As an historian, he tried to prove that Spain played a major role in chess late in the fifteenth century when the increased powers of the Q and B were introduced during the Renaissance in Italy.
In 1987, Calvo was condemned by FIDE and was declared "persona non grata" for writing a controversial article in New in Chess which it was claimed was a racial attack on Latin Americans. This is rather odd to me because Latin Americans could be of any race.
The 1987 FIDE General Assembly met in Seville and passed resolution censuring Calvo. The Committee was made up of Arnold Denker (Chairman), J.E. Molina Marino and Manual Aaron and they recommended Calvo receive a five year suspension from all FIDE events.
FIDE delegates voted (72 for, 1 against and 2 abstentions) for a milder resolution which condemned Calvo’s “admitted election irregularities” and his “insulting and defamatory” letter, which “brings chess into disrepute.” Ultimately, Calvo was declared persona non grata, but would be allowed to play in FIDE events. What, exactly, had Calvo done?
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| Calvo |
In a letter in New in Chess he described his Latin American experience while campaigning on behalf of Raymond Keene and Lincoln Lucena in late 1986. He was in possession of a letter by Gary Kasparov giving him authority to arrange a tour of simuls, exhibitions and lectures to Latin American countries.
Calvo briefly described the results he obtained in each country. Apparently the problem was that he classified the various Latin American federations based on their voting intentions. If they were not interested in a Kasparov visit, they were corrupt.
He also described the “kind of people who have supported Campomanes.” They were countries where:
* a girl must become a prostitute at the age of 14
* a boy must become a policeman or a soldier of the dictator if they want to survive.
* chess delegates were delighted with a small piece of the big cake of money, or power, or traveling away from their unhappy surroundings.
* they were grateful for a free ticket, or a good meal, or the possibility of a position with the FIDE
Read letter
In his syndicated column Larry Evans called the letter a solid piece of journalism while pro-FIDE folks described it as a savage piece of sour grapes, worthless, devoid of details and evidence or proof. Others took a middle of the road approach claiming that while Calvo could not substantiate his claims, nobody could disprove them because they were so vague. You can read Larry Evans' interview with Calvo in Evans' book This Crazy World of Chess, The Sixty-Fifth Square HERE.
A number of FIDE delegates were against the original Denker proposal on the grounds that it was free speech, but non of them spoke against the final resolution.
Using the term election fraud, Denker stated that the issue of free speech was secondary to Calvo’s election irregularities. To use today's terminology, that was an “alternative fact." In other words, it was a lie. There was nothing illegal or unethical about trying to obtain votes by offering simultaneous displays by Kasparov.
In response, Calvo wrote a letter to FIDE in which he disputed their decision claiming that a ban against a chess player based on any political ideas is in itself an intellectual and juridical monstrosity. He added that Hitler, Stalin, Pol-Pot, Mao, Sadam or Ilyumzhinov had the right, if they wished, to play in a chess tournament. Chess is, he claimed, a spiritual refuge far above the dirty politics of everyday life in any country.
For a good story in Spanish on Calvo visit HERE. You can read about Calvo’s opponent, Vladimir Liberzon HERE
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