Chess governance still dominated by Russia despite war
Anja Röbekamp
March 6, 2023
To avoid international sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the country's chess federation is set to switch from the European Chess Union to the Asian Chess Federation.
Russia continues to dominate the politics of international chessImage: Photology2000/Shotshop(picture alliance
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"It is a scandal that they are trying to flee to Asia to avoid the sanctions that the European Chess Union has rightly imposed on the Russian Chess Federation," Malcolm Pein said while taking part in a panel discussion hosted by the Berlin Chess Federation in late February.
Pein was referring to the Russian Chess Federation (RCF), which is to leave the European Chess Union (ECU) to join the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) on May 1. This means that Russian chess players will in future be allowed to compete in tournaments organized by the ACF.
Chess a reflection of geopolitics
On that international panel in Berlin, Pein, an international master and the English Chess Federation's (ECF) delegate to the world governing body, FIDE, pointed out that the world of chess has always reflected geopolitics. FIDE, he said, is run by a very small number of people who aren't necessarily neutral actors.
Peter Heine Nielsen agrees. The grandmaster and coach of world chess champion Magnus Carlsen ran for vice president of FIDE last year. Not because he wanted to be in that office at all costs, but because he thought there needed to be change.
Peter Heine Nielsen unsuccessfully ran for FIDE vice president as an agent of changeImage: Claus Bech/Ritzau Scanpix/IMAGO
"It's not a job I would particularly like," Nielsen said. "I'd much rather be doing what I'm doing now. But I think it shows how wrong I think the chess world is right now."
Nielsen knew, however, that his chances would be slim.
Money talks
Pein estimates the cost of launching such a campaign at about €2 million ($2.13 million). This is not a problem for Russian candidates, as there is seldom a shortage of sponsors. Even if that weren't the case, the Russian state would certainly be prepared to step in.
The ECF delegate experienced this firsthand in his own bid for the FIDE vice presidency in 2018, when he was on the ticket of presidential candidate Georgios Makropoulos. Pein said they didn't stand a chance against Arkady Dvorkovich, a former Russian presidential assistant.
"He had a private jet and a huge staff," Pein said of Dvorkovich's appearance at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, during which the presidential election was held. The Russian threw a party for delegates at a nightclub the night before the election.
"Nobody who was in Batumi will forget that famous party," Pein said. "I wasn't allowed in, but I heard there were 'mermaids' by the pool."
Pein is concerned about Russia's strong influence in the politics of international chessImage: David Parry/empics/picture alliance
Dvorkovich beat Makropoulos by a vote of 103 to 78 the next day, and last year he won reelection in a landslide, taking 157 of the votes while his Ukrainian challenger, Andrii Baryshpolets, got just 16.
Under his leadership, FIDE has bowed to pressure from Europe and parted ways with some major Russian donors since the war on Ukraine began. But Russia continues to exert influence on the international chess organization. FIDE's dealings with Iran are one example.
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Closing ranks with Iran
Many Iranian athletes have refused to compete against Israelis; however, FIDE has not sanctioned the Iranian federation for this. Iran is an important ally of Russia, and not only as a supplier of drones in the country's war on Ukraine.
Shohreh Bayat, an FIDE champion and international arbiter from Iran, fears for her safety in her home country ever since a dispute over her hijab at the 2020 Women's World Chess Championship. This is why she subsequently moved to England, where she has applied for asylum.
This hasn't stopped her from expressing her political views, which has landed her in hot water with FIDE. Early this year, Bayat wore a T-shirt with the inscription "Women Life Freedom," while working as an arbiter. Arkady Dvorkovich personally asked her to remove the T-shirt. Bayat returned clad in the national colors of Ukraine. Even though she hadn't violated any regulations by doing so, Bayat said FIDE removed her from its arbiters' commission as a result.
"In 2022, FIDE awarded me the prize for the best female arbiter in Europe," Bayat said. "So it's quite ironic that they removed me as a member of the Arbiters' Commission."
Dvorkovich told Gthe erman newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Bayat was eligible to be appointed to assignments. But she hasn't had any since.
She has declined an offer to work on the women's commission of Iran's chess federation for obvious reasons. She intends to continue to speak out about human rights, and she views FIDE's offers with skepticism.
"I'm not sure I would work for FIDE again, because I first have to make sure it's a decent organization," she said.
Arkady Dvorkovich was first elected FIDE president in 2018Image: Ilya Pitalev/ITAR-TASS/imago images
What's next for international chess?
There is clearly plenty to criticize in international chess, but why is criticism so muted?
"It depends on the quality of the chess officials in each country and what their priorities are," Pein said. In many federations, he added, most staff are volunteers.
"If someone is doing a job and not getting paid, it's much harder to exercise any kind of control or criticism," he said.
Sports and politics hard to separate
Pein is calling for a clear separation between sports and politics. Broad international support would be needed to significantly improve conditions in international chess and to curb Russia's influence.
