<The greatest weapon of our enemies is that people will tire of fighting them. <<<<>>>>>

If you are interested in it, the Spanish version has the ISBN 84-932593-0-6

or you can order the German version directly via the Lasker Society.

Calvo had a biting wit as this excerpt from his article "On the Nature of FIDE Legitimacy" (http://www.goddesschess.com/chessto...) shows:

<FIDE declared me "persona non grata" in 1987. The committee endorsing this decision was headed by USCF representative Arnold Denker [...] Anyway, I want to say a nice word about Denker´s play. When he obtained a certain notoriety by losing a match against a computer, I never believed that Denker could have been bribed. On the contrary, I have reasons to believe that bribes may have played a role in other victories of machine versus man. In the case of Grandmaster Emeritus Denker, I am sure that the machine was much stronger.>

<The greatest weapon of our enemies is that people will tire of fighting them. <<<<<>>>>>>

--- Ricardo Calvo

<The greatest weapon of our enemies is that people will tire of fighting them. <<<<>>>>>

~ Ricardo Calvo

or as Sun Tzu put it some 2,500 year ago: "

<In 1987, Dr. Calvo was wrongly condemned by FIDE and declared persona non grata by a vote of 72-1.>

I don't agree with the characterization <"wrongly">.

This doesn't seem to be a universally held opinion on the matter, at least on a cursory look. And only citing Calvo's rebuttal is insufficient. I don't see the wiki article condemning FIDE's decision as being <wrong> either.

I'll take Phrases I've Never Heard Before for $500, Alex.

Actually, Wiki's treatment isn't really better. They say Calvo was censured for "a racial attack", but don't bother to point out that no such attack actually occurred. They also reproduce quotes saying it's wrong to ban players for their ideas, without bothering to point out that Calvo wasn't banned from play, only censured.

But the bio here is unclear at best. It states specifically that Calvo was wrongly condemned, but doesn't bother to say why it was wrong, or what it actually was, beyond "a racial attack", which it obviously wasn't.

Actually, Wiki's treatment isn't really better.>

A cute turn of the phrase, to be sure. But...

<""a racial attack", but don't bother to point out that no such attack actually occurred. >

...
< beyond "a racial attack">

Was it or wasn't it?

Doesn't matter, FIDE termed it so, and it's not <CG>'s role to say if it was or wasn't. <CG> should stick to the facts, and just report FIDE's action, and rationale.

Like Wiki does.

Like Wiki does....>

Like Wiki does.>

My impressions were quickly formed from a cursory reading of both <CG> and <wiki> from a neutral standpoint.

It was clear that <CG> took a strong unsupported opinion with little or no context.

1- There is obviously not a hint of racism in the article by my late father, as anyone can check, which proves the corrupt behaviour of FIDE, and the illegitimacy of the declaration of persona non grata. In this point I would be happier if the present FIDE responsibles were brave enough to acknowledge this, and to restore his public image, and therefore FIDE's honour.

2- My father always fought against corruption, both in chess and in medicine, as well as in politics (in the 80s he was not only the delegate of Kasparov for Spain and South America, but also the responsible of the international section of the spanish journal El Independiente), and there is an important information that should be known. My father, as medical doctor and chess expert, conducted the first real-time medical survey of chess players. He was the first person to scientifically measure the extreme levels of stress in the human body while playing chess. I know he made a film documentary on this, that received an international prize, in Switzerland, I think. -If anyone knows how to find a copy of it, and publish it in YouTube, it would be cool!- Also, before passing, he suggested that during Cold War doping with amphetamines was common at top-level competition, that it was implemented by political decisions, and that he had direct evidence and knowledge of it. This is obviously the main reason why he was, and still is, attacked by FIDE and others, even after almost 20 years of his passing. The context of Cold War, and the career of Bobby Fischer, among others, must be relativised under this light. Other games with societal/political relevance, such as football/soccer, are also clearly corrupted by doping, and we never have notice of any scandal about it, which is a clear indicator of a wider conspiracy, as anyone can understand.

3- The greatest discovery my father made, and he should be recognized for it, was that modern chess was invented in medieval Valencia. He dedicated the last decades of his life to perform what has probably been the deepest research ever made not only on the History of chess, but also on other aspects of the pure game itself, including complex geometrical studies on the abstract movements of the pieces, etc..

4- As a medical doctor, when he worked in the spanish Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Sanidad), he was responsible for prohibiting a list of more than 300 medicines. These medicines were proven more harmful than beneficial to patients. Of course, the powerful international pharmaceutical lobby never forgot it. And linked to that corrupt lobby are/were other corrupt institutions, including the CIA, the KGB, and, of course, the FIDE.

As we say in Spain: Truth hurts, but it does not offend.