Kasparov vs Ilyumzhinov: the FIDE Presidency battle begins

[Chris Rice]

Susan doesn't make it clear in the interview that they are husband and wife.

I had assumed that the article was something that had happened in the last few weeks. Its only when I went back to check on Susan Polgar's site that I found she had annotated it to update the the original article in Chess Cafe published 11 years ago in 2003 and three years before the two got married.

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.ae/

[Kevin Thurlow]

The Truong story certainly sounds incredible.

[Stewart Reuben]

I did meet chessplaying Vietnamese boat children in England who said they remember walking to escape and seeing people strung up on trees. What is truly remarkable is the recovery of Vietnam from this disastrous period.

[Chris Rice]

Well whoever they are the 'Chess News Agency' are at it again quoting "sources close to Mr. Ilyumzhinov":

"Garry Kasparov, who is running for the Presidency of the International Chess Federation, is rapidly losing support. In the most recent development, he was denied support by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a country that for the obvious reasons was widely seen as an easy and natural win for the 13th World Chess Champion.

In all fairness, Kasparov and his team have done a lot to secure the vote of the country whose residents voted in 2012 to make Puerto Rico the 51st US state. For example, according to first-hand witnesses, Kasparov interrupted his campaign tour of Africa and urgently flew from Gabon to San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, once he found that his opponent in the FIDE Presidential race Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was there.

Kasparov arrived in San Juan in time for a General Assembly meeting of the National Chess Federation, during which the members of the Federation were to make the choice: which of the FIDE Presidential candidate to support in the upcoming election in Tromsø. The result: 66 – 42 for the incumbent FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – a bitter defeat for Kasparov.

According to witnesses, the news of his defeat in Puerto Rico came as a harsh blow to the 13th World Chess Champion, who left the room in an extremely upset state, slamming the door behind him. This appeared extremely disrespectful, and even those who doubted the decision [to support his opponent] were convinced that the National Federation had made the right choice. Kasparov was clearly convinced that he would win by his customary drive and aggression. However, apparently, that was not enough to outweigh all the good things incumbent President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has done for the development of chess in the region.

This was not the first time the great chess player made a display of such a bad behavior. As we reported previously, after finding out that the Tunisian Chess Federation is going to support incumbent FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in the upcoming election, Garry Kasparov was attempting to force the Tunisian Chess Federation to change its decision. Furthermore, Garry Kasparov refused an audience with the Tunisian Interim President. The explanation was that the President had received Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a competing candidate for FIDE Presidency, the day before. That kind of behavior is seen as insulting and unacceptable in the [Middle] East, according to the President of the African Chess Confederation Mr. Mazouz. The renowned World Champion did not spare European nations his scandalous behavior either. In a particularly egregious example, Garry Kasparov was inappropriately arrogant and even simply rude during his visit to Ireland, according to representatives of the Irish Chess Union.

It would appear that, while the 13th World Champion is behaving like a spoiled child, stomping his feet and displaying not the best side of his character, the incumbent FIDE President’s campaign is bearing real fruit. For example, information came through the other day that Ilyumzhinov was ahead of his opponent by a factor of 2.5. The 2014 FIDE Presidential campaign is working out well for Kirsan Ilyumzhinov also because the nations which previously had no intention of supporting the incumbent FIDE President are changing their stance. The developments in Puerto Rico are a sign of this.

Sources close to Mr. Ilyumzhinov have clarified that his recent visits of Jamaica, Ireland, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein were characterized by a very constructive, warm, and friendly atmosphere. “The wisdom of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is manifested in the fact that during his meetings, he is not campaigning, but rather discussing operating issues and trying to find a working solution,” is the consensus opinion of participants in the recent meetings involving the incumbent FIDE President."

http://chessnewsagency.com/#/kirsan-ily ... n-country/

[Stewart Reuben]

I was in Liechtenstein during the visit of Kirsan. He made a good speech in English to the players. His meeting with the President of the federation looked cordial from afar.
Azmay was at the Opening Ceremony. He introduced Nona who played and won the Seniors in which I participated. Willy Iclicki, an old friend, was also around.
Nobody from the Kasparov camp came. That seems odd. Most western European federations are anti Kirsan.
The Puerto Rica vote seems odd, if that report is correct. South America usually backs Kirsan, but PR is different and more likely to be like the USA.

