Do you remember the 2023 open letter by H. Otten and J. Maggi? These two scoundrels (I do not hesitate to use such a strong term for people who lie publicly!) wrote about me as a dictator, a guy with no principles who ruined such great relations with international organizations, etc. I did not react to that letter at the time (even though my board’s response was ready) because I wanted to change the FMJD in peace. And that is exactly what happened. A few months later, the FMJD moved to Lausanne and started looking like a normal organization with a bank account accessible to board members rather than a former treasurer, etc. It is worth remembering that this historic change was not supported by these two gentlemen—namely, the Netherlands and Estonia. For it is hard to believe that these federations did not act according to their wishes.
I will write about that open letter another time. For now, I will focus on current affairs. How are these noble, law-loving, and democracy-respecting individuals conducting themselves? How is the FMJD being managed by a supporter of close relations with Russia? Let me point out the most blatant examples of their respect for the law and for people:
1. One of the first activities was meetings with Russia! One of the leaders of Putin’s party was a dinner companion of these two gentlemen. You can read about this in my separate articles.
2. Lifting disqualification penalties (for playing in tournaments that failed to meet both FMJD and IOC requirements) imposed by the previous Board (after all, one has to be nice to Russia!).
3. Ignoring the decisions of the Ethics Committee! This is a truly disgusting matter. The current FMJD tournament director is victimizing 78-year-old Alexander Rudnitsky just because he founded an organization in the USA and runs regular tournaments in Miami. It is worth adding that this organization publicly stated it has absolutely no ambition to compete in any way with the IACONA organization. Contrary to the decisions of the Ethics Committee, and despite the requests and appeals made by the person concerned to the FMJD, A. Rudnitsky was deprived of the opportunity to play in the American Championship as well as in other official tournaments.
On this occasion, something previously unheard of also appeared in the FMJD—CENSORSHIP! Over the past decades, practically anyone could add their tournament to the shared calendar on the FMJD pages. Throughout my years of activity, I actually encouraged this at every opportunity. However, the Miami tournament is passé for the FMJD Board! Posting it in this shared calendar is simply being blocked. A tournament with a good prize pool, in a prestigious location… does this really bother the FMJD President??? Is this actually about checkers?
4. Ignoring FMJD regulations regarding veteran tournaments. When I was the Tournament Director, I asked the delegates at the General Assembly (2019) to decide what the age limit for such tournaments should be. There were three proposals: 50+, 55+, and 60+. The General Assembly decided that it should be a 60+ tournament. This is how it was done for several years, until now. As a demonstration of what abiding by the law looks like, the Veteran Championships were announced in the 50+ category. This is lawlessness! The Board cannot overturn decisions of the General Assembly (GA)!
5. Inviting Belarus to participate in tournaments. Belarus was suspended from membership rights by the General Assembly! (Drancy 2023). Only the General Assembly can change this decision. The Board has no authority to do so. This is an unlawful decision—a blatant overstepping of their powers. I have also written about this separately.
6. Announcement of changes to the World Championship system. And once again, a blatant overstepping of powers! On top of that, in the most essential element. The provisions in the FMJD Annexes are absolutely unequivocal. The authority to make changes lies with the General Assembly, not the Board. Changing the tournament system by the Board is lawlessness!
