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I would like to thank both Sid and Vlad for taking the time to respond to my comment in a previous thread. I was especially pleased with Sid's reasonable reply to my post which left the door open to a great future for chess in Canada.
I don't want to put words in people's mouths, so I ask the question:
Based on what you know today, Sid and Vlad, who would you support? I have no problem with either of you changing your mind before the actual vote between now and then....open minds are the best minds :).
Other people can weigh in on this subject but I would appreciate it if we can hear from these two people first.
Larry, Thank you for asking. Vlad took the liberty of posting Nigel's note to Chess Federations and there really is not much I can add to it. I agree absolutely with Nigel's positions and Nigel is the one to support for the many reasons he outlined. This is not an exercise in handicapping who win's the FIDE election but a path to long overdue reform and a path to getting the sport to have regular Western sponsorship as it should. As Nigel pointed out, because it is a three way race the opportunity is there for change regardless of whether he wins or not. Since who runs FIDE is of little consequence to the daily CFC operations I don't think the CFC has anything to lose and all to gain by supporting Nigel.
Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Wednesday, 11th July, 2018, 06:44 PM.
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.
I am writing this as my opinion and it might not be the opinion of everyone on the CFC board. At the moment, I do not have full knowledge of all of the candidates but I am strongly leaning towards Makro.
The 2nd Quarter 2018 Presidential Board in Bucharest, Romania considered the forthcoming elections and unanimously resolved to ensure that they are fair and transparent. The Board noted:
FIDE is a Swiss registered organisation and its policy is clear in relation to bribery and other forms of corruption. The solicitation, the offer, the payment and/or the acceptance of inducements, in any form, is unacceptable and subject to sanction by the FIDE Ethics Commission and/or Swiss authorities. Offering or accepting bribes (‘bribery’) is a criminal offence, in Swiss law, and there are penalties, both civil and criminal, for those who undertake such offences.
The election process must not only be fair but be seen to be fair. To that end the PB resolved to create an Electoral Integrity Committee composed of independent persons, with appropriate experience and or legal expertise, who will investigate cases of alleged corruption and recommend action accordingly to the competent authorities. The members of the committee will be:
1. Dr. M. Hochatrrasser (Switzerland) - Chairman
2. Dr. M. Tebti (Algeria)
3. Dr. Rashid Anezi (Kuwait)
4. Mr. Enrique Celi (Uruguay)
No Federation Presidents, delegates or officials in FIDE of any national chess federation should accept any gifts, subsidy, inducements, financial or otherwise, or accept any hospitality from a Presidential or Continental electoral candidate, member, adviser or supporter of a Presidential ticket or electoral candidate. All Presidents, officials, delegates or candidates should immediately report any such offer to the Electoral Integrity Committee.
Officials include but are not limited to:
• Officers or any person with influence over the decision or voting processes of FIDE or any national chess federation/s including but not limited to Presidents or Delegates of such federations.
• Candidates for election to any FIDE or Continental positions
• Employees, administrators, managers, employed by FIDE or national chess federations
If, at any time, officials believe that there is any inappropriate behavior by a third party, they should contact the Electoral Integrity Committee and raise the matter for appropriate investigation and action.
FIDE rejects all political interference from governments in the conduct of the election including and not limited to: The lobbying of delegates by embassies or other governmental organisations. The Presidential Board notes this is also against the principles of the International Olympic Committee.
FIDE also advises that the details of the official travel subsidy for the Batumi Olympiad will be announced by Friday July 13th 2018. Any form of assistance, promises, inducements, or subsidy towards travel costs to the Olympiad by Candidates, advisors or supporters of any electoral candidates will be considered clearly as bribery.
The establishment of the Electoral Integrity Committee does not preclude any member of FIDE, FIDE official or the FIDE Presidential Board from referring any matter relating to the election directly to the FIDE Ethics Commission. A number of allegations of attempted bribery of delegates have already been brought to the attention of the Board.
