Peace pact draft readied

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The Executive Council of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), which is looking into the controversy involving membership claims of the newly-formed National Chess Federation of the Philippines, is set to defer its inquiry until after both parties have reached a compromise agreement.

Greece’s Georgious Makropolous, FIDE executive vice-president who was to preside over the 15-member Executive Council, promised the PCF that he would ask the body to defer discussions on the membership status of the PCF and the NCFP.

Makropolous is presiding over the meeting and possibly the General Assembly of FIDE after FIDE president Kirsan Iljumzhinov announced he could not attend both the 34th World Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress because of pressing problems in Kalmykia, where he is president.

United States Chess Federation delegate William Kelleher and Norway’s Morten Sand, who is also the FIDE legal consultant, had already received a unification proposal from the PCF and NCFP and are now preparing the draft they hope will be signed by the PCF and NCFP before they submit it to the Executive Council.

Named signatories to the proposed memorandum of agreement are PCF president Jesus Ingeniero and NCFP president Eugene Torre, with Makropolous, Sand, Kelleher and FIDE Zone 3.2A president Ignatius Leong as witnesses.

The FIDE Executive Council was to meet Monday and Tuesday. The resolutions passed by the council will be forwarded for final approval of the members in the FIDE Congress which holds its plenary sessions Nov. 8 -12. Ingeniero welcomed the new development, saying a compromise agreement could be the best arrangement to end the controversy that plagued both the PCF and NCFP, as well as the hierarchy of the international chess federation.

FIDE officials here believe the controversy, which has divided both top officials and delegates from 126 countries, could be resolved outside the council and congress.

FIDE officials are now trying to settle the problem, which delegates here fear might also affect many small chess organizations which can easily be replaced by new organizations with the support of influential persons within FIDE.