“Represents certainty, institutional improvement of FIDE and chess development of all classes.”

Enrique Celi, delegate of the Uruguayan Chess Federation (FUA) at an international level since 2004, explained that the decision of Uruguay to vote for the Russian Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in the general elections of FIDE was based on the American project related to chess. He said the continent “behaves as a compact block”, whose leader is the President of FIDE America, Jorge Vega. “As America has done well with Kirsan, he maintains the block’s confidence, which results in political support”, he synthesized, and then summarized: “Uruguay is America, Jorge Vega is America.” At the same time, he believes the work of Ilyumzhinov “represents certainty, institutional improvement of FIDE and chess development of all classes.”

When did you first become delegate for the FUA (Uruguayan Chess Federation)?

If I remember correctly, my first activity as a delegate of the Uruguayan Chess Federation worldwide dates back to the 75th FIDE Congress, which was held in Calvia, Spain, in 2004. But I had had to represent the Federation as its President in other events.

Have you been a delegate continuously since then?

There was a short period, I cannot specify if it exceeded a month, from the Ordinary Assembly 2009 until I was designated again.
At that time, when a leadership that I did not integrate joined us, I handed my resignation, and after a while, I was offered the job again and accepted it.

For how long will you participate in this position?

Until the board of director of the FUA deems it appropriate or until the moment I consider that I cannot collaborate with the project in these tasks.

Differently, my position as president of Zone 2.5, for which I was unanimously elected by its countries (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), will be in effect until 2018 at least.

You have been re-elected for that position several times. Why are you interested in representing Uruguay at chess worldwide?

More accurately: I have not been re-elected; I have been appointed or confirmed to this post.

Regarding the question, I think in an amateur sport like chess, all those who believe themselves capable of contributing to its development should do it from the position they consider they can be more useful. In my case I consider my contribution in recent years comes with political worldwide representation.

What are your duties as a delegate of Uruguay?

The delegate is the link between the different levels of FIDE and the National Federation. Any administrative or political activity that links the two organizations is my responsibility.
There are some distinct exceptions, like the one of the International Rating, for which the National Federation must nominate a Rating Officer. These tasks involve being informed of everything that FIDE generates, from its bureau and from each of the committees.

Analyzing the proposals that FIDE receives, investigating how it affects other federations, coordinating and negotiating actions that go with the way of thinking of the Uruguayan Chess Federation.
This implies a constant exchange of ideas and opinions with the President, members of the continental bureau and colleagues in other federations.

In an interview we had with Andrés Rodríguez a few days ago, he stressed Uruguay’s international activity in the chess field and mentioned you. What do you think your strengths are for this role?

I read it and I am proud that Andrew has that concept of my work in this area. It is not for me to indicate what my strengths are, I am not comfortable talking about myself.

However, not to leave the question unanswered, I will talk about the conditions that I find necessary.

I think in a position such as the delegate it is essential to be a negotiator, to listen to the other side. Furthermore, being able to anticipate what the counterpart is going to propose, respecting all the arguments, studying the issues one wants to give an opinion about or take a position, view and analyze the various issues as a whole and not simply as separated subjects.

I would say that anyone who can meet with most of these conditions, and is able to add permanent and disciplined work to them, having understood that he is part of a team, can try to be an efficient delegate.

In the recent Tromso 2014 Chess Olympiad, the Russian Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected as president of FIDE. You, as a delegate from Uruguay, voted him. Why did Uruguay decide to vote for Ilyumzhinov? Was the decision taken by the five members of the executive committee of the FUA or did you also participate in the deliberation?

That is correct, I was commanded to vote for Ilyumzhinov. The question why I think is not for me to answer, it is a decision of the Uruguayan Chess Federation, which I obviously shared and executed. I do not know the whole internal processes of decision of the Executive Board and I did not participate in the deliberation that you mentioned.

Of course, we have been exchanging opinions and ideas with more than one member of the Executive Board since October 2013, when I came back from Estonia, where both candidacies were announced, until the decision of voting for Kirsan was finally taken.

What did Ilyumzhinov offer, as a political project for chess, that Kasparov did not offer?

I am going to give my personal opinion. Ilyumzhinov has been the head of FIDE for 19 years and will be at least for four years more completing his term. Just take a look back and the question answers itself: Ilyumzhinov represents certainty, institutional improvement of FIDE and chess development of all classes.

If we go for high level of competitive chess, we have several years now of a model, with changes, which offers us a world champion every year as a result of a sports cycle.

If we go for the technical development of the rules of chess, there is an ongoing review and adjustment of them, promoted by scholars in the field. The same applies for the arbitral issue.

If we take a look at the other world championships, the adhesion to them is annually growing, no matter where you dispute.

Ilyumzhinov and his team (another virtue of Kirsan, surrounding himself with a competent team) seek strategies to distinguish and promote women’s chess year after year. The work of the Women’s Commission has been magnificent.

The World Youth Cups have visited every continent in a five-year-period.

The Social Commissions, the Development Commission and the Chess in School Commission are provided with budget and people with energy for the job.

Ilyumzhinov permanently supports the activity in the continents. Particularly in America, he has donated $400,000 in the last four years and has just given a similar amount for Africa.

As if it were not enough, FIDE’s finances remain on track. FIDE has been self-sustaining for some time now. Even after enduring a legal counseling cost of about a million dollars that involved the defense of the initiated trials in Lausanne in 2010, which were lost, by the team of lawyers of Kasparov.

What did Kasparov offer instead? A team of people from his personal enterprise, Kasparov Chess Foundation, along with the presence of the former Secretary of FIDE, Mr. Leong, whose form of adhesion to the Kasparov cause is known to everyone. Kasparov is an icon in chess worldwide, being the XIII world champion, but as a politician has no history to show.

