Kasparov leaves chess future uncertain
Refuses to accept responsibility for loss
Garry Kasparov this morning made public an eloquently written letter, formally putting an end to his FIDE campaign that culminated in bitter defeat on Monday, 11th of August, when the FIDE delegates voted overwhelmingly (110–61) for the incumbent president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Although recognizing the challenges that lay infront of him before he entered the FIDE race, ”I hoped that there was still a chance for a coalition of reform-minded federation leaders and others tired of broken promises and stagnation to reach a winning number of votes. The fact is that we fell far short…”
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Kasparov , in his letter, not once hinted of any personal shortcomings or faults in the manner in which either he or his team conducted the global campaign. Instead, he lay 100% responsibility for his defeat on the behaviour of others:
”I faced three main challenges in this campaign. First was the FIDE machinery, the abuse of power that made votes disappear and turned commissions into puppets…There were two other factors I badly underestimated. I anticipated the Kremlin’s involvement but couldn’t imagine its extent or how susceptible Europe would be to it. Nor did I anticipate how resistant even many of the biggest federations are to change…Europe is becoming a lost continent…”
