Organisers stand by case but allow teams to play

Organisers stand by case but allow teams to play

At a board meeting on Sunday the Tromsø 2014 organisers met to discuss the situation surrounding teams that missed the deadline for Olympiad registration. The Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 Board have now released the following letter to FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

Tromsø 21.7.2014

Dear Mr. President,

We acknowledge the receipt of your letter stipulating a set deadline for response.

During a Board meeting yesterday evening, COT2014 discussed the recent developments and reached the following decisions:

1. During the entire planning of the event in Tromsø, COT2014 has worked on the assumption that FIDE accepted that the registration deadline for participants was June 1, 2014. As soon as COT2014 became aware that there could be various interpretations of the regulations, we sought support for our interpretation that teams that registered after this date could not participate, in a specific enquiry to FIDE Chief Inspector and Vice President Israel Gelfer, who confirmed this by e-mail on June 5, 2014.

2. COT2014 stands by its interpretation of the regulations and therefore does not agree that the FIDE president can use Section 6.1 of the Olympic Regulations.

3. However, COT2014 takes a positive attitude to the FIDE President’s request out of consideration for the players, federations and good sportsmanship. Consequently, COT2014 accepts that the federations that have not registered teams by the deadline of June 1, 2014, are hereby permitted to register their respective teams, as they would have been on June 1.

4. COT2014 will seek in negotiations with FIDE to find a solution to deal with the increased costs incurred by COT2014 as a consequence of this decision.

5. COT2014 will do its utmost to solve the logistical challenges, and will seek FIDE approval regarding the accommodation arrangements for the teams for which this decision applies.

In addition to the above five points, the Board notes with satisfaction your statement in a recent interview that the Chess Olympiad will not be moved from Tromsø. This strong statement gives you credit and COT2014 hopes for a positive and constructive dialogue with FIDE up to and during the Chess Olympiad and with no further legal threats.

Kind regards

On her Twitter page Natalia Pogonina posted the above picture of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov wearing a shirt that supports the nations that missed the registration deadline. Natalia's commentary: "Kudos to @Ilyumzhinov and Andrei Filatov for their timely reactions and for maintaining the Gens Una Sumus spirit."

Previous ChessBase reports

• 7/18/2014 – Chess Olympiad without the Russian women?
  No way José, says FIDE President Ilyumzhinov in an Itar-Tass interview today. And hear this: Anatoly Karpov has come out strongly supporting FIDE's position. Meanwhile the Russian Chess Federation sent us a detailed description of the current situation. They have hired a powerful legal team which set the Tromsø organisers a deadline to concede: 5 p.m. CET today, 18 July, 2014.

• 7/18/2014 – Olympiad Tromsø: FIDE President issues a deadline
  The problems of missed registrations for some teams has come to a head, with FIDE President stating that the Organizing Committee has "performed an unbelievable scheme of combined illegitimate actions which should never take place in a democratic country like Norway." Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has issued a deadline to the Norwegians to solve the issues: Monday 21 July, 11 am CET.

• 7/10/2014 – Visa problems for the Chess Olympiad
  In order to travel to the Olympiad in Tromsø many players require a visa. But in countries without Norwegian embassies this can pose a problem. European laws require biometric data to be supplied personally, forcing players to travel to a different country. In an open letter FIDE President has complained to the Norwegian Prime Minister, and the Olympiad CEO has replied.

• 7/17/2014 – Russian Women's team out of Olympiad
  Shocking news: the organisers of the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø have informed FIDE that federations that did not meet the June 1st deadline for registration had been excluded from the Olympiad. One of these is the Russian Women's team! FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer has mysteriously blamed Garry Kasparov for this development and advocates cancelling the Olympiad.

• 7/17/2014 – Garry Kasparov on the threat to Tromsø
  "Unfortunately the Organizing Committee [of the Tromsø Olympiad] is influenced by people who are working for Garry Kasparov. They are using it for their election purposes." That was what FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer said in a much-publicised video interview yesterday. After debating the subject with Kasparov after midnight, this morning he sent us the following statement.

• 6/5/2014 – To Tromsø with Style
  Norway's coastline is spectacular. As has been noted by thousands of tourists and by Douglas Adams in his classic "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". But what does this have to do with chess? Well, if you want to visit the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø in August and experience the beauty of Norway's coast there is an opportunity to combine both.

• 6/5/2014 – Breaking news: "There will be a Chess Olympiad"
  That's the good news the twitter account ChessOlympiadNorway could spread to the chess world. After doubts whether the 41. Chess Olympiad 2014, which will take place from 1. August to 14. August in Tromsø, Norway, could be financed, the Norwegian parliament has come to the rescue. With 12 million Norwegian Crowns (about 1.47 million euros).

• 5/14/2014 – Trouble in Tromso: Olympiad underfunded
  The Chess Olympiad is scheduled to begin in just two and a half months. Everything was looking great, with participants and fans expecting to see the biggest and finest team championship ever. But now, suddenly, the Norwegian media has sounded alarm: apparently there is a US $2.5 million hole in the budget, which the organisers need to fill at very short notice. Should we be worried?

• 10/2/2010 – 41st Chess Olympiad to be staged in – Tromsø!
  On its last working day the FIDE General Assembly took a decision on the venue of the 41st World Chess Olympiad in 2014. There were two cities bidding to host the event – Albena in Bulgaria and Tromsø in Norway. The bidding procedure lasted several days, in the end the Norwegians won by a 95-47 vote margin. We have reported extensively on Tromsø – here's a summary.

All ChessBase reports on the 2014 Olympiad in Tromsø