Final results exempted from further comment; 110-61 votes are irrefutable.

Ilyumzhinov has been head of FIDE for 19 years now, and is expected to be at least 23 years, when his current term ends. Don’t you think that 19 years is too long to lead an organization like FIDE?

Is there a time limit for the job? That’s another myth. Surely, as with any organization, the day the president has misstepped, his own voters will ask him to step aside.

Following the criterion that long periods of government are not good in these organizations, perhaps FIFA would not be what it is today without Havelange’s time in government, or perhaps the same can be said of the International Olympic Committee and Samaranch’s 21 years heading it, to give two examples.

In several press articles, the renowned Spanish communicator Leontxo García reports lies, false promises and inefficient management of Ilyumzhinov. In particular, he said that “there is strong evidence to claim that President Vladimir Putin ordered all Russian embassies to lobby the governments of each country against Kasparov.” Was the FUA, or you as a delegate, somehow contacted by the Russian Embassy in Uruguay or some emissary? How do you evaluate the words of Leontxo García about it?

First we have to put what the journalist García said in context with the events. García has been critical of FIDE’s activity since 2006. At least that’s what I remember. Nevertheless, he has been a member of the Chess in School Commission between 2010 and 2012, under the administration of the people he blames to be corrupt.

I have in mind his presentation on Alzheimer and Chess during the Chess in School Commission meeting in Istanbul in September 2012. Even though the subject had few points in common with chess in school, the conference was interesting.

Regarding this election campaign, he has generally insisted from the Chessbase website with pejorative words and complaints without further support. I mean without further support because I have not heard of García documenting or proving any of his complaints.
He also said a couple of times in articles that the candidates were close concerning their votes, especially a few days before the elections, when the results in all continents showed that, in the best case, he was uninformed.

As for Russian President Putin, it comes as a repetition of Kasparov statements about it. Everyone knows about Kasparov’s opposition to the Russian government, and I think in that sense it was useful to involve the Russian government in the election campaign of FIDE.

On the other hand, I am sure that Kasparov envisaged for months the outcome of the election, and, in my opinion, it was favorable for him to explain subsequently the defeat through the engagement of the Russian government, and in particular its president, Vladimir Putin. Something like «I lost because the fight was uneven.”

As for the last question, I am not aware that the Uruguayan Chess Federation received “directions” from the Russian embassy for this matter.

García also complaints that “a key person in this victory for Ilyumzhinov, and previous, is the Mexican Jorge Vega (a fighter in his youth with Fidel Castro at Sierra Maestra), President of FIDE America, who controls most Latin American federations with an iron fist.” What role did Vega play in the Uruguayan decision to vote for Ilyumzhinov? Is it true that Vega, as Leontxo García says, controls almost all Latin American federations with an iron fist?

I would say that America as a whole has been key in the victories of President Ilyumzhinov, particularly since 2006.

In 2006, eight out of 34 American federations did not accompany Kirsan, when he faced Kok in the elections of FIDE. In 2010 there were six federations that supported Karpov in the continent, and now in 2014 with Kasparov there were only three. To simplify that this is due to the “iron fist” of the continental President seems to reflect a complete ignorance of the American reality and what Jorge Vega stands for in the continent.

America is a political project whose leader is Jorge Vega, who, along with his team, has almost unanimously supported the national federations of the continent. And as with Kirsan America has done well, the block remains confident, which translates into political support. In the words of our president, Bernardo Roselli Mailhe, “Kirsan has done his duty for America.”

Now, returning to García’s comments, these were made in a very particular moment, in which García was an actor, and not just for his words.

During the launch of the Kasparov Foundation for Latin America in Mexico, it was planned to perform two activities at the same time; the first was the launch of the mentioned foundation, an act that, from the point of view of chess, can be considered relevant. The other activity was a political act in which Kasparov attempted to bring together the Presidents of American federations, invited with the excuse of the foundation, even though he knew that most had already decided to support Ilyumzhinov.

This political act became one of the biggest failures Kasparov had to face within these months, because he failed to be accompanied by the American Presidents.

And Mr. García, in his own words “a hired presenter for the event”, in his name or in the name of the organizers stood against Vega, and all the American Presidents trying to attribute the failure to them.
His sayings are unjustified and unjustifiable, but knowing that García was part of this organization we can understand his frustration after this big failure.

I think I’ve been clear about the incidence of Jorge Vega in Uruguay’s vote: Uruguay is America, Jorge Vega is America, as he is for each one of the American federations. All of us have an impact on everything, because we represent that, a whole, which, to the surprise, amazement and, why not, envy of many, behaves as a compact block.

Before the end of the interview, and since the election is history right now, I would like to look to the future and highlight what I consider achievements of the Uruguayan chess these days in Tromso.

In first place, from a sporting point of view, it is confirmed that the 2015 Continental Absolute is to be held in our country, where all of our athletes may participate in the most significant event of the continental timetable.

As for 2016, the Pan American Youth Tournament (representing the 34 American countries in 12 categories) will come to Uruguay.

Politically, and not less important, for sure, there’s our recognition of President Bernardo Roselli as part of the Ibero-American Federation and FIDE itself. For the first case he will be the Vice President for the next four years, in an Ibero-American reality which we can say relaunches in its challenges, and as for FIDE, he will take responsibility on behalf of America from the position of director, which will be, with no doubt, one of the main working commissions of FIDE, and according to the principles of the campaign, theme of the next few years, as it is in the Chess in School Commission.

After the Chairman, the position of director is one of the most responsible in any commission, and certainly Bernardo knows how to honor that responsibility.

Personally, I will continue as FIDE Zone 2.5 President trying to help in any way deemed necessary or appropriate as usual.

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