“The AGON boss avoids responding directly to questions that it is appropriate to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in view of the human rights situation in the country. Instead, he emphasizes that the organizer can guarantee good playing conditions.”–quoting Agon’s Ilya Merenzon.
aftenposten.no/100Sport/sja … 4083b.html
Although FIDE has to walk a fine line in awarding events to countries, clearly they need to do some soul searching and take political considerations into account when selecting a country to host an event. Although FIDE clearly tries to be politically neutral, as a world organization, that’s an impossibility.
Chess has never been only about money, so if FIDE is basing it’s decisions purely on who has the highest bid, then they need to reassess their system of awarding events.
In some cases FIDE is awarding events not to the highest bid, but to the only bid. Part of that problem is that they have made the costs to conduct an event so high, that it is difficult to finance. so more and more of these events are going to autocratic locations where the government will pick up the tab for the event. ( the NY event was the exception for certain - but there may have been other reasons for Agon to want to be in the West occasionally even if they lose a bunch of money.)
The World Rapid/Blitz was not announced at the recent Congress. IF they had it ready to go I am quite certain they would have announced. The world at the Congress was they did not have a location at that time. There is an ongoing similar problem with the Women’s World Championship. There never were any bids for that one and then all of a sudden it popped up in Iran months after it was supposed to be held. They had no other offers for it. The same thing is occurring with that event right now. It is still not schedule or announced and should have been awarded at the latest at the last Congress. But there apparently were no bids to discuss then.
Difficult to search a soul when it’s already been sold to the Devil.
+1