chess on and off the board

In the aftermath of the recent Fide meeting in Paris, different versions are circulating about what happened. What is clear is that Florencio Campomanes is no longer President of Fide. His place has been taken by Kirsan Iljumzhinov, who is, by all accounts, a seriously rich Russian who has the confidence of both Karpov and Kasparov.

The perplexing footnote is that Campomanes has now had the post of "Chairman" created for him, and is still seen to play rather too prominent a role for the liking of those who proposed a vote of no confidence in him and his team.

What exactly happened in that vote is also still a matter of dispute. In the minutes, the count is recorded as a tie at 13-13, though the American and German delegates maintain that the no- confidence motion was approved first by 13-12, then by 14-13 on a recount.

The squabbles will no doubt continue, so here's some chess - an entertaining game from the European Club Championships last week. Kasparov's remarkable 18...Nxe3!? sacrifice (19.fxe3 cxd4 gives Black plenty of compensation) is nicely echoed by White's 25.Ne6!

Akopyan-Kasparov: 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 d5 4 0-0 Bg7 5 d4 0-0 6 c4 dxc4 7 Na3 c3 8 bxc3 c5 9 e3 Nc6 10 Qe2 Qa5 11 Bb2 Nd5 12 Rfc1 Bg4 13 h3 Bxf3 14 Bxf3 Rfd8 15 Nc4 Qa4 16 Nd2 Rac8 17 Ne4 b6 18 c4 Nxe3 19 Qxe3 Nxd4 20 Kg2 Nc2 21 Rxc2 Qxc2 22 Bxg7 Kxg7 23 Ng5 h6 24 Qe5+ Kg8 25 Ne6 fxe6 26 Qxe6+ Kh8 27 Qe5+ Kg8 28 Bd5+ Rxd5 29 Qe6+ Kg7 30 Qxe7+ Kg8 31 Qe6+ Kg7 Draw agreed.