In November 1995, Ilyumzhinov became President of the International Chess Federation, investing a large amount of his private fortune into the game. He has been enthusiastic about attracting international tournaments to Kalmykia, and many grandmasters have done so. His flamboyant plans to build an extravagant Chess City in the republic led to protests by some people, but have been praised by others for generating good publicity. The 1996 bout between Gata Kamsky and Anatoly Karpov was originally scheduled to be played in Baghdad. However, the international response was so harsh that FIDE moved the match to Elista where it received more positive international attention.