FIDE election, some thoughts

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Here are my somewhat preliminary thoughts on the FIDE election.

Arkady Dvorkovich

Mr. Dvorkovich is obviously a very capable individual. I am given to understand that he is a lover of chess. He has high level responsibilities in the Russian government. In all likelihood he will delegate many of his responsibilities to capable individuals if he wins the election. I do have concerns about possible sanctions from the U.S. Treasury department in the event that he wins as he is even closer to Putin than Kirsan. Obviously he is a very high profile and capable candidate. I have not seen any contacts to the CFC from his campaign.

Nigel Short

Mr. Short is running as a reform candidate. His one and only contact with federations seems to be setting himself up as a kingmaker who will force the other candidates to embrace some reforms in the way FIDE conducts itself.

The issues I have with Mr. Short are that he is not exactly the most diplomatic person in the world if we put the best spin on the situation. His obituary for Tony Miles which was somewhat of a low point where he confessed to extracting revenge on Miles by sleeping with his girlfriend was somewhat interesting but perhaps better left to some tell all book rather than an obituary potentially read by millions.

His mocking attacks on Wesley So for his Christian beliefs are problematic. I would like to see better judgement and tolerance from a potential FIDE president.

Even more problematic are his pronouncements on women and chess and his behaviour around women. Compiling information from a number of sources including interviews, articles, books and discussions with chess players and organizers seem to promote an impression of someone who is misogynistic and obsessed with conquest. Perhaps this is simply a public persona which is not a reflection of the private individual. His behavior in this area seems juvenile and may be a calculated attempt to draw attention on the theory that it is easier to convert anger and hate into a useful outcome (in terms of conquest) than it is to convert indifference. I don't know. His pronouncements and behaviour offend women and especially young women. I am not sure that we can afford to offend half the population if we want growth in chess.

George Makropoulos

It seems to me that what you see is what you get in terms of Mr. Makropoulos. When the choice is a sanction hobbled Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Mr. Makropoulos then the choice was obvious and the CFC board unanimously supported Mr. Makropoulos who seemed a somewhat reluctant candidate at the time. Mr. Makropoulos has held things together during the time of Kirsan and he gets some criticism for that. I am not sure that is fair. I would say that we continue to lean in his direction but nothing is set in stone and that could change when we cast our vote in the light of any new developments. I did fill out a nomination form for him and if we had to vote today we would vote for him based on the currently available information.

[Kevin Pacey]

Makropoulos would seem the best choice at the moment, I concur.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

The board has voted unanimously to support George Makropoulos. The only thing that will change our vote is some new development or replacement of the board before the FIDE election.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Danailov has some problems apparently.

http://www.europechess.org/police-confirms-forged-bank-documents-3rd-july-2018-press-release/

[Hugh Brodie]

Will there be a "run-off" election (or additional ballots) if no one succeeds in getting a majority on the first ballot? If so - has Hal been given a second choice if it comes down to that?

[Fred McKim]

Will there be a "run-off" election (or additional ballots) if no one succeeds in getting a majority on the first ballot? If so - has Hal been given a second choice if it comes down to that?

My understanding is that a second ballot would include all of the candidates and the person with the largest number of votes from that second ballot would win.

[Ken Craft]

I think a secon ballot would be a run-off between the top two candidates.

[Aris Marghetis]

I think a secon ballot would be a run-off between the top two candidates.

I THINK, but don't know for sure, that if the first ballot doesn't produce a "50% + 1 vote" winner, then the lowest is dropped, and another ballot occurs, and so on. In this election, barring some weird tie situations, this should take at most two ballots. Please note that what I'm saying is based on hearsay, that it could actually work differently.

[Pierre Dénommée]

According to FIDE Handbook

3.7 For all elections a majority of the votes cast, not counting abstentions, shall be required. If there is a tie, the voting is repeated until the tie is broken. If three or more persons are nominated for the same offices or office, the candidates that receive 50% plus one of the votes cast, are elected on the first ballot. Thereafter, the candidates receiving most votes on the second ballot are elected to the vacant number of offices. If there is a tie, the voting is repeated until the tie is broken. The election procedure for the Continental offices will follow the regulations in each Continent.

[Fred McKim]

According to FIDE Handbook

3.7 For all elections a majority of the votes cast, not counting abstentions, shall be required. If there is a tie, the voting is repeated until the tie is broken. If three or more persons are nominated for the same offices or office, the candidates that receive 50% plus one of the votes cast, are elected on the first ballot. Thereafter, the candidates receiving most votes on the second ballot are elected to the vacant number of offices. If there is a tie, the voting is repeated until the tie is broken. The election procedure for the Continental offices will follow the regulations in each Continent.

