressed the US Congress and the White House with a letter in which he spoke of his readiness to sit down at the negotiating table with the rebels. There has not yet been a response from the American authorities to this proposal.

Pavel Tarasenko

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