Power Game Destroys South African Chess

The South African chess federation is in disarray following years of court cases and political scramble for the legitimacy of its leadership. The executive boards of Chess South Africa, led by Joe Mahomole, and Hendrick Du Toit’s Chess SA, captured a disgruntled chess community for the detriment of the sport.

Meanwhile, FIDE and the African Chess Confederation (ACC) are allowing the crisis to play itself out.

A Long Lasting Quarrel

The clash of two federations originated in 2018, when regular elections were halted on the base of not good standing of all voting members. The incident was broadly seen as a sleight of hand resulting from the breach of a contract between the federation and private entity 4 Knights International events (Pty) Ltd, represented by Du Toit.

4 Knights was previously awarded a bid for the organization of events including ten editions of the South African Junior Chess Championship (SAJCC), the country’s most popular tournament with over 2,000 participants yearly.

Discrepant court rulings allowed the election of Du Toit’s Chess SA executive board and the institution of an Interim Executive Board (IEB) led by former vice president Mahomole. Chess players and delegates swiftly took sides, providing legitimacy to both boards and lengthening the impasse.

Internal elections confirmed the two executives, which represented a fractured assembly. Stagnation and connivance in the Olympic Committee SASCOC provided fertile grounds for two years of appeals in court. A recent hearing in the South African parliament provided a neutral platform for confrontation, but the state of affairs remains unchanged.

Gentes Duae Sumus

Since FIDE could not override the authority of a local government, it formally decided to take a neutral stand on the South African matter and so far allowed both federations to represent the country internationally. This provides an ironic twist to the motto “Gens Una Sumus” (we are one people).

Constitutional Commission member Ian Wilkinson from Jamaica illustrated FIDE’s views as discussed in the board’s last meeting in June 2020: “The members of the governing FIDE Council ... are reviewing a proposal for settlement and, on completion, will provide a possible platform for resolution.”

The advocate added, “FIDE will try to ensure that the matter is resolved in such a way that, going forward, South African Chess administration will be stronger and measures will be implemented to prevent a similar dispute arising.”

Under Arkady Dvorkovich’s presidency, the international federation aims at resolving such conflicts without affecting the rights of the players. For this reason, even if FIDE doesn’t recognize either federation, it allowed both to select participants for international events.

“The FIDE President philosophy on disputes is dialogue and inclusive solutions,” said FIDE General Secretary Enyonam Sewa Fumey from Togo. “Dialogue by discussing with all parties and encouraging them to do the same among themselves with the goal to reach a common solution bearing in mind that they play a big role in the welfare of their whole community.”

Further confusion arises in official documents. The South African directory on the FIDE website provides entitlement to Mahomole’s Chess South Africa, while the list of delegates invited to the FIDE Online General Assembly of December 6 excludes all South African representatives from the round table.

ACC president Lewis Ncube formally echoed FIDE’s neutrality: “The report that was given to the last [FIDE] Council meeting was not very conclusive,” he commented. “There should be elections which a neutral body – either FIDE or ACC – sends a representative to administer ... We would prefer an in-built resolution, with guidance from the African Chess Confederation and FIDE.”

It All DOESN’T Work Out in the End

The Covid-19 pandemic turned a stagnant situation into a heated fight.

A wish-wash waiver allowed both federations to send players to the African Youth Chess Championship in December 2019 and permitted undisputed selections for the 4.3 Zonal Online Team Championship in August 2020.

The same system showed its flaws when it came to the attendance into higher profiled events, such as the Online Chess Olympiad in July and August, or to more restrictive selections, as in the case of the Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championships, starting November 27.

In the latter tournament, the regulations admit one player per age group per country, making it impossible for both federations to select their champions. Parents and players held their breath awaiting a play-off for over a month, just to find out that Chess South Africa gave up on its claims, after consultations behind closed doors, and ultimately accepted the players selected by Chess SA.

A similar climate of uncertainty surrounded the organization of the SAJCC 2020. Chess SA embarked in the unlikely organization of the tournament over the board, which could have possibly been attended by thousands of participants despite the ravaging pandemic. The event was finally cancelled at the beginning of November, on account of many factors including the veto by the Chess South Africa Covid Compliance officers.

A game in Black and White

The South African chess federation inherited racial divisions enforced in the country during apartheid until the ’90s. The so-called Rainbow Nation is still dominated by segregationist narratives, which are seen by the public as an easy way to explain political divisions.

The same logic has been in the mix of several scandals in Africa, including “Gabon Gate”, the case of Kenya and an ongoing fight in Cote d’Ivoire. Members of all these federations had openly opposed Lewis Ncube and former FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Additionally, the dispute in Cote d’Ivoire involves former ACC presidential candidate Essoh Essis, a firm Garry Kasparov advocate in the continent. Essis lost the ACC elections in 2018, while his supporters accused Ncube of rigging and buying votes.

“There is less and less influence of politics from a FIDE level,” argued Ncube. “In the past there were very strong divisions in the Kirsan camp and the Kasparov camp. They still exist to a certain extent, but not that much.”

“While practical considerations cannot be ignored and have to be considered carefully, personal and political views are not being relied on to resolve the [South African] impasse,” commented Ian Wilkinson on behalf of FIDE.

Editorial note: This article expresses the opinion of the author, who is a regional delegate in South Africa. All information disclosed was presented to the author in his capacity as a reporter.