After a great chess career, former world champion Anatoly Karpov now looks to head the sport's body FIDE. He spoke to SUNDAY MiD DAY exclusively about what's wrong with the game and how he plans to take it to a new level
After a great chess career, former world champion Anatoly Karpov now looks to head the sport's body FIDE. He spoke to SUNDAY MiD DAY exclusively about what's wrong with the game and how he plans to take it to a new level
What motivated you to run for FIDE presidency?
I do not feel I have more to achieve in terms of personal ambitions in chess. But in the development of the game as a professional sport in the world, there is still much to be done. After 15 years of FIDE president (Kirsan) Ilyumzhinov, it is clear this development will not take place without a complete change in the leadership of FIDE. Our campaign motto is "A Champion of Change."
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What changes would you like to usher in if you become FIDE president?
The main goal of my administration will be to open a dialogue with the federations and players. For 15 years, Ilyumzhinov ruled like a king, handing down diktats without consultation.
Many of the ideas I have to promote the game have been suggested for years to the deaf ears of FIDE. These include using the internet to better unite the federations and the players.
Our millions of chess lovers are an untapped resource. Our world champion is from Asia, something unimagined not long ago! Why not a world champion from Latin America, or Africa? My administration will develop programs to expand our training and other activities all over the globe.
How difficult would it be to make the transition from a player to an administrator?
I have spent many years working in areas outside of chess with my charitable and political activities. I have been an active UNICEF Ambassador for ten years, which has given me the opportunity to see how large development programs work. I chair the International Association of Peace Foundations and am member of the Public Chamber of Russia. I am also putting together a very competent team to advise my campaign and administration.
The world championship has almost become an annual affair and therefore has lost some of its sheen. Would you change the championship format?
This world championship has fallen into disrepair along with so much else. It is difficult to imagine that Ilyumzhinov has such trouble to find sponsorship for an event that in my day received bids from all over the world for millions of dollars.
We have more great players than ever from more parts of the world than ever before.
I am nearing 60 but I am not old-fashioned. I understand we cannot simply turn back the clock, and we should not. The world is different now and chess can and will adapt. But not by changing its rules or by turning the world championship into a circus. The world championship should be a valuable property and not cheapened. We must have a fixed calendar with events in places that will receive appropriate sponsorship and attention.
In many countries, it is very difficult to pursue chess as a career option because of lack of money in the game. Do you have a solution?
Playing chess, or any sport for that matter, as a career has always been a rare privilege. The number of players supported by the game cannot increase unless we have greater commercial engagement, promotion, and development. This provides opportunities for coaches and organisers.
The United States, for example, hosts few professional events, but the popularity of the game at the scholastic level provides income for thousands of chess teachers. As the player and fan pool grows, there are more book sales, magazine subscriptions and therefore more money for their contributors.
Some websites following the campaign have displayed interviews with Ilyumzhinov in which he speaks of his personal experiences with extraterrestrial beings. Do you have any comments?
I am not interested in such stories, so I will not address this one. We have a surplus of problems in the chess world here on Earth that I am eager to resolve.
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