While chess was naturally the main focus of attention at the Olympiad there was also considerable interest in the electoral contest for President of FIDE which was decided during the course of the Olympiad.
The two contenders were the "sitting tenant" Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov. The latter was being aided and abetted by his great playing rival Gary Kasparov as well as a number of other well known grandmasters including England's Nigel Short. The ICU Executive and the membership through the recent AGM, endorsed Karpov as the candidate who would get the Irish Vote.
In the election each country affiliated to FIDE has one vote, so small countries like Ireland have equal weight to more populous nations like Russia, China and USA. There was significant evidence of last minute canvassing etc from both camps in the lead up to the crucial vote a couple of days ago. Every player and delegate received a bag with a number of gifts from FIDE including a carrier bag with the campaign slogan "Kirsan + love (in the form of a heart symbol) = FIDE!" (see photo).
There was also the little matter of the outcome of a case taken by the Karpov camp to the Council for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) seeking to have Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's candidacy declared invalid. Prior to the ruling from CAS the Kirsan camp let it be known that they would continue on with seeking election regardless of the outcome of the CAS case. In the event the case was not upheld by CAS who acknowledged that some of the points made were valid. However the essential point appeared to be that as FIDE have made a habit of failing to follow its own rules in the past, CAS were not going to uphold the appeal made to them leaving the way open for an electoral vote unencumbered by this particular potential controversy!
The crucial vote finally took place with Ilyumzhinov winning comfortably by 95 votes to 55.
The word here after the vote was that the Karpov campaign had been too focused on negativity, basically claiming that the current regime was not effective and needed to be changed without clearly defining an alternative vision of where FIDE should be heading. It would appear that "negative campaigning" backfired and that the Karpov camp underestimated the task of attempting to unseat a President who was able to use all the resources at the disposal of his office to garner support.
After the election results were announced I witnessed a TV interview of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Although I couldn't understand what was said at the interview, Ilyumzhinov had all the hallmarks of a media savvy political performer. He was immaculately turned out in a dark suit and white shirt. He also had a permanent and reassuring smile broken occasionally by a more serious expression presumably to demonstrate a level of gravitas required by the topic under discussion. Indeed the election literature he provided took the form of a glossy magazine with numerous photos of our hero meeting such luminaries as the pope and the Dalai Llama interspersed with chess playing children demonstrating that Ilyumzhinov was at the centre of events and had influence with world figures. He reminds me of how the former prime minister of the UK Tony Blair used to appear in his early days in Downing Street before the self delusion set in!
After what was clearly a ferocious political battle, Ilyumzhinov has acted quickly to further consolidate his position by offering his electoral rival Anatoly Karpov the position of vice president of FIDE so that they can cooperate in the interests of chess worldwide. Winston Churchill suggested it was advisable in politics to keep "your friends close and your enemies closer" so Ilyumzhinov is clearly a fan of this particular dictum!
His vice presidential offer is clearly a poisoned chalice for Karpov who has not yet indicated if he will accept it! If he does then he runs the risk of being sidelined within the system while is supporters, who still want Ilyumzhinov out, will be further disenchanted and will lack a figurehead around which to build another presidential electoral campaign.
If Karpov rejects the offer then he will have to wait 4 years for another crack at the presidency while Ilyumzhinov can govern from the usually elusive, but much sought after, "high moral gound" where he can legitimately claim that his magnanimity in victory was rejected and by implication his detractors had personal agendas against him rather than the overall good of chess as the focal point of their electoral campaign!
The FIDE President is clearly a very able practitioner of the blackest of the political arts and will be difficult to unseat for the foreseeable future. He has consolidated his position as President of FIDE and has demonstrated the capacity to stay in office as long as he wants, barring some unlikely unforeseen events that might serve to negatively impact on his presidency.