English Chess Forum

We'll just have to disagree. To me, this is like an EU leader saying that he hopes airlines buy their planes from Boeing rather than Airbus - they're simply not supposed to do it.

NickFaulks wrote:We'll just have to disagree. To me, this is like an EU leader saying that he hopes airlines buy their planes from Boeing rather than Airbus - they're simply not supposed to do it.

True in normal circumstances. Even more so when the European bid is organized by the main rival of Danailov in the upcoming ECU elections.
What would have been the reaction if KI had expressed explicit support the Georgian bid against the South African?

Hello All

Hopefully its not to late for you all to put me forward as your new leader.I think i have a party followed by duck in plum if i won i could post the pictures on here of me eating it.

Nigel Short has just announced (on the No Logo Norway Chess commentary) that he has been mandated to cast the ECF's vote for the Silvio Danailov ticket.

I am very pleased. I have been urging a decision to this effect.

what are Silvio's chances thought to be?

(Of course he too has scandalised chess in his time and was once cited as Kasparov as being a reason why he gave up chess, in the same way that Zurab used to be one of his seconds/henchmen, but it's all swings and roundabouts up there, isn't it?)

The Georgian Chess Federation's latest initiative is a proposal to the General Assembly in Tromso to donate the money Azmaiparashvili would get for being ECU President to the ECU Chess in Schools programme. They reckon Azmai doesn't need it. The amount is 144,000 Euros. Apparently Danailov's not keen on the proposal.

Peter D Williams wrote:Hello All

Hopefully its not to late for you all to put me forward as your new leader.I think i have a party followed by duck in plum if i won i could post the pictures on here of me eating it.

Look mate - I gave the strongest possible hint that I'd give you 5 votes on the Chessplayer of the Year in return for a well-cooked dinner. Did I get a bite? Did I ********. Now you've upped the stakes (or should that be steaks?). What next? Do you want to challenge Kirsan and Gary?

Chris Rice wrote:The Georgian Chess Federation's latest initiative is a proposal to the General Assembly in Tromso to donate the money Azmaiparashvili would get for being ECU President to the ECU Chess in Schools programme. They reckon Azmai doesn't need it. The amount is 144,000 Euros. Apparently Danailov's not keen on the proposal.

Blimey, I see ECU President is what I should be aiming for next

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.co.uk/2014/ ... about.html

I found this interesting interview on Susan Polgar's website. I believe Willy Iclicki is a respected figure, so his views should be known. Perhaps someone who helped ensure that the ECF vote went to Danailov would like to comment?

I have little influence. But answering Leonard's question as objectively as I can.

You have to realise that many people regard it as a combined ticket.
If you support Kirsan, then you also support Azmay.
If you support Garry, then you also support Danailov. We always knew that the ECF would support Garry. That seems to lead to an automatic support for Danailov. That is not a given in my personal opinion. Personally I wish there were a third candidate.

Azmay carries a lot of personal baggage which Willy does not mention. There have been incidents exhibiting arrogance; there was the matter of his fixing his rating in a tournament; that he took a move back; that he had a confrontation with security in Majorca at the closing ceremony of the Olympiad.
Is he a reformed character? Well, he has certainly learnt to present himself better.

I too have only limited influence. However, I expressed my opinions upthread.

One of the reasons that Paulson lost the confidence of the Board and Council was his association with Azmaiparashvili. It would have been odd then to support Azmaiparashvili after all.

Stewart Reuben wrote: Azmay carries a lot of personal baggage which Willy does not mention. There have been incidents exhibiting arrogance; there was the matter of his fixing his rating in a tournament; that he took a move back; that he had a confrontation with security in Majorca at the closing ceremony of the Olympiad.
.

I remember the Majorca occasion because I wrote about it at the time. The Olympiad closing ceremony was about to end, but Ilyumzhinov and Campomanes, on the platform, had forgotten to announce a special prize for the best combined team total in the men's and women's events. This was to be called the Gaprindashvili Cup, and Nona had flown specially from Georgia to Spain to present it personally.
Azmai, her countryman and a Fide vice-president, realised the error and after failing several times to attract the platform's attention from the hall, attempted to approach it to remind Ilyumzhinov in time. He was grabbed by security people and bundled out of the hall, so Nona could not present her award to its Russian winners.
The majority of independent witnesses (eg Paul Truong whose account can still be found on Chessbase) believed that Azmai was the injured party in the incident. At the time Fide strongly blamed Spain and even talked of banning Fide events from there. The headbutting claim only came as a counter from the Spaniards.
Despite this documentary historical evidence, the incident is now almost always portrayed (eg several times by Nigel Short) as Azmai headbutting others without provocation.
On the other personal baggage matters, I would only say on the move retraction incident that if you read what actually happened (accounts can be found online eg on chessgames.com) there are mitigating circumstances which were not present in the classic Matulovic v Bilek case.
I should also add that Azmai also has some personal positive baggage which commands respect. He beat Karpov in the 1983 USSR 50th golden jubilee championship at a time when Karpov was world champion and it could be dangerous to undermine him. He won Lloyds Bank 1989, as both Stewart and David should remember, and I do not recall anything negative about how he behaved then. And he was a 2700+ grandmaster in around 2002 at a time when that meant the world top 20 rather than 50.
Contrast that with Danailov, about whom it is clear (though now again hardly ever admitted by his supporters) that he was nothing special as a player but still has a serious personal baggage negative due to his leading role as Topalov's manager in their false cheating claims during the 2006 world title match with Kramnik. Arguably that globally reported scandal was more damaging to chess than anything Azmai ever did.
Either way, Willy Icklicki in the interview above makes personal financial allegations about Danailov and their effect on European chess which cannot simply be ignored, and which should be answered by those who have given the ECF vote to Danailov. If Danailov by his personal actions is effectively damaging European chess, it is not a sufficient response to say that he is on Kasparov's side against Ilyumzhinov.
I think abstention in the ECU vote would have been the better course and would not have prevented the ECF voting for Kasparov in the Fide election.

Leonard Barden wrote:Either way, Willy Icklicki in the interview above makes personal financial allegations about Danailov and their effect on European chess which cannot simply be ignored, and which should be answered by those who have given the ECF vote to Danailov. If Danailov by his personal actions is effectively damaging European chess, it is not a sufficient response to say that he is on Kasparov's side against Ilyumzhinov.

Yes.

Leonard Barden wrote:I think abstention in the ECU vote would have been the better course and would not have prevented the ECF voting for Kasparov in the Fide election.

Indeed.

To attract votes in 2010 Silvio announced that he will renounce his salary, but the same day when he was elected he declared that the campaign cost him so much that he needed to cancel his offer!

Fantastic. Is that true?

Leonard Barden wrote:[Azmaiparashvili]won Lloyds Bank 1989, as both Stewart and David should remember ...

Purely for the record, I didn't join the Lloyds Bank Masters control team until 1990. I don't remember the 1989 event at all.