[David Sedgwick]

For Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's view of his recent visit to Ireland:

http://fidefirst.com/?p=2385

and for a rather different view:

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/edu ... 19632.html

[Roger de Coverly]

and for a rather different view:

That's a very hostile article from someone who is presumably a mainstream Irish journalist and I suppose will represent how Kirsan and by implication chess itself can be viewed by the general public.

[NickFaulks]

That's a very hostile article from someone who is presumably a mainstream Irish journalist and I suppose will represent how Kirsan and by implication chess itself can be viewed by the general public.

Yes, but clearly written from archive material. I'd like to know what happened last week in Ireland.

[Roger de Coverly]

Yes, but clearly written from archive material.

The article reads as if it was an actual interview and that some of the material is a direct quote.

Speaking exclusively to Sunday Independent on his first visit to Ireland, Mr Ilyumzhinov said he hoped to make chess a mandatory subject in Irish schools.

and

He also claims he discussed chess when he was abducted by aliens in 1997. "I believe chess comes from another civilisation," he insisted.

It may not occur to someone from a landlocked part of West Russia, but a plausible theory for the dissemination of chess round the world is that it was spread by the sailing ships of Western Europe, not least the British ones and that repeatedly crediting it to aliens just makes him and by extension chess or chess players a laughing stock.

I'd like to know what happened last week in Ireland.

It's in David Sedgwick's other link. Essentially a presentation of FIDE's version of Chess in Schools to the Irish Chess Union. The relevant Government Minister pleaded elections, presumably Irish ones rather than FIDE's, the Irish Olympic Committee were nowhere to be seen, presumably as like the UK, chess isn't classified as a sport. The Russian diplomatic service seem to have been absent as well. I doubt then that the Irish visit will make the main FIDE site.

[David Sedgwick]

I doubt then that the Irish visit will make the main FIDE site.

Wrong!

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

[NickFaulks]

I doubt then that the Irish visit will make the main FIDE site.

Wrong!

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

No surprise that Chess in Schools is well received in Ireland, with Kevin O'Connell being the driving force - even though it's always Ali who gets his photo everywhere.

[Chris Rice]

This election campaign is turning nastier and nastier.

First we have Kasparov's allegations. Proclaiming at the Norway tournament through a ChessBase article that Kirsan effectively paid a $50,000 bribe to the Tunisians. http://en.chessbase.com/post/kasparov-a ... norway-1-2

Then we find out that Kirsan has written to the President of Singapore wanting Leong investigated on criminal charges of corruption. http://fidefirst.com/?p=2568

[benedgell]

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: “It is my duty as the chief executive of the International Chess Federation to initiate an investigation into these facts. By committing acts of corruption, Kasparov and his closest allies have violated not only the ethical and moral standards, they have overstepped the boundaries of the law. These actions should not be left unpunished,”

“FIDE is not a bag of votes, and this kind of rules of the game that Kasparov and Leong are trying to impose on Federation members are unacceptable and should be stopped harshly. We will make every effort to keep the crystal clear reputation of our organization, and therefore, when FIDE member federations came to me with reports of these facts of corruption, I was forced to submit relevant requests to law enforcement authorities to initiate the investigations.”

Completely shameless hypocrisy.

[Roger de Coverly]

Completely shameless hypocrisy.

Given the numerous stories over the years about the methods used to secure votes for the current FIDE President, I would have thought it dangerous to let investigators take a closed look. The amounts involved in chess are many times smaller, but the leadership of FIFA is now being embarrassed by the revelations being made public.

[JustinHorton]

Completely shameless hypocrisy.

Shameless hypocrisy has been a feature of both sides (and many of their supporters) in this morally nauseous election campaign.