[ The Chess Talk message board where I posted this reply to Canadian Federation president Vladimir Drkulec yesterday mysteriously shut down hours later. I'm not a suspicious guy, so I'm guessing it was caused by aliens. I'm just posting this in the long-dead Dirt (RIP) so I can send the link to a few people who wanted to read and/or share it. Sorry it's out of context, but it's clear enough. I fixed a few typos and unclear phrasings. - Mig ]
How do you spend money without first raising it? (And you miss that there are also KCF offices in Johannesburg, Brussels, Singapore, and Mexico City with their own budgets and programs and sponsors.) Do you think the money for this campaign and the private jets through LatAm and Africa were paid for on MasterCard? Do you think Rex Sinquefield is on the ticket so we can then not make good on the campaign's plans and promises? This election wouldn't even be competitive without massive amounts of private sponsorship so Garry could travel constantly and bring federation representatives together at events. Kirsan has done little but focus on how to retain power for 19 years and has rigged nearly every riggable thing possible. Combined with his Russian embassy support worldwide and very successful policy of keeping federations poor and dependent on FIDE and the Continental power verticals so they have to come begging for crumbs and tickets every four years, even challenging Ilyumzhinov was considered impossible.
When you're citing loony stuff like the above [Spraggett] there's obviously no hope of any rational dialogue about what is good for the chess world over the next four years. There are maybe six federations who would go against Kasparov because of his politics and they are all ex-Soviet and/or are tightly in the Kremlin orbit. If the rest actually cared about politics they'd be far more concerned about Ilyumzhinov's FIDE now being completely dependent on Putin's increasingly rogue and sanctioned Russia. As for the rest, as Nigel Short put it well, nobody who supports Kirsan talks about his recent record or his future plans at all. (Nor does Kirsan himself, and nobody on his ticket campaigns or speaks at all other than Makro.) His supporters are either getting something or are afraid of losing something (or both).
That's the way the system has been designed, so FIDE is the boss and every four years the federations come begging for chump change for their votes. And then, votes counted, all those nice Kirsan promises vanish every single time. This is why Kasparov and Leong put things in writing, which of course provided an easy target. Nobody likes to see the sausage being made but it's a lot better when everyone can see what goes into it. The contracts specify that all the money goes into chess, not to individuals. And it's signed, so win or lose, the money goes to chess. Chess! Imagine! Of course Kirsan wants to keep everything under the table. It's a lot cheaper and more efficient to pay one guy than to actually support chess organizations in writing.
Eliminate the fees, the debts, and return power to the federations. Sponsor THEM, work with them to obtain local sponsorship, regional partnerships, and scholastic programs. We've been doing it for years; this isn't just theory or pretty words. FIDE should have been in education and online initiatives, oh, 19 years ago. Instead the only new initiatives have been repeated versions of Agon (FIDE Commerce, CNC, et al) where Ilyumzhinov, Makro, and their gang squeeze even more money out for themselves. You think that's going to be an issue with Garry? With anyone on his ticket? Pffft. Money out or money in, it's a pretty clear choice on that front.
Anyway, we hope for the best for Canadian chess, Mr. Drkulec. I do hope you got something that will benefit your organization and members for your support of Ilyumzhinov. Tromsø tickets for the teams, at least? A few seminars or an event or two? I mean, all of these impassioned attacks on Kasparov would be truly embarrassing if you were the only one in the world doing it for free.
My inbox is always open if you or anyone there would actually like to talk about building up the future of chess in Canada and the world. Garry's is as well. We don't give up on any president or any country because we don't give up on any players and kids who deserve better and who deserve not to be punished for political squabbles they care little about. Let's talk chess in schools in Canada. Let's talk bringing thousands of new members into the system by incorporating online players and bundling them into an attractive demographic for sponsors in Canada and globally. Let's talk you and Canada being an essential member of new FIDE commissions based on language and other more useful and rational categorizations than continents. (The official Americas Continental website is only in Spanish. Still blows my mind. Sorry, USA and Canada and most of the Caribbean!)
Saludos, Mig
