Page 10 of 13 FirstFirst ... 89101112 ... LastLast
Results 91 to 100 of 130

Thread: CFC FIDE Representative election - Feb 2021

  1. #91
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    183

    Default

    No, I haven't asked you for lecturing me on the rules. I've asked you to describe the actual situation where a person holding executive positions both in CFC and FIDE could find him/her self in a conflict of interest. I can't think of any. And what about you?

  2. #92

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post
    Your hypothetical situation is in the Non-For-Profit Corporations Act:

    "Disclosure of interest

    141 (1) A director or an officer of a corporation shall disclose to the corporation, in writing or by requesting to have it entered in the minutes of meetings of directors or of committees of directors, the nature and extent of any interest that the director or officer has in a material contract or material transaction, whether made or proposed, with the corporation, if the director or officer

    (a) is a party to the contract or transaction;
    (b) is a director or an officer, or an individual acting in a similar capacity, of a party to the contract or transaction; or
    (c) has a material interest in a party to the contract or transaction."
    Egis, with all due respect, many Fide officials wear
    numerous hats - it's the nature of talent to oversee
    various branches of administration - and is common
    to all sports organizations.

    The NFP strictures relate to local bodies, not Fide.

    You are a smart man, and I'm sure you know better
    ...............
    If we follow this canard - all 3 candidates should be
    disqualified on grounds of 'conflict of interest'!

    1. The Fide rep is responsible for selecting Arbiters
    to do lucrative international duty - this selection
    being coordinated with the Fide Arbiters Commission.

    One of the candidates for Fide rep has posted his own
    membership of the Fide Arbiters Commision!! What's to
    stop him selecting himself, a direct conflict of interest!

    2. The Fide rep coordinates with the Fide Board to
    certify international master and grandmaster norms,
    sometimes in circumstances that require personal
    intervention from the Fide rep to push the title through.

    Another candidate here has a child on the path to
    achieving the grandmaster title. Shouldn't he recuse
    himself on the grounds of 'conflict of interest?'

    I have no skin in this game! Just want to see a level
    playing field, and the most suitable candidate elected!

  3. #93
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    1,744

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sasha Starr View Post
    No, I haven't asked you for lecturing me on the rules. I've asked you to describe the actual situation where a person holding executive positions both in CFC and FIDE could find him/her self in a conflict of interest. I can't think of any. And what about you?

    I can, and that it is described in those rules - "a material contract" - sell & buy, your hypothetical situation unfolds.
    .*-1

  4. #94
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Tecumseh, ON
    Posts
    3,268
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    02-Letter to Organizing Committee of FIDE World Cadet 2019.pdf

    One of the situations that was most striking to me was the situation where an organizer of the 2019 World Cadets Chess Championships (WCCC) in China asked the CFC to sign an undertaking that:
    I guarantee that XXX, the accompanying person of XXX will abide all the laws and regulations of the country where he stays.
    Never involve politics, religion or any illegal activities unrelated to the event.
    All the cost during the trip will be supported by himself. We are sure that he will leave China on time.
    We are responsible for him during his stay in China.

    This seemed a bit much, so much so that we discussed aborting the trip for the whole Canada delegation, dozens of youth players and parents.

    We mentioned this to Vadim, not in any hope that he might do something about it but rather asking what he thought of the request and whether this was something that we might expect at future tournaments.

    At best we expected that he might commiserate about the fact that we would have to decline to sign such a document and might have to decline to attend. Vadim sprung into action and asked us for documentation of what was asked and copies of the undertaking. In a few posts the situation unfolded as follows:


    On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 at 21:36, Vadim I. Tsypin wrote:
    Hello Vlad,

    Congratulations! A very diplomatic letter that nevertheless doesn't give away Western values.

    I am wondering about their original request with the offending sentence about a "guarantee" though. Do you have the latest version they demanded you sign? Can you please send it to me right now (5:30 a.m. in Baku)? I'd like to study the text and possibly raise an issue at the today's MB. Can't imagine the U.S. or other Western countries signing it either.

    Thanks,

    --
    V.T.


