Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

[Ernest Klubis]

Campomanes was President of the International Chess Federation FIDE in the period 1982-1995. His period of presidency was a highly controversial one. He suffered injury in two major car crashes. The one in 2007 left him in intensive care.

[Hal Bond]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Campo was a man of incredible energy. At the World cup in 2005 I would often run into him in the gym! He attended the World Championship match in 2008 as well as the Dresden Olympiad. Even then he was still a gamer - wishing to visit Canada in the hopes of inspiring business leaders to get more involved with chess.

He believed very strongly in giving everything to the task at hand, in doing your utmost, "subject to the rules". Sometimes he would get into a jam when his interpretation of the rules varied from the common view. Although he was a contraversial President there is no question that he moved chess forward. More member Federations, more money, more chess.

I will miss him.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Campo may have done a lot for chess while FIDE President, but he probably did a lot more for himself. He was a close associate of the Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, one of the most corrupt leaders in the history of the planet. Marcos stole billions of dollars from his country's treasury; his wife Imelda, who later became President, is better known for her estimated 10,000pairs of shoes.

At one point Campo boasted that he could get a million dollars from Marcos for chess, stating that it would only be a matter of whether he would get it in the post or straightaway!!

We may never get the full story of Campo's corruption, which has now become FIDE's corrruption. For example, there remain major unanswered questions over the Manila 1992 Olympiad finances, where Campo was in charge. He was originally convicted of fraud in the matter, but the verdict was later overturned, probably due to political interference.

Campo's decision to cancel the 1984-85 Moscow World Championship match between Karpov and Kasparov, without a final result, is one of the most notorious sports decisions of all time, not just in chess. It made headlines for chess around the world, and those were not happy headlines. Chess administration was seen by outsiders as corrupt, a damning verdict for attracting sponsorship for its future.

On the Canadian chess scene, Campo, who had represented his homeland on board one in the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad (one of five appearances he made in that event), played in a NON-MASTER SECTION at the 1988 Saint John Chess Festival Open, and of course won first prize!

[Hal Bond]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Real classy Frank. Smear the man with inuendo, guilt by association and incomplete stories. Couldn't you at least wait unitl he was in the ground? You are such an ass.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Real classy Frank. Smear the man with inuendo, guilt by association and incomplete stories. Couldn't you at least wait unitl he was in the ground? You are such an ass.

Frank's "incomplete stories" look much more complete and pertinent than yours Hal. Saying that he attended the gym in 2005 and that he gave "everything to the task at hand" doesn't say much about the value of the man. I am sure that Al Capone and Adolf Hitler also gave "everything to the task at hand".
I am worried that you seem to have more respect for a dead man who brought lasting corruption into FIDE (and many outrageously well paid arbiter jobs...) than for an honest living one. It won't do Florencio Campomanes or yourself any good.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Hal, there is no need for someone like yourself, Canada's representative to FIDE, and an International Arbiter and International Organizer (titles which have been justly conferred upon you by FIDE), to resort to calling me 'an ass' on this board. You lose a lot of respect in the eyes of virtually everyone in Canadian chess for doing that, especially in the light of the facts on Campo. I think you should apologize to me for your inappropriate insult. I'll give you until the end of this week (May 9) to apologize to me by email, while also posting the apology on this board, and should this not occur, I will then take up the matter with the President of the CFC, Eric Van Dusen.

I think that GM Boris Spassky, former World Champion, and a man universally respected in the world of chess, said it best about Campo, following the outrageous non-decision in the 1984-85 Karpov vs Kasparov match, when he invented this beautifully simple expression: "Karpo-manes." Campo, who as FIDE President was supposed to be impartial and objective, was under the influence of the Soviet Chess Federation, which, while the home federation for both 1984-85 world title match contestants, clearly wanted GM Karpov to keep the world title. There is no other explanation for the events of that time. GM Karpov, who led the match 5-0 over GM Kasparov at one stage, needing just one more win to clinch the match, lost games 47 and 48 to drop back to a 5-3 advantage in decisive games. GM Karpov, who had weakened badly from a physical standpoint since the match began, still needed only one more win to keep his title. If GM Karpov couldn't continue the match at that stage, he should simply have resigned the title. Campo's decision was for a new match to take place, starting in September 1985, a match that GM Kasparov would win. GM Karpov, having been rescued by Campo, had the nerve to then say that he didn't agree with this decision, and wanted the match to resume at 5-3 for him after a break of six months!! And now GM Karpov, who got a rematch in 1986 after he lost in 1985, as part of the deal put forth by Campo, himself wants to be FIDE President! Anyone with half a brain from outside chess who follows events is simply laughing at the chess world; this sentiment is shared by many chess people as well, and those numbers are increasing daily.

Chess historians will have to take some time in determining a fair, balanced, and appropriate legacy for Campo. Campo expanded chess very significantly into the developing world, of that there is no doubt, and that will certainly be the highlight of his tenure. There is no question that chess has benefited from that effort. But, as IM Jean Hebert, current Canadian champion, states in his post, Campo is also largely responsible for the extraordinary growth in the size of the bureaucracy of FIDE, which now must be sustained by ever-increasing funds to pay the salaries of all those administrators, which were not needed before to anywhere near that extent. This bureaucracy, together with its attendant political favour structure, plays a major role in maintaining the status quo which manages world chess.

