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Mikko Markkula, 1947-2012 |
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By IA Carol Jarecki
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March 3, 2012 |
 Mikko Markkula, long-time chairman of the FIDE Qualifications Commission, in charge of titles and regulations, died suddenly on March 1st, 2012 in Finland. He will be remembered by many players, who had norm problems on the way to their titles. He worked hard to resolve them as well as trying to prevent incorrect or dishonest applications. Mikko spent long hours throughout every week to research material and
gather information covering norm/title requests and had an extensive
library of FIDE regulations going back decades. He knew more about the
field than anyone else in FIDE. For instance, he helped Camilla Baginskaite get her WGM title by unraveling information from prior decades. He recently was instumental in accepting the validity of Tatiana Duarte's WIM title, previously buried by politics. He was fair, honest, responsible and dedicated. He will be extremely missed by friends, coworkers and fellow FIDE members.
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