Kasparov vs Ilyumzhinov: the FIDE Presidency battle begins

[JustinHorton]

I had assumed, with Kirsan issuing this open letter, that his supporters are having problems getting visas.

That's possible, but I'd have thought he could shell out for them to travel to pick up their visas. It may also be that people in African countries find it a bit much that they are expected to jump through expensive hoops in order to play in a sporting event which, they may feel, Norway should not have applied to host if it could not guarantee that this would be avoided.

[Mick Norris]

I had assumed, with Kirsan issuing this open letter, that his supporters are having problems getting visas. Or maybe he is concerned that there will be no teams there to actually play chess.

I doubt he's bothered about the latter

[Chris Rice]

Well we may have a lead on Chessnewsagency. On Illyumzhinov's campaign site he has cited an article coming from that vicinity. The article is the usual anti-Kasparov rant and describes how Kasparov managed to lose the votes of Namibia, Zambia and Nigeria all in one week.

However, Illyumzhinov for whatever reason decided that to put a mild disclaimer before the article which was interesting in itself which stated "Harry Johnston, an observer for the prominent online chess news resource Chessnewsagency has published an article describing the vicissitudes of Garry Kasparov’s campaign tour of Africa. While fidefirst does not share certain beliefs of the journalist or condone his tone, it is in general agreement with the writer’s conclusions."

Can't seem to find a trace of this guy though. Anyone heard of Harry Johnston before? http://fidefirst.com/?p=3096

[Roger de Coverly]

Anyone heard of Harry Johnston before? http://fidefirst.com/?p=3096

An assumed name presumably, like the equally unknown Bill Warth.

Someone who cannot spell European, but otherwise seems well informed. So perhaps a relatively well known writer or journalist, unwilling to be outed as a Kirsan stooge?

http://chessnewsagency.com/#/europian-c ... of-unesco/

[andyburnett]

ChessNewsAgency do share the same address as Belarusians-in-Exile (it is a big building however)...can anyone think of a possible link there?
To be honest, the politics involved would seem to put Kasparov closer to the Belarusians, and I don't see any chess links/references/figures involved in the BelarusinExile campaign so I'm probably barking up the wrong tree.

[andyburnett]

The only name I can find associated with Chess News Agency is Ludmila Smirnova who appears to be their one and only press officer, and to be honest she is otherwise anonymous on the internet?! Another Nom de Guerre in the fight against Kasparov?

[David Sedgwick]

The only name I can find associated with Chess News Agency is Ludmila Smirnova who appears to be their one and only press officer, and to be honest she is otherwise anonymous on the internet?! Another Nom de Guerre in the fight against Kasparov?

Presumably not the well-known ice skater.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Smirnova

[Chris Rice]

As we approach election time at Tromso the campaign of both candidates continues to plumb new depths of nastiness.

On virtually the eve of the election Kasparov decides to once again raise the subject of the Larisa Yudina murder with the publication of an open letter from Grigoriy Yavlinskiy leader of the Russian political party Yabloko, on the murder of his colleague in Kalmykia in 1998.

Meanwhile and completely laughably Illyumzhinov is pushing on his campaign site the letter he wrote to all the national federations calling on them to report any instances of corruption and treat corrupt officials with zero tolerance and show them no mercy. This seems to only involve the allegations relating to Kasparov and particularly referencing the Leong agreement to pay for votes in Asia.

Now on that subject on the Kasparov site (and we already know he reckons he's 18-14 ahead in Africa) there is a statement of who is voting for each candidate in the Asian countries and unsurprisingly he reckons he's winning 15-8 there as well with a further 25 countries so far undecided.

KASPAROV 15: AFGHANISTAN, AUSTRALIA, BHUTAN, FIJI, GUAM, HONG KONG, INDONESIA, KOREA, KYRGYZSTAN, MACAU, MYANMAR, NEW ZEALAND, PHILIPPINES, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SINGAPORE

ILYUMZHINOV 8: CAMBODIA, INDIA, IRAN, KAZAKHSTAN, MALDIVES, NEPAL, QATAR, UZBEKISTAN

[ 25 ASIAN COUNTRIES HAVE NOT MADE THEIR INTENTIONS PUBLIC ]

[Mick Norris]

Now on that subject on the Kasparov site (and we already know he reckons he's 18-14 ahead in Africa) there is a statement of who is voting for each candidate in the Asian countries and unsurprisingly he reckons he's winning 15-8 there as well with a further 25 countries so far undecided.

Has he said anything about the Rest of the World? Or even just Europe?

[Chris Rice]

Now on that subject on the Kasparov site (and we already know he reckons he's 18-14 ahead in Africa) there is a statement of who is voting for each candidate in the Asian countries and unsurprisingly he reckons he's winning 15-8 there as well with a further 25 countries so far undecided.

Has he said anything about the Rest of the World? Or even just Europe?

No specific figures but perhaps a telling couple of paragraphs on Kasparov's site:

"Our opponents rely on stories and nominations that do not represent official support. Team Kasparov provides real letters of endorsement and will continue to do so. We will publish similar reports from Asia, Europe, and the Americas in the coming weeks. We are clearly behind in the Americas, are narrowly winning in Asia, and widely winning in Europe. Now the myth is over and the fear will be over and more will come. It is time for change.

