The story so far

Aug 21 Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation submits resolution to restore the full membership rights of RCF

Aug 22 David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission

Sept 1 Alexander Kamyshin is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation

Sept 7 Babur Tolbaev is among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman

Sept 9 Russia most probably has the votes to pass the Kyrgyz resolution

Sept 9 Kamyshin: I will personally attend the FIDE General Assembly

Sept 12 Garry Kasparov supports Alexander Kamyshin

Sept 12 Malcolm Pein for BBC, “Russia’s control of FIDE is absolute”

Sept 16 Vasyl Ivanchuk and the Olympic teams of Ukraine protest against Kyrgyz motion

Potential IOC exclusion for chess

Chess is not going to be an Olympic sport any time soon. Yet, membership in IOC matters. The main funding of federations is state money. This money comes from chess being recognized as sport and as part of the IOC Olympic movement. Without this recognition no Ministry of Sports will agree to provide funding for a local federation. The big question here – are federations ready to lose their funding on a national level following a potential IOC exclusion?

George Mastrokouskos compares the situation of FIDE to the recently excluded IBA (International Boxing Association). In a post on his personal Facebook account, Mastrokoukos notes, “The IOC has fully withdrawn its recognition of IBA. The IBA no longer exists as a recognised sport federation and was removed permanently from the IOC list […] The decision to cancel the Kremlin-controlled IBA as a sport federation was passed in the IOC meeting with an overwhelming 69-1 vote and only 10 members abstaining.” He continues, “The IOC took over the sport in the Paris Olympics and organised the boxing events without the IBA […] A separate international boxing federation has been created, with the name “World Boxing” in direct competition to IBA. It has already attracted 42 national federations,” suggesting a possible scenario in FIDE, in case sanctions on the International chess federation are applied.

“If I was a FIDE delegate, I would have to think twice: With the outrageous Kyrgyz/Russian proposal to violate IOC recommendations, are we voting for the Kremlin’s interests or for the interests of chess and our national federations? Are we ready to jeopardize everything for a bunch of pro-Kremlin individuals?
Many governments fund chess as a sport due to its recognition by the IOC. It will be an open vote according to the FIDE statutes. And EVERY single vote carries HUGE responsibility for the future of our sport. I really hope that common logic will prevail in the end,” concludes Mastrokoukos.

Hot link between IBA and FIDE

The chief editor of Tribuna.com Oleg Scherbakov points to a hot link between FIDE and IBA. The Chairman of FIDE Ethics Commission Francois Strydom also holds the position of Chairman of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Dispute Resolution Chamber. Francois Strydom recently came into the spotlight with another decision on CFR. Scherbakov adds, “In June 2024 the Russian legal company SILA, which protects Russian sports in the courts, announced the creation of an educational course in sports law. One of the lecturers of this course became the same Francois Strydom.”

Secret vote to follow?

On Friday evening, on a phone call with a FIDE Congress attendant who wished to remain anonymous, Chessdom.com learned that supporters of the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation motion are planning to propose secret vote. This, however, is not possible, as it will be infringement of FIDE Chapter 17.15. It states that all votes, except those for President, Zonal President, Commissions, or Olympiad, should be taken by open vote. Chessdom’s source claims that despite this rule, Kyrgyz motion supporters will still try to suggest secret voting.

Is there a good move in case of sanctions for FIDE?

In case of sanctions for FIDE, the organization will be de-legitimized in the majority of countries worldwide. That will automatically mean lost financial support from national Ministries of Sport, hitting organizers and players alike. The only logical option for chess will be the creation of a parallel federation, which can seek recognition. Such federation was created by Kasparov in 1993 and existed until the unification match in Elista. Kasparov has been active lately on the issue. Yet, it seems the bigger figure that can rally breakaway federations behind him is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation Alexander Kamyshin who already stepped up to fight the Kyrgyz motion.

Stay tuned for more news from the FIDE Congress

The team of Ukraine will go to the boards for their round 6 match today at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest – you can follow the live games here

Here is a comprehensive timeline on the subject:

Aug 21 Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation submits resolution to restore the full membership rights of RCF

Aug 22 David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission

Sept 1 Alexander Kamyshin is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation

Sept 7 Babur Tolbaev is among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman

Sept 9 Russia most probably has the votes to pass the Kyrgyz resolution

Sept 9 Kamyshin: I will personally attend the FIDE General Assembly

Sept 12 Garry Kasparov supports Alexander Kamyshin

Sept 12 Malcolm Pein for BBC, “Russia’s control of FIDE is absolute”

The Lithuanian Chess Federation has issued a statement condemning the decision of the FIDE Ethics Appeals Committee.

