FIDE wants to acquire the "Ground Zero"

To be honest, I don't like the idea of having the land of where the twin towers used to be to be occupied by something that is not co-related with the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City. (Oh yeah, let sentimentality hit me this time real hard!) Since it is a landmark, a memorable, historic ground, chess hasn't something to do with 9-11 terrorist attack. So when Chessdom.com first informed us that the land where the twin towers used to stand, I wasn't that much excited even if one day, it becomes a major chess hub.

One thing is for sure though and it just show you how powerful Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is. What the FIDE boss wants, he must get it. And if ever FIDE acquired the land, there is no doubt that it will promote chess around the world to the highest level. But I personally believe that the "Ground Zero" doesn't belong to chess. Build a mosque, a museum, a library or even a park but a chess center is out of this.

FIDE has requested the New York authorities to sell the land of the Twin Towers to create a chess center, announced FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov at a press conference on Thursday.

"We turned to the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, who is also owner of this land, with a proposal to buy it for $10 million. We are now waiting for an answer and are ready to send our representatives," said Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

Last week's proposal for "Ground Zero" by Donald Trump is 7,5 million dollars, while earlier a proposal for $100 million dollar Muslim center at 200 meters from the land has also been made. The future name of the FIDE construction is supposed to be "World Chess Center".

Copy of the official letter here