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I might be missing something, but why is Kirsan intervening a bad thing here? Clearly the organisers are out of order to start excluding teams, so if you have to put pressure on them to sort it then so be it. Any FIDE president should be using their power in this situation. I get the feeling the threat of moving the Olympiad is more a threat than anything. Though nothing else, he knows full well he would turn too many federations against him if he moved it to Sochi at such short notice.
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The Organisers of the 2014 Chess Olympiad, Tromso issued a Press release at 13:18 on Friday 18 July, promising to review the Open Letter from the incumbent FIDE President received at 09:00 the same day and respond within the deadline set for Monday 21 July, 11:00 CET. Note that Kirsan’s letter affirmed that - provided FIDE’s demands were met - the Olympiad would go ahead in Tromso.
The foregoing precedes a separate letter from Swiss lawyers acting on behalf of FIDE that issued later on the same day, containing various demands, including the resignation of the two (alleged) Kasparov supporters on the Organising Committee and the possible cancellation of the Olympiad and its relocation to ‘another country’, which everyone looking on seems to assume means Russia (Sochi). [The full text is available on the FIDE web site.]
There is no doubt that this is playing political hard ball with a vengeance. Many Federations will support the Russian Chess Federation’s handling of the Lagno Transfer and consider the Norwegians have been too rigid on this point.
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I am abroad on holiday but will.keep checking mails and my sources and try to keep everyone up to date. There has been an interview with KI in last 24 hours where he had stated he wants to go ahead in Tromso. I honestly believe he is finished now
"How sad to see, what used to be, a model of decorum and tranquility become like any other sport, a battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee"
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Letters from Kasparov (issued 20 July at 14:26) and Danailov, ECU President,(dated 20 July) strike a more conciliatory note, supporting compromise based on the spirit of rule of law (Kasparov) and ‘a lawful and amicable path that permits every player to participate in Tromso’ (Danailov). [My emphasis added, not Danailov's)
Full texts are available on the site: Garry Kasparov 2014 FIDE Election.
Ilyumzhinov is always careful himself personally to project a genial, avuncular image, leaving it to others to pile on the slings and arrows.
Let’s see if, as I hope, some form of compromise to salvage the Olympiad at least can be arranged. Thereafter, there may be legal action in respect of the Presidential election itself.
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Organisers stand by case but allow teams to play
At a board meeting on Sunday the Tromsø 2014 organisers met to discuss the situation surrounding teams that missed the deadline for Olympiad registration. The Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 Board have now released the following letter to FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Tromsø 21.7.2014
Dear Mr. President,
We acknowledge the receipt of your letter stipulating a set deadline for response.
During a Board meeting yesterday evening, COT2014 discussed the recent developments and reached the following decisions:
1. During the entire planning of the event in Tromsø, COT2014 has worked on the assumption that FIDE accepted that the registration deadline for participants was June 1, 2014. As soon as COT2014 became aware that there could be various interpretations of the regulations, we sought support for our interpretation that teams that registered after this date could not participate, in a specific enquiry to FIDE Chief Inspector and Vice President Israel Gelfer, who confirmed this by e-mail on June 5, 2014.
2. COT2014 stands by its interpretation of the regulations and therefore does not agree that the FIDE president can use Section 6.1 of the Olympic Regulations.
3. However, COT2014 takes a positive attitude to the FIDE President’s request out of consideration for the players, federations and good sportsmanship. Consequently, COT2014 accepts that the federations that have not registered teams by the deadline of June 1, 2014, are hereby permitted to register their respective teams, as they would have been on June 1.
4. COT2014 will seek in negotiations with FIDE to find a solution to deal with the increased costs incurred by COT2014 as a consequence of this decision.
5. COT2014 will do its utmost to solve the logistical challenges, and will seek FIDE approval regarding the accommodation arrangements for the teams for which this decision applies.
In addition to the above five points, the Board notes with satisfaction your statement in a recent interview that the Chess Olympiad will not be moved from Tromsø. This strong statement gives you credit and COT2014 hopes for a positive and constructive dialogue with FIDE up to and during the Chess Olympiad and with no further legal threats.
Kind regards
Hans Olav Karde Børge Robertsen
Chairman of Board COT2014 CEO COT2014
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Olympiad teams are pawns in this game of politics...
![[Image: agJIP.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/agJIP.gif)