“The Lithuanian Chess Federation condemns the decision of the Ethics Commission of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to cancel the suspension of the membership of the Russian Chess Federation. FIDE, which suspended the membership of the Russian Chess Federation for two years only in June of this year, canceled this decision three months later, replacing it with a symbolic fine of 45000 euros.“

More: Peter Heine Nielsen planning to appeal to CAS / Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou personal statement on the FIDE Ethics Appeal’s Committee decision

More to come from the FIDE Congress

Another case, coming FIDE Congress during the Chess Olympiad 2024, is the resolution by the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation to restore the full membership rights of the Russian Chess Federation. Here is a comprehensive timeline on the subject:

Aug 21 Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation submits resolution to restore the full membership rights of RCF

Aug 22 David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission

Sept 1 Alexander Kamyshin is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation

Sept 7 Babur Tolbaev is among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman

Sept 9 Russia most probably has the votes to pass the Kyrgyz resolution

Sept 9 Kamyshin: I will personally attend the FIDE General Assembly

Sept 12 Garry Kasparov supports Alexander Kamyshin

Sept 12 Malcolm Pein for BBC, “Russia’s control of FIDE is absolute”

The resolution was proposed by Babur Tolbaev, the President of the Chess Federation of Kyrgyzstan. David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission and in this FIDE Congress we see Babur Tolbaev among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman.

Kasparov said, “I treasure my own Chess Olympiad memories & would love to just enjoy this Olympiad in Budapest. But politics and the value of human life come first. The Russian Federation is banned, as from most international events, due to Russia’s genocidal war in Ukraine. It must be upheld.” and quoted this post by Kamyshin

One of the important decisions at the upcoming FIDE Congress during the Chess Olympiad 2024 is the resolution by the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation to restore the full membership rights of the Russian Chess Federation. Several sources of Chessdom.com confirmed that Russia “most probably” has the needed votes for the resolution to pass.

The resolution was proposed by Babur Tolbaev, the President of the Chess Federation of Kyrgyzstan. David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission and in this FIDE Congress we see Babur Tolbaev among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman.

The newly elected President of the Ukrainian Chess Federation Alexander Kamyshin has activated upon this news. In a statement in his Twitter/X account, Kamyshin says, “I am starting my work at the Ukrainian Chess Federation with a challenging and important battle on the international front. Yes, it’s again about Russia. And no, we will not let them prevail, as we don’t let it on the battlefield.”

Kamyshin continued, “On September 22, a meeting of the FIDE General Assembly is scheduled in Budapest, where the agenda includes the issue of restoring the full rights of the national chess federations of russia and belarus. It’s about the return of the right for the teams of aggressor countries to participate in international competitions under their own flags and anthems. russia and belarus also want to regain the right to host international tournaments under the flag of FIDE on their territory. I would like to remind you that currently, neither the russian nor the belarusian national teams have the right to participate in international competitions under the auspices of FIDE, and their chess players can only compete in tournaments under the neutral FIDE flag. This issue was brought to the agenda by the Chairman of the Chess Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic, Babur Tolbaev. While chess players in Ukraine are killed by russian military terrorists, there is no place for the russian and belarusian flags at chess tournaments. The russian anthem has no right to sound in the countries of the free world. Moreover, no self-respecting chess player who values their reputation will go to a country that is daily killing the peaceful people of another country.
I would like to remind you that since the beginning of the Great War, 21 chess players have already been killed in Ukraine, and two more chess players are still missing. And these are only the data that are currently known. Therefore, on behalf of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, I officially declare our categorical disagreement on this agenda item. I urge FIDE to remove this issue from the agenda.

1. All official appeals from the Ukrainian Chess Federation to FIDE will be sent by the end of the week. All appeals to the national federations of FIDE member countries will be sent similarly

2. I ask our grandmasters to reach out to their colleagues from other countries. National federations need to hear our chess players. FIDE must hear grandmasters from around the world.

3. We are involving the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports. Their support on the international arena is crucial

4. We are engaging the diplomatic apparatus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine I will ask our ambassadors in all countries to carry out the necessary work

5. I ask journalists to get involved, both Ukrainian and foreign. The world must hear us.

6. Personally, over the next two weeks, I will conduct online negotiations with all heads of national chess federations — whoever I can reach

7. I will personally attend the FIDE General Assembly. I will hold in person negotiations with all delegates who are willing to hear the voice of justice

We will not allow terrorists and military aggressors to return to the civilized world of chess under their blood-stained flags while they are killing chess players in Ukraine.

#NoBloodyRussianFlagBackInChess
“

Stay tuned for more updates from the FIDE Congress on Chessdom.com

This detail from the FIDE Congress that will take place during the Chess Olympiad 2024 would not capture much attention, if we did not have a previous news that the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation submits resolution to restore the full membership rights of RCF. Peter Heine Nielsen, coach of Magnus Carlsen, comments, “Head of the FIDE Ethics Committee seems like a fitting reward”