Unanimous Division in Cyprus
The Board of the Cyprus Federation has 18 members, two from each of the nine
clubs in the country. Vassilis Aristotelous is a board member and is also the
Federation's public relations officer.
Cyprus "unanimous" division!
The letter of support for Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov sent by Mr. Christoforos
Tornaritis, the president of the Cyprus Chess Federation, is grossly misleading
and/or misrepresenting the true facts.
The announced "unanimous" decision has completely divided Cyprus
Federation which needs all the available time, till election time in September,
to decide on the matter, and such open letters of support at this stage are
not only unnecessary but they are also very dangerous for the unity of the
federation.
On the 12th of July, ten out of the eighteen members of the Board have indicated
their preference towards the candidacy of Mr. Karpov in a signed document
which is attached below. Although there was a clear majority for Karpov, the
contents of this document (statement of support) was not publicized for purposes
of unity of the Cyprus Federation.
In reality Cyprus Chess Federation is still deeply divided regarding who
to support at the forthcoming FIDE elections. Additionally the letter –
statement of support – appearing at the official site of candidate Ilyumzhinov
lacks legality and official status due to the facts that it's not printed
on the official letterhead of the federation and signature of the Secretary
is missing which is necessary in all official documents of the federation,
according to its memorandum.
Vassilis Aristotelous
August 5, 2010
He also attached the following document:
Translation:
12 July 2010
STATEMENT
The following members of the board of the Cyprus Chess Federation we hereby
state responsibly and irrevocably our support to Mr. Anatoly Karpov for the
presidency of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). We also wish that this statement
of support is published and candidate Mr. Karpov is notified.
- Martides Alkis
- Evdokiou Neofytos
- Zacharoplastis Pambos
- Aristotelous Vassilis
- Poullis Yiannos
- Poullis Marios
- Kasinopoullos Doros
- Theocharous Charis
- Yiapanis George
- Papanicolaou Phidias

Cyprus, officially
the Republic of Cyprus, is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea,
with a population of around 900,000 inhabitants. It became an EU member in 2004.
There are traces of human activity there dating to 10,000 BC. The island has
been divided and fought over for millennia. Today the Republic of Cyprus is
de facto partitioned into two main parts, the area under the effective control
of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area, and the
Turkish-occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island's area and recognized only by Turkey.
All ChessBase
report on the FIDE Elections 2010