The whole issue of a distinction between physical and “mind sports” came into being when FIDE President, H.E., Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, decided to pursue recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a sport.

Commissioning a “white paper” which preceded my participation, FIDE to its credit, uniquely bypassed a traditional entry requirement into the prestigious “IOC recognized sports” club, by going straight to them without first joining GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations). Their bid, (amazingly to those of us accustomed to watching the otherwise typically glacial progress of IOC machinations)

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