Kasparov vs Ilyumzhinov: the FIDE Presidency battle begins

[Chris Rice]

Kirsan wishes Gary all the best for his 51st. Awwww bless....

Congratulations to Garry Kasparov

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Dear Garry Kimovich,

Let me wish you the best of health and success on behalf of the International Chess Federation and from myself personally!
Kindly accept my wishes of happiness and prosperity to you and those dear to you!


Sincerely,

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
FIDE President

[Mick Norris]

Asian Federations Open Letter
http://www.chessvibes.com/asian-federat ... t-of-leong

In it, the federations state that they “trust and value the integrity and significant experience” of Mr Leong.

“We wish to categorically and unequivocally refute any suggestions that there has been vote-buying. It is scandalous, defamatory and erroneous to suggest that we, as national chess federations, can be “bought”! (...) Could this smear campaign on Ignatius be politically motivated because like us, he too has declared his support for Garry Kasparov in the 2014 FIDE elections?”

More info:
http://www.fidexfiles.blogspot.co.uk/

[Chris Rice]

Bulgarian chess player Antoaneta Stefanova has spoken out regarding the upcoming FIDE elections and the candidates’ contributions to women’s chess. She states that women's chess has improved a lot under Kirsan and Kasparov has pretty much never said a word about it. Not good news for Kasparov fans because she's right. Here's her response when questioned as to who she supports:

"Well of course I respect very much Garry who was a great chess player and great world champion, but I somehow have some doubts that he thinks a lot about women’s chess or at least I didn’t see anything in the program or never heard him speaking about women’s chess. Well as for Kirsan, he has proved over the years that he takes care of men’s and women’s chess. He has introduced many things for women because before he was President there were no Grand Prix’s, world championship cycle was different and with Kirsan as President, the situation has improved a lot for women’s chess. I believe he is doing his best and things are improving for us."

[Roger de Coverly]

I recently came across this website

http://chessnewsagency.com/

Although nothing is directly said, it seems to come across as a FIDE establishment mouthpiece. In a piece about the 2018 Olympiad, it focuses on the Georgia bid, mentions the Cameroon, but not South Africa.

http://chessnewsagency.com/#/will-tbili ... -olympiad/

If the Olympiad were to be held in Africa, it's the same problem for FIDE as faced by FIFA, namely that only South Africa has the necessary infrastructure for a relatively massive event. For chess, you could include Tunisia and Egypt because of their hotel complexes, but political instability probably rules them out.

[Roger de Coverly]

A couple of parallels

Kasparov visits Tunisia, who appear to have committed to Kirsan
http://fidenot4sale.blogspot.co.uk/2014 ... ional.html
Kirsan visits Cambodia, who are part of the Leong ten.
http://www.fide.com/component/content/a ... bodia.html

Is the Paulsen invitation for Kirsan to visit England still on the table? Will it follow the standard format of including the Russian ambassador and the offer of sport scholarships?

[Stewart Reuben]

Conversation in Cape Town in 2003.
Lyndon Bouah, then President of Chess South Africa, 'We could bid for the Olympiad here in the new conference centre.
Me, 'Who would run it? You don't have the infrastructure.
Lyndon, 'Well, people like you'.
Me, 'No way.'
They did the World Cup. But bringing in ALL the administrators from outside seems implausible.

[Roger de Coverly]

They did the World Cup. But bringing in ALL the administrators from outside seems implausible.

They have run the Commonwealth Championship and similar large Swiss events. But if South Africa isn't up to the task, that applies a hundred times more to Kirsan's apparent current favourite of Cameroon.

[NickFaulks]

Forget Cameroon. It isn't going to happen.

If Kasparov Leong were to win, voting to go to South Africa would look a reasonably safe bet. GK seems to have connections there, and assuming he doesn't lose interest in the meantime I expect he could make it happen. If they lose, SA might as well pull their bid on the spot. He will take his ball and go home, and their bid will lose all credibility.

[NickFaulks]

but political instability probably rules them out.

Who can claim any knowledge of where will be politically unstable in four years? Georgia could easily be at war with Russia, or already be part of a revived Soviet Union.

[Paolo Casaschi]

If Kasparov Leong were to win, voting to go to South Africa would look a reasonably safe bet. GK seems to have connections there, and assuming he doesn't lose interest in the meantime I expect he could make it happen.

I guess someone in Kasparov's ticket might keep that interest alive.