This more or less agrees with what I suggested (Yes, very odd election method !)

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

I THINK, but don't know for sure, that if the first ballot doesn't produce a "50% + 1 vote" winner, then the lowest is dropped, and another ballot occurs, and so on. In this election, barring some weird tie situations, this should take at most two ballots. Please note that what I'm saying is based on hearsay, that it could actually work differently.

Would need to go through prehistorical elections to confirm, but that was happened before. It might be that the candidates with the least votes dropped their ticket, and it became only 2 candidate in the second round.

[Ken Craft]

A most bizarre election method.

[Kerry Liles]

The board has voted unanimously to support George Makropoulos. The only thing that will change our vote is some new development or replacement of the board before the FIDE election.

It seems Makro has been involved in some rather dubious appointments
(see today's article on Spraggett's blog:http://www.spraggettonchess.com/makro-advocates-systemic-corruption-ahead-of-election/ )

I am not always a big fan of KS and some of his ranting but it seems he may have a point. The blog entry points to the following letter:

https://africachessmedia.com/2018/08/22/africa-arbiter-selection-saga-mars-batumi-chess-olympiad/

and some of the issues raised there.

It would not surprise me to find that Makro is more or less cut from the same cloth as IllusionOf. I think the CFC should perhaps hold off on any endorsement (since I am sure the CFC preference will influence no one anyway). I also find Nigel Short's platform somewhat lacking and his personal
appeal tainted by his often stated views about women (chess players and non-players). He (Short) is not even a serious candidate in my opinion.

This leaves the only other choice which may be lesser of all evils.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

The people who organize the tournament usually make the choice of arbiters. I know because I am from time to time asked to send an email to an organizer asking them to employ someone specific from Canada as an arbiter. When I organized the CYCC/CO/NAYCC in 2016, I had far more people who wanted arbiter positions than I had arbiter positions. Politics and personalities and friendships do enter into it with regard to who gets those positions. The organizer does not want any headaches or personality conflicts. Just because someone calls something corrupt does not make it corrupt. Their job is to put on and organize an Olympiad and a FIDE general assembly and election and not to make every individual federation happy with their choices at every step of the way. The Batumi organizers have put up on the order of 18 million Euros in order to host this Olympiad, FIDE meeting and the World Cup. They get to make the decisions that they want to make.

I still have a bone to pick with this year's organizer over the treatment of Anton Kovalyov at the World Cup. It will have to wait for another few years as I am not attending Batumi. I am getting lots of emails from various people complaining about different things some of which are written in languages that I am not fluent in. Google translate usually lets me get the gist of it. Most of them amount to nonsense (Patrick the head of AIDEF unfriended someone on facebook for being rude). These are not things that I put much concern into.

We are not going to vote for someone on the pre-sanction list of the U.S. Treasury department. Explanations of how this eventuality might be mitigated have not reached my inbox. I have seen communications complaining about things Kirsan Ilyumzhinov did (though trying to blame Makro) by the campaign which includes Kirsan as an advisor. Barring a large scale change of mind, five of the seven previous CFC board members are returning and thus the decision to support George Makropoulos is not likely to change.

[Fred McKim]

Don't forget the 2 FIDE election polls we have set up in the English Chat Forum; 1) Who do you think will win ?, 2) Who would you vote for ?

[Vadim Tsypin]

Why the Association of Chess Professionals supports Arkady Dvorkovich

Author: ACP Board
Date: 2 September 2018

A few weeks ago the ACP Board unanimously voted to support the candidacy of Arkady Dvorkovich (https://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/acp-supports-dvorkovich) for the FIDE presidency, an unprecedented stance in the history of our association. Never before had ACP supported any candidate, feeling that we should remain neutral in the political arena. However this could no longer be the case. Major problems require major, groundbreaking decisions.

In a large part this decision was taken as a result of a major disappointment with the current FIDE leadership, especially when you consider that Mr. Makropoulos has been a top FIDE official uninterruptedly from 1986 (that’s all of 32 years).

However, it was not less important for ACP to hear Mr. Dvorkovich's opinion on the matters we find vitally important for chess and we were pleased to see that he shares our views on many issues.

The work of FIDE

FIDE’s work has been utterly ineffective for quite some time now - the work of many Commissions is poor and they are not independent as they should be. The whole decision-taking process is non-transparent to the extreme, with budget allocation criteria unknown to everyone but a handful of top executives and the most important decisions often taken single-handedly without a proper discussion.
On top of it, there is no proper communication with the outside world, there are no lasting commercial partners and many of the deeds regarding the major FIDE events are obscure at best. The lack of transparency gets to such a degree that often the members of respective Commissions don't know about the decisions taken by their own Commission. All these problems must be seriously tackled and Mr. Dvorkovich’s vision is similar to ours in this regard.

