Norsk yfirvöld útiloka frekari stuðning við ólympíuskákmótið

Skákvefurinn Chess24 er með í dag ítarlega fréttskýringu um stöðu ólympíuskákmótsins í Tromsö. Þar kemur m.a. fram að norsk yfirvöld útiloki frekari stuðning við mótið en mótshaldarar segja að það vanti um 300 milljónir inn í mótið til að endar nái saman.

Þar er m.a. haft eftir menntamálaráðherranum Thorild Widvey (Íhaldsflokknum)

It’s true they had extra costs due to the World Cup event, but it’s also the case that these costs were there when they applied for the Olympiad. This is nothing new.

They haven’t gained the sponsor revenue they anticipated. Whether that’s due to excessively high estimates or not doing a good enough job, I don’t know.

You can’t just come and ask for more money because you haven’t been able to get it. The premise was known when they applied.

Forseti norska skáksambandins Jöran Aulin-Jansson hafði þetta um málið að segja í viðtali við VG:

Aulin-Jansson: Ouch. Those were harsh words.

VG: But is Widvey right, or is she wrong?

Both. It’s correct that the costs were known to us when we sent the application, but she forgot to mention that both KrF (the Christian Democratic Party) and FrP (the Progress Party) encouraged the then Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt to increase the funding when parliament considered the case. Since then we’ve been in contact with the Ministry of Culture on and off to inquire about this, but the answer has been that it isn’t possible. Then there was a change of government this autumn.

So after the election you were hopeful of getting funding anyway?

Yes. It’s also important to emphasise that we didn’t overspend. We’ve tried to save as much as possible. I think we’ve been hit pretty hard for a relatively small amount considering the amount spent on various Olympic events these days.

Jansson lýkur viðtalinu svo við VG aðspurður hvort það komi til greina að hætta við ólympíuskákmótið

I should be careful what I say, but we're in an incredibly difficult situation. I don't know where this ends. This is very serious. If the event actually takes place, it will be very limited.  

Á morgun á Jansson forseti norska skáksambandsins fund með fjármálaráðherra Noregs auk þess sem tveir af helstu forystumenn FIDE er þá væntanlegir til Noregs.

Það hefur vakið nokkra athygli að FIDE hefur ekki leyft mótshöldurum að leggja 100€ kostnað á hvern keppenda eins og gert var ólympíuskákmótinu 2012 í Istanbul. Þess má geta að Norðmenn eru meðal helstu stuðningsmanna Garry Kasparov á meðan Tyrkir styðja Kirsan Ilyumzhinov með ráð og dáð.

Stórmeistarinn Sergey Shipov, sem er stuðningsmaður Kasparov skrifar á spjallsíðu í kaldhæðnistón.

Or perhaps it's not in the FIDE leadership's interests to hold the Olympiad in Tromsø?

After all, for chess players and the majority of fans it's first and foremost a vast team tournament and a huge celebration of chess. But for our officials it's above all about the FIDE Congress and the Presidential Election. And a lot depends on the place the elections are held.

Might it be the case that some reserve airfield in Russia will soon emerge? It can host the election with a greater probability of victory.

Greinin á heild sinni á Chess24.