9/17/2014 – He ran for FIDE President, but was defeated by the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. The conclusions Garry Kasparov draws from the painful loss are described in a closing essay on his campaign web site. In addition the former World Champion has been writing articles on the world situation in the Wall Street Journal and TIME, and can be seen in a remarkable interview on Fox News.
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The Future of Chess, Not FIDE
By Garry Kasparov
When I announced my campaign for FIDE president on October 7 in Tallinn,
I stated that my goal was to elevate our game to the very high level in
the public mind where I believe it belongs. On August 11 here in Tromsø,
I lost the election for FIDE president, but my campaign did a tremendous
amount of work around the world to elevate chess. In those 307 days, an
incredible team came together, from my FIDE ticket to federation officials
to staffers and volunteers around the world. I could not be prouder of their
hard work and true passion for chess and for helping others.
If the result of this election threatens to make me lose my optimism for
the future of the chess world, thoughts of all these capable and compassionate
people will bring it back. I also want to express my appreciation to all
the fans who did what they could, from writing to their federations to being
active on social media. We may not have changed FIDE but we have changed
the world of chess for the better and will continue to do so. My thanks
also to my generous sponsors and donors who made this ambitious global campaign
possible.
My campaign was about expanding the horizons of the chess and securing
its future, our future, in a world with ever-increasing competition for
our attention. My themes were bringing sponsorship, education initiatives,
and new technology into the game and empowering the national federations.
I do not for one moment believe that this election result indicates a problem
with this platform, or with the exemplary individuals on my ticket, or with
our many successful activities. The sad conclusion is that working hard
and having big ideas and investing millions of dollars for the global development
of chess all has very little to do with winning a FIDE election today. It
was this disastrous situation that my team and I set out to change.
I was never naïve, of course. I knew from the beginning that chess
politics, especially in FIDE, had been steadily taken over by people who
have little interest in the success of chess and chess players, but only
in expanding their own power. I hoped that there was still a chance for
a coalition of reform-minded federation leaders and others tired of broken
promises and stagnation to reach a winning number of votes. The fact is
that we fell far short and the result demonstrates that the rot is even
deeper and more widespread than I believed back in October, or even on the
morning of the election.
I used my candidate’s speech to the General Assembly to present my
vision of a FIDE that supports the federations so that they may grow strong.
No one could doubt the sponsorship plans I spoke of were real because they
had seen them in action during my campaign. Ilyumzhinov then used his speech
to mock me and to mock everyone who cares for chess with outlandish promises
everyone in the room knew were lies before his words stopped echoing in
the auditorium. I knew at that moment that speeches didn’t matter
in this election, just like the promotion of chess doesn’t matter
to this FIDE administration. Ilyumzhinov could say anything at all and his
supporters would cheer. Their votes had been decided long ago and the well-being
of chess was never a significant part of this decision.
I immediately regretted my peaceable and reassuring speech – and
that I had spoken before Ilyumzhinov. How I would like those 15 minutes
back to instead condemn the corruption that has poisoned our sport for nearly
two decades and to heap shame on the delegates who are so eager to vote
for their own interests instead of the interests of the chess players in
their nations. Such a speech would likely not have earned me any more votes,
but it would have been more honest and I would have felt better then and
now.
I faced three main challenges in this campaign. First was the FIDE machinery,
the abuse of power that made votes disappear and turned commissions into
puppets. This was not a surprise, but I believed at the start that I had
enough resources to overcome it and I probably did. There were two other
factors I badly underestimated. I anticipated the Kremlin’s involvement
but couldn’t imagine its extent or how susceptible Europe would be
to it. Nor did I anticipate how resistant even many of the biggest federations
are to change. They saw it as a threat and looked for excuses to maintain
the status quo.
These last two factors in particular eroded the base I thought I had at
the start, a base of anti-Kirsan, anti-corruption, pro-growth federations
with democratic traditions and substantial numbers of chess players with
interests to protect. Perhaps that base still exists, but it is very small
now and nearly every federation is eager to do a little business with Ilyumzhinov’s
emissaries come election year. I guaranteed money in exchange for effort
and sponsorship in exchange for activity and events. It’s clear that
many prefer money with no responsibilities and no activities, regardless
of what this means for chess.
While Europe is becoming a lost continent, during this campaign I truly
discovered Africa. I was so impressed by the players and teachers and leaders
I have met from Abuja to Zanzibar! They aren’t afraid of change; they
seek it out and fight hard for it at every step. Hard work is never wasted
and while we did not win the day here in Tromsø, their passion is
already transforming chess in Africa and soon it will transform the world
and I will be proud to play a part. Our fight is not over. As Nelson Mandela
wrote, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but
in rising every time we fall.” Africa Rising!
It is fitting that the slogan on my posters here in Tromsø was “Kasparov:
the future of chess” and not “the future of FIDE.” Eventually,
growth and change in the chess world will change FIDE; it is clear that
FIDE cannot change itself. More numbers and more effort will be needed at
the grassroots level. Lovers of chess must become administrators of chess.
I spoke often of building up the base of players to raise up the entire
chess world and this is just as true in chess politics. More good people
coming in will eventually push more bad people out. You can go and do it!
Find a way to fight for chess! People must work in their chess communities
and change their federations so that our great game has the representation
it deserves.
My thanks again to all my team and supporters, and to our excellent hosts
of the last two weeks here in Norway. The summer sun never sets in Tromsø
and the sun will never set on the game of chess.
TIME
Magazine: Garry Kasparov: It’s a War, Stupid!
This vocabulary of cowardice emanating from Berlin and Washington is as
disgraceful as the black-is-white propaganda produced by Putin’s
regime, and even more dangerous.
Fox News Sep. 14, 2014: Garry Kasparov's advice for taking on Putin
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