2018 FIDE Elections

[Vlad Drkulec]

No, I expect responses relevant to the post, ie "not one rich guy involved". You said you have "no problem working with successful capitalists" that contradicts the "not one rich guy involved" post you already did. Of course from you I expect no rational or credible dialogue whatsoever.

There was not one rich guy involved. So? Your point?

[Sid Belzberg]

There was not one rich guy involved. So? Your point?

Hey Vlad I have another idea to settle this whole issue .I challenge you to a 5-0 blitz match of 7 games. If you win I move on and leave you and the CFC alone. If I win you and the CFC endorses and vote for Nigel Short. I am rusty but the quality of your replies emboldens me to make such a challenge. This would be a fitting way after all to settle a long standing conflict between us and could serve as an example.
I bet we could even get some press out of it. So......wanna play?

[Vlad Drkulec]

If I were to agree to that, I would have to vote for impeachment of the CFC president when it came up for a vote. What is next, trial by combat? Chess boxing? Wooden swords? Pistols at dawn? Scratch that last one, I am a much bigger target. I would also be hard pressed to find a clause in the Not For Profit Act which would allow such a solution.

If it was Daswani or Bonham, I might go for chess boxing and channel Hannibal Lecter but I don't dislike you, Sid. Your positions are perfectly reasonable from your point of view. You are not a bad person even if I don't always like your actions. You are motivated by your friendship with Garry Kasparov.

[Vlad Drkulec]

There was not one rich guy involved. So? Your point?

I was working as part of a team where the situation was defined already and we had to work out a solution.

My experience more recently has been that it is probably better for me to go into meetings myself. I tend to get better results that way as I am focused on the outcome and we don't get any disruptions to the flow of the story from our side of the table.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.
- Simone Weil

[Ken Craft]

I had my finger on the impeachment button. ;^)

[Vlad Drkulec]

I had my finger on the impeachment button. ;^)

Dodged a bullet there.

[Erik Malmsten]

I have no problem working with successful capitalists. I have little problem getting people to invest in chess. All I have to do is talk to them and tell them what we are doing. My issue is that we don't have enough organizers to make use of all the opportunities that have been uncovered. In March we met with 26 communities and multiple hotel chains interested in working with us to hold chess events. Most of them are still deeply interested. I don't have enough organizers who can assist them in their efforts. I even had one organizer that was irritated that we were stirring up sponsorship opportunities on "their turf".

Where we do have organizers it seems to me that these efforts in March by Fred McKim and myself have probably led to on the order of $40,000 to $50,000 of sponsorship assuming that the communities get the events they are bidding on or the tournaments being organized go ahead. They could easily lead to ten times that if we had a better infrastructure of organizers

Thank you for working with these communities and hotels obtaining a little bit of potential sponsorship. I assume that you're looking for volunteer organizers in low population areas (like the successful Canadian Open in Sault Ste Marie). Shouldn't the CFC have a program of training players to become organizers? We have a few taking FA classes now and many masters teaching.

[Alain Lafleche]

My choice would be Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich. I I think he has the tools to promote chess and tournaments around the world. Mr.Short has often criticized chess women.... not my 1st choice.

[Vlad Drkulec]

My choice would be Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich. I I think he has the tools to promote chess and tournaments around the world. Mr.Short has often criticized chess women.... not my 1st choice.

At the moment, Mr. Dvorkovich is an impressive candidate based on his handling of the FIFA world cup but he is on the U.S. Treasury department pre-sanctions list so there is a strong likelihood that we would be right back where we started. He is closer to Mr. Putin than Mr. Ilyumzhinov was.

[Alain Lafleche]

At the moment, Mr. Dvorkovich is an impressive candidate based on his handling of the FIFA world cup but he is on the U.S. Treasury department pre-sanctions list so there is a strong likelihood that we would be right back where we started. He is closer to Mr. Putin than Mr. Ilyumzhinov was.

You are right Mr.Druklec, but i sincerely I believe that Mr. Dvorkovich is the man of the situation to promote chess and tournaments around the world. The success of FIFA world CUP is an example. I must confess that I am very disappointed with the AIDEF who answered in your place on their Website saying that you already made your choice with Mr Makropoulos.
This is a very bad way to influence the vote from other presidents of other countries... I do not approve this way of doing things

Regards

Alain Lafleche

[Vlad Drkulec]

What part of FIDE will not be able to have a bank account don't you understand?

If you do not get involved in chess politics then you can't legitimately complain with the decisions made by those that do. This was the trap that I fell into. You are welcome to do the same.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Thank you for working with these communities and hotels obtaining a little bit of potential sponsorship. I assume that you're looking for volunteer organizers in low population areas (like the successful Canadian Open in Sault Ste Marie). Shouldn't the CFC have a program of training players to become organizers? We have a few taking FA classes now and many masters teaching.

The best way to train is to volunteer to help at a tournament like the one you are thinking of organizing. The Pereduns Roman and Andrew both helped at CYCC 2015, CYCC 2016, CO 2016 and NAYCC 2016 all of which took place in Windsor.and they were well prepared to organize an excellent 2017 CYCC and CO in Sault Ste Marie. Lessons I learned from CYCC 2015 really helped me to avoid the same mistakes in 2016 when I organized the three tournaments.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

At the moment, Mr. Dvorkovich is an impressive candidate based on his handling of the FIFA world cup but he is on the U.S. Treasury department pre-sanctions list so there is a strong likelihood that we would be right back where we started. He is closer to Mr. Putin than Mr. Ilyumzhinov was.

You seem to be of the opinion that the real target of the sanctions against Kirsan was the government of the Russian Federation. That is also my opinion. However, the US Treasury Department, and the US government generally, jumped through all sorts of bureaucratic hoops to make the spurious claim that Kirsan, by virtue of a unproved connection to a Syrian bank, and an unproven connection between the Syrian government and Daesh/ISIL terrorists, that, therefore, there was a connections between Kirsan and terrorists. It was, IMHO, a steaming pile of animal droppings from start to finish.

What is also astonishing about the US hubris on this issue is that they - like Canada, the UK and certain other countries that cannot be named I might add - are, now that the Daesh terrorists have been virtually completely militarily defeated in Syria, welcoming, e.g., the White Helmets as "refugees" when the latter have proven connections with the terrorists, were active only on territory controlled by the terrorists, tried, in vain, to justify US and other attacks on Syria by manufactured claims of chemical attacks, and so on.

The hubris of the US aside, and the current POTUS who is, to put it generously, an unpredictable entity, trying to negotiate such a mine-field of nasty politics must be very, very difficult.

I salute you and the Executive for doing your best in an impossible situation. Whatever candidate you decide to support will probably be undermined even before he takes office. To have others come on here, in addition, with bullying tactics and threats, is more of the same nonsense.

Well done, and, in the words of Margaret Atwood, "Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum".

[Stephen Wright]

Well done, and, in the words of Margaret Atwood, "Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum".

I always preferred the Ronnie Barker version: