There are many examples of conflicts between FIDE and the Soviet Union (Wikipedia: "FIDE had a number of conflicts with the Soviet Chess Federation"). In for example the cases concerning defectors Sosonko and Korchnoi, and the Chess Olympiad in Israel 1976, FIDE in every instance acted firmly against Soviet interests and wishes. The same thing with Fischer's different demands with regards to formats and regulations. In every case FIDE supported Fischer and changed the rules in the way he demanded as soon as he demanded it, the only case they in the end didn't agree to was the one about forcing Karpov to beat him with a margin of two games to win the title. But I doubt that any Fischer fan honestly could say that they would have supported FIDE if they had changed the rules before the 1972 match to force the challenger to have a two win margin instead of one to become World Champion.
Examples of Soviet cheating in FIDE competition: Petrosian-Korchnoi match, 1971
"Fischer was just fed up with FIDE and its favoritism towards eastern bloc countries , the USSR in particular"
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Some quotes on related matters from Wikipedia (I know, but it's at least a source it is easy to refer to...):
"In 1969, Fischer refused to play in the U.S. Championship because of disagreements about the tournament's format and prize fund. Since that event was being treated as a Zonal Tournament, Fischer forfeited his right to compete for the right to challenge world champion Boris Spassky in 1972. Grandmaster Pal Benko agreed to relinquish his qualifying place at the Interzonal in Fischer's favor, and the other participants waived their right to claim the spot. FIDE president Max Euwe interpreted the rules very flexibly to allow Fischer to play in the 1970 Interzonal"
The story of Fischer's participation in the Palma Interzonal here:
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/fischers-participation-in-the-1970-palma-interzonal
There can be no doubt the the Soviet/Russian government has a vested interest in using the FIDE as a pawn, notwithstanding some "face-saving" moves by the FIDE over the years.
And it continues:
09 August 2014
For nearly a decade, chess legend Garry Kasparov has tried to mobilize domestic and global opposition against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now, as the former world champion seeks election to the international chess world’s highest office, the Kremlin is striking back.
The Russian government has flexed its diplomatic muscle to lobby against Kasparov’s campaign for the presidency of the World Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, ahead of the August 11 election to be held in Tromso, Norway.
Russian embassies throughout the world have contacted national chess federations to drum up support for Kasparov’s opponent in the race, incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a former Russian regional boss who has presided over FIDE for the past 19 years.
“When I answered the phone I thought it was a hoax, somebody’s idea of a joke, because I don’t normally get phoned up by the Russian Embassy,” Pete Morriss, chairman of the Irish Chess Union, said of the phone call he received earlier this year. “But it turned out it was real.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/fide-chess-president-election-kasparov-iyumzhenov/26522279.html
*You almost have to be in love with western propaganda to cite a Radio Free Europe article*
Is the account untrue? If not, then the source does not matter.
I personally can not imagine another national government going to such lengths to exert control over the FIDE.
Is the account untrue? If not, then the source does not matter.
I personally can not imagine another national government going to such lengths to exert control over the FIDE.
Propaganda is always "untrue", it is the nature of propaganda. Kasparov is nuts, this is clear. How he became nuts, I don't know, but he's a huge advocate for "regime change" in Russia and he doesn't care how it's done. 'Regime change' has been a horrible crime perpetrated by western governments for decades. It has been responsible for millions of lives destroyed.
Politics is entirely involved in all world-governing bodies, including elections for FIFA president as well as FIDE president. It would probably be clear to you, Jamie, that negativity towards Russia is unwarranted if you would read about the recent history of Russian foreign policy as it has taken place, without an anti-Russian bias;)
Kirsan believes he was abducted by aliens. That's all I need to know about FIDE.
Let's see, should the president be someone who claims to have taken a ride on an alien spaceship, or someone who thinks the U.S. and Europe should invade Russia? Possibly crazy or dangerously crazy? The FIDE elections are just like the U.S. elections!
The FIDE elections are just like the U.S. elections!
FIDE has hanging chads?
Let's see, should the president be someone who claims to have taken a ride on an alien spaceship
No.
The FIDE elections are just like the U.S. elections!
FIDE has hanging chads?
I didn't know about the "hanging chads". Thanks:)
I take up the Keres-Botvinnik controversy, World Championship Match-Tournament, 1948, in my next two posts:
So we have gotten to the point where hanging chads are aliens, or did we elect one ?
Good idea to change topics ☺
Haha! Yes Ralph, perhaps we did.
LET'S CUT OUT THE NONCHESS POLITCAL CHATTER - me included.
I would not want to see this finely crafted topic shuttered.
Fischer's distrust of the FIDE ran deep. After the 1962 Curacao debacle, Fisher penned an article for the top american sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, entitled "The Russians have fixed world chess." In the article he wrote, "The system set up by Federation Internationale de Echecs ... insures that there will always be a Russian [read "Soviet"] world champion.... The Russians arranged it that way."
Fischer stated he would no longer participate in the then-current FIDE candidates system. "The FIDE is a crooked organization, run by the Communists from Moscow."
Fischer then boycotted international tournaments in general, even the 1st Piatigorsky Cup (1963) held in Los Angeles.
Biographer Frank Brady wrote,
It should not be inferred ... that Bobby had lost interest in the World Championship. In the Sports Ilustated manifesto after Curacao he had expressed a preference for "the old days" (before the presnet FIDE set-up) when a challenger could frequently get a match with the World Champion simply by putting up enough money.... He couldn't get past the FIDE machinery to challenge Petrosian directly, but he sent a proposal the Russian Chess Federation inviting any one of the top five Soviet grandmanters to play a set match with him.
It took the Soviets a full year to decline.
"He couldn't get past the FIDE machinery to challenge Petrosian directly"
Spassky had to play in all 98 games to qualify for the title match against Petrosian, Fischer simply wanted to get his title match without having to even participate in the qualification. As usual it is implied that FIDE and their "machinery" stopped Fischer from getting something he somehow deserved to get more than Spassky did.
Hahaha. Well of course the Soviets would want adhere to the FIDE framework! They had built-in advantages to maintain their hegemony in the championship competition.
Let's just look at the Candidates Tournaments
1950, Budapest, 7 Soviets, 3 Non-soviets
1953, Zurich, 9 Soviets, 6 Non-Soviets
1956, Amsterdam, 6 Soviets, 4 Non-Soviets
1959, Yugoslavia, 4 Soviets, 4 Non-Soviets
1962, Curacao, 5 Soviets, 3 Non-Soviets
These numbers allowed the Soviet players to pre-arrange easy draws among themselves, to conserve strength for games against the Non-Soviet players.
David Bronstein wrote that he was ordered to defeat Reshevsky at Zurich in order to preserve Smyslov's victory!
David Bronstein also wanted to beat Reshevsky, didn't he? :)
After all, he was the better player.
That is arguable. Fischer was of the opinion that Reshevsky (his rival) was the "best player in the world from 1946 to 1956". ChessMetrics has Reshevsky listed as the strongest player in the world 14 different months from December 1942 to Ocitber 1953.
Just as the Soviets used the peculiar brand of "sporting tactics" (Averbakh) against Fischer in 1962 and 1971, they did so against Reshevsky in 1948 and 1953. They correctly pegged him as the one to beat.
yeres30: ok, I remembered that it would have been enough with two votes going the other way for the 10-8 demand to have been accepted.