[Stewart Reuben]

I am sure a very large number of the federations will favour South Africa over Georgia, provided the bid holds up. You should have seen the delegates eyes glisten when it was proposed the FIDE Congress be held on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. it seems to me they have voted perfectly sensibly most years.
Thus Siberia relative to Montenegro. Siberia offered a great deal of money via several events. Montenegro was clearly the nicer place to go in 2010. The final vote was very, very close. I was torn, but carried the ECF vote with instructions to vote throughout for Montenegro. It wasn't a political decision by the FIDE GA.

I was consulted by the Pretoria Tourist Board when I was there in 2003 about bidding for the World Youth. I assured them that it would be very popular with the delegates, provided they could assure them that there was no danger. It fell at the first hurdle due to lack of finance. Just as the London option for the World Youth for 2012 failed, despite considerable enthusiasm in FIDE. These matters are not always political, although some are, particularly in an election year as now.

[Chris Rice]

Whilst on his campaign trail in Canberra, Australia a few days ago Kasparov walked right into the middle of an Australian chess feud that even an ECF Board member would have been impressed by. From The Weekend Australian :

"Kasparov's trip was timed to coincide with the Doeberl Cup, Australia’s most prestigious tournament. The setting was an incongruous one: The Tradies in the Canberra suburb of Woden, a venue famous for dishing up chicken schnitzels the size of chess boards.

Kasparov made his first appearance on Sunday night at a book signing and was mobbed by the normally reserved chess community. Flushed with his reception, he returned to the stage the following afternoon to present the tournament winner with his prize. Instead, he walked into a decades-old dispute that has divided Australian chess since before he became the youngest world champion in history.

Standing alongside Kasparov, Australian Chess Federation president Gary Wastell announced a life membership award for Ian Rogers, Australia’s first grandmaster. But instead of coming forward, Rogers yelled “Not while you’re president!’’ from the back of the room.

With Wastell and Rogers locked in an embarrassing stand-off, Kasparov took the microphone and spoke for the next 15 minutes, outlining his plans to make chess’s governing body more transparent and to encourage more children to take up the game. Wastell then had another go, pleading with Rogers to bury their past differences.

Rogers again refused, but reluctantly came to the stage and explained, with a perplexed Kasparov looking on, why he could never forgive Wastell for what he did to his career.

“I do not want any award bestowed by Gary Wastell,’’ he later explained to The Weekend Australian. “Unfortunately Gary Wastell forced me to refuse publicly, which meant that Kasparov was placed in a slightly embarrassing situation when he prepared to hand the plaque to me.

“I felt that I had to come to the stage and explain my position. I just said that I would not take an award from Gary Wastell as he had acted badly towards me and other top players in the past.”

One onlooker said: “It was a complete meltdown. Everyone was stunned … People thought, ‘Why can’t you sort this out offstage?’ Why embarrass the world’s greatest player when he’s finally made it to Australia?’ ”

The feud between Rogers and Wastell is deep, distant and fiercely contested. Rogers believes that Wastell, as a chess official, tried to sabotage his professional career by omitting him from overseas trips and curtailing the careers of other Australians.

Wastell disputes the allegations, saying most are the result of misunderstandings. Of a claim that he once advised a foreign player about opening move sequences, to the detriment of one of his teammates, Wastell said he had merely had a friendly after-dinner chat with a fellow chess enthusiast. While he admits that the discussion was unwise, he insists that his motives were pure. (Chess players are meticulous in planning their openings, and knowledge of your opponent’s plans can be very useful.)

Last Sunday’s altercation is not the first time Kasparov has had an awkward moment with Rogers. In 2003, at a tournament in Linares, Spain, Kasparov was competing and Rogers was part of a judging panel to decide the best game played. When Kasparov was overlooked for the award, he grabbed Rogers by the throat, demanding to know why.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/na ... mm-premium

[JustinHorton]

"When Kasparov was overlooked for the award, he grabbed Rogers by the throat"

I don't remember that. Are there any contemporary accounts?

[Chris Rice]

There was a ChessBase report... http://en.chessbase.com/post/kasparov-s ... in-linares

[Chris Rice]

Better news for Gazza today. After his visit to Jamaica on April 5 telecom giant Digicel have invested $450,000 into Jamaican chess. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Di ... -_16526540 So there's a little benchmark that the new ECF Commercial Czar can aspire to.

Meanwhile in the last three weeks Kirsan's been to Phillipines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Macedonia, Serbia and Dagestan. These guys really get around.