Moammar Khadafy, of all people, loves chess.

That’s the message from the world chess federation (FIDE), which announced this month that the Libyan dictator will host FIDE’s world championship this summer.

Khadafy will also finance the $1.5 million tournament in Tripoli, scheduled for June 18-July 13.

This is the same Khadafy leader who sponsored an “anti-Israel Olympiad” in his capital in 1976, to coincide with FIDE’s Olympiad team tournament in Haifa, Israel.

Some nations, like the United States, sent a team to Haifa, others went to Libya – and some sent teams to both.

This year’s championship is another effort by Khadafy to repair the reputation of his rogue state.

Photos of a smiling Khadafy greeting and playing chess with FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumz hinov in Tripoli appeared on FIDE’s Web site along with the tournament an nouncement.

Ilyumzhinov, who is also president of the Russian region of Kalmykia, has been trying for years to lure du bious Third World states into a more prominent position in chess.

In 1996, he announced that FIDE’s world championship match would be held in Baghdad. But that idea was dropped after the head of the Israeli chess federation threatened to bolt from FIDE.