Originally Posted by
Victor Plotkin
This morning, I got a call from my friend and long-time business partner. He is a Soviet Union CM that currently lives in St. Petersburg Russia. I have been friends with him since 1976. Currently, he is not an active chess player, however, occasionally plays blitz in St. Petersburg. He informed me that he recently got a very strange call from a well-known chess organizer named Vladimir Bykov (V.B).
V.B asked my friend whether he knew of me, and of course he answered yes, because we are long-time friends. Bykov informed my friend that Victor Plotkin is currently participating in a chess election in Canada against Vadim Tsypin. Bykov told my friend that "Vadim is a good guy and Victor Plotkin should step down from his candidacy." Some very influential people in the FIDE had asked Bykov to call my friend.
When my friend told me about the call between him and Bykov, I was very surprised. In Russia, calling someone and giving such a powerful message is a clear threat. After some hesitation, I decided to contact Emil Sutovsky, and I asked him for his advice regarding this information.
Here are the most important parts of our chat translated into English (it was in Russian, on Facebook Messenger):
V.P: Hello, Emil! I hope you remember me - we have interacted numerous times at Olympiads and in Gibraltar. I recall that in Canada's match against Israel, you beat Gerzhoy on the second board, in the Carro-Cann. The match ended with a score of 2-2.
E.S: Victor, of course I remember you, I also remember seeing you at Aeroflot Opens.
I explained the situation to him, he understood and took it very seriously. It was a priority for him to assure me that the FIDE is unrelated here.
V.P: Emil, there is no doubt in my mind that neither you, nor Dvorkovich, have any relation to this whatsoever. Rather, all I'm asking for is some advice, from friend to friend. I ask that you understand me correctly - what happened today was absolutely brutal for me to hear.
E.S: Why do you need to consider Bykov's opinion?
V.P: Of course, I have no intention of heeding his advice. But it is evident to me that Tsypin initiated this. This all seems somewhat disturbing, wouldn't you agree?
E.S: Certainly. Well, the question here is whether or not Tsypin crossed any lines, made any threats, or did anything of the sort.
He then asked me about my opinion on this election, my answer was that it is approximately equal at this point, because many players support me, but Tsypin has the support of the President and of some chess politicians.
E.S: I understand. Disregard this (Bykov's message). This most certainly doesn't improve his image. I can only reiterate that under no circumstances can we try to have an impact. And if anyone suggests this, it's a lie.
I thanked him for discussing this with me. Soon after, he asked about the reason behind Marghetis' resignation.
V.P: He did it in my favor, I want to emphasize that I did not initiate this, and had never asked him about it. Why? It seems that I, a more neutral candidate in this instance, was suitable, in his view. I am not an arbiter, I don't earn money from chess, and I am not looking for personal benefits from this position.
E.S: You are a surprisingly decent person for a candidate.
Sutovsky took this issue very seriously, and immediately informed the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich. Very soon after this, Vlad Drkulec, Vadim Tsypin, and I received an official email from a FIDE lawyer stating:
"Dear colleagues. I am writing this letter on behalf of the FIDE President.
In connection with a number of questions that arise regarding the upcoming elections of Canada’s representative in FIDE, we would like to officially assure FIDE’s position.
FIDE always takes an absolutely neutral position on elections in any federation, considers elections to be the internal affair of each federation, and works equally fruitfully and constructively with any representative elected in the respective federation."
I do not know if Vadim crossed a line, and I don't have enough evidence to take this to court, nor do I have any intention of doing this as of now. Actually, I don't know Bykov at all, and likely, before last week, he was not aware of my existence either. The only person who could have initiated this chain of contacts is Tsypin, who tried to put some pressure on me to step down from this election. This reflects so negatively on his personality. I don't understand how any voting member, with the best interests of Canadian chess in mind, would be ready to support him.