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Revision as of 11:42, 23 March 2006 by Sam Sloan (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ignatius Leong is a professional chess organizer in Singapore. He has been one of Asia's leading organizers for more than 20 years.
Politically, he has swung wildly from one extreme to the other. He once formed a "World Chess Organization" which promised to overthrow FIDE. However, he abandoned that effort when he could not get anybody to join.
He has also swung wildly between being a supporter and an opponent of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. At the 1996 FIDE Congress in Yerevan, Armenia, Leong brought in his luggage a special shipment of Rolex watches made in Singapore which were to be used by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to bribe the delegates. However, only a few days later, Leong claimed that Kirsan was trying to assassinate him and therefore Leong hid out in the hotel room of US Delegate Steven Doyle.
It was only after Kirsan promised not to kill Leong, that Leong emerged from Doyle's hotel room. Fortunately, the promise was kept and Leong later appeared on the dais with Kirsan.
In 2002, Leong announced that he was running for FIDE President against Kirsan. Later, he changed his mind, saying that he was not running. Then, he changed his mind again, saying that he had never withdrawn his candidacy. It was eventually ruled that once he had withdrawn, it was too late to become a candidate again, so no election was held because Kirsan was the only candidate. However, in exchange, Kirsan made Leong a Vice-President of FIDE.
In the coming 2006 election to be held in Torino, Italy, Leong is running for FIDE General Secretary on the Kirsan Ilyumzhinov ticket.
External links
- Two Tickets Announced for FIDE Elections
- Bessel Kok for President in 2006
- Report by Egon Ditt on the meeting in Yerevan
- Report by Carol Jarecki on the meeting in Yerevan
- Report by Ignatius Leong (International Arbiter & Organiser) and Tang Kum-Foo (International Arbiter)
- Ignatius Leong rating card at FIDE
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