FIDE will hold its Presidential election on June 3rd between two parties… Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's "Chess Fidelity" and Bessel Kok's "The Right Move." Both parties have presented their ideas and in just a bit more than a month, the FIDE General Assembly will meet to chart a new course for the future of chess.

A hotbed of political activity is stirring in Africa and a recent situation has resulted in both parties coming taking verbal jabs at one another. GM Nigel Short, who has been traveling throughout the British Commonwealth, has been actively campaigning for Kok's ticket. During a recent trip in Zambia, Short landed in the middle of an administrative transition, with Lewis Ncube exiting the post of President and vying for the position of FIDE VP candidate on the Kirsan Ilyumzhinov ticket.

The Times of Zambia ran a March 21st article reporting on Ncube's nomination. In the article, it was stated that Zambian Sports Minister George Chulumanda had thrown his backing behind Ncube, but Nigel Short, who was visiting Zambia, was trying to subvert Ncube's candidacy at a meeting in Kabwe, Zambia. (full article)

Short flatly denied the charges and stated in an e-mail to The Chess Drum, "Actually I made no attack directly on Ncube. I spoke of the international situation and of the utter neglect of Africa during the last 11 years." Zambia's top player Amon Simutowe was surprised to learn of the Kabwe incident since he had arranged ground transportation for Short as a friendly gesture. He stated he had no idea that Short would attempt to negatively influence Ncube's candidacy. According to Simutowe, a reporter phoned him and asked if he supported Short's position in which he replied negatively.

Short condemned the Times of Zambia article, contacted Simutowe and expressed disappointment in his comments. In a measured response, Short penned an article in the Guardian detailing accounts of an eventful meeting in Kabwe. The article opened by stating that the Zambian army was summoned to the chess elections. Later in the article…

"The colonel was nominated as president, winning by one vote, to joyous celebrations, in front of an Ncube acolyte. Ncube's FIDE ambitions are thus now dependent upon the precarious support of an executive that is, for the most part, opposed to him. He may yet survive, but it is difficult to believe that he would have been offered so important a post on the Kirsan ticket had they been aware of his predicament. Mind you, such regimes do tend to sow the seeds of their own destruction." (full article; ChessBase)

Caught in the middle of a growing crisis, Simutowe told The Chess Drum, "When Nigel aired his comments, there was no way I could support him. I was surprised he wrote me complaining about my comments." Simutowe has since written a document further explaining his position. The plot thickened when Ncube learned of the Guardian article through a third party and fired off a statement,

"Firstly, there was never any army or defence contingent at the AGM. There are a lot of other misrepresentations including the suggestion that I was asked to step down. This is far from the truth. The incoming President has also said he never discussed what Nigel suggests was said."

Nigel Short's article has received a significant audience at the ChessBase.com website. At press time, Ncube is returning from Kenya and plans to address the issues articulated in Short's article. (see below) With the FIDE elections approximately two months away, there is a lot at stake for the future of chess. Both parties have launched websites stating their platforms. In the coming weeks, the "Chess Fidelity" and "The Right Move" campaigns will ratchet up their activity to garner votes for the future of chess.  It is hopeful that each party will take the interest of Africa and other developing nations to heart.

Times of Zambia (posted on The Chess Drum)

Nigel Short's Guardian article

Lewis Ncube's Response (MS-Word, web format)

Barb Kausu's Response

Posted by The Chess Drum: 10 April 2006