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

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

Poll ended at Tue May 08, 2018 10:47 pm

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
1
2%
Georgios Makropoulos
8
14%
Nigel Short
33
59%
None of the Above
14
25%
 
Total votes: 56

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JustinHorton
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Jun 13, 2018 7:20 pm

"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Roger Lancaster
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Roger Lancaster » Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:02 pm

Michael Farthing wrote:
Wed Jun 13, 2018 2:56 pm

A translation (slightly more accurate than Roger's) might be "Cobblers can only talk cobblers", or more literally and formally "Shoemakers should stick to making judgements only on sandals"
Methinks someone may have had difficulty distinguishing between a translation and a wordplay riposte.

Angus French
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Angus French » Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:48 pm

David Robertson wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:26 pm
Jon Tait wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:53 pm
NickFaulks wrote:
Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:27 pm
Even though Aguinaldo Jaime was a member of the winning ticket four years ago, I know nothing about him
He's mentioned briefly in this document...

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/ ... NAL710.pdf
Good find. It makes alarming reading:

"Dr Aguinaldo Jaime, a senior Angolan government official, was head of Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), the Angolan Central Bank, when he attempted, on two occasions in 2002, to transfer $50 million in state funds to a private account in the United States, only to have the transfers reversed by the U.S. financial institutions involved. Dr. Jaime invoked his authority as BNA Governor to wire transfer the funds to a private bank account during the first attempt and, during the second attempt, to purchase $50 million in U.S. Treasury bills for transfer to a private securities account. Both transfers were initially allowed, then reversed by bank or securities firm personnel who became suspicious of the transactions despite the reputation of the foreign official involved. Partly as a result of those transfers and the corruption concerns they raised, in 2003, Citibank closed not only the accounts it had maintained for BNA, but all other Citibank accounts for Angolan entities." (p. 243. Amplification of this paragraph follows in the subsequent pages, referencing members of the criminally-corrupt arms-dealing, money-laundering Falcone family)

Then there's this:

In 2010, a US senate corruption investigation committee reported that, "Aguinaldo Jaime, who served as the governor of the National Bank of Angola from 1999 to 2002, initiated a series of suspicious $50 million transactions with US banks. For each attempt, the banks, concerned about the likelihood of fraud, ultimately rejected the transfer or returned the money shortly after receiving it. The government could not account for approximately $2.4 billion over the period of Jaime’s three-year tenure as central bank governor.”
On the back of these revelations, Nigel Short laid into Makro on Twitter. See here and here.
Nigel Short on Twitter wrote:A little foretaste of what FIDE can expect from a Makropoulos presidency - his V.P. running mate, Dr. Aguinaldo Jaime, in the cross hairs of the #US Senate and Human Rights Watch (@hrw) corruption investigations https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/ ... NAL710.pdf
Nigel Short on Twitter wrote:Despite 4 years of serving alongside Dr. Aguinaldo Jaime on the @FIDE_chess Board, @makro_chess apparently neither knows the name of his Vice President nor is capable of performing a 2 minute online search as to whether he stands accused of massive corruption by the US Senate.
However, Kevin Spraggett asks whether Nigel has reason to be embarrassed about a connection with Aguinaldo Jaime. Apparently Nigel conveyed an offer to make Mr Jaime a FIDE Vice-President in return for support of Karpov's 2010 Presidential ticket.

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:13 pm

Angus French wrote:
Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:48 pm

However, Kevin Spraggett asks whether Nigel has reason to be embarrassed about a connection with Aguinaldo Jaime. Apparently Nigel conveyed an offer to make Mr Jaime a FIDE Vice-President in return for support of Karpov's 2010 Presidential ticket.
Heh. Spraggett not pulling any punches and not mincing his words.

The blog is titled: 'Wrestling with the Pigs'.

It ends with... oh, I won't spoil it. Go and read it if you haven't already!

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Roger de Coverly » Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:11 am

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:13 pm
Heh. Spraggett not pulling any punches and not mincing his words.
He makes a reasonable point. Being named as a "dubious individual" or equivalent by a committee of the US Congress wasn't considered a problem for the 2010 election. It's topical given the problems Kirsan now has with the US.

As a "third" candidate, Nigel is compromised by his involvement with previous campaigns and the need to appeal to dodgy characters who control voting rights in FIDE elections.

If Malcolm is claiming ethical veto rights over Makro's slate as a condition of participation, it remains to be seen whether the Angolan is dumped.

