Chess Infidelity!
By Bessel Kok, Candidate for FIDE President
Nobody likes to vote for a loser: thus nothing is more important, when conducting
a political campaign, than giving the impression of strength.
When Ali Nihat Yazici and I, announced
the launch of The Right Move
back in November 2005, the FIDE incumbents reacted with a typical cocktail
of arrogance, apathy and ignorance. Deputy President Makropoulos, kindly rang
up his Turkish counterpart to inform him “We will f*** you.” That
delicate expression neatly encapsulated their “strategy” over the
following months. They had no programs, no principles and no website and the
situation is hardly different today, six months later.
Candidates for Vice President and President of FIDE Ali Nihat Yazici, Bessel
Kok
We, on the other hand, knew, from talking to Federations, large and small,
from all over the world, that dissatisfaction with the current regime was immense.
Time and time again we heard that the same people had been too long in office,
that in eleven long years they had totally failed to obtain any meaningful
corporate sponsorship, that what money Kirsan had brought into the game has
been mismanaged and has since all but dried up, that rules were not upheld,
that various key supporters were corrupt, and that desperately change had to
come.
As a result, the chess world has been losing out on opportunities to grow
thanks to an unimaginative and stagnant leadership. Makropoulos himself publicly
acknowledged at a meeting in Birmingham that FIDE had a very serious image
problem.
Given this widespread, simmering discontent, we decided to show to the world
our strength. Not all of our strength, by any means, just some of it. We knew
that we had the tacit support of a very large number of federations. We just
asked the hardcore – our overt supporters – those Federations who
were courageous enough not to fear the inevitable reprisals, who put principles
above perks, to publicly endorse The Right Move.
They came one by one. We have started to rebuild a democratic FIDE family
where people are not afraid to express their opinions and where communication
is open, honest and transparent.
Meetings had to be convened by Federations, arguments had to be heard, boards
had to make their decisions, but in came the support, from all over the world.
Those listed federations, and there are 39 of them as I write, are but the
tip of a giant iceberg: literally dozens of other federations have already
decided to support us, but prefer not to publicly disclose their intentions.
Finally the current regime woke up to the fact they were staring heavy defeat
in the face. Belatedly they cobbled together a website [Chess
Fidelity]. Outrageously they announced the support of 40 “supporting
federations”.
Here was the biggest, ugliest lie. Kirsan’s lackeys knew very well they
did not have anything like the endorsement of 40 Federations. It was propaganda
of the most brazen Soviet kind. Joseph Stalin would have been proud.
That the alleged support of 40 Federations was bogus and fraudulent in the
extreme could be easily be judged by the contents of the list. Every member
of the Arab Chess Federation was to be found on the list. Was it really likely
that the entire Arab world would be rushing to support Chess Fidelity? The
flimsy justification of this most implausible assertion was that one man –
Ibrahim Al Bannai – had offered his support. This same man, in a later
letter, had to admit that The Right Move had an excellent program
compared to Chess Fidelity.
Unsurprisingly, a large number of these Arab Federations are extremely annoyed.
Two of them – Palestine and Tunisia – lodged official complaints
and, after delays, were removed from this list. Both openly endorse The
Right Move. Alas, the Arab deception is by no means the only one: from
all four FIDE continents we hear countless complaints from Federations that
have been placed on the list without their permission. Some countries have
not even yet decided.
In some cases, an individual has given his “endorsement” (sometimes
a hasty few words mumbled on the telephone), but without the approval of his
board – the most embarrassing example of which is Boris Kutin (the same
man who suggested to me in Dresden to become The Right Move candidate
for President!), who as a ECU President gave his approval without any backing
of his entire Board.
In short, there is a massive qualitative difference between the rock solid
Right Move endorsements and the bogus claims of Chess Infidelity. The two are
as different as chalk and cheese and should not be compared.
With our overt and covert supporters we will enter Turin within comfortable
striking distance of an absolute majority. The time for change has come and
it will happen now.