We are honest, it is a very close race. This is why the current FIDE administration is so aggressively attacking valid federations like Afghanistan, Gabon, and Papua New Guinea for supporting Team Kasparov. They know every vote is crucial and they want federations to be afraid. But we will fight for these federations and for all federations against these abuses. We will support them, defend their rights, and we will win. We will win in Tromsø on August 11."

[Kevin Thurlow]

Thanks Chris - your sterling work in finding this info means I don't need to go looking for it. Your efforts are appreciated.

[Chris Rice]

Thanks Kevin and your reward is a stunning article originating from Kommersant on Illyumzhinov's site today clearly implying that the Kasparov camp were trying to bribe an ECF President.....

Andrew Paulson Accuses Kasparov of Corruption16 Jul 2014

The first to respond to the announcement of FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov calling the leaders of national chess federations to report any instances of corruption was Andrew Paulson, who reported an attempt of bribery on the part of Garry Kasparov and his team.

The reputable Russian publication Kommersant reports the scandals of corruption accompanying the 2014 presidential race. A translation of the publication is provided:

Prominent Figure Moves Against Kasparov

Former head of the English Chess Federation makes allegations against the 13th World Chess champion’s supporters in attempted bribery.

Upcoming election

With a month and a half remaining until the World Chess Federation (FIDE) presidential election, the camp of incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov continues in its campaign against the opponent—13th World Champion Garry Kasparov—by playing the corruption card. Now Kasparov has been accused of attempted bribery by a renowned businessmen, former head of the English Chess Federation Andrew Paulson.

An official letter from Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to the leaders of national chess federations was at the disposal of Kommersant. In it, he called upon them “on account of the many reports of corruption surrounding the presidential election” to inform the federation of any such incidents. Mr. Ilyumzhinov has promised to pass all information to the FIDE commissions of ethics and elections. “I am confident that through combined efforts we may achieve transparency for the election and all doings of FIDE,” he added in the letter. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov explained that the appearance of the letter was in connection with the fact that during his travels he often meets complaints from representatives of national federations regarding attempted bribery. “And as the head of FIDE I am required to respond to them, seeing as fighting corruption has always been one of the federation’s fundamental tasks,” remarked Mr. Ilyumzhinov.

The election of the foremost chess organization’s presidential office will be held in Tromsø, Norway, in August of this year. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has held the post since 1995 (according to official reports, he is now supported by more than 60 of the FIDE member federations) and will now have his incumbency contested by the great grandmaster Garry Kasparov, his most outspoken and outraged critic (He has now garnered the support of some thirty national federations).

Mr. Kasparov recently found himself in the center of a scandal. Kirsan Ilyumzhanov turned to members of FIDE Executive Committee and Republic of Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam, calling their attention to violations made by FIDE Secretary-General Ignatius Leong, a member of Kasparov’s election team. Kirsan Ilyumzhanov considered the terms of the agreement signed by Ignatius Leong and Garry Kasparov to violate the FIDE Code of Ethics in addition to Singaporean and US Criminal law (see also Kommersant July 4, 2014). Mr. Kasparov denied accusations and stated that all agreements to support federations are transparent and aim only at chess development.

Garry Kasparov is now being accused of corruption by former English Chess Federation president Andrew Paulson, the first to respond to Ilyumzhinov’s anti-corruption letter. Mr. Paulsen, who is also the head of AGON, a company that organizes the World Chess Championship cycle, told Kommersant that he informed FIDE of what happened to him in May 2014. By his account, he received a call from influential chess manager Silvio Danailov, who is part of Kasparov’s team, with an offer to “discuss under which terms he would be willing to support” the 13th World Chess champion. Mr. Paulson reminded him that he “has only business ties with FIDE, no political interests, and is not supporting either candidate.”

Soon afterward, he received an email from Garry Kasparov, confirming that Silvio Danailov had called at his request. Mr. Paulson then asked him to explain the situation of their mutual acquaintance—Norwegian Chess Federation president Joran Aulin-Jansson, who had come to Garry Kasparov’s campaign headquarters. Andrew Paulson assures that the former “openly and clearly said” that the goal of the meeting was “to give him money.” The English Chess Federation president rejected the offer, subsequently sending an appropriate statement to FIDE.

FIDE confirmed to Kommersant that the statement had been received, saying that it is being investigated by the Ethical Commission but declining further comment. Efforts to obtain an explanation of the position from the opponent of the current FIDE leadership yielded no results. Silvio Danailov, Joran Aulin-Jansson and representatives of Gary Kasparov’s election headquarters have not answered telephone calls.

[Carl Hibbard]

Having to double post to two forums is just rather silly.

[Chris Rice]

Isn't it just? I got asked by Bob Kane to post stuff to the new forum but apart from Nigel Short there isn't much feedback over there.

[Carl Hibbard]

Isn't it just? I got asked by Bob Kane to post stuff to the new forum but apart from Nigel Short there isn't much feedback over there.

But why did he ask and should you be taking notice?