
Five years of the ACP: results and development
By ACP Secretary Olena Boytsun
In 2009 the Association of Chess Professionals, which was registered on September
2003 in Paris, France, celebrates its five year anniversary. The first ACP Board
started working as of 01.01.2004. Five years is long enough to draw some conclusions
from the activities, and to develop directions for the years to come.
The ACP is a not-for-profit international organization that unites chess players,
organizers, journalists and arbiters. The main aims of the organization are
the protection of the rights of chess professionals and the promotion of the
game of chess in the world. There are currently 250 members from 44 countries.
208 of them are male, and the percentage of female members amounts to 17%. The
countries most represented are Russia, Ukraine, Germany, USA.

First ACP
Board meeting on January 16 2004 in Wijk aan Zee
The ACP has organized eight tournaments with an overall prize fund of more
than EUR 400,000. The Association developed and implemented the system of the
ACP Tour: the most important chess events are united in an annual cycle. Chess
players, who take part in tournaments, receive points according to a special
system of rating calculation. Thus, the rating of a chess player depends on
his results during the season only.
The Fifth ACP Tour 2008-2009 and the Second ACP Women Series 2008-2009 ended
together with the World Open on July 6th 2009. The winner of the season was
Levon Aronian (Armenia), who gathered 2799 ACP points out of only seven tournaments.
Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia) and the last-year winner Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)
finished second and third, with 2519 points and 2447 points respectively. The
final standings can be found here.
70-80 tournaments are counted in the ACP Tour annually, 475 tournaments and
15 team events have been calculated overall.
At the end of the season the best players receive the right to take part in
the final event of the ACP Tour – the ACP World Cup. The following grandmasters
were the winners of the ACP World Cup:
2007 – Peter Leko (Hungary)
2008 – Teimur Radjabov (Azerbajdzhan)
2009 – Boris Gelfand (Israel)

Peter Leko, winner of the ACP World Cup 2007
The current ACP
Champion Boris Gelfand answered some questions about the organization:
You took part at all three ACP World Cups. What is your overall impression
of the events, what were the differences among tournaments in different years?
I have a good impression of all events. In the past the ACP Cup was organized
in the legendary hotel “Londonskaya” in January, and this year it
was in May, and in the different playing hall in Odessa, Ukraine. But I enjoyed
playing in all three tournaments. I hope that the tradition of the tournament
will be continued.
Why did you decide to become a member of the ACP?
My opinion was that the organization could be a good platform for discussion
of important questions of the chess life and serve as some kind of counterbalance,
once some decisions by FIDE crossed the reach of reason.
In 2009 the ACP celebrated five years. How do you estimate the results
of the ACP activities?

The 2009 ACP World Cup winner
In general, reasonably good. The most important achievement is the organization
of the ACP Cup plus some aims from the previous question were achieved.
What kind of direction or projects for the ACP would you mark as a priority
for development?
I cannot judge, since I take part in the organization’s work only passively.
The most important point – why do you play chess?
Good question! Chess is an outstanding game that brings me a lot of joy.
In order to encourage female players the ACP Women Series were developed. The
first prize giving of the winners of the Women Series took place in autumn 2008.
The winner was Viktorija Cmilyte (Lithuania).

Winner of the ACP World Series 2008: Viktorija Cmilyte
The Second Women Series gathered eleven events, not mentioning all tournaments
of the ACP Tour, where women players can earn points as well. Russian players
clearly dominated the season, as they occupy the four first places of the Final
Standings. The winner is Tatiana Kosintseva with 1730 ACP points out of
six events. Her compatriots Alexandra Kosteniuk and Natalia Pogonina come second
and third with 976 and 883 points respectively. The battle for the crucial eighth
place was hard fought, and Lela Javakhishvili eventually edged out Monika Socko
by just a few points.
The official website of the organization
has published more than 1130 articles over the past five years, both in English
and Russian. They are written mostly by ACP members. The newsletter of the Board
is issued on regular basis and is distributed among ACP members. Opinion polls
among ACP members are carried on actual and strategic questions.
The current ACP Board gathers for their meetings no less than once per month.
The main activities of the Board consist in the examination of inquires and
the informational support of ACP members, the monitoring of the information
field and the development of recommendations to regulate the chess community,
as well as the development and the implementation of new projects in order to
promote the game of chess.
Among others the following development directions of the organization were
defined by the Board:
-
The development of women chess – the development of the ACP Women
Series and the organization of an annual women tournament ACP Masters;
-
The promotion of the game of chess in the world. Using the experience
of other sport organizations, the ACP intends to develop recommendations
for national federations as well as private organizers on marketing and
PR for chess, which not only increases the promotion level, but will also
strengthen the position of chess during negotiations with the IOC.
-
The increase of the informational support level. The ACP is going to reorganize
its official web site and widen the frequency and topics of the information
provided.
-
The development of recommendations for organizers of chess events, while
anti-cheating measures remain one of the most topical issues.
- During the period of 2004-2007 the relationship between the ACP and FIDE
has been developed, and the organizations have been successfully working in
cooperation in order to establish the most efficient system for the World
Chess Championship cycle as well as in order to develop the rules for time
controls in the official events. The ACP Board was also glad to welcome FIDE
President Kirsan Iljumzhinov as the honored guest at the first
ACP World Rapid Cup in Odessa, Ukraine. During the last two years the
questions of anti-cheating measures as well as doping control are being examined.
Since July 2009 representatives of the ACP Board became members of the FIDE
Commissions:
- Emil Sutovsky – Commision for World Championships and Olympiads
- Elmira Mirzoeva – Commision for Women Chess
- Olena Boytsun – Events Comission

ACP Secretary Olena Boytsun at the 2008 World Championship in Bonn
A report by Olena Boytsun on the FIDE PB meeting of June 16-17, 2009, in Krakow,
Poland, can be found here.
Pictorial impressions of the FIDE Presidential Board meeting in Krakow

FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos welcoming the delegates in the
Krakow Hotel “Europe”

Part of the welcoming dinner of the Presidential Board: Polish children
dancing

An informal gathering of the Presidential board members: Continental President
for Africa Dabilani Buthali; Chairman of Verification Commission Lakhdar Mazouz;
Vice President Khalifa Mohammed Al-Hitmi, Hon. Vice President Israel Gelfer,
Vice Presidents Ali Nihat Yazici, FIDE Vice President William Kelleher, FIDE
Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos.

On the second day: Israel Gelfer, Continental President for Europe Boris
Kutin,
Continental President for Americas Mr. Jorge Vega at the Presidential meeting

Informal discussions during a break, with Ignatius Leong, Ali Nihat Yazici,
Georgios Makropoulos, Geoffrey Borg and GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili (standing)

President of the Malopolska Chess Association Jan Kusina, Chairman of the
Verification Commission Lakhdar Mazouz, FIDE Commercial Director Geoffrey Borg

At table: Marketing and PR Director Peter Rajcsanyi, Assistant to the FIDE
President Berik Balgabaev, ACP General Secretary Olena Boytsun

At the Town Hall of Krakow: FIDE CEO for Development David Kaplan, President
of the Malopolska Chess Association Jan Kusina, FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov,
Chairman of Technical Commission Dr. Andrzej Filipowicz, FIDE Deputy President
Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE Treasurer Nigel Freeman, Assistant to FIDE President
Berik Balgabaev
All photos by Jan Kusina