FIDE Ethics Committee impotent to act against Azmai’
Ethics Committee claims not aware of the facts!
In a decision that most spectators would conclude anti-climatic and bizarre at the very least, the FIDE Ethics Committee (EC) today has washed its hands of the matter and has refused to proceed independently of Anton Kovalyov and punish Azmaiparashvili for his behaviour in Tbilisi last month. Anton’s FaceBook statements were deemed ‘hearsay’. Further, the EC insisted upon a ‘truthful’ statement from Anton. And in person.
Anton has refused to play any political game with Azmai’s FIDE cronies, and has told the CFC that he does not believe that the EC is capable of acting in good faith. He will not appear before the EC. Nor will he be seeking to recover his prize money.
The EC also refused to acknowlege any legitimate role for the Canadian Chess Federation (CFC) in either representing Kovalyov or in representing its own self interests. This inspite of the EC regulations explicitly allowing for such action from interested national federations.
This reader is additionally perplexed by the EC’s attitude, especially since video is available where Azmaiparashvili admits to using abusive and derogatory language. Any court of law in the world would consider this as damning enough evidence in and of itself.
Infact, Anton’s original statement on FaceBook is fully verified by Azmaiparashvili’s video cameo appearances on ChessBaseIndia. The EC, insisting upon additional ‘proof’ and/or alluding to some formal privilege to ask direct, in-person questions to Anton, (who would have to pay thousands of dollars to meet this request) does itself a great dis-service and has forfeited its credibility and objectivity in eyes of many.