The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE ( /ˈfiːdeɪ/), its French acronym.

FIDE was founded in Paris, France on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, meaning "We are one people". Its current president is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who for a long time was also the president of Kalmykia, an autonomous Republic in Russia.

FIDE's most visible activity is organizing the World Chess Championship (overall and for women and juniors), regional championships and the Chess Olympiad. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the supreme body responsible for the organization of chess and its championships at global and continental levels. FIDE oversees few other tournaments, although other top-level events, almost without exception, respect FIDE rules and regulations.

Viswanathan Anand (Tamil: விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த், IPA: [ʋiʃʋəˈn̪aːt̪ən ˈaːnən̪d̪]; born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. Anand has won the World Chess Championship five times (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012), and has been the undisputed World Champion since 2007. Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1988. He was also the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honor. In 2007, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award in Indian history.

He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. He then successfully defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov and in the World Chess Championship 2012 against Boris Gelfand. As the reigning champion, he will face the winner of the upcoming Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2013.

Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player in history to be ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list. His peak rating is 2835, the second highest in history, after Garry Kasparov.

On 26 April 2004 Carlsen became a Grandmaster at the age of &1000000000000001300000013 years, &10000000000000148000000148 days, making him the third-youngest Grandmaster in history. On 1 January 2010 the new FIDE rating list was published, and at the age of &1000000000000001900000019 years, &1000000000000003200000032 days, he became the youngest chess player in history to be ranked world number one, breaking the record previously held by Vladimir Kramnik. Carlsen was also the 2009 World blitz chess champion.

His performance at the September–October 2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament has been described as one of the greatest in history and lifted him to an Elo rating of 2801, making him the fifth player to achieve a rating over 2800 – and aged 18 years 10 months at the time, by far the youngest to do so.

Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress and comedian who has gained popularity through her deadpan-style comedy, and currently co-stars in Parks and Recreation as April Ludgate.

Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor. She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie, the latter of whom she uses as inspiration for her teenage character April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation.

Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread. Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of Irish and English descent. Plaza has stated: "I was like the only diverse kid in my high school, and I'm half-Puerto Rican. But yeah, I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico." She participated in productions with the Wilmington Drama League.

Plaza graduated from Ursuline Academy in 2002, and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006. While at NYU in 2004, Plaza suffered a stroke that caused temporary paralysis and expressive aphasia, but she has fully recovered.