(AFP) – The former Russian deputy prime minister was re-elected to head the international chess organization FIDE on Sunday by a landslide in front of a Ukrainian rival who said the incumbent was part of Moscow’s “war machine”.
In total, the federation said 157 of India’s 179 national chess associations voted for Arkady Dvorkovich as president, while Ukrainian grandmaster Andriy Baryshpolets received just 16 votes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as “clearly very good news and a great success”, Russian TASS news agency reported.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, many Russian officials have been sanctioned and Russian athletes have been banned by many international sports governing bodies.
However, 50-year-old Dvorkovich, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of President Vladimir Putin from 2012 until 2018, when he was elected FIDE President, remained in his position.
Baryshpolets said Dvorkovich had “very close ties to the Russian government” before the vote at the FIDE General Assembly, which took place alongside the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, which was attended by Russian, Belarusian and Chinese players.
“You are responsible for what happened in Ukraine, Arkady. You are responsible for the creation of the Russian government and the Russian military machine. And how can we, the chess world, afford it?” – said the Ukrainian.
The 31-year-old football player is supported by Danish Peter Heine Nielsen, the coach of Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen.
However, Dvorkovich said he followed a “hard line”. [on the] tragic events in Ukraine” and supported the reduction of Russia’s participation in FIDE.
In March, Dvorkovich criticized the Russian invasion and said in an interview that “his thoughts are with Ukrainian civilians.”
“Wars don’t just take priceless lives. Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and connections, Dvorkovich told the American news site Mother Jones.
The comments drew criticism in Russia, and Dvorkovich later backed off, saying “There is no room for Nazism or the dominance of some countries over others.”
This is seen as cryptic support for the Kremlin, which defines Ukraine under Nazi rule and accuses Western countries of secretly trying to seize power in neighboring Russia.
The anti-war pianist Oleksandr Malofeev was scheduled to play with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, but was not included in the performances because OSM feared that his appearance might provoke backlash from those opposed to the Russian occupation of Ukraine https://t.co /FLHhcFF4i9
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 13, 2022
Russia has had a significant influence on chess since the Soviet era, when the game was one of conflicts between the communist bloc and the West.
Before Dvorkovich came to power, FIDE was run by the eccentric Russian politician Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who claimed to have had encounters with aliens for more than two decades.
Dvorkovich has been praised for being a good manager, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and for the tough decisions after Russia was banned from international forums due to the war in Ukraine.
Dvorkovich selected five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand of India (one of the biggest names in the world of sports) as his candidate for the FIDE elections.
“We build on the solid track record and achievements of Dvorkovich and his team over the past four years,” Anand told AFP in July.
“The President’s decisions have clearly demonstrated that he is independent of the Kremlin’s influence. Moreover… [FIDE] contacted many sponsors and countries and was able to host most of the FIDE events like the World Championships outside of Russia.”
“Dvorkovich’s convincing electoral victory demonstrates that he has earned the trust of FIDE member federations and the wider chess community,” FIDE said in a statement.
“We will not judge the accomplices of today’s vote, history will do,” the Baryshpolets campaign group Fight for Chess said on Twitter.
Taxpayer-funded radio controversy: Chess is racist because whites come first https://t.co/HyDaIW2Vae
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 24 June 2020
Source: Breitbart
