Karpov Campaign demands to see Ilyumzhinov ticket's documents
On Tuesday we
published details of the Presidential tickets for the FIDE elections, to
be held in Khanty Mansiysk in September this year. The information appeared
on the FIDE
web site and on the One
World One Vision campaign site of the Ilyumzhinov ticket. On these pages
the following lists were given:
I. Presidential ticket of Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov:
- President - Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov nominated by Russia, Argentina and
Mexico,
- Deputy President - Mr. Georgios Makropoulos nominated by Greece,
- Vice President - Mr. Lewis Ncube nominated by Zambia,
- Vice President - Mrs. Beatriz Marinello nominated by Chile and Brazil,
- General Secretary - Mr. Ignatius Leong nominated by Singapore,
- Treasurer - Mr. Nigel Freeman nominated by Bermuda.
II. Presidential ticket of Mr. Anatoly Karpov:
- President - Mr. Anatoly Karpov nominated by France, Germany and Switzerland,
- Deputy President - Mr. Richard Conn Jr nominated by USA,
- Vice President - Dr. Aguinaldo Jaime nominated by Angola,
- Vice President - Prof. Dr. Alisa Maric nominated by Serbia,
- General Secretary - Mr. Abd Hamid Majid nominated by Malaysia,
- Treasurer - Mr. Viktor Kapustin nominated by Ukraine.
The documents for the Karpov ticket had been submitted to the FIDE office –
by the world's highest-rated courier, GM Nigel Short – just in time to
meet the stringent FIDE deadline of midnight on June 28, 2010. The material
was thoroughly checked by the FIDE office bearers. After that the Karpov campaign
requested that they in turn be allowed to examine the Ilyumzhinov ticket's paperwork.
According to them the request was rejected.
Now the giant international law firm White
& Case (over 2,000 lawyers in 25 countries with more than 4,800 staff)
has taken up the battle and sent a letter from to to FIDE Executive Director
David Jarrett, detailing what they claim are false statements by the Ilyumzhinov
campaign and demanding to see evidence that all of the Ilyumzhinov ticket's
paperwork is in order. You can read the five-page letter, plus appendices, in
PDF here.
The White & Case letter demands:
-
that FIDE "provide us by close of business on Tuesday, July 6 with
copies of the documentation supporting Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s nomination
by Argentina and Mexico, Mrs. Beatriz Marinello’s nomination by Chile
and Brazil";
-
proof of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's alleged nomination by the Russian Chess Federation
and the method by which this had been achieved;
- that FIDE immediately remove the one-sided statements regarding the Russian
Chess Federation’s nomination from their website, "as these statements
provide an incorrect and biased picture that hurts our client’s campaign."
The White & Case letter concludes that there is a serious question as to
whether Mr. Ilyumzhinov has been a member of the Mexico or Argentina federation,
and Ms. Marinello of the Chile and Brazil federations, for at least one year
before the General Assembly (as the election rules require), and whether Mr
Ilyumzhinov has been actually nominated by any recognized procedure by the Russian
Chess Federation.
The Karpov election campaign, which has published reams of documents supporting
its own bid (you can download three MB of PDF here),
concludes:
"Legal action is a step we will take with regret, but we have no choice
if Ilyumzhinov and his campaign continue to publish misleading statements
and if his administration continues to abuse the power of the incumbency to
delegitimize the election process. FIDE has rules and Ilyumzhinov is not above
them. They must provide evidence of the legitimacy of their candidacy, and
this legitimacy cannot be bestowed by the candidates themselves."
On a side issue it appears there may be difficulties for the Karpov campaign
team to book hotel rooms in Khanty Mansiyk for the duration of the election.
The second last paragraph of the White & Case letter provides details.
ChessBase reports on the 2010 FIDE Elections
| 
|
Karpov on his FIDE presidential campaign
13.03.2010 – Yesterday the twelfth World
Champion Anatoly Karpov announced that he was running for FIDE President.
Today he addressed the extraordinary meeting of the European Chess Union
(ECU), which was meeting during the European Individual Championship
in Rijeka. Karpov had hash words for the current FIDE leadership and
outlined his own program for change in FIDE. Video
interview by Europe Echecs. |
| 
|
Karpov to run for FIDE President
13.03.2010 – Fifteen years ago Kirsan Nikolayevich
Ilyumzhinov was elected President of the World Chess Organisation. At
the next election during the General Assembly of the FIDE Congress,
which will be held during the 39th Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk in September
this year, he faces a challenge by former World Champion Anatoly Karpov.
