MOSCOW (AP) -- The president of the World Chess Federation and the southern Kalmykia region said Sunday that he will seek the Russian presidency in 2000.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov made the announcement on the Russian TV interview program "Obozrevatel."
Ilyumzhinov said he will either form his own party "relying on the regions and young people," or align himself with an existing party, such as the Communists or the Agrarians.
One of his first tasks will be raising his profile outside Kalmykia, a resource-rich region on the steppes of southern Russia.
President Boris Yeltsin has repeatedly said he plans to step down after his term ends, but his aides have long been hinting that the 67-year-old leader may run again.
Other potential candidates include former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, and former national security chief Alexander Lebed.
Kalmykia played host to the championship of the World Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, in 1996.