: Very disappointing to see Vishy Anand in Russian Dvorkovichs camp: GM Baryshpolets #IndiaNEWS #Sports,Other Sports By Venkatachari JagannnathanChennai, July 31 (IANS) Thirty-one-year-old Ukrainian

Very disappointing to see Vishy Anand in Russian Dvorkovichs camp: GM Baryshpolets #IndiaNEWS #Sports ,Other Sports
By Venkatachari JagannnathanChennai, July 31 (IANS) Thirty-one-year-old Ukrainian chess Grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets is hoping to give a winning performance on Indian soil again. Baryshpolets, a doctorate in agricultural and applied economics, had won the 13th Parsvanth Delhi International Grandmasters in 2015.
This time around, Baryshpolets is not competing in the ongoing 44th Chess Olympiad but fighting a bigger game contesting in the international chess federation (FIDE) presidential elections to be held here next month.
Baryshpolets is up against the incumbent FIDE president and former Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich and three others.
Its a tough fight. But I am hopeful of victory. I am not a chess politician nor are my team members. We want to make FIDE more democratic which is now run by a Russian politician and non-chess players, Baryshpolets told IANS.
Though it is a four-cornered contest, Baryshpolets campaigning seems low-key and he agrees.
We are campaigning in a hybrid mode. We reach the voters in person and through social media. Our strategy is simple. We are showing the delegates that our team is much better in every domain. We are young, competent, and transparent. Unfortunately, the current FIDE governance lacks all of those things, he said.
He was also not sure whether the various national chess federations in Europe and the US that imposed sanctions on Russia == would vote in his favour.
This election is not about the war, its not about Ukraine vs. Russia. Its about ending the inherent corruption and ties to political powers. FIDE should serve chess lovers, not politicians. I believe in the integrity of the delegates and hope that they will make the right choice.
Baryshpolets electoral team consists of noted chess players/coach (Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen the coach of world champion Magnus Carlsen and former world champion Viswanathan Anand former world junior champion GM Evgeny Shtembuliak and Ron Fridman with 2,100 ELO rating), an MIT lecturer, private equity founder, entrepreneurs, investment banker, finance professional, chess administrators and others.
Asked about the economic situation in Ukraine, Baryshpolets, an economist, said, It is very difficult and needs huge investments for rebuilding. But the potential is huge.
He spoke to IANS on his election strategy, Anand in the rival camp, promises and other aspects.
Excerpts:
Q: What prompted you to run for FIDE presidentship? Russian invasion of Ukraine and Dvorkovich, the FIDE president who is a Russian. Would you have contested had Russia not invaded Ukraine?
A: I was shocked to see that Arkady was running for re-election, despite being a Russian/Kremlin politician.