Three Elections

FIDE: A lot has happened since my first post on the FIDE Presidential election: Russian Federation to Decide FIDE Election?. I'll defer to various reports from NYTimes.com to document the events since then.

• 2010-03-17: Can Karpov Be President of Chess Federation?
  
• 2010-05-04: Karpov for President!
  
• 2010-05-14: Karpov Finds Support in a Surprising Place: Russia
  
• 2010-05-16: Rhetoric Is Ratcheted Up in Fight for Presidency
  
• 2010-05-18: Karpov Raises Money (With a Little Help From His Friends) and A Wall Street Presence in the World of Chess Politics
  
• 2010-05-26: Russian Knights Joust to Control Chess World

I don't have a personal preference between Karpov and Ilyumzhinov. Both candidates have too many skeletons in the closet and, as I mentioned in that first post, I expect the choice to be made de facto by the Russian chess federation. Neither man can be expected to lead the world organization for four years without the support of his home federation, the most important national chess federation on the planet.

Complicating that decision, the Russian federation appears to be virtually leaderless, a temporary phenomenon that should sort itself out in short order. As for my previous belief that the choice of the Russian federation would not be transparent, the opposite has occurred: there is too much transparency. This isn't a soap opera; it's an election for the most important political position in chess.

One idea whose time has come is to set term limits on the FIDE President. The President-for-Life coronation is a prerequisite for stagnation and corruption.

ECU: Of the four candidates for the presidency of the European Chess Union (in order of declared candidacy)...

• Kutin (Slovenia, the incumbent); Interview with Boris Kutin, ECU President [Chessdom.com]
  
• Yazici (Turkey); Ali Nihat Yazici runs for President of the European Chess Union [Chessbase.com]
  
• Danailov (Bulgaria); Silvio Danailov for ECU President [Danailov-for-President.com]
  
• von Weizsäcker (Germany); Robert von Weizsäcker announces ECU President candidacy [Chessvibes.com]

...I initially favored Danailov. He has many good ideas about how to promote chess and he gets things done. Unfortunately, his chronic lack of diplomacy is a serious handicap. This was confirmed in a recent report by Chessdom.com: Precedent in chess history, chess moves copyright violation goes in court : Danailov shares details about the case. How can a candidate for the highest chess office in Europe, who will also serve as the Continental President for FIDE, sue the most important commercial chess organization in his biggest constituency? A better choice is Ali Nihat Yazici. He also has many good ideas, he gets things done, and he knows how to get his way without using brass knuckles.

USCF: This is easy. There are three candidates for two open positions on the Executive Board. One of the candidates is unsuitable. My votes will go for the other two.