Did He Resign?

When was the last time a chess story grabbed so many mainstream press headlines without once mentioning the name Magnus Carlsen?

World chess body chief alleges plot to oust him: TASS
Reuters - 27 Mar 2017 • 'When asked in an email exchange with Reuters if he could clarify the situation, FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman...'

The article started,

The Russian head of world chess's governing body FIDE said on Monday he was the victim of a plot to oust him but denied a report by his own organization that he had resigned. The statement on the FIDE website said Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, its president since 1995, had announced his resignation on Sunday at the end of a federation board meeting in Greece. But Russia's TASS news agency quoted Ilyumzhinov as saying: "They wanted to oust me but it didn't work. I haven't signed anything and I'm not resigning. I think there is an American hand in this, and I think it's called a set-up."

The Google News summary (captured in the image above) showed nine related stories. For example:-

• A world chess Cold War is brewing as Russian chief blames U.S. contingent for ‘fake news’ resignation (washingtonpost.com) • 'A strange string of events has catapulted the future leadership of world chess’s governing body into uncertainty after its Russian president apparently resigned then unresigned in a 24-hour period.' • The article quotes U.S. Chess Federation [USCF] President Gary Walters.
  
  
• Resignation claim is fake, says world chess chief once 'abducted by aliens' (theguardian.com) • 'Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is on US sanctions list, had threatened to resign from position held since 1995 ‘several times’ during recent meeting, an official said'

I've covered Ilyumzhinov many times on my blogs. For more about the U.S. Treasury Sanctions, see Spectating the 87th FIDE Congress (December 2016). For more about the internal problems leading to the latest spate of stories, see FIDE's Finances (February 2017). For the last time World Champion Carlsen made the news, see More about 'Outliers' (earlier this month).