    On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 9:26 AM Vladimir Drkulec wrote:
    The first version was a total non-starter for me as it violates my beliefs. I also have a problem with the concept that we are responsible for the individuals in the Canadian delegation. It may be due to a translation glitch but to sign that would seem to me to put both the CFC and all the members of the board at extreme risk if something went wrong. It's a huge blank cheque. I am not saying that they would behave like North Korea but we are reminded of what happened to Otto Warmbier and the submission of a multimillion-dollar medical bill. China has already grabbed two Canadians over the Huawei kerfluffle involving the U.S. and the extradition request. In six years I have not been asked to sign such an undertaking anywhere else.
    Vlad


    On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 10:51 AM Vadim I. Tsypin wrote:
    Thanks Vlad and Christina,
    Received and uploaded everything. I will post updates in this thread.
    --
    V.T.


    On Jun 19, 2019, at 10:44 AM, Vadim I. Tsypin wrote:
    Hello Vlad, Hal and Christina:
    I included the issue of the "guarantee" demand as Item V1-03 in the today's MB Agenda and it was discussed, with exhibits you submitted thoroughly examined by everyone including the President. Several members, including both Victor Bologan and Emil Sutovsky, joined me in condemning this practice of the WCCC organizers in strongest terms. It was decided that FIDE would send a polite but very firm letter to the Chinese organizers. The FIDE Legal Advisor is charged with drafting it within a week's time. Will keep you posted,
    --
    V.T.


    Hal Bond Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 6:56 PM
    To: "Vadim I. Tsypin"
    Cc: Vladimir Drkulec , Hal Bond , Christina Tao
    Thanks Vadim!
    Sent from my iPhone


    The organizers received a terse communication from Victor Bologan the Executive Director of FIDE which reminded them of the rules that FIDE expected them to abide by. There were no more problems after. Canadian children and parents went to the WCCC and competed well.

    We were left to marvel at the speed and efficiency of the whole process as Vadim flew off in his red and blue costume and cape making the world safe for Canadian junior players and their parents, not to mention CFC officials.
    Last edited by Vladimir Drkulec; 02-20-2021 at 01:20 AM.

  5. #95
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    284

    Default

    It has been a long time since we at the CFC have seen such high pre-election activity. As it was already noted, all three candidates have done a number of good things for Canadian chess, and all have significant experience in chess life.
    I would like to share my thoughts on the candidacy of Vadim Tsypin. I’ve been in touch with him personally, as far as I can remember, only once - at 2018 Canadian Open in Quebec City, where he was one of the organizers. I have very good memories of this tournament, and personally of Vadim as a knowledgeable professional and as a pleasant person. I think that from qualifications standpoint Vadim is a good candidate.
    However, I am concerned by one caveat: Vadim is part of FIDE Management Board (which includes 11 members only) and receives certain financial compensation for this work. Unlike Mahmud Hassain, I am not certain if this fact is a personal conflict of interest. Yet I look at this situation from a different angle.
    I am worried that FIDE executive team could pressure Vadim, as CFC representative, to make certain decisions (or even vote) in their favour – in a way that may be detrimental to Canadian chess – by exploiting the fact that Vadim is essentially their paid employee.
    It’s no secret that GAZPROM – majority state-owned Russian global energy monopoly – recently became the General Partner of FIDE (this is stated on FIDE website), and that the current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich – former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia – is a person from the inner circle of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin (this in itself in no way diminishes Dvorkovich’s merits as FIDE President; he has managed to make several positive changes in FIDE since his election). Nevertheless, from my many years of experience in the USSR, structures with such leaders and general partners typically resolve many issues according to the principle “you for me and I for you”.
    When voting in FIDE, the vote of a national federation in many cases is determined solely by its representative (in some important situations there may be a joint decision of CFC Executives). By placing Vadim Tsypin in two chairs at the same time, CFC will put itself in a vulnerable position. In such a scenario, won’t the CFC vote (voice) lose its independence?
    In couple of his posts in this thread, Vadim, as an argument in his favour, noted that currently 3 FIDE Management Board members are simultaneously official representatives in FIDE of their respectful countries. These are representatives of Moldova, Qatar, and Kazakhstan. Not the most democratic countries in the world, let’s face it. I have little doubt that in exchange for the good for their national chess federations, these representatives “correctly” vote on all slippery issues. I’m not confident I’d want Canada to become the fourth country on this dubious list.
    Thus, in my opinion, Vadim’s position on the FIDE Management Board serves as a detriment to his candidacy rather than strength. From this point of view, Victor Plotkin, as a candidate for this position, has an obvious advantage over other two candidates: he is financially independent from chess. Victor has never lived on chess earnings (on the contrary, from time to time he finances some chess projects with his own funds). As such, Victor will be able to represent CFC in FIDE without fear of financial repercussions. There is no doubt about that.
    At the same time, Vadim Tsypin can successfully continue supporting Canadian chess just as he has done until now, holding a very honorable (paid) position at FIDE. In such an outcome, Canada will only benefit, as essentially it will have two representatives in FIDE instead of one.

