Repercussions / Fallout from FIDE Elections?

[Chris Rice]

Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate."

[John Foley]

There were two types of chess game being played at Batumi - one was on the board and the other was geo-political. The state-backed candidate indeed ran an impressive campaign. Goody bags for delegates were thoughtfully placed in their hotel rooms and beneath their tables in the election hall. A chess clock or a bottle of spirits are small gestures and no doubt the delegates accepting the gifts will pass them on to their national federations. (The Ethics Committee looked into the matter of the mysterious hotel goody bags but could not pin any blame due to lack of evidence). Scheduled one-on-ones with the voters were conducted discreetly and politely; requests for support were answered satisfactorily. Delegates were warmly greeted by the flow of finest Georgian wines at parties held in some of the resort's luxury nightspots. The night before the election delegates were invited to attend a "crazy mermaid beach party" -with real mermaids - offering a relaxed and friendly atmosphere (flyer attached). On the announcement of the election results, some delegations jumped for joy and hugged each other. Their future is assured as is the leadership of FIDE for the next 8 years.

crazyparty.jpg

[JustinHorton]

Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate."

Taking a moral and ethical stand would probably have meant backing nobody rather than backing Malcolm's ticket, but whatever

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate.""

"Unanimously"?

[Alex Holowczak]

"Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate.""

"Unanimously"?

Well, I wasn't at the meeting, so it may depend on how you define "unanimous".

[Michael Farthing]

"As one spirit"

[Jonathan Rogers]

Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate."

That's a graceful concession, is it ....

[Roger de Coverly]

That's a graceful concession, is it ....

Those associated with Malcolm have been less than graceful in their postings on this forum.

[Jonathan Rogers]

There were two types of chess game being played at Batumi - one was on the board and the other was geo-political. The state-backed candidate indeed ran an impressive campaign. Goody bags for delegates were thoughtfully placed in their hotel rooms and beneath their tables in the election hall. A chess clock or a bottle of spirits are small gestures and no doubt the delegates accepting the gifts will pass them on to their national federations. (The Ethics Committee looked into the matter of the mysterious hotel goody bags but could not pin any blame due to lack of evidence). Scheduled one-on-ones with the voters were conducted discreetly and politely; requests for support were answered satisfactorily. Delegates were warmly greeted by the flow of finest Georgian wines at parties held in some of the resort's luxury nightspots. The night before the election delegates were invited to attend a "crazy mermaid beach party" -with real mermaids - offering a relaxed and friendly atmosphere (flyer attached). On the announcement of the election results, some delegations jumped for joy and hugged each other. Their future is assured as is the leadership of FIDE for the next 8 years.

crazyparty.jpg

Of course, it is also possible that the Makro team lost partly down to their own record .....?

[JustinHorton]

True, although you'd like to know what went on nonetheless, even though John Foley works for Malcolm.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Oh, I had little doubt about that. Some Russians (admittedly, no fans of the regime back at home) told me that Dvorkovich was known for holding extravagant parties ....

[John Swain]

"Malcolm to his credit has conceded gracefully. "Disappointing election result yesterday but wish FIDE well. I am very proud of ECF President, CEO and Board for unanimously taking moral and ethical stand in the present climate.""

"Unanimously"?

Well, I wasn't at the meeting, so it may depend on how you define "unanimous".

I tweeted the following in response to a 'unanimous' comment in a tweet by Tim Wall:
'Unanimous??' Nit-picking perhaps, but, in the interests of accuracy, according to the ECF website, the Board was not unanimous: 'the ECF Board decided by a clear majority to support the Presidential ticket of Georgios Makropoulos.'


Tim Wall, who clearly has better and more informed sources than me, responded on twitter:
'The correct situation regarding that vote has already been made public via correspondence during the @FIDE_chess Congress. The @ecfchess board put out a statement saying it was a ‘clear majority’ - but that was just to save Nigel’s blushes. The true vote was 9-0.'

[NickFaulks]

'The correct situation regarding that vote has already been made public

Made public where?

[John Foley]

John Foley works for Malcolm.

As an independent service provider, I have collaborated with Malcolm and CSC for many years on the London Chess Conference and other chess and education events. I was in Batumi as Secretary of the ECU Education Commission. I spoke to Arkady about chess in schools and he was very supportive, recognising it as the most important activity to ensure the future of chess. That he led a carefully-planned and well-funded election campaign with extravagant parties (in chess terms) can hardly be denied. The key issue is whether the new President will now fulfil his sundry promises to a wide variety of stakeholders whilst maintaining proper governance procedures in FIDE.

[J T Melsom]

John

Be serious for a moment. How many delegates do you honestly believe were persuaded by the quality and extravagance of the parties?