Anti-cheating issues

We have repeatedly stressed that this is a life-threatening problem for chess, but FIDE, which reluctantly agreed to set up the Anti-Cheating Commission in 2014, has since then hindered the work of the Commission in many ways: by not funding it properly, by not providing it with the tools it has been repeatedly asking, by letting outsiders write the regulations that the Commission should have written. In other words, ACC is only a formal body with little power to make an impact on the fight against cheating. Mr. Dvorkovich is the only candidate who specified his intention to fight the issue by allocating the much needed funds and approving the required regulations. ACP feels this is vital for chess and will fight side by side with Mr. Dvorkovich to make sure that an effective anti-cheating framework is implemented.

World Championship Cycle

This is a very troublesome area. To start with, the last title match saw the highest budget for such an event ever but also one of the lowest prize-funds in modern history. That is simply ridiculous. Restoring transparency and respect for the players is a very much needed action. It is not irrelevant to mention that the Grand Prix series suffered a major blow in recent years, mainly due to FIDE’s inability to attract corporate sponsors.
We feel this could change with Mr.Dvorkovich being elected.

Women's chess

Top female players suffer from lack of suitable events. Even the World Championship cycle is constantly rescheduled and reshaped. Events are cancelled and the strongest female player in the world refuses to participate in the official competitions that are organized in this haphazard way. This can no longer continue. ACP welcomes Mr. Dvorkovich’s written engagement to establish a properly functioning World Championship Cycle for Women, re-establishing the Grand Prix series, introducing the Candidates Tournament and aligning Men's and Women's Championship Cycles.

Helping veterans

FIDE has first reduced and then discontinued its support for this important project, which safeguards the dignity of players who made the history of our game. Mr. Dvorkovich, on the other hand, plans to re-establish it, something which ACP warmly welcomes – having fought for this program from the very beginning. In addition, conditions for the World Veteran competitions must be improved. Today these events have a very clear commercial purpose, while we want our distinguished veterans to be engaged with chess without being overcharged time after time.

Calendar of official events

The dates of the major events are regularly shifted and that creates a major problem for both players and organizers of traditional events. The chess calendar should be carefully planned two years ahead and FIDE should stick to it.

FIDE General Assemblies and Terms

ACP strongly supports the view that no President should be serving for more than two consecutive terms. This is vital to democracy in every major organization and FIDE is no exception. Additionally, ACP supports Mr. Dvorkovich’s idea of a FIDE General Assembly every year. This will encourage change, adaptation to the changing times and will provide Commissions with the much needed feedback from the chess community.

During our meetings with Mr.Dvorkovich we have extensively discussed these and other issues and we can clearly see his professionalism and ability to bring about the necessary changes. ACP is ready to join forces with the Dvorkovich Team and be proactively involved in all the processes that can make the professional chess world a better place.


It is time for a change.


ACP Board

https://www.chessprofessionals.org/content/why-acp-supports-arkady-dvorkovich

[Fred McKim]

Vadim

I wonder if you're posting this in support of the ACP Decision / Dvorkovich team or simply as part of your new role as CFC Publicity Officer ? I'm not sure if we ever announced it after the conclusion of the AGM.

Fred

[Vladimir Drkulec]

I spoke to Mr. Dvorkovich by telephone this week. He is an impressive candidate. He has indicated that the pre-sanction list which basically includes everyone in the Russian government will not progress to him being placed on a sanctions list because he is out of the Russian government. I believe FIDE has two good choices in this election: Mr. Makropoulos and Mr. Dvorkovich.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Vadim Tsypin is indeed our new publicity officer. I look forward to working with him even more than we have in the recent past.

[Vadim Tsypin]

Meeting 95 federations and gaining a clear confidence in over 90 delegates' votes for our candidate as of today

Over the past two and a half months, Arkady Dvorkovich and his team members have met representatives of 95 national chess Federations, each continent visited at least twice. As of today, these meetings and discussions give Arkady Dvorkovich's team a clear vote of support from 91 federations.

In the Arab world, Tunisia and Sudan have officially replied to the President of the Arab Chess Union's (ACU) call to side with Arkady Dvorkovich. Let us keep in mind that although the ACF President is entitled to call for support, he is actually not entitled to vote at the upcoming FIDE presidential election.

In ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations listing 10 federations, a vote of Mr. Prospero Pichay, President of the Philippines Chess Federation, does by no means amount to 10 votes as part of one list even taking into account his status as President of the ASEAN Chess Confederation (ACC). We are confident that the Asian national chess federations will follow their own best judgment in the interest of chess and future of FIDE.

