Letter by Ali Nihat Yazici
Dear Mr. Anatoly Karpov,
Ex World Champion and candidate for 2010 FIDE President Post,
Dear Sir,
As I told you personally in Rijeka, at breakfast, we all respect you as a World
Champion, as chess lovers. I wish you very good luck (you need a lot..., and
it does not work in this business) for the upcoming FIDE elections.
I have read your
letter, and saw that again either you do not read all these releases in
the chess media (very bad for a candidate) or your words do not represent what
is the truth.
Mr. Karpov, in your letter you mention that your opponent did not get any support
letter from a voting federation. You missed a federation, my federation, the
Turkish Chess Federation. I would like to understand if you do not care about
that, or if your team (if there is one) does not inform you about that. I attach
this link for
you to see it.
On the other hand, sure we will vote for the best candidate we believe, for
the sake of chess. But I cannot see in your letter anything you want to do except
attack our current President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
May I ask you kindly to be on the level of the respect you desire from all
your fans, stop this negative campaign and tell us clearly what you want to
do. Please do not tell us your allegations (I was insulted by you accusation
that I was a "corrupt FIDE management member" – that is still
on your
website), it is shame to hear such as incredible untruth stories from such
as legend. We still await a strong apology from you as a legend, this attitude
is clearly not fair play.
Mr. Karpov, do not tell me please, like you said in the Sofia Press Conference,
as answer you do not want to go to details. In your campaign website you say
that the FIDE Management is corrupt.
GIVE US A FACT HOW WE ARE CORRUPT!!
I do not believe that a FIDE presidential candidate should attack everyone
around the world with unreal accusations, You say that you will unite the world,
but look what you have been doing in your campaign by accusing people with such
as allegations.
And after the election when we shake each other hands (I hope you will be able
to do it) you will understand those miscalculations. The FIDE Management has
never in the history been as good as it is now, and believe me, when we win,
it will be even better.
Best regards,
Ali Nihat YAZICI
President of Turkish Chess Federation
Vice President of FIDE
An astonishingly large number of readers have sent us links to the following
story, which has appeared on other news sites as well and is circulating vigorously
in the blogs, e.g. here.
Russian president asked to investigate alien claims
A Russian MP has asked President Dmitry Medvedev to investigate claims by a
regional president that he has met aliens on board a spaceship. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov,
the leader of the southern region of Kalymkia, made his claim in a television
interview.
MP Andre Lebedev is not just asking whether Mr Ilyumzhinov is fit to govern.
He is also concerned that, if he was abducted, he may have revealed details
about his job and state secrets. In his letter he says that – assuming
the whole thing was not just a bad joke – it was an historic event and
should have been reported to the Kremlin.
Mr Ilyumzhinov said in an interview on primetime
television that he had been taken on board an alien spaceship which had
come to planet Earth to take samples – and claims to have several witnesses.
As president of the World Chess Federation, he has spent tens of millions of
dollars turning the impoverished republic into a mecca for chess players –
building an entire village to host international tournaments.
Our readers should note that Andre Lebedev is the son of the controversial
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, founder and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of
Russia, which is actually a radical nationalist party. He is seeking attention
for the party – with a fair amount of success, it would seem.
Britain's Sun had a field day with the
story, which is now being run all over the world, e.g.:
The story was broken by Vladimir
Posner, Russia's answer to Larry King. We were told – but have not
been able to independently verify – that Posner had done an interview
with rival FIDE candidate Anatoly Karpov, after which at the insistence of the
Ilyumzhinov camp, he had agreed to do one with the incumbent President. Apparently
he was not too pleased about the pressure and conducted the interview in a fairly
hostile manner:
Another note: we spoke with with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov about the abduction
story a few years ago and gained a distinct impression that it was some kind
of a humorous idea on his part. Recent conversations with members of Ilyumzhinov's
inner circle seem to confirm this impression. But that is a tale for another
time.
FIDE election reports
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