Concerning the large number of Campo scandals, new information is likely to come out, now that Campo has passed away, and we may finally get more of the truth. But this will take more time, and will likely require FIDE leadership which is significantly more transparent and accountable than what we have now. The information which has so far been reported on Campo is not very flattering as to his integrity. I wonder if GM Karpov, should he become FIDE President, will finally reveal the details of the 1985 deal with Campo!? :) :)

Chess scandals can take a long time for the truth to be known. It was only in 2007 that the late GM David Bronstein finally confirmed, in his final book, the sordid details from the 1953 Zurich Candidates tournament, which had the Soviet Chess Federation favouring GM Vasily Smyslov to win, and pressuring other Soviet players, including most notably GM Bronstein and GM Paul Keres, to make this happen.

[Paul Beckwith]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Guys, my 3 boys (aged 5, 7, and 9) fight just the same way as you. Have any of you ever read a book on conflict resolution?

Hal obviously read Frank's email and was annoyed and quickly posted a retort, not thinking as a FIDE representative but as an indignant person. Perhaps he can allow for some cooling off period before he next fires off an angry email or posting.

Frank, there is not way on earth that Hal will apologize or retract his email even though it was uncalled for. You are giving him an ultimatum in public which no one would respond to, it just makes him angrier.

Rather than carry this latest feud forward indefinitely, the sensible thing to do is just have the site moderator do his job and remove posts that slam other people. So Frank, just ask him to do this and everyone can move on...

[Hal Bond]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

You guys still don't get it do you? The man died on May 3rd. Show some respect for a couple days at least.

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Personally I don't mind if you start slagging me the instant I die. I won't exist anymore so how could it matter to me! Or else, I will be somewhere where it will be the least of my worries.

I don't mind what you say about me anyway, so long as you are careful do to it behind my back where I can't hear you.

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Personally I don't mind if you start slagging me the instant I die. I won't exist anymore so how could it matter to me! Or else, I will be somewhere where it will be the least of my worries.

I don't mind what you say about me anyway, so long as you are careful do to it behind my back where I can't hear you.

Ed, you are missing the point also. You show respect to help ease the pain and suffering of loved ones left behind. Sure, you wouldn't care what we said about you, but think how it would affect your family and friends.

I just returned from the hospital where I spent the evening with my father. He was convinced he was dying. I am relieved to report he is now back home, safe and sound. Whatever the outcome, you can bet I would have been very upset to read such comments about him like those Frank has written about Campo.

We should always take a moment to consider the consequences of our words, before we speak!

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Ed, you are missing the point also. You show respect to help ease the pain and suffering of loved ones left behind. Sure, you wouldn't care what we said about you, but think how it would affect your family and friends.
I just returned from the hospital where I spent the evening with my father. He was convinced he was dying. I am relieved to report he is now back home, safe and sound. Whatever the outcome, you can bet I would have been very upset to read such comments about him like those Frank has written about Campo.

Are you aware of any relatives of Campomanes reading this message board ? Was Campo Hal's dad ? If not, that leaves you with no point at all to excuse Hal's words towards Frank Dixon. Hal was not defending a relative. Out of questionable judgment he was praising a man with a dubious record in chess, to say the least.

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Are you aware of any relatives of Campomanes reading this message board ? Was Campo Hal's dad ? If not, that leaves you with no point at all to excuse Hal's words towards Frank Dixon. Hal was not defending a relative. Out of questionable judgment he was praising a man with a dubious record in chess, to say the least.

Jean, I believe you have missed my point as well.

But to answer your questions, I don't know if Campo's relatives listen in on chesstalk, maybe yes, maybe no! And as far as I know, Hal is not related to Campo. But all that is completely irrelevant.

It is common practice to show respect for the recently departed, to suspend our criticisms and focus on the positive. It is simply the right thing to do.

Frank holds some strong opinions about Campo, fair enough. However, I am sure Frank did not intend to inflict any additional pain on the Campo family. Upon reflection, I believe he would agree that holding his tongue for a few days would have been preferable.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Frank holds some strong opinions about Campo, fair enough. However, I am sure Frank did not intend to inflict any additional pain on the Campo family. Upon reflection, I believe he would agree that holding his tongue for a few days would have been preferable.

Well, if it is merely a question of timing, you will have to agree with me that it did not deserve to be publicly called an "ass".

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

Ed, you are missing the point also.

Actually, judging by the rest, you missed my point.

[Erik Malmsten]

Re: Former FIDE President Florencio Campomanes has died at the age of 83.

On the Canadian chess scene, Campo, who had represented his homeland on board one in the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad (one of five appearances he made in that event), played in a NON-MASTER SECTION at the 1988 Saint John Chess Festival Open, and of course won first prize!

Campomanes first came to Canada in 1957 as the second for the Phillipines representative in the World Junior Chess Championship held at the YMCA in Toronto (he was in one of the newspaper photos). He was a life-long chess organizer.