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On May 6th, 2002 in Prague Bessel Kok convened a meeting that brought most of the mighty in chess together. We saw Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and many others all in one room, signing the "peace plan" which had been initiated by Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan's "Fresh Start".
We asked Garry what of the impact of the new peace plan would be on the world of chess. He sent us the following ten points:
The world of chess will never be the same. It will enter the 21st Century and become a mainstream sport.
The classical chess world title goes way back in history and is ten years older than the modern Olympic games. Now it seems that after a decade of turmoil, chess players and fans will get their wish, an undisputed world chess champion.
United under one body, we have cleared the way for FIDE to embrace professional management to do for chess what other sports have taken for granted for years.
A byproduct of this unity will certainly be major commercial interest and sponsors which will spawn major chess tournament events, classical, rapid and blitz.
All leading grandmasters will prosper with a successful worldwide circuit
Chess can become a TV sport and sponsors and the TV networks will soon realize the immense potential. While chess on TV is a potential, chess on the internet is huge and will take the game live into a potential 100 million households throughout the world.
With FIDE as the only body representing all of chess, entry into the Olympic Games should happen quicker, and if chess enters the Olympics, it will be universally recognized as a sport.
The grass roots of chess will also benefit if government funding is achieved.
Chess is a mixture of sport, social, cultural and educational endeavors and we expect that chess in the classroom will increase on a world-wide basis.
It will not be easy, it may not be quick, but it is there for the asking.
