MOSCOW – The Russian head of the World Chess Federation said he talked late Tuesday by telephone to Col. Moammar Gadhafi, who said he is alive and well in the capital of Tripoli and plans to fight rebels and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces until victory.
“I was in the car and he called me on my mobile,” said the chess chief, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who has known Col. Gadhafi for more than 10 years and has kept in touch since the Libyan revolt began earlier this year. “He sounded normal, and that he was continuing to fight NATO.”
Col. Gadhafi’s voice “sounded strong,” Mr. Ilyumzhinov said.
” ‘I am alive and well, I am in Tripoli, and don’t plan to leave Libya,'” Col. Gadhafi said, according to the chess official. “Don’t believe those false reports on Western television.'”
Mr. Ilyumzhinov, who has traveled frequently to Libya ostensibly to promote chess, said his conversation with Col. Gadhafi was short because the Libyan leader feared that someone would zero in on his phone signal. They spoke for about 40 seconds, he said, at about 1400 GMT.
The leader’s son, Mohammed, held the receiver for most of the conversation as he translated from Arabic. But Col. Gadhafi spoke for a few seconds to convey his greetings. “He sounded strong, he sounded normal,” said Mr. Ilyumzhinov.
Mr. Ilyumzhinov visited Mr. Gadhafi in June in his capacity as head of the World Chess Federation. The two played a brief but highly publicized game of chess that was later broadcast on Libyan state television.
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