Russian chess chief wants NYC mosque site
China Daily | Updated: 2010-09-19 07:57
MOSCOW - The eccentric Russian head of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) on Thursday announced a $10-million bid to buy the site of a controversial mosque project near Ground Zero in New York.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he had sent a letter on FIDE's behalf to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "with an offer to buy this land for $10 million," the RIA Novosti news agency in Russia reported.
The land near the site of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, would be used for an international chess center and academy, Ilyumzhinov said.
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