Despite the triumphant celebration of opening the Mexican office of the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) earlier this year, Kasparov has failed to convince the Mexican Chess Federation that a FIDE with him at the top is the best way to go. Just yesterday it became clear that Mexico will vote for Kirsan, essentially obliterating Kasparov off of the America’s map. Out of a possible 34 votes in the America’s , Kasparov will only pick up two or three at the most, and even that is subject to last minute change.
Amazing reception in Mexico!? LINK Maybe, but not good enough for their vote!
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Garry Kasparov is a legend of chess, and everywhere he travels he is greeted by thousands of fans and even political leaders come out and pay respect to his incredible achievements as a player who dominated his sport for more than a decade. BUT, the chess world is a tough sell: chessplayers are thinkers, and they recognize that Kasparov the politician is NOT the same thing as Kasparov the legend. And this election, coming on the heels of a humiliating defeat in 2010, is heading into one of Kasparov’s worse nightmares. Unofficial counts give Kirsan an overwhelming lead, close to 75% of the vote.
Many believe that Kasparov has overplayed the ‘Putin card’ in the FIDE election, trying to sell his campaign on some sort of anti-Putin platform rather than the normal FIDE election held every 4-years that it is. Spaceships, aliens and Russia-phobia apart, Kirsan is one of the most popular figures in the chessworld’s history, enjoying overwhelming support for his efforts to reconstruct the chess world from the ruins that Kasparov left it in 1993….
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Spraggett on Chess 
This is truly a shame. A vote for Kasparov would have meant releasing FIDE from the grasp of the Kremlin, which of course, would have return the organization to the world. There is no doubt that Kasparov is a much smarter person when it comes to chess, and probably a much more capable leader.
It is beyond comprehension that people would not want to see a chess legend, who has build a successful carreer on the art, lead FIDE with new ideas. Kasparov would have improved the world of chess in a way that Kirsan could never do.
Is it any inidication of Kirsan’s competence to see that no one has been willing to come forward to host the World Championship? The answer is obvious.