FIDE BECOMES A GLOBAL FINANCIAL PARIAH AS UBS CLOSES BANK ACCOUNT

As of 30 April 2018 the UBS Bank in Switzerland has closed the FIDE bank account. The immediate impact for global chess is huge. As from 1 May all payment orders will be declined, incoming payments will be returned to the sender and all debit and credit cards will be blocked.

In addition, the asset balance in the FIDE bank account will be placed in escrow and held, frozen, until FIDE supplies details of a new banking partner.

Thus far 18 different international banks have refused to even grant FIDE a meeting to discuss the possibility of opening an account. Some say that the refusal by other banks is a consequence of Kirsan Ilymzhinov being on the US Treasury sanctions list.

A further possibility is that when other banks hear that it was the UBS that closed the FIDE accounts they already know better than to be seen anywhere near FIDE.  A simple Google search shows a string of cases against the UBS for facilitating cross border tax evasion, money laundering for a Turkish drug cartel and even holding accounts for South Africa’s apartheid government. So, if FIDE has become too hot for the UBS to handle, then it is unlikely that any respectable bank on the planet will go near the organization under current leadership.

For the sake of those unfamiliar with this aspect of FIDE political history, here is a brief summary of what caused all the problems. Back in 2015 the US treasury placed four individuals and six entities for assisting the Assad regime and facilitation transactions of the Central Bank of Syria. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is one of those. In terms of the sanctions US persons and corporations are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. A division of the UBS of Switzerland is registered as a bank in the USA and subject to US Treasury regulations.

Since Ilyumzhinov has stated that he has no accounts or property outside of Russia, there is a risk that the FIDE account could potentially become an Ilyumzhinov proxy.

In the immediate future FIDE’s frozen assets can impact on the organizing budgets of the Women’s World Championship Match in May 2018, the Chess Olympiad in October and the Carlsen / Caruana match in November.

So FIDE lies in limbo while Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is president. What’s more, Ilyumzhinov has announced his candidacy for re-election in October this year to extend his 25 year grip on chess power.

As you can imagine Ilyumzhinov, a close Putin ally for many years, has a very different opinion of who is responsible for all the FIDE problems. According the Kirsan (the self-confessed UFO abductee) the sanctions against him are nothing more than a conspiracy between Kasparov and the Americans to discredit the relationship between him and his friend Putin.

It now remains to be seen how long the future of organized chess on an international level can survive without access to any of its funds and assets.

We close out with a game from the German Bundesliga where the normally solid French Defense is demolished in just 18 moves.

Rapport,Richard (2713) - Bluebaum,Matthias (2616)

BL 2017–18 Germany (15), 01.05.2018

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd3 Nge7 C01: French: Exchange Variation 

7.0–0 Bg4 [7...0–0 8.Ne2 Bf5 9.c3 Bd6 10.Bf4 Re8 11.Bg3 Qd7 12.Bb5 a6 13.Ba4 Bg4 14.Qd3 1–0 (57) Rapport,R (2707) -Akobian,V (2647) Riadh 2017] 

8.h3 Bh5 9.a3 Bd6 [9...Bxc3= 10.bxc3 f6] 

10.Re1² 

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10...Bxf3N [10...0–0²; or: 10...Nxd4 11.g4 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Bg6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Nxd5 0–0 15.Nxe7+ Bxe7 16.Qxb7 1–0 (46) Hovhannisyan,R (2591)-Vaganian,R (2577) Yerevan 2014] 

11.Qxf3± Nxd4 12.Qxd5! c6 

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13.Qh5 [Worse is 13.Qxd4 Bh2+ 14.Kxh2 Qxd4µ] 

13...Qd7 14.Ne4 

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14...Ne6 [¹14...0–0–0 15.Nxd6+ (15.Qxf7 Bc7±) 15...Qxd6 16.Qxf7 Nd5] 

15.Bh6!+- Qc7 [15...gxh6 16.Nf6+] 

16.Bc4 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 

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17...Qe5? [17...0–0 18.g3 Bxg3 19.fxg3 Nd5] 

18.Ng5  1–0