FIDE Election: Time for a Change

In last week's Monday, Monday post, I decided to spend some time updating my page on Kasparov's Tournament, Match, and Exhibition Record (TMER), but first there's more important business calling. Most chess fans who follow international chess are aware that 2014 is a FIDE election year. I'm not sure on what date the balloting is scheduled, but it will occur during the forthcoming Tromso Olympiad, which according to the FIDE Calendar : World Events will take place during the first half of August.

The two candidates for FIDE President and their campaign sites are

• Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: fidefirst.com, and
• Garry Kasparov: kasparov2014.com

In the previous election -- 2010 Ilyumzhinov vs. Karpov -- I announced that I was firmly straddling the fence in Three Elections and Election Links:-

I don't have a personal preference between Karpov and Ilyumzhinov. Both candidates have too many skeletons in the closet.

Kasparov is weighted down by fewer skeletons than Karpov, but he is an unabashed elitist and has failed in all previous attempts to influence a political process. He has never learned the art of compromise; either you are with him or you are against him and there is no middle ground. I last criticized his approach earlier this year in FIDE Electioneering.

As for Ilyumzhinov, his record is shady beyond redemption; see Secrets of Kirsan for more about his career. He first became FIDE President in an unusual election in 1995, and has held sway in FIDE for 19 years. He has a number of successes to his credit, but he also has many failures, particularly in commercial endeavors where FIDE is badly lagging other major sports.

For that reason, it's time for a change. I'm not sure Kasparov can do a better job, but I would like to see him given four years to try. If he's not up to the challenge, other candidates will surely step forward in 2018.

For an in depth view of the nose counting in this election, see FIDE Election: Kasparov or Ilyumzhinov; be or not to be, that is the question. The link is a Google translate of Spanish analysis posted on lanacion.com.ar.