Press
release. |
| 
|
Video report: Yazici and Danailov running for ECU
President
14.03.2010 – So far two candidates have declared
their intention to run for President of the European Chess Union: the
President of the Turkish Chess Federation Ali Nihat Yazici, and the
Bulgarian IM and manager Silvio Danailov. GM Robert Fontaine from Europe
Echecs spoke to both candidates. Danailov also revealed that at the
World Championship match against Anand Topalov
will not accept or offer draws. |
| 
|
FIDE Elections: Turkish Chess Federation supports
Ilyumzhinov
25.03.2010 – During the 39th Chess Olympiad,
which takes place in September in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, the elections
for FIDE President will be held. Two candidates are running: the incumbent
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov seeking reelection, and a challenger, the twelfth
World Champion Anatoly Karpov. The Turkish Chess Federation has announced
its support for the former. Press
release. |
| 
|
FIDE Elections: Support for Ilyumzhinov
26.03.2010 – Two days ago we published a
statement by the Turkish Chess Federation supporting the candidacy of
the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is seeking re-election,
during the General Assembly in Khanty-Mansiysk this September, for the
term 2010-2014. Four FIDE Continental Presidents have joined the TCF
in declaring support for the incumbent. Public
statements. |
| 
|
German Chess Federation nominates Karpov for FIDE
Presidency
12.04.2010 – One month ago Anatoly Karpov
announced his candidacy for President of the World Chess Federation
(elections in September). The former World Champion was nominated by
the French and Swiss Federations. Now the President of the German Chess
Federation, Robert von Weizsäcker, has come forward with a nomination
and unanimous support. Press
release and information. |
|
|
FIDE Elections: Karpov's mission statement
15.04.2010 – "After a lifetime dedicated
to playing and promoting the game of chess, 12th World Champion Anatoly
Karpov is running for the office of President of the International Chess
Federation." This is the beginning of a formal announcement, released
by Karpov's New York campaign headquarters. It outlines the main goals
and themes of the campaign and is available in Russian,
English and Spanish. |
| 
|
Russian Chess Fed nominates Ilyumzhinov – sort of
22.04.2010 – A candidate for FIDE Presidency
needs the nomination of his Federation, and the Russian Chess Federation
has announced its support for the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Does
that end rival Anatoly Karpov's chances for the post, as one commentator
suggests? Not quite. The nomination appears to have conditions, and
Karpov has struck back with a fighting statement on his new
campaign site. |
| 
|
David Kaplan's revolution in chess
04.05.2010 – 200-300 million people play
chess, one million in a professional environment – but the interest
is not increasing. David Kaplan, CEO for Development in FIDE, wants
to change that, amongst other things with $64 million as prizes for
online chess. If he doesn't succeed in rebranding chess in the next
five years, the Israeli business tycoon says, no one will for the next
fifty. Interview. |
| 
|
FIDE Election: Yazici to Karpov – show me the facts
06.05.2010 – Recently Anatoly Karpov, candidate
for the Presidency of FIDE, suggested that the incumbent President had
yet to receive official support from any major chess federation. Wrong,
says Ali Nihat Yazici, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov had received support from
his, the Turkish Chess Federation. Meanwhile Ilyumzhinov has moved into
the international news spotlight with a story
of alien abduction. |
| 
|
FIDE Elections: the match for FIDE President heats
up
08.05.2010 – After publishing an interview
with FIDE’s Development CEO David Kaplan, we were contacted by Karpov’s
campaign headquarters in New York. They responded to some of Kaplan’s
statements and presented the case for change in FIDE. They are also
preparing a fundraiser in New York with two former world champions and
a near certain future one. Can
you guess who? |
|
|
Breaking news: Karpov nominated by Russian Chess
Federation
14.05.2010 – Three weeks ago the chairman
of the supervisory board of RCF, Arkady Dvorkovich, stated that the
Federation had nominated incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as its candidate
for FIDE presidency. A quick response by rival Anatoly Karpov said this
was a unilateral decision by an Ilyumzhinov ally, not the formal vote
that was required. That took place today and nominated Karpov. Details.
|
|
|
Ilyumzhinov: 'I will run for FIDE President once
again'
16.05.2010 – On Friday we
reported that the Russian Chess Federation had nominated Anatoly
Karpov as its candidate for FIDE Presidency by a quorum vote of 17/32.
The incumbent, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said that this "decision" was shrouded
in clear deceit – "it makes a mockery of Karpov and his team, who believe
they are capable of running a future FIDE." Open
letter. |
| 
|
Big Karpov fund-raiser in New York
18.05.2010 – Karpov, Kasparov and Carlsen
– two former and one very likely future world champion – took part in
a launch party and fundraiser in the spectacular Trump SoHo Hotel in
New York. It is for Karpov's bid to become President of FIDE. There
were chess games as well as entertainment and champagne, which introduced
a slight complication in the festivities. Pictures
and video. |
| 
|
Fundraiser in New York – echo in the press
19.05.2010 – A one-night binge in the Trump
SoHo Hotel brought chess into the highlights of the international press.
