Karpov candidate for FIDE president

[Roger de Coverly]

is the headline at chessvibes.com

http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/karpo ... president/

One of his predecessors, Max Euwe, was president 40 years ago.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I'll believe it when I see it

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well, it's now official. Good luck Tolya

[Roger de Coverly]

Well, it's now official. Good luck Tolya

It might be determined exclusively by the Russian chess federation though. There's a FIDE rule which only allows one candidate for each office per federation. Kalmkya is part of Russia of course. It's unlikely to be symmetric though - so whilst Karpov presumably couldn't stand if his home federation are against him, the rules would be bent if Russia supported Karpov over Kirsan.

http://www.fide.com/component/content/a ... tions.html

from which

Clarifications made by the Executive Board in Dresden:

· A Federation is entitled to nominate only one candidate for one position

[Simon Spivack]

It might be determined exclusively by the Russian chess federation though

I'm not sure it has much to do with the Russian chess federation.

Perhaps the best hope is that the Kremlin decides that Ilyumzhinov is too much of a liability. For instance if he takes a line too independent of Moscow. Not something I can see happening.

To illustrate the links to the Kremlin, it should be born in mind that the President of the Russian Chess Federation, Alexander Zhukov, is also the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Given the celebrity (sic) obsessed world we live in, it might not be inappropriate to mention that his daughter Daria Zhukova is the girlfriend of Roman Abamovich. Worth a comment, too, is that his son Peter Zhukov was in the news for the wrong reasons. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6735269.stm

[Nigel Short]

It is quite true that the Russian Chess Federation cannot nominate both Ilyumzhinov and Karpov. However either candidate may be nominated by other federations, as indeed Karpov has already been by the French (and a few others). At a press conference in Moscow yesterday, Karpov openly called upon the backing of his own federation. If he secures the nomination, it would be a very serious blow to Ilyumzhinov's chances of re-election, as it would effectively mean that Ilyumzhinov no longer enjoys Kremlin support. However, for this particular act of the drama to unfold, we will have to wait some more days...
Even if Ilyumzhinov were to be knocked out (which is far from clear) or even decides to step down, it is a certainty that the other people on his ticket would regroup, in some combination, to fight the election. Whatever the eventual outcome, the 2010 Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk promises to be a lot more interesting than had been supposed.

[Mick Norris]

Nigel

Would you be inclined to vote for Karpov?

[Nigel Short]

Ilyumzhinov's main (some would argue only) contribution to FIDE has been largesse in the early years of his Presidency. This was through a fund, and not from his own pocket, and so the precise origin of the money has never been made clear. Furthermore, he also tends to significantly overstate the amount of money he has spent on the game, including things like the appartments that were built for the Olympiad in Elista in 1998, but which were then subsequently sold.
Frequently the President of Kalmykia displays a tenuous grasp of reality. For example, he clearly believes he was abducted by aliens (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pNhIIu4Ukc) and his boasts of a multi-billion dollar "Chess City" in the UAE (http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1845) is just one of countless claims that have come to nought. He publicly stated yesterday not to know anything about Karpov's bid for the FIDE Presidency, although he met with Karpov and discussed the issue just three weeks ago.
It is also hard to believe that rights of chessplayers and regard for chess tradition will be met with such contempt by Anatoly Karpov as they have been by the current FIDE Presidential Board.
That said, I will not support anyone, unless I believe he has a chance to win. One eventually grows tired of pissing against the wind, as I have been doing for the last few decades. So for the moment, I will watch and wait. I invite your comments.

[David Sedgwick]

It is quite true that the Russian Chess Federation cannot nominate both Ilyumzhinov and Karpov. However either candidate may be nominated by other federations, as indeed Karpov has already been by the French (and a few others). At a press conference in Moscow yesterday, Karpov openly called upon the backing of his own federation.

With respect, I think you might have overlooked Regulation 1.2 from the link upthread, namely "To be elected, each candidate shall be nominated by his federation."

This would of course explain the importance that Karpov attaches to the point.

Thank you very much for returning to the Forum. Can you tell us anything about what happened at the meetings in Rijeka?