  6. #96
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Posts
    43

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Victor Itkin View Post
    It has been a long time since we at the CFC have seen such high pre-election activity. As it was already noted, all three candidates have done a number of good things for Canadian chess, and all have significant experience in chess life.
    I would like to share my thoughts on the candidacy of Vadim Tsypin. I’ve been in touch with him personally, as far as I can remember, only once - at 2018 Canadian Open in Quebec City, where he was one of the organizers. I have very good memories of this tournament, and personally of Vadim as a knowledgeable professional and as a pleasant person. I think that from qualifications standpoint Vadim is a good candidate.
    However, I am concerned by one caveat: Vadim is part of FIDE Management Board (which includes 11 members only) and receives certain financial compensation for this work. Unlike Mahmud Hassain, I am not certain if this fact is a personal conflict of interest. Yet I look at this situation from a different angle.
    I am worried that FIDE executive team could pressure Vadim, as CFC representative, to make certain decisions (or even vote) in their favour – in a way that may be detrimental to Canadian chess – by exploiting the fact that Vadim is essentially their paid employee.
    It’s no secret that GAZPROM – majority state-owned Russian global energy monopoly – recently became the General Partner of FIDE (this is stated on FIDE website), and that the current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich – former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia – is a person from the inner circle of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin (this in itself in no way diminishes Dvorkovich’s merits as FIDE President; he has managed to make several positive changes in FIDE since his election). Nevertheless, from my many years of experience in the USSR, structures with such leaders and general partners typically resolve many issues according to the principle “you for me and I for you”.
    When voting in FIDE, the vote of a national federation in many cases is determined solely by its representative (in some important situations there may be a joint decision of CFC Executives). By placing Vadim Tsypin in two chairs at the same time, CFC will put itself in a vulnerable position. In such a scenario, won’t the CFC vote (voice) lose its independence?
    In couple of his posts in this thread, Vadim, as an argument in his favour, noted that currently 3 FIDE Management Board members are simultaneously official representatives in FIDE of their respectful countries. These are representatives of Moldova, Qatar, and Kazakhstan. Not the most democratic countries in the world, let’s face it. I have little doubt that in exchange for the good for their national chess federations, these representatives “correctly” vote on all slippery issues. I’m not confident I’d want Canada to become the fourth country on this dubious list.
    Thus, in my opinion, Vadim’s position on the FIDE Management Board serves as a detriment to his candidacy rather than strength. From this point of view, Victor Plotkin, as a candidate for this position, has an obvious advantage over other two candidates: he is financially independent from chess. Victor has never lived on chess earnings (on the contrary, from time to time he finances some chess projects with his own funds). As such, Victor will be able to represent CFC in FIDE without fear of financial repercussions. There is no doubt about that.
    At the same time, Vadim Tsypin can successfully continue supporting Canadian chess just as he has done until now, holding a very honorable (paid) position at FIDE. In such an outcome, Canada will only benefit, as essentially it will have two representatives in FIDE instead of one.
    Thank you Victor.
    I have no issue with Vadim being a CFC rep if he were not on FIDE "core management team". I find it a major red flag for me.
    Last edited by Mahmud Hassain; 02-20-2021 at 02:37 AM.

  7. #97
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    108

    Default

    The issue of "Conflict of Interest" is an important one for people who may want to be involved in the future with chess at different levels, especially internationally. I have not dealt with business conflict of interest issues for "many" years and I have not done a comprehensive review of the FIDE and CFC legislation, policies and/or guidelines on the issue so I'm certain there are others who are better equipped than I to provide a more profound opinion on whether holding a position at FIDE prevents you from representing the CFC in this capacity. Having said that, conflicts of interest in business, where you stand to obtain a personal benefit from a particular transaction, generally requires you to abstain from the discussions on the subject matter and from voting on the issue. In my view, sports related matters may not fall into the same category unless, again, the person making the decision and responsible for the vote, will obtain a personal benefit. Having dual citizenships does not, in my view, in and of itself, qualify as a conflict of interest. It seems to me that we now live in a highly transient society where people move from one country to another on a regular basis, often obtaining dual citizenship. I'm assuming that all three candidates are Canadian citizens and have been so for a number of years. It may be that the CFC should look at its Representative qualifications and have a requirement of "x" number of years Canadian citizenship before becoming a Representative on an international chess organization (or maybe we already do ?).

