Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Enyonam Sewa Fumey - future FIDE President?

 As I read on ChessBase, Enyonam Sewa Fumey from Togo wants to become the new FIDE President, the successor of Arkady Dvorkovich.

In the current times, it would feel wrong to have either an Ukrainian or a Russian as FIDE President. It is not about there being any corruption, but about it possibly looking to the outside that there might be any corruption, even if there isn't any - I believe Mr. Dvorkovich is not corrupt, I believe he does a good job, but in the current times of war his country of origin could be an issue.

So it will be an interesting upcoming election. Mr. Fumey has good chances in my opinion. I didn't know Mr. Fumey at all before. But to the outside world, the non-chessplayers, it will make a better appearance to have someone from Togo than to have someone from an active war country.

I really don't have any opinion here on who is the better candidate, but to keep good optics, it would currently be Mr. Fumey. An African - to my knowledge a continent that didn't have a FIDE President yet.


We had four Europeans - two Dutchmen, one Swede, one from Iceland -, then three Asians - one Filipino and two Russians - as Presidents. As such, an African would be a welcome choice. So far Africa is one of many underrepresented continents. From the information I read, Fumey seems like a great enthusiast. A man who in his chess-political career also improved his own skills, gaining among other accolades the title of an International Arbiter.


One thing seems certain: Whoever wins the election this year will further advance chess to the best of his abilities.

If we can end the horrible war, chess can have a bright future again. If we can't, then likely chess is the least of our issues...