The incumbent since 1995 is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, controversial ruler of Russia's semi-autonomous Caucasian state Kalmykia. In his early years as Fide president Ilyumzhinov built a 'chess city', made the game mandatory in Kalmyk schools, and financed grandmaster chess so generously that his dubious human rights record and eccentric claim to have met "humanoid aliens" were shrugged off. But recently Fide's excessive reliance on ex-Soviet tournament venues and an autocratic rule change where a player loses if not seated at the board at the start have provoked a deluge of criticism.
Ilyumzhinov will be opposed by Anatoly Karpov, all-time world No3 and backed by Garry Kasparov, all-time No1, abortive challenger for the 2008 Russian presidency and a fierce Kremlin critic. K and K, supported by the current world No1 Magnus Carlsen, held a fund-raiser in New York which raised over $100,000 for the Karpov campaign. A similar evening with Kasparov and Nigel Short is planned for Simpsons in the Strand, London, in August. K and K believe they can attract more Western sponsors to chess.
Many Western chess federations including the US and England have announced support for Karpov but Fide has 161 member nations, not far off the 200-plus of Fifa and the IOC, and Ilyumzhinov has won the last three elections with the help of sweeteners to third world delegates. Karpov is famous enough to turn some small countries his way, but the vote will be during the biennial team Olympiad at Khanty-Mansiysk in Siberia, a favoured Ilyumzhinov site.
An ugly fight for the Russian federation vote shows that the contest has a wider significance than just for chess. A majority chose K and K but a rival group led by the economist and presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich first claimed a technical win then sent in security men to evict the pro-Karpov officials. Kalmykia's strategic position and its oil and gas, plus Kremlin hostility to Kasparov, may prove a key to this bitter contest.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario