Karpov turns the screw on Ilyumzhinov

Home » Chess News » Politics » FIDE Presidential Elections 2010 » Karpov turns the screw on Ilyumzhinov

Russian FIDE Nomination goes to Karpov (Reversal)

Karpov turns the screw on Ilyumzhinov

Mark Crowther - Friday 14th May 2010

Robert von Weizsaecker nominates Karpov on behalf of the German Chess Federation. Photo ©

Robert von Weizsaecker nominates Karpov on behalf of the German Chess Federation. Photo © | http://www.karpov2010.org

The Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation met on May 14th 2010. 17 of the 32 delegates voted to propose Anatoly Karpov as their Candidate for FIDE President. This reverses an announcement made by Arkady Dvorkovich in April.

However shortly afterwards Dvorkovich said that the meeting was illegitimate. Another meeting is to be called on May 20th when this might get settled. It clearly still isn't at the moment.

Karpov immediately said that the decision as to whether to nominate him or sitting President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov couldn't be taken until the May 14th meeting of the Supervisory Board. Ilyumzhinov had been claiming that his nomination with FIDE was already submitted to FIDE. Where this announcement leaves that claim is anyone's guess. (Seems to confirm the belief that the nomination has been submitted already although with an admission of its controversial status)

Neither Dvorkovich nor Ilyumzhinov were at today's meeting. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1370068. This looks like a try to invalidate the vote. Ilyumzhinov wasn't in the city but Dvorkovich tried to have the venue changed to a Bank run by an Ilyumzhinov supporter and left when it appeared he couldn't win.

According to this report http://www.mk.ru/sport/article/2010/05/14/488688-shahmatnyie-strasti-na-gogolevskom-bulvare.html:

Initially, supporters of the current head of FIDE president of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov attempted to postpone the meeting to another room, the Arcade. However, representatives of the federation still gathered there, where it was originally planned - in the chess club on Gogol Boulevard.

One of the competitors Ilyumzhinov, 12th world chess champion Anatoly Karpov on the eve of the meeting said Russia was represented by chairman of the supervisory board of RCF was trying to make it appear as though the only real candidate for the presidency of FIDE - Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

Now the question I was asking about Karpov after it seemed that the Russians were nominating Ilyumzhinov has been reversed. Under the rules, how will Ilyumzhinov even be able to stand? I don't believe he can submit his name to go forward without the Russian Chess Federation Nomination. Although the rules are written in such a way that it maybe possible to get on an established ticket after the nominations are in.

Another way I understand is that using the Presidential board has sufficient powers to nominate Ilyumzhinov, or think they have.

1.2 Nominations for the Presidential ticket and Continental Presidents must reach the FIDE Secretariat at least three months before the opening of the General Assembly. 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.

However it is entirely possible both candidates will battle the validity of this vote by the Russian Supervisory Board in some other forum too (Russian Courts, maybe the Lausanne Court for Arbitration in Sport). In fact I would be astonished if this was the last word on the matter.

(And indeed it wasn't. He spoke to the Ekho Moskvy Radio Station and basically repudiated the whole meeting. http://www.echo.msk.ru/news/679815-echo.html

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich called illegitimate decision Chess Federation to nominate Anatoly Karpov in the FIDE President.

As he told the radio station Ekho Moskvy, the meeting of the Supervisory Board can not take place because it can collect only the chairman, that is myself And Dvorkovich that today there is not present.

"I have today convened at 17 o'clock in the chess room supervisory board. Unfortunately, a sufficient number of members for a quorum is not assembled, so the supervisory board today did not take place" - said A. Dvorkovich.

He added: "We had information that several members of the supervisory board meeting today on Gogol (Boulevard, in the Central House of chess - EM) and also held discussions on a number of issues, including issues related to candidates for the presidency of FIDE. Our colleagues between a vote for a particular decision (to nominate A. Karpov - EM). A. Dvorkovich said that the two meetings of the Supervisory Board are not legitimate, since in both cases the number of board members was insufficient for decision making.

Speaking about the causes of two meetings of the Supervisory Board at different places, A. Dvorkovich said: "In some people had dual information, which was due to failure of my decisions as chairman of the supervisory board, from my colleagues. I hope that this situation happens in the last times and we can work constructively, otherwise Russian chess federation simply could not perform its functions.

He stressed that while none of the candidates for the presidency of FIDE "can not say that he definitely will win. It's premature.

However, he added A. Dvorkovich if Anatoly Karpov decides to nominate for the post from the other national federations, "I'm in no event will not object, and will urge his colleagues not to oppose this nomination."

What is clear is that Karpov is now right back in the battle, if he hasn't even taken a decisive lead.

Karpov has nominations from Germany, France, Spain and recently England. Now Russia, the most important in my view gives him a big hand.

In a separate announcement Ignatius Leong has said he will be standing down as General Secretary after the next elections.

I have the reputation as a cynic, but I think it right to be cynical about FIDE. All sorts of things happen at FIDE Congresses that I don't understand at all, I used to think they put something in the water. I took the bother of looking up the following quote which I leave you with.

"I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how."

Attributed to Stalin in the Memoirs of his former secretary Boris Bazhanov.