Bessel Kok
Candidate for FIDE President
Controversies in the Kirsan campaign
The European Chess Union has released the following statement:
“The ECU Board met on 27 April in Vienna related with the support
letter of ECU President Boris Kutin to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, signed on 15 April
2006. The Board expressly disagree with signing it as ECU President. This
matter has not been first discussed within the Board. Mr. Kutin’s signature
only represents his personal opinion.”
Given that Mr Kutin had been expressing his sympathy for Right Move
for the last few months, to various members of the campaign team of Bessel
Kok, the statement signed by Boris Kutin came out of the blue and was considered
as quite under-handed. He has also signed the above resolution disassociating
the ECU from any support of the current FIDE President.
Taking all this into consideration, TRM has decided to give its full support
to Mr Javier Ochoa de Echaguen, the President of the Spanish Chess Federation,
who is running for Continental President in Torino 2006. Javier is currently
also a Vice President of the European Chess Union and he is also an International
Master and a strong chess player.
The ECU board informed
the Right Move team that following this meeting, it was confirmed by some
of the Board members present that Boris Kutin stated that he was not conscious
of the contents of the paper he had been requested to sign by the current incumbents
running FIDE during the Presidential Board in Al Ain.
Meanwhile FIDE Rating Administrator and Webmaster Casto Abundo, who works in
the Elista office of FIDE, recently came under the attack of his chess federation
after he had announced the Philippines Federation's support for the Chess Fidelity
/ Kirsan Ilyumzhinov ticket. The following article appeared in the newspaper
Tempo (excerpts):
Seven members of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines said said
that they were not consulted and, as a result, a former provincial governor
and serving NCFP board member, Raul Molintas, has called a special board
meeting to tackle the issue.
"I was surprised to read in the website of Chess Fidelity that our
delegate to FIDE, Director Casto Abundo, has committed the vote of NCFP in
favor of FIDE President Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. I was even shocked to read
that the commitment is allegedly with the support of the majority of the
Board of Directors of the NCFP." Molintas was referring to a letter
made by Abundo on April 15 committing the NCFP’s vote to Ilyumzhinov
after claiming to have consulted with Pichay and majority of the NCFP board.
"Based on newspaper accounts, at least seven members of the board
said that they were not consulted. In fact, they have misgivings in supporting
the administration of Mr. Ilyumzhinov due to the alleged shabby treatment
the NCFP got during his tenure," Molintas said.
Incoming NCFP executive-director Sammy Estimo, one of seven directors pushing
for a collective vote, said Abundo’s action is regrettable. "Mr.
Abundo must be made to explain. Otherwise, we would be constrained to act
against him," said Estimo. Abundo, who barely won a seat in the 15-man
board, was removed as FIDE delegate last year for his failure to look after
the interest of the NCFP.
His reappointment as the country’s FIDE delegate raised not a few
brows, considering his poor record, particularly in the case of Grandmaster
Mark Paragua. Paragua, the country’s top-ranked player, was made to
wait for over a year before being conferred the GM title. "Mr. Abundo
did not only lift a finger to help Paragua, he was also part of the problem,"
said Estimo. A member of the powerful rating and title committee, Abundo
was in a position to intercede in behalf of Paragua, but he did not, according
to Estimo.
In a follow-up article Tempo reported that NCFP president Prospero Pichay
had agreed to such a meeting:
Sammy Estimo, the incoming NCFP executive-director, said Abundo faces sanctions,
including losing his temporary appointment as FIDE delegate. "Mr. Abundo
has shown his bias for Ilyumzhinov. It is highly unlikely that he would vote
for another candidate if and when the board decides to support Kok,"
said Estimo.
Estimo, who will captain the men’s team in Turin, is campaigning
openly for Kok, saying he’s the best man for the job. "The current
FIDE leadership has treated the Philippines shabbily in the past. Some of
our players have been barred from competing overseas. We have been de-listed
from the world ratings not a few times," said Estimo. "The reign
of terror and repression at FIDE must come to an end," said Estimo,
who at one point became a victim of FIDE’s dirty tactics.
Aside from Molintas and Estimo, the other directors pushing for a board
action on the FIDE elections are NCFP vice-president Ed Madrid, businessman
Jess Torre, retired general Art Carillo, Dr. Jenny Mayor and former NCFP
president Go Teng Kok.
