Answer To Suat Atalik

Dear Mr. Atalik,

As I already stated on other media, the so-called “interview” published on the Official site of the Istanbul Olympiads in no way reflects my words or thoughts. On the other hand, the site also clearly states that the article “is the short transcript of the press conference” (for your information, the whole interview was recorded) and an update is to follow. Under such circumstances, the average reader is best advised to refrain from issuing nasty comments as – in the best of worlds – they shall most likely be based on an unofficial text.

Rather than getting personal and accusing in a very rude manner both myself and the Association that I represent, you could have asked for the full interview or contacted me or the ACP at any of our public e-mail addresses to verify whether the frankly weak and indefensible position expressed by the article was a true and faithful rendering of the interviewee’s thoughts.

Actually, I am personally very annoyed at the inconvenience that the misrepresentation of my thoughts is causing to the ACP and myself. I sincerely hope that the Organizing Committee of the Olympiads will soon repair the damage by providing the full and correct text of my interview thus restoring the truth and removing the shadows that their mistakes are casting upon the ACP and myself.

I shall now try to answer your very indelicate points one by one. Please forgive me if, in the light of your rather strong words, I shall not turn the other cheek.

1) Your ignorance cannot be my fault. Apparently, you have been in the chess world for too long and are no longer interested in its developments, preferring to live in the past rather than keeping up to the tumultuous pace of progress. Should you ever consider doing some (fairly easy) research, you will most likely find out what my role in Italian and international chess is, so I don’t think it necessary to reply to your impolite comments. By the way, you could also ask a few top-players: you would probably be surprised at the answers…

2) I never dreamt of releasing any statement on ACP’s neutrality. I urge you to check your sources before answering and insulting (unfortunately this also applies to Mr. Surov, who, being a journalist, should know better than to publish a foul letter without looking for comments from the counterpart). Once again, you could have done this easily by contacting the ACP or myself at any of our publicly available addresses. Should you really be interested in seeking the truth, I shall be only delighted to provide you with my original thoughts and with the ACP’s official positions.

3) I think you should read ACP’s letter in greater detail and try to understand the ideas behind it. “Think first act later” should be at the basis of the mindset of a chess player but apparently you were temporarily oblivious of this elementary skill. May I remind you that the ACP has no jurisdiction or enforcing powers and that it can only state its opinion in order to raise awareness. Our position regarding your case was clear-cut and firm. We also gave you between the lines a number of legal hints on how to defend your case: Unfortunately you completely missed those fine points. Also, we proposed a political solution, by asking FIDE to act in your defence. Rather than waiting for FIDE to take a stand, thus making a statement to the chess community as regards your very sensitive case, you fled and refused to talk by remembering the obvious: your two counterparts are also important officers of FIDE. Yes, Sir, the ACP is well aware of that. And precisely because of this circumstance, it could have been embarrassing for FIDE to react to our letter, since even a child would understand that Mr. Yazici’s and Mr. Makropoulos’ positions as national officers and FIDE officers are bound to be different and subject to possibly conflicting rationales. Unfortunately, thanks to your “act first, think later” strategy, we will never know what FIDE has to say about your case.

I think it is also proper to remember you and all readers that the ACP has due process obligations, and that we cannot react on such a sensitive case as yours in two or three days. Addressing your case required legal consulting and a lot of research and refining. Also, we had to find a position that would be accepted a majority of the ACP Board and that could serve the chess community by establishing a precedent. I apologize if it took us all the time that was needed to come up with a serious reaction: we firmly believe in the “think first act later” strategy, something which most obviously puts the ACP and your esteemed self at odds.

Let me close with an obvious remark, but one which I want to make as clear as possible. In spite of your rude manners and foul language, the ACP and I are committed to defending your rights. We, I above all, shall continue to act in your interest and in the interest of the chess community, no matter how insensitive and impolite you shall prove to be now or in the future. Because injustice done to one is a threat to all.

Yuri Garrett
ACP Board Director