Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

[Mick Norris]

The vote splitting might not matter (though it might):

The elections where Kok, Karpov and Kasparov stood showed a fairly consistent vote in favour of the Kirsan/Makro establishment and against the outsider. I suppose Nigel can hope to pick up the "opposition" vote with the Kirsan/Makro vote split between loyalists and defectors. But then there's a second ballot with just two candidates.

Is that right i.e. one candidate is eliminated after the first ballot? Election regulations wording didn't seem to indicate that to me, although it may just be how they are written

[Matt Mackenzie]

You would prefer a continuation of the Kirsan presidency then?

If the Macko- and Nigel tickets end up splitting the anti-Kirsan vote...

Indeed. And to pick up on Roger's comments about Nigel playing chess, it is not just playing in the Olympiad that might have to be curtailed. Would Nigel have any time to play any chess if elected? How much chess did Euwe and Olafsson play when they held the presidency?

Euwe was mostly retired from competitive chess some time before his presidency.

I think Olafsson played a fair bit during his tenure, though.

[Brian Towers]

Could you add Jan Gustafsson to the list? I know he hasn't thrown his hat into the ring but I think many would like him to run on the ticket "Begone Agon!"

[David Robertson]

Where's the FIDE money gone?, Nigel wants to know

[NickFaulks]

"Is world chess money in mattress of somebody, asks Nigel Short"

No it isn't.

[Roger de Coverly]

No it isn't.

Whilst it made sense to remove money from UBS before it got frozen by the closure of the account, where did it go? If it's in someone's personal account, that's placing a lot of trust in that individual.

[NickFaulks]

If it's in someone's personal account, that's placing a lot of trust in that individual.

I have no specific information, but I'm confident it isn't. Finding a proper place for the funds to live isn't difficult, it's making international payments in and out that is the problem.

[Alex McFarlane]

Now on the FIDE website

https://www.fide.com/component/content/ ... etter.html

[Roger de Coverly]

The elusive Glen Stark was mentioned by Kirsan in an interview last Christmas.

http://chess-news.ru/en/node/24094

Incidentally, I have received an offer from the US and I will discuss that candidate. He was a state employee. Now he is retired but started to work again. He is a chess player. His name is Glen Stark. He had arrived today with American businessmen in Moscow and I'll meet with him in an hour and a half.

And if he would not change his mind, I'll include him in my ticket, because I'm ready to work with the USA. In addition, he is one of the investors, a rather well-off person. I once asked him: "Glen, what do you think of me being under the US sanctions?" And he said: "Kirsan, listen, we're working together to set up a foundation. I came here with American businessmen who do not hesitate to meet with you and work. "In London and Zurich I met with investors and businessmen from the United States. We discussed some projects. Particularly, they are considering investing in Russia. They are ready to invest in agriculture, food and the pharmaceutical industry.

[Leonard Barden]

Seems that Glen Stark is an alias, and that he will reveal his true identity at the end of June:
www.chess.com/news/view/fake-name-on-il ... ovs-ticket

[Kevin Thurlow]

Why would FIDE wait until UBS froze the account before trying to move it?

Glen/Gary/X claims to be doing classified work for US Government. His employers will be a bit cross if that's true - the very fact that you're doing classified work means you can't say you are doing it. What Glen/Gary/X is doing may be commercial in confidence perhaps. Or it may all be untrue.

[Roger de Coverly]

Articles in "The Times" in support of Nigel.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/good-move-3w0nshk9d
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brit ... -tf8vt8brx

What will happen if or perhaps when "the ECF says No" remains to be seen.

The links may only work if you are registered.

[David Robertson]

Times Leader article - full text. It isn't every day chess makes it to a Times leader piece. (Link in Roger's post above. The other article doesn't say much)

_____________________________________________

Good Move

Nigel Short’s bid to run world chess deserves support from all who love the game

Chess has always been deeply political, both on and off the board. In 1972, when the American Bobby Fischer played the Russian Boris Spassky for the world title in Reykjavik, the match was viewed as an extension of the Cold War. The epic battles in the 1980s between Garry Kasparov, a reform-minded liberal, and Anatoly Karpov, a loyal party man, were fought against a backdrop of the slow death of Soviet communism.

British grandmaster Nigel Short’s attempt to replace Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) shows that the days of chess serving as a proxy battleground for wider ideological disputes are not over yet. Outspoken, caustic, even occasionally downright rude, Short is not a universally popular choice to run world chess. He is, however, a far preferable candidate than the incumbent.

Ilyumzhinov has been in charge for some 23 years. For much of that period, he was also president of the republic of Kalmykia in Russia. He is close to President Putin, just as he was to Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. His ties to President Assad of Syria led to his being sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department in 2015. FIDE bank accounts are still frozen as a result. He has even claimed to have been abducted by aliens.

Like Sepp Blatter, Ilyumzhinov specialises in courting poor third-world national federations to guarantee their support when election time comes. Both Kasparov and Karpov have previously tried to unseat him and they have been trounced. The Russians were both, in their prime, stronger players than Short. The Englishman now has the chance to prove he is their superior in the murky business of chess machinations and manoeuvrings. He will need all his guile to defeat Ilyumzhinov.
__________________________________________

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Re: the leader in The Times: No mention of Makropoulos and mostly about Ilyumzhinov - not much actually about Short.

Is this in the print edition as well?

[David Robertson]

Re: the leader in The Times: No mention of Makropoulos and mostly about Ilyumzhinov - not much actually about Short. Is this in the print edition as well?

I'm sure it will be in the print edition. No surprise the items are light on detail. Most readers will only support a general interest in the game. Nothing in the 'BTL' yet either