We keep looking forward to the elections of October 3 as a turning point bringing renewal so much needed by FIDE. It is now less than a month before the FIDE Congress kicks off in Batumi. Our team will continue meeting representatives of various federations to discuss the 8 strong moves intended to transform FIDE. Hopefully, we will succeed in convincing people to join us for this journey of chess development.

Bachar Kouatly, President of the French Chess Federation


https://fide2018.com/news/25

[Vadim Tsypin]

Open Letter of the FIDE presidential candidate Arkady Dvorkovich

Dear friends,

Three days ago I received a letter from the FIDE Ethics Commission informing me about a complaint submitted by FIDE Deputy President and my election competitor Mr. Makropoulos. I will refrain now from delving into the details of the complaint, but its essence is very simple: in the opinion of Mr. Makropoulos, I should be barred from chess activities for the next eight (!) years as a person resorting to unauthorized methods of campaigning and violating the ethical code.

I do not want to focus here on the specifics of accusations or publish defense pleadings. It is up to the lawyers. I can only repeat what I have already stated many times: I have never exploited diplomatic ties to put any pressure on representatives of chess federations.

I reject all accusations and hope that the FIDE Ethics commission will take a fair decision. I expect a fair decision – the one that will not prevent members of my ticket and me from participating in the upcoming FIDE elections. This eligibility is granted to us by the federations nominating our team and the electoral commission confirming this right. Of course, the best way to prove one's case at the approaching elections does not lie in dishonest bureaucratic games, but in getting a support for your vision from the national federations all over the globe.

However, my opponent does not seem to believe in democracy. Having been in FIDE's office for 32 years now, he has simply forgotten what it is. Mr. Makropoulos is perfectly well aware of his standing no chance in a fair contest. While campaigning, I have met delegates and representatives of over 100 national federations and learned a lot about the problems of the chess world. I can confidently state that an overwhelming majority of federations are sharing our vision for the future of chess. It is this awareness of an imminent defeat, and not at all a concern for the "purity of elections", that stands behind Mr. Makropoulos's complaint to the Ethics Commission. He keeps boasting some phantasmagorical figures of support, but the reality is very much different – and he tries to prevent me from participating in the elections – and also to ban several federations that supported my candidacy.

Filing such a complaint is a clear sign of weakness. The complaint to the Ethics Commission is Mr. Makropoulos's last chance for a successful electoral outcome. He is not keen on outperforming his competitor. He is trying to get rid of him. This is his way of slowing down the renewal process that chess needs so desperately. This is the best he can try to get four more years in the FIDE office. Aren't we all tired of it?

I am here with my team to deliver a better future for FIDE in general and for each federation in particular. I am ready to devote all my experience, knowledge and professionalism to the service of the world chess community.

After 32 years in FIDE office by Mr. Makropoulos, who was in charge for nearly all important decisions FIDE took in the last twenty years, the chess world has sunk to a miserable state. Prize funds of the World Championship matches are the lowest since 1969! FIDE keeps living on the money collected from national federations and players, while more than half of FIDE budget is spent on FIDE offices and untraceable spendings. FIDE's image is poor, its work is non-transparent to the extreme, and the lack of commercial partners is astonishing.

We are going to reverse the trend, and in order to address the issue I have repeatedly promised to bring in corporate sponsors both for FIDE and for national federations. And not only promised – I have already received some written commitments and will present them in Batumi. This said, I have never made it a condition or demanded that someone support me in return for certain favors. None of the delegates or presidents of the national federations that we have met will accuse me of bribery or any form of pressure. Simply because it never happened.

My team and I believe in the Ethics Commission to take a fair decision. After all, the FIDE structures are designed to serve, rather than damage, a common cause. Unlike our opponents, we respect freedom of expression and do not question the delegates' common sense in deciding on the future of chess all by themselves.

With respect, Arkady Dvorkovich,
FIDE presidential candidate

https://fide2018.com/news/28

[Aris Marghetis]

I've been here since late Monday, and have heard SURPRISINGLY little election talk. Maybe because I hangout more with Arbiters and players? Well, it's sure coming up.

[Aris Marghetis]

Enjoy your trip Aris. You should hang out a bit more with Bernard Labadie and Patrick Van Hoolandt :-). If you're lucky, you might even get a free caricature :-). Joke aside, words coming in seem to claim the Makro side is much more effective in Batumi.

Yeah, I actually have bumped into Patrick, bur haven't seen Bernard yet. But then again, I'm kinda wearing three hats here, so been running around like an old chicken lol

As Commission work and then Lecturing work wrap up, I should have more time to just go hang out with people. I'm about 2km away from where "the action is". Salut!