Away from chess, many hope that the ban on Russian athletes will remain for the 2024 Olympics in Paris – and for as long as the Kremlin continues to pursue its war on Ukraine. This is also the expressed view of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, which puts her in direct opposition to the position of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. And Bach, as the example of the Asian Chess Federation shows, is not alone.
This article was adapted from German.
Bobby Fischer and the world's fascination with chess
For many chess fans, he is still the greatest: Bobby Fischer became World Champion in Iceland 50 years ago. The "Match of the Century" in Reykjavik is legendary.
Image: J. Walter Green/AP/picture alliance
On his way to becoming world chess champion
The then 29-year-old grandmaster from New York was renowned to be both brilliant and eccentric: Bobby Fischer contributed to turning the World Chess Championship into a spectacle. He is shown here on August 23, 1972, on his way to a game at the championship held in Reykjavik, Iceland. A week later, Fischer obtained the title he had been working towards since his youth: world chess champion.
Image: J. Walter Green/AP/picture alliance
The chess prodigy
Robert James Fischer, known as Bobby, was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago. Fischer grew up in Brooklyn, New York, with his mother, a nurse who was followed by the FBI due to suspicion she was a communist. The family had little money. Even as a child, Bobby was a very strong chess player. In 1958, at the age of 14, he became the youngest ever US chess champion.
At the age of 16, Fischer was already one of the best chess players in the world. His competitors mainly came from the Soviet Union, the world's chess powerhouse since the Second World War. At the time, Fischer's great role model was the Latvian-Soviet grandmaster and later World Champion, Mikhail Tal. In 1959, the two met in Zurich. The game ended in a draw.
During the 1960s, Boris Spassky (right) became the best player in the Soviet Union. Then in 1969, Spassky became world champion. Before the match in Iceland, he had never lost to Bobby Fischer. The popular Russian came to Reykjavik confident of his victory. Did he underestimate his opponent?
Image: AFP
The 'Match of the Century'
Adding to the tension, it wasn't clear if Fischer would actually show up to face Spassky. The former child prodigy from New York had failed to appear or arrived late to previous games. Fischer did not trust Soviet chess players and the World Chess Federation. At the last minute, the Icelandic organizers managed to get Fischer to come to Reykjavik. In the first round, he conceded defeat.
Image: J. Walter Green/AP/picture alliance
The Cold War played on a chessboard
Amid the Cold War, the match opposing the US and the USSR fascinated the public. Fischer's particular demands — for example, to have the cameras removed from the game — added to the unprecedented media hype surrounding the chess championship. After a high-class match, Fischer clearly prevailed, and officially took the World Chess Champion crown from the Soviet Union on September 1, 1972.
Image: AP/picture alliance
1992: Fischer reappears
It is the biggest mystery in chess history: After the 1972 World Chess Championship, Fischer retired from chess, forfeiting his title without defending it. He publicly returned to the chessboard only once, in 1992, facing Boris Spassky again in a private match in the former Yugoslavia. He won again. But having violated US sanctions to play the game, he was labeled a fugitive and fled into exile.
Image: Dagobert Kohlmeyer/dpa/picture-alliance
Finding a home in Reykjavik
As an emigre, Fischer spent time in different countries until 2004, when he was detained in Tokyo and faced deportation to the US. Mentally ill, he had also made headlines with his anti-American and antisemitic statements. But he still found support from a group of Icelandic chess players who managed to bring him back to Reykjavik, where he spent the last years of his life before dying in 2008.
In 2020 — almost 50 years after the "Match of the Century" — chess was suddenly on everyone's lips again. The Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit," starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the role of chess genius Beth Harmon, was a massive hit during the pandemic.
Beth Harmon's character was in part inspired by Bobby Fischer's life. The myth lives on.
Image: Netflix/dpa/picture alliance
Magnus Carlsen: Fischer's successor?
Bobby Fischer has long been considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. "Fischer was an incredibly competitive player, and that still impresses today," said Icelandic grandmaster Helgi Olafson, who supported Fischer in his final years in Iceland. This irrepressible will to win also characterizes the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen — who, like Fischer, was a child prodigy.
Image: Jose Mendez/EPA/picture alliance
A German prodigy
A young German has also been exceptionally good for a number of years. Vincent Keymer (right), who is now 17 years old, is the best chess player in Germany and on his way to the top 10 in world chess. At the age of 14, he played against world champion Magnus Carlsen for the first time — and narrowly lost. In 2021, Keymer became Vice European Champion in Reykjavik.
Image: Georgios Souleidis/picture alliance/dpa
Bobby Fischer (1943 - 2008)
Bobby Fischer was buried in Iceland in 2008. His opponent in the "Match of the Century," the Russian Boris Spassky, now lives in seclusion in Moscow — the effects of two strokes have confined him to a wheelchair. "Spassky always worried about Fischer ... like a big brother," said Icelandic chess champion Helgi Olafson, who knew both players well.