[Nigel Short]

Thanks, David, for that very important point.
The fact is that Karpov is a member of several federations. However I can foresee litigation on this issue should he fail to secure the Russian nomination

[Simon Spivack]

I have to agree with Nigel's interpretation. Looking at http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html? ... w=category under item 1
The Presidential Ticket

To be elected, each candidate shall be nominated by his federation. He/She should have been a member of their federation at least one year before the General Assembly.

Note, as well, item 4 Election conditions there is

Eligibility for office pertains only to those persons who belong to a member-federation.

No person can be elected to a FIDE-office against the will of his national federation. This stipulation may be waived by the General Assembly only in exceptional cases. Federations that are against the nomination of one of their members for a FIDE office, should raise their objections to such a nomination before the election.

How can a federation object to a player they have nominated? One reconciliation is to recall that some players belong to more than one federation. For instance, if Karpov has been a member of the French federation for more than a year then one interpretation is that they can nominate him. The Russian federation could object, however, if Karpov has the votes, such an objection could be overridden.

I haven't the patience to peruse all the FIDE documentation. I presume Karpov's supporters do.

[Nigel Short]

The ECU meeting in Rijeka was fairly uncontroversial because it largely consisted of approving new statutes that had been circulated months in advance. The only significant amendment to those I can recall was a provision to prevent Board Members opportunistically changing federation, and thus ending up with two (or even more) members from the same Fed. on the Board, as has been the case, apparently, with ECU President, Boris Kutin, in the past.

[Sean Hewitt]

A couple of letters of support for Kirsan Ilyumzhinov which look oddly familiar

To: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
FIDE President

Dear Kirsan,

For the upcoming FIDE elections in September 2010, I hereby declare my open and full support to your ticket.

During the 15 years of your presidency we have worked together for many projects towards the further development and progress of our beloved sport. Our co-operation has been fruitful to the greatest extent and it has played a big positive role for the current healthy situation and financial stability of FIDE.

I am wishing you all the best and another successful term for 2010-2014.

Sincerely Yours,

[Signature]

Boris Kutin
Continental President of Europe

For the upcoming FIDE elections in Khanty-Mansiysk, we hereby declare our open and full support to the ticket of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

During the 15 years of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s presidency in FIDE we have worked together for many projects towards the further development and progress of our beloved sport. Our co-operation with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has been fruitful to the greatest extent and it has played a big positive role for the current healthy situation and financial stability of FIDE.

The World Championship cycle is now undisputed and fully funded, our Chess Olympiads and World Youth Championships are gaining more candidate organisers than ever, the FIDE rating and titles system is breaking new records of membership and chess has gained full recognition as a sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has proved to be a productive leader for FIDE. A man with vision and efficiency. We sincerely unite our voices with everyone who openly supports Kirsan's re-election as FIDE President.

[Signature]

Dabilani Buthali
Continental President of Africa

Spot the difference

I'd also be interested to know if ECU President Boris Kutin has been mandated by ECU to support Ilyumzhinov or not. Maybe Nigel Short can offer some insight?

[Paul McKeown]

Personally I would be happy to see Nigel stand for the presidency, not that anyone has a snowball's chance faced with the orchestrated public demonstrations of fawning, servility and bootlicking from KIL's placemen and the brown envelopes and dirty promises delivered round the back door.

[Stewart Reuben]

When Kirsan was first nominated for the FIDE Presidency, most unexpectedly, he was opposed by the Russian Chess Federation. The FIDE General Assembly simply overturned its statutes to take effect immediately and he was elected by an overwhelming majority. In 1998 the statutes were again broken in order to allow Kirsan to stand. Indeed I got to recommend people for each of the tickets then - and they were both on the ticket.
People seem to be assuming that only Kirsan and Tolya can be candidates. This is untrue. The nominating papers deadline has yet to come. Even then, from my first paragraph, you will note that this would still not prevent another candidate being parachuted in. Thus I will temporarily reserve judgement on which candidate I would support for FIDE President. Of course my only voting right in this matter comes in if the ECF Board decides to mandate Nigel Short to vote in a particular way, as thy did Gerry Walsh in 2006.

Stewart Reuben