The power struggle that started in FIDE in the end of March reached a temporary stalemate. At the extraordinary meeting of the Presidential Board meeting in Athens, it was decided that Kirsan Ilymzhinov will stay President of FIDE until the end of 2018. However, his power will be limited and he will not be able to take major decisions nor sign contracts. Full story below (developing)
Chronology of the story
March 26th, 2017 Kirsan Ilyumzhinov resigned… or not?
March 28th, 2017 Nigel Freeman to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
March 29th, 2017 Makropoulos letter to Kirsan Ilymzhinov
March 30th, 2017 Statement from Zurab Azmaiparashvili and Jorge Vega
April 4th, 2017 Kirsan Ilyumzhinov creates “Kirsan Fund”
Today was the D-day of the FIDE presidency turmoil. The resignation of the under-sanctions President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was discussed at the FIDE PB extraordinary meeting in Athens. The only agenda on the table behind closed doors was whether or not Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will remain in power.
The odds before the meeting were clear: the FIDE website published official information that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov resigns on March 26th, the Executive director Mr. Freeman and Deputy Makropoulos pointed to Kirsan having submitted his resignation, Continental Presidents Azmaiparashvili and Vega also confirmed the stance of FIDE. On the other side Kirsan Ilyumzhinov had little support, practically only Russia (Dmitry Peskov and Andrey Filatov) staying on his side. Everyone’s expectation was that April 10th is the last day of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in office.
Contrary to the general vibe, the meeting in Athens went peacefully. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will remain in office until 2018, when the regular FIDE Presidential elections will be held. However, due to multiple factors, the powers of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will be limited.
Update 12:45 CET: all officials from the FIDE PB meeting refrained from commenting the story until a statement on the FIDE website has been published. Only the Vice President Andrei Filatov stated for TASS that, “Kirsan just called me and confirmed he remains President of FIDE”
Developing story, this article will be updated, stay tuned for details