Karpov, Kasparov and Carlsen [memo: he must change that to
Karlsen!] generated a large number of international reports, almost
outshining the World Chess Championship in Sofia. Not unexpectedly the
stories reflect the challenger's side of the ticket. Press
links. |
| 
|
Breaking news: Kremlin seizes Russian Chess Federation
21.05.2010 – Last week the RCF nominated
Anatoly Karpov as their candidate for the Presidency of FIDE. This was
verbally contested by the supporters of incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Today black suited men from the private security firm “Peper” arrived
at the Federation’s offices, kicked out the regular security guards
and sealed off some rooms in the building. Report
in True/Slant + Karpov's reaction.
|
|
|
Election news: Yazici on the attack
22.05.2010 – The battle for FIDE presidency
is getting more vicious. Leading the battle on the side of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
is the President of the Turkish Chess Federation, Ali Nihat Yazici,
who has published a number of pieces on the TCF web site against challenger
Anatoly Karpov. In his latest piece Yazici states his reasons for switching
from opponent to friend and ally of the incumbent President. Excerpts
and links. |
| 
|
'FIDE – An Inglorious Inventory'
26.05.2010 – Any idea which are the most
active chess playing countries in the world? Did you know that 43,000
people in the world have a 2000+ rating, while around the same number
are rated below that mark? The top seven countries have the same number
of players as the remaining 136 members of FIDE? The French Chess Federation's
Léo Battesti presents us with some eye-opening
statistics. |
| 
|
FIDE Elections: Campaign sites and international
news
29.05.2010 – It's been many days since we
last touched on the subject – the upcoming election to FIDE President,
which pits the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov against challenger Anatoly
Karpov. The latter has had a campaign site in operation for a while
now, Ilyumzhinov has launched his own under the name One FIDE. Meanwhile
international press organs are having a field day. Links
and excerpts. |
|
|
Electoral Ticket of FIDE President
07.06.2010 – "I am pleased to announce our
electoral ticket for the upcoming FIDE elections in Khanty-Mansiysk,"
writes the incumbent President. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov lists the achievements
of his presidency, his plans for the future and the six-member team
of his electoral ticket. In addition the campaign has published a list
of 35 federations that they say are supporting the re-election
bid.
|
| 
|
Interview with Ilyumzhinov, letter from FIDE
10.06.2010 – The Russian newspaper Gazeta
has published an indepth interview with FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov,
who says that he is suing rival Anatoly Karpov – but would shake his
hand. And more remarkably assures us that he is "not an agent of any
extraterrestrial intelligence." We also received a letter from FIDE
Deputy President Makropoulos on the support Ilyumzhinov has received.
Long
read. |
| 
|
Robert von Weizsaecker's Team for ECU Leadership
12.06.2010 – "For a Brighter Future" is the
campaign slogan, the mission statement includes the fair allocation
of tournaments, transparency, sustainable sponsorship, chess in schools
and on the Internet. The German Chess Federation President, Prof. Robert
von Weizsäcker (pronounced "fon why-tsecker"), is running for the European
Union presidency, with a team of four grandmasters. Details. |
| 
|
Karpov releases platform, ticket to be announced
16.06.2010 – It's been a few days since we
looked in at the race for the FIDE presidency. Ilyumzhinov already announced
his ticket and platform, now it's Anatoly Karpov's turn. Eight pages
of policy includes finances, federalism, and, of course, the World Championship.
He's also made known almost all of his ticket and we're sure you'll
recognize the
latest addition. |
| 
|
Candidates for the forthcoming FIDE elections
29.06.2010 – The applications had to be in
by June 28th, and two candidates met the deadline: the incumbent FIDE
President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, nominated by Russia, Argentina and Mexico;
and challenger Anatoly Karpov, nominated by France, Germany and Switzerland.
On Tuesday FIDE published the list of candidates for Continental Presidents
as well. Announcement. |
| 
|
Karpov Announces FIDE Presidential Ticket
30.06.2010 – Three weeks ago we
reported on the electoral ticket of the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Today we received details on challenger Anatoly Karpov's ticket. "I think
everyone will agree that we have put together a very talented team," he
wrote. In fact the paperwork was submitted to the Athens office of FIDE
by what must be the strongest
courier in chess history. |