If Malcolm wants to be FIDE President in 2022, supporting Nigel works equally well if he can persuade Nigel to be a one term President. He wouldn't be explictly on the ticket should that matter.

Perhaps he could lower his sights and aspire to follow Dominic as ECF President. His poor result against "none of the above" in at least one previous ECF election might count against him.

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Michael Farthing
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:46 am

Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:02 pm
Michael Farthing wrote:
Wed Jun 13, 2018 2:56 pm

A translation (slightly more accurate than Roger's) might be "Cobblers can only talk cobblers", or more literally and formally "Shoemakers should stick to making judgements only on sandals"
Methinks someone may have had difficulty distinguishing between a translation and a wordplay riposte.
Oh sorry Roger! It was not my intention at all to disparage your original comment which I greatly enjoyed. Of course I realise that it was not intended as a translation.
Last edited by Michael Farthing on Fri Jun 15, 2018 4:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Roger Lancaster
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Roger Lancaster » Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:03 pm

No problem, Michael - hope it brought to bring a note of levity to the proceedings!

Angus French
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Angus French » Fri Jun 15, 2018 2:32 pm

The Russian Chess Federation has reported that Arkady Dvorkovich will run for the post of FIDE President. (Kevin Spraggett had said yesterday there were rumours Ilyumzhinov's ticket could be replaced by another from the Russian Chess Federation.)

David Robertson

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

Post by David Robertson » Fri Jun 15, 2018 3:20 pm

Angus French wrote:
Fri Jun 15, 2018 2:32 pm
The Russian Chess Federation has reported that Arkady Dvorkovich will run for the post of FIDE President. (Kevin Spraggett had said yesterday there were rumours Ilyumzhinov's ticket could be replaced by another from the Russian Chess Federation.)
This is exceptionally significant, I'd have thought. It will certainly test to destruction my long-held view, often expressed here, that Russia regards FIDE as part of its 'soft power' fiefdom, and will not readily yield that space to others. Puts the Makro camp between a rock and a hard place if this news is confirmed.

And if, as Spraggett alludes, there were to be a stitch-up between the Russians and Makro - putting the band back together again - where would that leave Malcolm Pein and his ambitions for 2022? Answers in a single word, frankly

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

Post by Tim Harding » Fri Jun 15, 2018 4:35 pm

David Robertson wrote:
Fri Jun 15, 2018 3:20 pm
...
And if, as Spraggett alludes, there were to be a stitch-up between the Russians and Makro - putting the band back together again - where would that leave Malcolm Pein and his ambitions for 2022? Answers in a single word, frankly
Toast ?
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Mick Norris
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Mick Norris » Fri Jun 15, 2018 4:50 pm

Angus French wrote:
Fri Jun 15, 2018 2:32 pm
The Russian Chess Federation has reported that Arkady Dvorkovich will run for the post of FIDE President. (Kevin Spraggett had said yesterday there were rumours Ilyumzhinov's ticket could be replaced by another from the Russian Chess Federation.)
Good spot, Angus

The closer we get to the 3 July deadline, the more interesting this gets; might need to start a new poll :shock:
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David Sedgwick
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by David Sedgwick » Fri Jun 15, 2018 5:26 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Fri Jun 15, 2018 4:50 pm
The closer we get to the 3 July deadline, the more interesting this gets; might need to start a new poll :shock:
As things are currently so fluid, I suggest that we start a new poll on Wednesday 4th July, when we know the actual composition of the tickets.

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

Post by Stewart Reuben » Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:33 pm

Sedgwick >As things are currently so fluid, I suggest that we start a new poll on Wednesday 4th July, when we know the actual composition of the tickets.<
1994, 1995 and 1996 they were all changed at the actual congress.

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

Post by NickFaulks » Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:12 pm

Stewart Reuben wrote:
Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:33 pm
1994, 1995 and 1996 they were all changed at the actual congress.
The Statutes were rewritten in 2012 to disallow that sort of thing. They are of course not invariably observed, but in this case I think the other side could make a successful challenge.
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Stewart Reuben
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Re: Which Candidate Should the ECF Support in the FIDE Presidential Election?

Post by Stewart Reuben » Fri Jun 15, 2018 10:33 pm

They were against the statutes in all three years mentioned.
Kevin O'Connell once said to me, 'Council always have the power to overturn any statute. ' He found it amusing I would think otherwise.
They have also been flouted concerning the Laws of Chess.