Chennai: With only two weeks to go for the presidential elections for the international chess federation (FIDE), Grandmaster Nigel Short has resigned from his post of vice-president.
The resignation could be related to the imposition of a three-month suspended ban from acting as FIDE official by the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich.
“Nigel’s decision is open and sincere, perhaps even a little emotional and related to the decision of EDC (Ethics and Disciplinary Commission), but I believe that Nigel will continue his mission and agree with my proposal to find the right format for our joint work for the benefit of chess,” Dvorkovich said.
Short, when contacted by IANS, declined to comment.
The charge against Short was undermining and discrediting the US Virgin Islands Chess Federation.
“The respondent, Mr Nigel Short, is sanctioned with a 3-month ban from acting as a FIDE official, which ban is wholly suspended for a probationary period of two years on condition that Mr Short does not commit a breach of Article 11.6(a), (b) or (c) of the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Code (2022) within the probationary period,” the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission held.
Incidentally, Short, who calls a spade a spade, was also critical of the All India Chess Federation’s (AICF) past autocratic ways.
He was instrumental in getting the FIDE rating restored to over 50 of India’s chess players.
The players were banned for playing in chess tournaments not ‘authorised’ by All India Chess Federation (AICF) and their ratings were subsequently removed by FIDE at the behest of the Indian chess federation.
A change of guard at FIDE, which is now headed by former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Arkady Dvorkovich and his new team, facilitated the move.
Dvorkovich in his reaction to Short’s resignation said: “I would like to note that all these years, Nigel has worked tirelessly to promote chess on all continents. Thanks to his efforts, the FIDE family has been expanded by several new federations.
“Often the fruits of his dedicated work were to be appreciated only years later. As an example — thanks to his efforts, the long-standing conflict in the Pakistani Chess Federation began to be resolved, ending with legitimate elections in June 2022,” Dvorkovich added.
It is not known what path Short would take now.
In 2018, he had announced his candidature for the FIDE president’s post and days before the poll he joined hands with Dvorkovich.
“I am sincerely glad that in 2018 Nigel agreed to accept my nomination as the vice-president of FIDE. Several more candidates from his 2018 ticket currently work in the FIDE Council and make a significant contribution to our common duties,” Dvorkovich said.
By Venkatachari Jagannathan
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