Chinese Chess raised 50 million dollars

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: "You know, as FIDE President, back in 1996 I was invited to attend the meeting of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. It dealt with the country's integration into the world community, the entry into the WTO. And the Chinese were already planning to make a breakthrough in many areas, including chess. I remember the commission has allocated 50 million dollars on the development of the game, enormous money. For example, China has introduced a system of compulsory chess education at school... No wonder China's women team won three consecutive Chess Olympiad."

From Ilyumzhinov's interview to Izvestiya