The 2nd Quarter 2018 Presidential Board in Bucharest, Romania considered the forthcoming elections and unanimously resolved to ensure that they are fair and transparent. The Board noted:
FIDE is a Swiss registered organisation and its policy is clear in relation to bribery and other forms of corruption. The solicitation, the offer, the payment and/or the acceptance of inducements, in any form, is unacceptable and subject to sanction by the FIDE Ethics Commission and/or Swiss authorities. Offering or accepting bribes (‘bribery’) is a criminal offence, in Swiss law, and there are penalties, both civil and criminal, for those who undertake such offences.
The election process must not only be fair but be seen to be fair. To that end the PB resolved to create an Electoral Integrity Committee composed of independent persons, with appropriate experience and or legal expertise, who will investigate cases of alleged corruption and recommend action accordingly to the competent authorities. The members of the committee will be:
1. Dr. M. Hochatrrasser (Switzerland) - Chairman
2. Dr. M. Tebti (Algeria)
3. Dr. Rashid Anezi (Kuwait)
4. Mr. Enrique Celi (Uruguay)
No Federation Presidents, delegates or officials in FIDE of any national chess federation should accept any gifts, subsidy, inducements, financial or otherwise, or accept any hospitality from a Presidential or Continental electoral candidate, member, adviser or supporter of a Presidential ticket or electoral candidate. All Presidents, officials, delegates or candidates should immediately report any such offer to the Electoral Integrity Committee.
Officials include but are not limited to:
• Officers or any person with influence over the decision or voting processes of FIDE or any national chess federation/s including but not limited to Presidents or Delegates of such federations.
• Candidates for election to any FIDE or Continental positions
• Employees, administrators, managers, employed by FIDE or national chess federations
If, at any time, officials believe that there is any inappropriate behavior by a third party, they should contact the Electoral Integrity Committee and raise the matter for appropriate investigation and action.
FIDE rejects all political interference from governments in the conduct of the election including and not limited to: The lobbying of delegates by embassies or other governmental organisations. The Presidential Board notes this is also against the principles of the International Olympic Committee.
FIDE also advises that the details of the official travel subsidy for the Batumi Olympiad will be announced by Friday July 13th 2018. Any form of assistance, promises, inducements, or subsidy towards travel costs to the Olympiad by Candidates, advisors or supporters of any electoral candidates will be considered clearly as bribery.
The establishment of the Electoral Integrity Committee does not preclude any member of FIDE, FIDE official or the FIDE Presidential Board from referring any matter relating to the election directly to the FIDE Ethics Commission. A number of allegations of attempted bribery of delegates have already been brought to the attention of the Board.
Hard to believe, but TRUE! It has always amazed me how chess players can sometimes be so STUPID. Yesterday , on the FIDE site, saw published an article ‘FIDE announces anti-corruption measures.’The 2nd paragraph of this article reads:
FIDE is a Swiss registered organisation and its policy is clear in relation to bribery and other forms of corruption. The solicitation, the offer, the payment and/or the acceptance of inducements, in any form, is unacceptable and subject to sanction by the FIDE Ethics Commission and/or Swiss authorities. Offering or accepting bribes (‘bribery’) is a criminal offence, in Swiss law, and there are penalties, both civil and criminal, for those who undertake such offences.
Just taking the most recent FIDE election, in 2014, FIDE openly offered $80,000 to the Canadian Chess Federation in return for its vote. There is plenty of documentation on this transaction, as it was done publicly. I even wrote about this here on this blog!Furthermore, Canada was not the only FIDE member to be offered tens of thousands of dollars in return for votes. Both Kasparov (thru his foundation) and FIDE were actively competing in these ‘negotiations’.My question to Makropoulos is this: given that this was the modus operandi of FIDE for many years, have you contacted the Swiss authorities and offered to hand yourself (and your colleagues) in and be prosecuted under the full extent of Swiss law?That would be doing a real service to FIDE, and be much appreciated by the entire world chess community.
ATTENTION: NICK FAULKS
On the Canadian chess message boards one can find literally hundreds of references to the $80,000 ‘bribe’ from FIDE. Official CFC (Canadian Chess Federation) documents also have detailed references to this transaction. The CFC president, Vlad Drkulec, was quite transparent about this entire episode, freely discussing the details. It is even mentioned in 2018!
Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Friday, 13th July, 2018, 03:05 PM.