    Mr. Itkin, you bring up an important issue where even "possible" conflict of interests are generally seen as a reason for persons to abstain from discussion and decision making. However, it seems to me that if FIDE is being threatened by a sponsor to, for example, "refrain from sponsorship unless "x" is done ...", this is not, or should not be, a conflict of interest issue (at least at first glance). Any and all FIDE representatives will have to view the sponsorship issue, whether they're a member of the FIDE organization or a Representative Delegate and make their decision based upon the facts presented to them. Again, each situation must be assessed on its own facts however the situation outlined does not necessarily raise an issue of conflict, at least in my opinion.

  8. #98
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    183

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by victor itkin View Post
    it has been a long time since we at the cfc have seen such high pre-election activity. As it was already noted, all three candidates have done a number of good things for canadian chess, and all have significant experience in chess life.
    I would like to share my thoughts on the candidacy of vadim tsypin. I’ve been in touch with him personally, as far as i can remember, only once - at 2018 canadian open in quebec city, where he was one of the organizers. I have very good memories of this tournament, and personally of vadim as a knowledgeable professional and as a pleasant person. I think that from qualifications standpoint vadim is a good candidate.
    However, i am concerned by one caveat: Vadim is part of fide management board (which includes 11 members only) and receives certain financial compensation for this work. Unlike mahmud hassain, i am not certain if this fact is a personal conflict of interest. Yet i look at this situation from a different angle.
    I am worried that fide executive team could pressure vadim, as cfc representative, to make certain decisions (or even vote) in their favour – in a way that may be detrimental to canadian chess – by exploiting the fact that vadim is essentially their paid employee.
    It’s no secret that gazprom – majority state-owned russian global energy monopoly – recently became the general partner of fide (this is stated on fide website), and that the current fide president arkady dvorkovich – former deputy prime minister of russia – is a person from the inner circle of dmitry medvedev and vladimir putin (this in itself in no way diminishes dvorkovich’s merits as fide president; he has managed to make several positive changes in fide since his election). Nevertheless, from my many years of experience in the ussr, structures with such leaders and general partners typically resolve many issues according to the principle “you for me and i for you”.
    When voting in fide, the vote of a national federation in many cases is determined solely by its representative (in some important situations there may be a joint decision of cfc executives). By placing vadim tsypin in two chairs at the same time, cfc will put itself in a vulnerable position. In such a scenario, won’t the cfc vote (voice) lose its independence?
    In couple of his posts in this thread, vadim, as an argument in his favour, noted that currently 3 fide management board members are simultaneously official representatives in fide of their respectful countries. These are representatives of moldova, qatar, and kazakhstan. Not the most democratic countries in the world, let’s face it. I have little doubt that in exchange for the good for their national chess federations, these representatives “correctly” vote on all slippery issues. I’m not confident i’d want canada to become the fourth country on this dubious list.
    Thus, in my opinion, vadim’s position on the fide management board serves as a detriment to his candidacy rather than strength. From this point of view, victor plotkin, as a candidate for this position, has an obvious advantage over other two candidates: He is financially independent from chess. Victor has never lived on chess earnings (on the contrary, from time to time he finances some chess projects with his own funds). As such, victor will be able to represent cfc in fide without fear of financial repercussions. There is no doubt about that.
    At the same time, vadim tsypin can successfully continue supporting canadian chess just as he has done until now, holding a very honorable (paid) position at fide. In such an outcome, canada will only benefit, as essentially it will have two representatives in fide instead of one.
    Das Kapital
    Last edited by Sasha Starr; 02-20-2021 at 11:28 AM.

  9. #99
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    183

    Default

    You are making a case why Victor is a better candidate then Vadim. And what about Aris???

  10. #100
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    284

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sasha Starr View Post
    You are making a case why Victor is a better candidate then Vadim. And what about Aris???
    Aris is also a good candidate.

    The answer to your question you can find in my original post:

    From this point of view, Victor Plotkin, as a candidate for this position, has an obvious advantage over other two candidates

Page 10 of 13 FirstFirst ... 89101112 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •