As he had promised me, Yasser took a few minutes of from his busy schedule for a brief conversation in the press room. He is here as a commentator on the ChessBase website and spends the rest of his time campaigning for Bessel Kok.
I began by asking him how life has treated him since his retirement from competitive chess. He said the decision to retire was “self-evidently a good decision. Less than a year later, Garry retired and that shows that something is wrong with chess. The life of a chess professional is much more difficult now. Mass media interest in chess is in deep decline.”
Yasser moved to Amsterdam last December and keeps himself busy with ChessBase and writing. He has a new book hot of the presses called “Winning Chess Combinations” (I promised him a plug so here it is–Buy this book). Still, he misses playing. “While I’m here at the Olympiad, I want to jump into the arena and start playing.”
Then our conversation turned to the serious business of the FIDE election. I asked what his campaigning for Bessel Kok consisted of. “A lot of cubby-holing delegates and presenting reasons for change. Chess has to take care of its image and most sponsors will not deal with FIDE. If logic and reason dictated the outcome of this election, Kirsan would not get a single vote.”
If so, why is the election even a contest? He pointed to three factors: 1) the fear factor (“a lot of federations are fearful of reprisal”–he pointed to the example of Canada, an early Kok supporter which may lose its status as a separate zone); 2) the ignorance factor (“some federations are only concerned with developing chess at home and don’t see the larger picture”); and 3) the greed factor (no explanation needed).
Yasser was also unimpressed with Kirsan’s so-called accomplishments. “Look at FIDE’s latest budget. It shows revenue of 870,000 euros; that’s smaller than a corner grocery store. As for the announcement of the Topalov-Kramnik match, anyone who thinks that wasn’t just an election stunt is kidding themselves. The Prague Agreement of 2002 called for reunification in 2003 or 2004. Here it is 2006 and he suddenly remembers that he has responsibilities. Please!”
But if Kok were elected (and presumably that would mean the end of Kirsan’s sponsorship of the Elista match), could he come through with a renunification match. “The real question is how much better and more certain we could make it.”
I mentioned that I had heard some criticism of Kok as not being as good a hand-shaker, smiler, and baby-kisser as Ilyumzhinov, Yasser took exception. “Bessel’s been here from day one. Kirsan came for the opening and then left. The plan was for him to return for his re-election. But when his people realized that we were gaining, they called him back early.”
At this point, he started looking at his watch (he was due to begin his ChessBase broadcast any moment) so I wrapped up our discussion by asking for his prediction. “At the moment, it’s very close. A swing of ten votes.” I asked how much credence he put in the claims of both sides as to who was supporting them (the election is by secret ballot). “There’s a high degree of loyalty for Bessel.” As for the federations endorsing Kirsan, “I think he can count on Greece, Russia, and Georgia.”
We briefly touched on the use of proxies (so rampant in the days of Campomanes). Under the current rules, no delegate can hold more than one proxy.
I pointed to to all of the glossy leaflets and brochures spread about the press room (and every where else) extolling Kirsan’s virtue. “They’re spending a lot money and they must be scared. They’ve made four approaches to Kok’s camp with the offer of a draw and each time the offer is a little better.” He made it clear that his side wasn’t interested in a draw. “And would you trust them to fulfill any promise they did make?” I asked. Yasser just laughed at that question, shook my hand, and rushed off to ChessBase.
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