Past chesstalk posts included in Kevin Spraggett's article posted above. So Vlad if the CFC is so transparent show us documentation of the deal done with FIDE/Kirsan including FIDE/Kirsan denying the CFC the 60K in tourney sponsorship as agreed to. No complaints have ever surfaced from other Chess federations that FIDE/Kirsan did not honor it's payments stemming from the 2014 election according to someone very close to FIDE.
I am a CFC Life member and significant past donor. I am entitled to these answers.
Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Saturday, 14th July, 2018, 10:47 AM.
.... Nigel Short
....
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.
....
There you go, Larry Bevand. You started this thread, and in response Mr. Drkulec has exposed the worst sort of hypocrisy.
You know exactly of what I speak, Larry. You are the one who removed from ChessTalk Mr. Drkulec's May 27 2017 rant of hatred against all atheists and all liberals, and you saw what he accused them all of on this public forum.
If you had any balls, Larry, you'd not only confirm this, but you'd fill in the blanks as to exactly what Mr Drkulec posted, which I can assure everyone was far worse than anything Nigel Short has ever said or posted against Christian beliefs.
But no, I fully expect you to remain silent since you have shown the typical "end justifies the means" outlook on Drkulec as CFC President.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
Past chesstalk posts included in Kevin Spraggett's article posted above. So Vlad if the CFC is so transparent show us documentation of the deal done with FIDE/Kirsan including FIDE/Kirsan denying the CFC the 60K in tourney sponsorship as agreed to. No complaints have ever surfaced from other Chess federations that FIDE/Kirsan did not honor it's payments stemming from the 2014 election according to someone very close to FIDE.
I am a CFC Life member and significant past donor. I am entitled to these answers.
If sponsorship is bribery the only documentation I have of attempts at bribery was the notes I took when you Sid Belzberg offered that you might start sponsoring Canadian Chess again if we voted for Kasparov and if Kasparov won. As I recall you were in New York at the time. If sponsorship is not bribery (which I tend to reasonably believe) then I have no notes or documentation about any attempts at bribery. As to disposition of sponsorship funds the equivalent of $10,000 U.S. went to the Alberta Chess Association to hold two IM norm tournaments. The other $10,000 in sponsorship went to a Kitchener event which was a GM norm tournament.
Last edited by Vlad Drkulec; Saturday, 14th July, 2018, 11:08 PM.
Vlad, all well and good , however, you still have not answered my request for transparency, 1)Documentation of the deal done with FIDE/Kirsan and 2) Documentation that FIDE/Kirsan claimed financial hardship and thus was unable to complete all the obligations of the original deal. Yes, you were the one that originally posted here that FIDE/Kirsan claimed financial hardship and therefore the deal could not be completed as originally agreed to. Noteworthy is the fact that you answered a question that was not asked.... the disposition of the solitary payment FIDE/Kirsan did make. That was not necessary to answer as it is already well documented.
In view of the fact that you keep changing the story here on chesstalk about why FIDE/Kirsan did not pay the balance owing gives good reason to request the above. As far as I am concerned until you prove otherwise your credibility is non existent. Therefore without documentation your reasons for supporting Makro are not credible. At this moment the appearance is no different then the dozens of other third world Chess Federations that succumbed to Putin's/Kirsan's/Makro's FIDE corruption in 2014.
You once put in writing to your colleagues that you took "offence" to me comparing Putin to Hitler. That was at a time when Putin had just finished the occupation of Crimea and later, among other things his troops shot down a civilian passenger jet. I find it hard to believe that you like Putin that much however, one thing for sure, in your case both your words and especially your actions speak very loudly.
Last edited by Sid Belzberg; Sunday, 15th July, 2018, 10:17 PM.
When there is no good candidate, the solution is obvious - abstain from voting! Explain why you abstain - eventually the message will come across.
All well and good and very principled but in the meantime one of the unsuitable candidates WILL be "elected" and everyone is stuck with that result. See many recent examples: Trump, Doug Ford etc. It may be more important to pick the least offensive candidate and in any case pressure the resulting executive board relentlessly for transparency and straight dealing. If that doesn't happen then it is time to start considering boycotting events etc.
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