Russia vs Ukraine: Two sides of world chess federation elections

Express News Service

CHENNAI:  Inside one of Chennai’s biggest hotels on August 7, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) will go to the polls. It has many subplots but it’s hard to miss the identity of the incumbent, especially given the identity of one of the other three challengers. The former is Arkady Dvorkovich, a 50-year-old Russian who has had direct links with the Kremlin.

A Muscovite, he was deputy Prime Minister of the country and was the chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 2018 World Cup. As head of FIDE since 2018, Dvorkovich played a key role in keeping the calendar going during the pandemic. Even as other international federations shuttered, FIDE showed enterprise in taking the Olympiad online. There will also be significant Indian interest in this election as Dvorkovich has one of the most respected names in world chess, Viswanathan Anand, as part of the ticket.

Then, there is Andrii Bolshyarets, one of the three contenders. Bolshyarets, who lives in the US but is Ukrainian, started a petition. It called for the removal of Dvorkovich from FIDE. “FIDE keeps its accounts in Russian banks that are already under sanctions,” the petition noted. “Namely, Sberbank, Otkrytie bank and Gazprombank. We demand resignation of Arkady Dvorkovich and cutting all FIDE financial and political ties with the aggressor country…”

To be fair to Dvorkovich (he also condemned the situation) and the current regime, they have taken a few decisions that have largely been in line apropos Russian athletes. FIDE’s ethics and disciplinary commission banned Sergey Karjakin for six months after he came out in support of Russia. This meant that Karjakin, born in Crimea before switching nationalities, had to miss the Candidates. 

Apart from stripping Moscow as the hosts of the 2022 Olympiad, they also banned Russia from fielding a team for the event, even under a neutral flag. They also cut existing sponsorship agreements with Russian companies. The general idea behind the Ukrainian’s decision was multi-fold including desiring a FIDE that doesn’t have close ties with Russia.  That his running mate is Peter Heine Nielsen, primary support staff for a majority of the World Championships Anand has taken part in, adds another layer of intrigue. You listen to Nielsen, now Magnus Carlsen’s coach, and it becomes very clear that their problem isn’t against Dvorkovich.

<br /> CHENNAI:  Inside one of Chennai’s biggest hotels on August 7, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) will go to the polls. It has many subplots but it’s hard to miss the identity of the incumbent, especially given the identity of one of the other three challengers. The former is Arkady Dvorkovich, a 50-year-old Russian who has had direct links with the Kremlin.</p> <p>A Muscovite, he was deputy Prime Minister of the country and was the chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 2018 World Cup. As head of FIDE since 2018, Dvorkovich played a key role in keeping the calendar going during the pandemic. Even as other international federations shuttered, FIDE showed enterprise in taking the Olympiad online. There will also be significant Indian interest in this election as Dvorkovich has one of the most respected names in world chess, Viswanathan Anand, as part of the ticket.</p> <p>Then, there is Andrii Bolshyarets, one of the three contenders. Bolshyarets, who lives in the US but is Ukrainian, started a petition. It called for the removal of Dvorkovich from FIDE. “FIDE keeps its accounts in Russian banks that are already under sanctions,” the petition noted. “Namely, Sberbank, Otkrytie bank and Gazprombank. We demand resignation of Arkady Dvorkovich and cutting all FIDE financial and political ties with the aggressor country…”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>To be fair to Dvorkovich (he also condemned the situation) and the current regime, they have taken a few decisions that have largely been in line apropos Russian athletes. FIDE’s ethics and disciplinary commission banned Sergey Karjakin for six months after he came out in support of Russia. This meant that Karjakin, born in Crimea before switching nationalities, had to miss the Candidates. </p> <p>Apart from stripping Moscow as the hosts of the 2022 Olympiad, they also banned Russia from fielding a team for the event, even under a neutral flag. They also cut existing sponsorship agreements with Russian companies. The general idea behind the Ukrainian’s decision was multi-fold including desiring a FIDE that doesn’t have close ties with Russia.  That his running mate is Peter Heine Nielsen, primary support staff for a majority of the World Championships Anand has taken part in, adds another layer of intrigue. You listen to Nielsen, now Magnus Carlsen’s coach, and it becomes very clear that their problem isn’t against Dvorkovich.<br />